Known as "The Shadow Forest", Anahul Maakh is in much aspects alike the Mahul Maakh woods, excluding the fact that there you will not find friendly and almost peaceful elves… Cause this is the homeland of the drow elves, and all their shade familiars.

Situated to the east of Niadia, Anahul Maakh is a forest considerably distant from the civilized lands, and mostly because of that, its very uncommon to find any civilized race wandering inside its trees. Actually only the most brave and skilled adventurers dare to enter this dangerous place.

If the high elves are a noble and civilized race, their shade brothers are known to be the exact opposite… Beginning with their pale dark skin color, passing by their scary white eyes that have no pupils and are able to see well even at the extremely dark areas of their woods, and finally ending with their cruel and evil alignment, the drow seen to be very different from their brothers.

As the high elves, they also posses a council inside its trees, a council that decides everything that happens with their folk, making plans that always look to bring more knowledge and magical powers to them. Also, the drow elves posses innate magical abilities, and are powerful black magicians… One of their most scary abilities is to control the giant spiders that live inside their woods, using them both as pets and lethal companions.

The sinister island situated at west of Sur, known as The Crossed Bones, are a place so dangerous that is also called "The Hell Island". There you will find all the pirates, thieves, assassins and other folk with shade souls…

All those people came there to avoid the laws of the continent, and on this island… Well, there the words "laws" and "order" are just non-existent. The only aspect of organization you will find there is the famous mansion of Monterrey Caliguri, the Sea Rogue.

The Caliguri family is a famous family of torannian pirates, and legend says that they started to build a village at this island about centuries ago… Monterrey is the last Caliguri alive, and rule his island with iron fists (or fist and hook, as you want..).

So, the only law that really exists on The Crossed Bones is the law of the taxes: Caliguri gives the protection that the pirates and thieves need, and in exchange they must donate some of their pillages and robbery to Caligury`s cause… Easy and just, at least for the rogues.

The Barren Mountains hides more secrets than you might ever expect, and Devil`s Pit maybe the most interesting and dangerous of them…

It looks like a volcano, but nobody ever seen any lava spreading out from it… After all, very few people actually have seen Devil`s Pit.

The very few who had traveled by there and survived came to their cities almost insane, saying things about other worlds, powerful demons, magical portals and such things… From what I know I can`t tell you much about this place, but I have once talked to an old adventurer that returned from Devil`s Pit totally crazy, and passed years to regenerate his mental abilities… That old man told me that all Near World is nothing but a tiny peace in the infinite space that covers all the universe. He said that he entered the volcano, and passed by some kind of portal that sent him to a weird city called Sigil, where people from all other worlds meet. Also, he told me about various gods, new gods, gods that I never ever heard about…

Well, he told me a lot of things, and at some point I were not following the old man anymore… The point is: What mysterious places and portals this volcano hides on its depth? This my friend, you will have to discover by yourself.

Dragons are very rare to find across our lands, but the islands known as Dragon Islands sees to be a kind of "dragon country". Some explorers say that all the dragons of these islands inhabits it simply because it's the better place for them to live in peace, and far away from the ignorance of men… But many others say that it have a religious cause.

Some ancient tales, took from the dragon culture, say that all live dragons are descendants of a golden dragon called "The Great Wyrm"… This dragon was the first of all dragons, created by the True God (obviously for the dragons God have a dragon form) and awesome wise and powerful. He were so big that some hills were smaller than his tail, and this dragon lived for hundreds and hundreds of years.

But the dragon were very lonely, having no other member of his own species to talk, or, to breed! So the Wyrm asked God to create a female for him, so he can procreate his species and live happy... God said: "You can procreate, my son, but your sons will not have even a half of your power and wisdom... Do you accept this treat?". Wyrm answered a loud "Yes!".

