Clenched in the teeth of the Hungry Mountains, Amaans careens from the heights of Ulcazar to the hill country of the Ghorcha Passage. A land of seclusion, storms, dense mist, and deadly beauty, Amaans refuses to yield easily to either plow or blade. Something of the mountains’ cold, unrelenting stone pervades every field, tree, and stream, relegating the land’s few settlers to faltering edges and quiet hollows of the hardwood wilderness. The hearty residents of tiny hamlets and homesteads eke lives from the valleys and forests only at the leave of the land’s grim spirits, and do all they can to avoid the heights’ supposedly unnatural storms or the ghostly servants of the fallen lich to the west.
Amaans served as one of the first battlefields in Ustalav’s ill-fated war against the Whispering Tyrant. After the swift fall of Grodlych and Virholt, the skilled horsemen of Amaans were quick to harass the invading undead and are remembered as heroes—if not for their victories, then for the time their lives bought their people to f lee the undying hordes. After the Tyrant’s defeat, Amaans became a land of succor and renewal, as those seeking escape from past horrors found it easy to disappear amid the mountains. It also became the birthplace of the Pharasmin Penitence: In 3833, the word of the healer Kavapesta, called Sister Sorrow, swept from the shores of the lake formerly called Divirmis— later renamed for the holy woman—extolling suffering and stoicism as weighing in one’s favor during Pharasma’s final judgment. Many Ustalavs embraced the promise of a greater reward after life’s pains, adopting the particularly somber, ceremonious worship style still practiced today.
Although mountains cover most of Amaans, its infamous Hundred Haunted Vales hide diverse ecologies. Dense forests prove most common, yet some valleys hold foggy bogs, expanses of jagged scree, or depthless mountain lakes. Folk legends say that faeries and witches make their homes amid the vales, altering the land to suit their bizarre whims. Such tales also explain the peaks’ frequent storms as these ancient inhabitants’ attempts to drive off trespassers.
Since the Tyrant’s defeat, the nobility of Amaans has taken up the duty of guarding the east from what lingering horrors remain within the ruins of Virlych. Bands of hired horsemen astride the land’s native fell ponies tour the’ western borders, alert for strange creatures or suspicious wanderers. Such troupes regularly cross paths with patrols of Lastwall knights harrowing the Whispering Tyrant’s former lands. Both parties consider the other trespassers upon ground under their protection, but while harsh words fly often, stones and arrows do so only rarely.
The people of Amaans distinguish themselves as either Kavapestans or vale folk. The residents of Kavapesta devotedly worship Pharasma, living austere lives wary of passions and excess joy, fearing that surfeit pleasure might weigh against them when the goddess of death judges their lives, condemning them to afterlives of penitent suffering. The stern people mistrust worshipers of other faiths, artists, and lighthearted visitors, fearing moral pollutions and “the temptations of the quick.” Vale folk, too, are looked upon with suspicion. Dozens of tiny hamlets dot the slopes of the highlands of Amaans, where quiet, courteous folk live in islands of relative tranquility amid the mountains. While those from the lowlands see little distinction between vale folk and the witches of legends, the residents of these sleepy communities merely value their privacy and seek not to offend the myriad nature spirits, fairies, hags, and dragons of their rampant folklore. In such lands, it’s not uncommon for travelers—especially non-humans—to be mistaken for mischievous fey in disguise. To such ends, vale folk often carry neck pouches of iron dust, old horseshoes, or bent nails to cast at strangers to prove their nature, as local superstitions say that iron burns treacherous spirits and forces them back into their true shapes.
Noteworthy Locations
Several sites of both startling beauty and crippling terror fall within the shadows of Amaans.
Cauldheart: The valley between Mount Aremetrus and Gristleknob descends sharp and steep, the exposed gray stone falling away into a deep, liver-shaped valley more than 3 miles long. No trail rises from Cauldheart, and only the most desperate ivy creeps from the boggy depths of this vast and supposedly unscalable pit. Peasant stories tell of witch covens conducting week-long rites atop the surrounding mountains, summoning black storms to fill the vale like a gigantic cauldron for their darkest magic, bringing about such rumored atrocities as the creation of unnatural slaves, the warping of whole lands, and the summoning of nameless deities both vast and evil.
