Vala Mountains
Mountains of myth
The Vala Mountains are a small but fabled mountain chain in the nation of Romanorum in the Eastern Continent.
The ruins of Khazad-Vala in the Vala Mountains.
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History
The Vala Mountains, are perhaps one of the most famous mountains in Arda. Nestled along the southern border of Romanorum, it is a mountain chain that stretches from the lands near the town of Port Tiber that runs longitudinally up to near the northern border of Magnos. Historically, the land near the mountains were once verdant, complete with dense patches of highland wealds. After the events of the Last of the Primordial Wars, the region has been scarred, marked with numerous rifts and tears, many of which nature has yet to reclaim. The Vala Mountains are also the source of the similarly fabled river known as the Tearflood. Along with the dwarven fortress of yore, Khazad-Vala, this small mountainous region of Romanorum is known for its role in history and legend. In the years from their creation by the Heavens, up until the Last of the Primordial Wars, the Vala Mountains and the fortress of Khazad-Vala is largely considered the "original" homeland of the dwarven peoples. With a lack of historical records of early elven and dwarven history, it is difficult to determine how long the mountains of Vala had been lived in. It is known that the early elves named it the Mountain of the Heavens, which was in turn translated into the dwarven tongue as "Khazad-Vala", or "Divine Mountain". Today, the mountains are simply known as the Vala Mountains, a combination of the two historical terms. What is known of the early history of the region is generally plain. While dwarves remained under the tutelage of their elder counterpart of the elves for numerous centuries, the dwarves soon matched and even excelled their teachers in the arts of crafts, engineering, and architecture. Seeking to build new lives for themselves and their people, the dwarves began to leave the heartlands of Romanorum for the slopes of the Vala Mountains. As they mined into the mountains, they carved homes, workshops, businesses, and temples into the rock of the mountain. As the dwarves dug, they made an unexpected discovery. A wall of stone inscribed with runes stored deep within the rock caverns below. The stone contained the history of Arda and their peoples, planted by the Primordial Earth. As the dwarves remained deep in the earth to read the graven lore of the stone, their skin darkened, becoming the first duergar. Alongside the similar transformation of the elves into the orcs by the Primordial Fire, it was the impetus for the start of the First Primordial War, ultimately leading to the exile of the duergar and orcs from the lands of the early Romanoran Empire. In the years following the even, Khazad-Mor would be built up as a fortress against the Primordial forces who would return in the Second and the Last of the Primordial Wars. Time would pass, and in a story that is often told, the Children of the Heavens and the Children of the Primordials were engaged in a terrible and destructive conflict known as the Last of the Primordial Wars. In this war, the Children of the Heavens had been pushed back to a small number of their strongholds throughout Romanorum. The most famous of these strongholds would again be the dwarven fortress of Khazad-Vala, the "Mountain of the Heavens". Surrounded by the forces of the Children of the Primordials and the Shadow, the peoples of Khazad-Vala were in dire straits. In hope and desperation, the elven maiden Isolde climbed to the top of Khazad-Vala to beg the Heavens for aid. Inspired by her act of courage, the Heavens came down and manifested in physical form on Arda. Acknowledging the severity of the battle, so too did the Four Primordial Lords join battle. The clash was catastrophic, and all of Arda shook while the divine creators of Arda battled for right and supremacy. In concern for the life of the peoples present, the deity Mendos split from the Heavens and shielded Khazad-Vala from the earth-shattering havoc of the fight using its own divine essence. In this battle, Mendos would succumb to its wounds suffered by protecting the people of Khazad-Vala. The last act of a dying deity, Mendos left the people of Khazad-Vala the last gift of the Heavens, two newborn human children. So moved by Mendos' sacrifice and the birth of new life, both the Children of the Heavens and the Children of the Primordials wept tears of joy so great in number that it created the Tearflood, the river which flows from the Vala Mountains to this day. The Primordial Lords and Heavens called for truce, and both would strive to create a new future for Arda. The Shadow, now denied of the war and violence it craved, fled south in search of new victims. Today, the Vala Mountains, along with Khazad-Vala, are largely abandoned. Much of the fortress city was damaged in the battle, and in the optimism following the outcome of the Last of the Primordial Wars, fortresses were increasingly seen as anachronisms. Over time, the fortress would be slowly depopulated in favor of other larger cities and especially other dwarven fortresses such as Khazad-Mor / Morgrad or Khazad-Geld in the Golden Mountain. Today, the ruins are sometimes seen as a site of pilgrimage for Heavens or Primordial clerics, but few else now visit the forlorn mountains.See Also
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