From his first breed, the first dragons alike we know by now were born… And this glorious birth took place exactly at the Dragon Islands, and a temple is set at the place to remind all dragons of the birth of their great and powerful race. It seen that all dragons respect this holy place, but warn you traveler: Not all the dragons are just wise and peaceful… Many others are known to be chaotic treasure hunters, hunting humans and other races just to get their magical garments and shiny gold.

This archipelago of five mysterious islands is feared among the lands, and these islands doesn`t have this name for nothing...

People say that this islands are inhabited by the demons that live at the distant continent of Dordread. Nobody knows why these demons stay there and doesn`t try to enter our lands, but nobody wants to discover that as well... We are all happy with the fact that these vile beings are living their own life, and very far away from our cities!

I even heard about a hidden portal, situated on these islands, that lead to another world, called Kwadryn - Realm of Shadows... But if that`s the truth or not you will have to find by your own, traveler.

Some say that the Glory Ruins, just west of Talantha, are the ruins from the legendary city of Torannia (see Ancient Lores)… And this ruins might have, deep inside it`s ground, the so called KaranBlade! But folks who spread these words may be fools, or even totally stupid ones…

The fact is that nobody knows what exactly these ruins is, or were. They look like a part of a very antique city, probably constructed much before the Red War, and its architecture is totally mysterious and different of any other type of architecture known on the civilized world.

Many historians and explorers often visits this place, but no one ever got a clue about its real origin. Its not a too dangerous place tough, because its considerably near the protection of Talantha, and monsters seen to avoid this place by also unknown reasons…

The great notice this days is that Garlik, former governor of Sur, is living alone on the depths of these ruins… I always suspected of Garlik`s fragile sanity, but now he is convincing me that he is really insane!

The lair of the noble high elves, Mahul Maakh is the most famous and mysterious forest of Near World. Situated on the western coast of the Great Water, and having the city of Pravokia inside its area, the forest is very visited by adventurers, travelers and rangers... Well, but if you are willing to leave the Royal Path and actually explore the forest inside, you will have to take care of yourself!

Inside these mysterious woods you will find not only the elves, but faeries, leprechauns, pixies, goblins, black trolls, and a few hobbits too... But the great mystery of Mahul Maakh lies on the elvish secret villages, and the incredible magical powers of the Mahul Council.

Some half-elves who actually found the elvish villages and saw the members of The Mahul Council said some strange things to us. The first thing was about the villages mystery: They are always changing places, and it`s known that they can appear from one day to another at any part of the woods... How? Some half-elves talked about strange magical portals and warps inside the woods that leads to "another smaller forest dimension", where the elves can live freely without bothering themselves with the presence of other races. Its hard to believe that, but who knows everything about the elves?

The second thing was about the Council itself: Fiodras, Limolas, UnNarah, Ysdasil, Danreynn, Oah and Krewerk, the seven members of the Council, and also the oldest elves alive, are known to have unearthly magical powers that can only be compared to Yaal Kin Futh, the Grand Druid of the uldaric woods... From where their powers come? The half-elves said that the Council is very bound with the "forest essence", and that they simply drains their powers from the forest ground, rocks, water and trees. We don`t know if they are right, but the fact is that not all elves can do that. Only the Council members know the secrets of their race, and the mystery of Mahul Maakh lies inside their wise minds.

The paradise forest called Nymph Wood is, obviously, inhabited by nymphs…

Descendants of the elves and the faeries, nymphs are beautiful and charismatic beings! They live at their woods in total peace and harmony, just like the uldras, excluding the fact that nymphs hate to be disturbed on their own home… It`s really rare to see a nymph giving any attention to other races, they generally simply avoid them, and make sure they will not interrupt their daily life.

Nobody ever seen a male nymph, and many wise men defend the fact that nymphs are magical beings, created from the forest own ground to protect it against dangerous explorers and destroyer civilizations.

Nymphs are believed to be good aligned, but there are tales about men that got seduced by this magnificent beings, and never returned from their trips to the Nymph Wood… Who knows all the truth about this place?