Eran’s Rest: Few climb the steep goat trails to Eran’s Rest, the most picturesque community among the Hundred Haunted Vales. Overlooking the dense evergreens of Adghain Valley, also known as the Vale of Lonely Lights, the village of herders and weavers serves as a focal point for tales of fairy revels, lost wanderers, and capricious nature spirits. Such tales come to life in the art, architecture, stories, and endless superstitions of the villagers, supported by enough yearly disappearances and strange happenings to keep the tales, and a host of rarely witnessed “blood wards,” alive.
Kavapesta: The largest community in Amaans and a holy city for Pharasmins, Kavapesta is detailed later.
Willowmourn: The estate of Amaans’s ruling family, the Galdanas, runs along the western shore of Lake Kavapesta. Nobly appointed with lush gardens, elaborate topiaries, labyrinthine hedges, and a highly defensible central house, the estate has long been the setting of tales of debauchery and wild revelries. Recently, such rumors have taken on a darker cast, whispering of hauntings and murder.
Count Lucinean Galdana
A rugged gentleman with sun-baked features, a mane of dark hair, and a physique better suited to a soldier than a ruler, Count Galdana often appears uncomfortable amid the trappings of his station and quickly shrugs off the bonds of tradition or rank. Though possessed of a keen mind and strong will, his tastes trend toward simplicity, with little patience for discourtesy, elitism, or posturing. Were one to ask Kavapesta’s devout Pharasmins their view of the count, most would tell tales of a lurking incubus, eager to tempt the weak of faith to his den of debaucheries and corrupt their virtuous souls. The county’s nobility and less prudish residents, however, take an outlook closer to the truth, viewing him as a life-long bachelor with respectable intentions but few political agendas beyond those that further his interests in good drink, rousing hunts, and fair ladies. Far from a monster or sybarite, Count Galdana truly loves his land—even if his people often frustrate him. Protective of his privacy and personal freedoms, he rarely journeys to Kavapesta, where the city’s brooding populace depress him. Instead, he conducts most of his land’s business at his estate, Willowmourn, or afield as an excuse to hunt. The ruler takes every opportunity to explore his lands, being a skilled and active equestrian, archer, and mountaineer, and the county’s vale folk know their lord well, as he is the most frequent outsider to visit several communities. Rumors among the nobility say that, given a month, the count could circle his lands and raise scores of able men from a hundred mountain villages only he knows exist.
As required by his position, the count makes seasonal journeys to Caliphas to attend the royal court, a responsibility he outspokenly loathes. While in the city, he indulges in all manner of luxuries—tales of which frequently scandalize many members of court, to the count’s delight. Galdana’s outspoken nature, plain intentions, and true—if not exemplary—moral compass make him a favorite of Prince Ordranti, who takes every all-too-rare opportunity to call upon his like-minded friend.
Noteworthy Personages
Besides Count Galdana, several others control significant inf luence in Amaans.
Bishop Bavhulameta Ulametria: Could the hearty holy mother of Kavapesta’s Cryptgate Cathedral stand, she would tower over most of her congregation, yet a life-long regimen of selfmortification has crippled her to a perpetually kneeling posture. Although such torture is not a prescription of Pharasma’s faith, the bishop unshakably adheres to the teachings of the Pharasmin Penitence, believing that death’s rewards correspond to the suffering in one’s life. Despite her religious zeal, Bishop Ulametria possesses a keen mind, performs daily sermons, and believes in healing the sick and easing excess burdens. Yet, she also sees virtue in pain, and several clerics of Cryptgate bear scars and disfigurations the holy mother refuses to let them heal.
Viscount Oilic Galdyce: The villagers of Sen’s Pass again fear to wander too near the Vale of Red Breath, where they say the infamous nosferatu nobleman, Galdyce, stirs once more. Although the viscount and his seraglio of vampiric brides were supposedly slain decades ago, hellish lights again f licker within Castle Galdyce, and rumors tell of sinister whispers and seductive shadows haunting the steps of young villagers.