Arakaash Empire

The Arakaash Empire is a legendary lost realm thought to be located in the vast and mostly unchared Arak Mountains.  Very little definative information is available as to what constituted this empire, but some evidence for an advanced culture capable of megalithic construction has been discovered and more exists from extant oral traditions.

Summary

At some point in the far distant past, a vast and mighty empire existed in the heart of the Arak Mountains that extended from the Arak Coast to the far western desert.  Tales vary as to who or what being built this civilization, but many point to Dwarves (or dwarf-like creatures) and others point to a race or species similar to what created the ruins along the Caldar River region such as Teboba and the Teeth of the North.

Historical Basis

Along the interior regions of the Arak Coast are visible evidence of walls, buildings and pyramids that are almost entirely buried after eons weather and erosion. Observed examples of these ruins have been described as built of either huge and perfectly finished blocks of stone or carved from the living rocks of the Arak Mountains themselves. Some observers have noted that there are carvings or markings on some of the ruins that are similar to Dwarfish runes, but no official consensus has ever been reached on that.  Evidence to the contrary seems to present in the fact that doorways and passages found within these ruins are of a much greater hieght and breadth that would be required by beings of Dwarven stature.
Another possible piece of evidence used to defend the validity of the legend is the mountainous road located in the Nordarak Mountains of Aria. Called the Pass Road or Route de'Col in Arian, is a more than 50-mile mountain pass that links the eastern regions of Daynmor with the Eau del'Est valley. This pass is unique, as far as most experts can find. The Nordarak Range is a particularly rugged and steep range of mountains, with variations in elevation over the course of a mile exceeding 900 feet on average, with extremes of 1,500 feet per mile. This geographic fact makes the chances of a naturally created pass with a height of 8,500 feet and a length of more than 50 miles (equating to an elevation change of less than 340 feet per miles) nearly impossible to calculate. Many experts thus believe the Route de'Col to be a severly weathered and eroded construction of a lost civilization.  If this pass is an artificial construction, it is one of such a scale as to boggle the imagination, and certainly begs the question of what sort of civilization could accomplish such a feat?

Cultural Reception

There is a growing sect of the followers of Ilmarinen found mainly in the larger populations of the Dwarven Cities of Gorgomoth that believes that the Dwarven god built a palace for himself in a far southern range of mountains. He did this so he could be close to both his parents: Khazhukko god of the Sky and Khazhakka goddess of the Earth. Their tales and songs tell of vast a city under these southern mountains, and it is from this city that Ilmarinen will build and gift the divine magical mill that provides an endless supply of flour, salt and gold the Dwarves he determines to be most worthy.
Another culture that has grown increasingly interested in the existence of Arakaash is that of the Drowkin Elves of Dro'eladrim.  These renegade exile Elves have established a homeland in a secluded valley of the Arak range, far south of the Arial River.  The proximity of this growing community of Drowkin to the legendary location of the site of Arakaash has prompted a more serious and systematic pursuit of the truth of the legend.  Many of the ruling elites of Dro'eladrim see the possibility of finding and occupying preexisting cities or fortifications as an ideal means of expanding their culture and increasing the power and influence on the continent.
The Drowkin of Dro'eladrim have dispatched numerous expeditions over the last decade in search of any evidence of Arakaash, but because of the difficult relations the Drowkin have with the rest of the world, information is not easily shared.

Date of Setting

Ages ago