Ruins of Sangr-mal

The **Ruins of Sangr-mal** is a historical site situated on the mesa formed by the split of Sangr Canyon. The Silver Dragon River flanks all sides, and it's thought to be due to this supreme defensive location that Ancient Cimrokites built the castle that comprises the ruins. Tourists face a steep trek up from Digger's Rest on the river to see the gorgeous Sangr Falls and explore the mostly intact Upper Castle. Access to the so-called Lower Castle, below ground level, is tightly restricted in order to preserve the ruins for further study, and only a few groups are able to venture below every year.

## Structure

A hexagonal outer wall around 30ft tall and nearly a mile at its widest is made of opalescent Pearlstone is mostly intact but has many cracks and fallen shards. The grand arch entrance lies on the northeast face of the hexagon, facing Sangr Falls. The main castle is a smaller hexagon, approximately 500 ft wide at the widest, made of the same material. It had 6 towers, one at each vertex, but now only two - the ones flanking the main entrance - are still standing. The northern one is almost untouched, and is used by tourists for the best view of the waterfall. Some of the higher floors of the Upper Castle have collapsed or been destroyed, but the tallest portion remains, except for the gold spire that used to protrude from the center.

Throughout the castle, the ceilings and doors appear large enough for giants; however, stair steps are small enough to accommodate Small creatures, and some furniture of smaller size has been recovered as well.

## Lower Castle

The Lower Castle is a sprawling complex with many sealed doors, secret exits on the cliffside, and several dangerous traps and persistent spells. Unbeknownst to the public, some of the sealed doors lead to an actively used Fire Newt base.

## Construction

Sangr-mal's construction began shortly after Ancient Cimrokite scouts reported the Ancient Red Dragon Mukgardag (translating to Volcano Heart) had died of its old age, lying atop its hoard of treasure in the cave inside the Sangr Mesa. Having carefully monitored the dragon and maintaining the most powerful military force nearby, Ancient Cimrok claimed control of vast majority of the treasure, only missing some of the most valuable pieces from the quickest and cleverest of looters. Cimrok also knew of the fire portal hidden in the lair, which gave it a significant defensive advantage over treasure-hunting armies from more distant lands. With no insignificant amount of bloodshed, Ancient Cimrok established its opulent castle. The primary Pearlstone construction was achieved by hauling huge amounts of the rock through the Fire Portal, hewing it into rough blocks, and then using magic fueled by the power of the portal to fuse and smooth the rocks completely. The solid gold spire also was fused with the magic from the portal, the source gold coming from the dragon's lair.

## Golden Period

For nearly 300 years, the proud golden spire of Sangr-mal signified the success of Ancient Cimrok and the regent of the castle, the Drow Lirket, whose statue still stands in the courtyard of the ruins. During this time, despite its extremely difficult location, Sangr-mal was a hub for regional politics and bustled with traders all hoping to gain from the vast riches the castle held.

## Loss of the Spire

Cimrok was not the only entity with scouts waiting for Mukgardag's death. Significantly, a rival, but much younger red dragon Thikmel, now known as the Mountain King, learned of her loss and the Cimrokites' claim on the treasure. Also familiar with the portal within the lair, Thikmel slowly gathered followers from the plane of fire over the next few hundred years to put into action a plot to steal the treasure of Sangr-mal, including the great golden spire.

When all preparations had been completed, Thikmel's followers launched a two-pronged attack: one distraction on the Material Plane, and the important infiltration force through the Plane of Fire. Having enjoyed years of peace encouraged by their generous sharing of wealth, the Cimrokites were ill-prepared for a surprise invasion. With only a few days after hearing of the march on the castle to muster a defense on the Material Plane, they pulled much of their defenses from the Plane of Fire to shore up the surface. Even with this, Thikmel's followers toppled several of the castle's outer towers and drew out the full reserves from within Sangr-mal.

Perfectly timed with this induced chaos, the infiltration force passed through the portal secreted within the Lower Castle and made their way to the base of the spire. Using a spell created by Thikmel himself, they liquefied the spire from the bottom up and directed the gold through the portal. A cook noticed the flowing gold and went to fetch a wizard, but by the time they arrived they were only able to stop and save the very tip of the spire, which can be viewed in the modern era in a display case at the ruins. The infiltration party stole many other valuable artifacts from the Lower Castle before returning through the portal. Thikmel utterly destroyed the fortifications on the Plane of Fire side and personally retrieved the re-solidified spire, roasting the infiltration party alive for failing to provide the entire thing.