Kalebb

Across the northern landscape runs the Mountains of Tarea, splitting the tundra and Mamashi grasslands apart in a great wall of stone. Accessible by the Pass of Eurik, the only breach in this natural wall, is the Valley of Kalebb, a place forbidden to the stronger people of Aetolia but a refuge for young explorers.

The Valley of Kalebb has been known to travelers for centuries and was often used as a waypoint for those heading north into the vast tundra. In recent times, however, the Valley has supported a small settlement of people intent on keeping watch for signs of the prophecies of Kalebb, an Ankyrean astrologer from the Alizarin Order. To this purpose, a tall watchtower was constructed high in the mountains allowing a clear view of the surrounding land. The prophecies tell of a great terror descending from the north, and it is this event that the people of the Valley await and prepare for.

The residents subsist on what little they can trap or grow, and supplement their needs with profits from a small winery, the products of which are eagerly snatched up by more southern communities. Many people live in the Valley only transiently, coming from other parts of the world out of curiosity or a need to feel purposeful. Of those who stay permanently, most are without family or other ties that would draw them elsewhere. These people form the heart of the settlement, a close-knit community intent on each other's well-being and on the goal of witnessing the fulfillment of ancient prophecy.