Tauregdör: The Tear

Just south of the lands of Migdör is The Tear, a massive desert crevice whose widest point is just greater than 20 miles and is over 300 miles in length. The canyon itself is about a five-mile drop to the bottom, where a lake whose water is darker than the night with no moons, sits in contrast to the red canyon walls.

This massive scar in the world is inhabited, and maintained, by a clan of dwarves, called the Dtamridün. Other groups live in the gorge as well, but their presence is not so nearly pronounced. Between the different portions of the gorge, stone bridges of Dwarven design, as well as those of ancient Remni make, span the width, as well as connect between each other in various mesa formations. The areas where the bridges connect to the mesa formations within the gorge are referred to as hubs, the largest of which has the Dtamridün capital city of Augerdorn built upon it.

Below the bridges, and in the cliff faces themselves, are numerous mines, most of which are of ancient origin. It is thought that the Ancient Remni Empire created the gorge in order to better get to the precious ores in the region, as the mines here are rich in Rhystum salts, which when combined with iron, creates the Rhystahl Alloy, a material coveted for its lightweight properties and its almost transparent appearance.

Halfway toward the bottom of the gorge, light is far dimmer, as the intricate lattice of bridges above obscure the sun. The bridges are often inhabited by Sjride Bats, bats larger than a full-grown man, strong enough to carry people away to their dark homes to feast upon.

This level of the tear is known for its large spiders, who feed on the Sjride Bats. Further down, near the bottom, where the black lake resides, is infested with troll colonies and a particularly nasty breed of giant spider, colloquially called the Trollavore, which, as its name implies, specializes in capturing and killing trolls.

The lake itself is said to be bottomless, with numerous tentacled creatures that live within its depths. Several dwarven expeditions to the bottom have observed Trolls throwing in Sjride bats, feeding the creatures of the deep, in what seems to be some sort of primitive sacrificial ritual. Those who have drank the water from the bottom of the lake, often contract ‘water madness’, a disease that infects the persons mind, making them think they are always thirsty. The dwellers of the bridges above have found ways of recovering rainwater and storing it, as any of the natural springs in the region have the same issue.