The Cairn Road

From small stacks no higher than the knee to large stands rising above a man’s head, the cairns are a grim reminder of the Dreamrot plague that ravaged the world and brought about the end of the Fifth Age. What fragmented histories remain tell of the widespread burning of bodies to fight the sickness, and how the practice was born as a way of remembering those whose remains were little more than scattered ash. Though the need for such a practice has long since passed, the tradition lives on in the towns and villages dotted along the Cairn Road.
These peoples choose not to bury their dead, instead keeping with the ways of their ancestors by burning the bodies and stacking new stones in their memory. It is in this way that the Cairn Road has continued to grow, year after year, outliving even the kingdoms that claimed it so many centuries ago.
If you ever find yourself standing amidst these sacred stones, take special care not to disturb them. Even the Imperial armies in their grand marches westward knew this; they dared not anger restless souls. If you must spend the night between towns, sleep upon the road - those who do not call the cairns home should not linger deep within. You may freely bring stones to create a cairn for those you’ve lost, but never take from those already there...

...else the next cairn may be built for you.

- Amrynn Leoris, Imperial historian

Type

Road

Parent Location

Gracia