Tel Padria
Tel Padria, or "The Portal", is an enormous crater-lake found to the west of the Querian Empire. It has been subject to much debate and superstition over its origin thanks to its unnaturally dark blue colour and colossal size.
History
As with most significant events and landmarks, there is little wrtten information pre-Cataclysm detailing the Portal and its origin. What little has been recovered details a completely different landscape to the one known today. Evidence suggests there was once far more rainforest covering the northwest of the Empire, much like the rich forests which now cover the mountains surrounding Tel Padria. Every major piece of writing found dated pre-Cataclysm suggests this rainforest was present throughout the Forgotten Era and gives no indication of the Portal's presence.
Current theories, in light of this, agree that the Cataclysm itself was most likely the cause of this dramatic change in landscape. Great scores of missing land reach out around the crater's perimeter; entire sections of the surrounding mountains carved and eroded in what appears to be a pattern of explosion. These areas are devoid of flora, an anomalous star of desert land leading into the actual desert to the east, and are referred to as "The Scars".
In early 100 N.A., researchers investigated the contents of the lake, discovering the water to be rich in iron and other minerals. Research on the area was cut quickly short, however, as an unreadable current surrounding the area made short work of any equipment used to test and gather samples. Though many improvements have been made to the technology since, no electronics will function in contact with any part of the lake, including water or soil samples received and taken off-site.