Legends say that a long time ago, a titan that lived among these lands got so huge and powerful that tried to challenge the gods for a place on their kingdom… The enraged gods decided to puny this vile being, and sent an army of one hundred giants to stop the titan`s intent.

The battle of the titan with the giants took years to end, and the lonely titan got a tremendous victory, to claim his right of being a god right after… Then the gods decided to really punish the titan: They offered him a glass with a strange purple liquid, saying that the titan only had to drink the liquid to became a real god!

So, the ingenue titan drank the liquid, and felt hard to the ground, instantly killed by the poison hat the gods offered to him… At a last attempt to live, the titan started to pray for the True God to give strength to him, and the titan`s body begun to grow even more, taking limitless proportions…

But the titan`s pray wasn`t made with conviction, cause the titan was still wanting to became a god, taking a revenge against the other gods… And so, the titan died.

His body took the size of a great forest, and from his decomposed corpse strange fogs of purple color started to spread among the air, creating a enormous swamp that today is called the Purplefog Swamps.

Well, that was the legends, and even knowing about that huge pieces of bone, having the size of an entire city, found on the swamp`s area, I can`t tell you if this legend says the truth or not... Anyway, this swamps are a very dangerous place, inhabited by hostile monsters and vile undeads.

The greatest desert of Near World, the Sand Ocean hides along its endless plains of sand the dardean race. Since the ancestral times, these folks have inhabited the rare oasis that the desert offers, surviving the dangers and hot temperatures, laughing to the face of death...

Now this territory is governed by the tyranny of the caravans who makes the commerce of food and goods between the desert tribes and the great cities. They demand absurd taxes to the dardees for bringing them this facility, and because there`s very few ways to find food on the sand, they must pay, or die from hunger.

Many rebels have tried to end this situation, but the caravan organizations are strong, particularly the Blacksand caravans, owned by Kithz Kopesh, a man with vast influence on the Torann and Dardeeh politics. So, because they are so far away, and because of the gold that this trades make to Talantha and other cities, the toranians are not willing to help.

The most huge forest of all Near World is also the less magical of all. Instead of the eleves and faeries of Mahul Maakh, the drow and vile beings of Anahul Maakh, the Nymphs of the Nymph Wood and the Uldras of the uldaric woods, this forest hides various other races... Many of which have no contact with magic of all, but can be as dangerous as a charming nymph!

Rotunnians are the most common habitants, having many tribes along the southern part of the forest, they are all leaded by Baldin, the Bigrock. Many barren orcs also came from Torann mountains to habit these woods, tough the long exposure to the sunlight seen to had decreased their formidable health, they are still very fierce warriors. Many of them lives at caves on the western part of the Rotun Mountains.

Many goblins, hobgoblins, kobolds, gnolls, bugbears, troglodytes and ogres can also be found inside these woods, for the misfortune of the orcs and rotunnians... Tough many of these races are considered vile and rude monsters, many of them have been able to settle very civilized villages among the area, having a life as ordered as any other nomadic race.

The fact is that South Wood is a dangerous place for those who never entered and knew it, this cause to know all of its secrets and strict racial divisions and cultures, you have to live there since his childhood. So, traveler, to adventure inside this forest, you better be friend of some that live inside it, probably a village leader or shaman... Anyway, your best protection there will still be your weapon, and your skill with it...

House of the giants, these mountains situated beside the Grand Fall river, at Dardeeh, have no particular name, tough many dardeans learned to simply call it "The Wall".

They are gargantuan pieces if rock, that hides the scary villages of the many giant races that live there… Only the greatest warriors and bravest explorers dare to travel this land, and even the "daredees" seen to loose their courage while facing its giant stones.

There are known tales about a portal situated at the top of the greatest mountain of them, this secret portal lead his passengers to a even more great mountain, called Mount Celestia… Some say that this land is the lost paradise where the goldmen still live in supreme happiness. But, hey traveler, if you will trust every tale the people say to you, you will sure get disappointed, cause almost all of them are just another fantasy that creative people think during their tedious days…

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