The Deep Forges
Vibe
Warmth as power, industry as religion, and bargains with what lives in the heat.
Geography
The high mountain realm on the western border of the Alden Peninsula. Ashfall seasons have lengthened. Lava vents are tapped aggressively as the Corruption drives demand for heat. Surface roads are half‑buried in pumice and snow. Most of the population — roughly 60% — lives subterranean, where warmth can be reliably held.
The Noble Wall runs along its eastern border with Crownvale, rarely defended now but still standing.
People
Common Races: dwarves, dragonborn, tieflings, humans, orcs, gnomes. Many refugees from other realms have become bonded labor or guild‑sworn in exchange for the warmth Embercrag can offer.
Cities
- Cinderpeak - the largest city, expanded downward into caldera tunnels, with magma‑channel heating running through entire districts.
- Ironwold - supplies "winter engines" and heat‑stones to the other realms, and demands political concessions in return.
- Ashbarrow - vent‑tunnel smuggling has boomed; now a shadow economy hub.
- Redwater - its hot springs have become a strategic medical resource against cold‑sickness.
Points of Interest
- The First Forge of Varr - some claim the Frost Corruption is an opposite forge, and Varr was built to counter it.
- The Obsidian Steps - an abandoned sky‑dock that now collects ice that never melts.
- The Emberdeep Warrens - heat‑spirits that once asked for gold now ask for names as payment.