Remote Karbak, Where They Fear to Tread

The most western province of North Ideitess and also the least populated, Remote Karbak doesn't even get its own proper name. It is simply a bordered off portion of Karbak. Though seemingly ridiculous, the reason for the existence of Remote Karbak is quite simple: At the northeastern corner of the province, near meorobak's foot, there stands a giant statue called Pellaras. The name was given to it by very early travellers, around the year 4994BD, when they stumbled over the hills near Amston and laid eyes on what they thought was a great stone giant far in the distance. What they were looking at was a statue far larger than any statue created by humans, standing on top of a hill known as pellaras hill. The border of Remote Karbak follows three paths. The majority of the border is made up by the sea on the north, west, and southern sides, and the eastern border is half marked by meorobak's foot. The remainder of the border, near Amston, is indicated by whether one can see Pellaras or not. If one can see Pellaras from where he or she stands, one is officially in Remote Karbak.

Remote Karbak is mostly stunningly remote mountains. Since entering this province gets one nowhere in particular, these mountains are scarcely inhabited. Officials say that there are, at most, about twenty small mountain villages occupied by Meorors deep in the Western Marbak mountain ranges. The cold, steep fields to the east are known as the West Royals. The town of Sendilies lies halfway up the only decent road in Remote Karbak.

Sendilies

Known as the only town in Remote Karbak, Sendilies is a surprisingly busy town. Carved mostly from the mountain on which it rests, Sendilies makes most of its business from nearby mines. Ideiten miners, known to be some of the least superstitious and religious people in the country, are about the only people who will venture into Remote Karbak without fear in their hearts -- save those who actually live within the mountains, or those travelling to the town seeking valuable minerals or some of the fine blacksmithing crafts available for purchase at the stores. The religious fear which keeps people out of Remote Karbak and also invites people into Sendilies is caused by Pellaras. Indeed, Sendilies is considered to be a safe location because one cannot see the statue because a mountain ridge lies between them.

Pellaras

Standing on pellaras hill and peering over Remote Karbak is a great statue known as Pellaras. Its gaze decides the eastern border of the province, and it also influenced the location of Sendilies. Pellaras's gaze is so feared because, when travellers first found the cloud-piercing statue, they thought it was a good omen. Above them towered a statue of a man standing upright with both his hands cupped over a sword. The tip of the sword was resting on the ground. They took his powerful yet controlled stance as a source of inspiration, and indeed all statues of Ideiten kings and queens are made using the same posture. They camped at his feet, guarded against cold winds by toes as big as houses, but when morning had come, the statue's position had changed. One foot was planted forward and the stance was now one of aggression. One arm was lifted and pointing ahead, to the southeast, and the sword was nowhere to be seen. Shockingly, where the forward foot was now situated was where the men had left their carriages and some of the men, which were now nowhere to be seen. To dig beneath the foot was both ridiculous difficult and dangerous. After a wary search of the area and no trace of the carriage or the missing people, they retreated southward and camped near the ridge just north of where Sendilies is. Again, that night, two tents in the open went missing, along with the people inside. Those who were safe had trees between them and the statue. One of them suggested that they camp in a place where the statue was not visible. Distraught but determined to discover the statue's magic, they moved over the ridge and camped there. The following morning, they were all fine.

Though an astounding example of craftmanship unmatched by humans, Pellaras remains a feared figure. It's now believed that falling asleep where Pellaras can see will result in disappearing. Entire buildings have gone missing, replaced by random stones and uneven dirt. At one point, officials plotted to topple the statue. However, it proved to be too big a job. They did not have the means to pull it over from above ground, and nobody would tunnel under it through the masses of stone. In surveying the underground stone around Remote Karbak, veins of iron ore were discovered. So Sendilies was set up as a mining station and several mines were started. From the station to the mines are warning signs to tell of the statue's magic. The station, of course, has now grown to become the prosperous yet religious town of Sendilies.

Though many have come to accept the statue's power, several mysteries still remain. The first is the changing of the statue on the first night. At first, nobody believed that the statue had moved. Even if it did, why hasn't it moved again? Did the first travellers, by camping under it, unleash some sort of curse by waking the statue? It is barely fathomable that a statue of that size could move and not wake anybody, even if it is somehow alive. The second mystery is that the statue is of what appears to be a normal man in an extravagent and powerful outfit. If it wasn't built by humans, why does it appear human, and how did the race who built it know what humans look like? And why did they make it appear human? Or, if humans did build it, who built it, and how did they build it? It is beyond any technology even 6000 years later. The third mystery is where the sword went. To this day there is no trace of it, and since no effective descriptions of the sword were recorded, it is anyone's guess as to whether the sword has something to do with the statue's powerful curse.

Meoror Villages

Very little is known of the few villages in the West Karbak Mountains. In the past the villagers have been accused of being associated with Pellaras, and these accusations drove the villagers to isolate themselves almost completely from the rest of the country. Most villagers are hostile towards outsiders, and will attack wandering travellers on sight. Barricades with skeletons posted as warnings mark entry into these forbidden lands. Though they are called many derogatory names by other Ideitens, they are known to call themselves Meorors, most likely after the river to the east -- meorobak's foot -- which was named after one of the first victims of Pellaras.