The Veins

Veins of an ancient creature transformed into the source of a kingdom's prosperity

Introduction

"It is uncontested the fact that Archana's greatest blessing is the Bashmu Range. It provides the Kingdom both wealth of resources and a semi-natural protection of the borders against invaders."

— Excerpt from Archana's History Books

When Bashmu fell and the Realm Gates closed, its corpse transformed into rock, minerals, ores and gems. Its dry veins became tunnels, a cave system, leading through the underground of the mountains that it became. These caves, known as The Veins, are used by the Archani to traverse the underground and collect the resources they need to support their Kingdom.

Geography

Present through the entirety of the Bashmu Mountain Range, The Veins are pretty hard to traverse. Its tunnels are rounded like tubes, the surfaces crimped, and most of them have some level of inclination, with a rare few being fully horizontal; not to mention how labyrinthine the place is, much like an anthill. This means that, except for the fully equipped miners who have mapped the area and are ready to face the challenge, few can actually traverse their way underground and will eventually get lost or unable to climb back the way they came.

Fauna & Flora

by Zeke Lionhart

There aren't any known living animals deep inside the caves except for fungi, and the bats that tend to stay closer to the entrances. The Shriekers are the main threat for miners and explorers, giant fungi that for some reason developed the ability to move around. But there are stories, both in Vilennor and the Hawkcliff Citadel, about strange shadows that move in the depths of the caves. There have been victims of those things, and none could properly describe what they were due to the darkness inside the cave system.

Natural Resources

Rich with a huge variety of gems, minerals, and ores, most of the wealth in the Kingdom of Archana comes from The Veins. It is famous to be one of the few places where magical metals such as Mithril and Adamant can occur naturally, and is most likely the largest deposit in the entire world. But while they are the main attraction, iron, electrum, copper and other ores can be found as well.

History

The Veins were first discovered by Raymond Vilennor, the Pathfinder, during an expedition to find resources around the Oaklands for Nouvemond. As they realized the caves were full of ores and gems, a settlement began to grow around it in order to mine the riches. Raymond died during the incursions, but not before giving a huge contribution to the exploration of the caves and creation of the mines.

Today, the Veins are explored and mined from multiple entrances in both Vilennor and Hawkcliff, and also in other, smaller settlements around the mountains, for those who are brave enough to fare for themselves.

Type

Cave System

Location under

Bashmu Mountain Range

Owning Organization

Kingdom of Archana

Related Materials

• Adamant
• Bashmium
• Magicite
• Mithril