Oakenstone Valley

Oakenstone is a mountainous region in northern Elmguard, sharing a southeastern border with Glacias, a western border with Casesburn, and is separated from Illemana by the Straits of Stone.

This large expanse gives Oakenstone its title. Dating back to the Second Age, this was where civilization first emerged. Rich with resources, the deepest corners of the Valley of Mist were excavated by men for its physical value.

In the Second Age, during an expedition in the Valley of Mist, a strange portal was uncovered, which spewed otherworldly creatures. They were referred to as the Eldritch - beings of the Otherworld. These beings were fast and mighty, and they quickly overpowered Man, despite their strong weaponry and advanced Magic. In a hopeless battle against Cextornyx, the Lord of the Otherworld, Oakenstone was the first to fall. The war was eventually won when the Seven Sages struck back as one, but remnants of the war remained in the tunnels beneath Oakenstone - corrupted temple ruins and crumbling corridors forever fallen to waste. The Valley of Mist was never renovated, in fear of aggravating the spirits lost within.

The Sanctuary is a network of underground forests filled with trees bearing beautiful violet leaves. Although the Eldritch corrupted the Valley, the Sanctuary stood relatively unharmed. It symbolized hope and peace in the darkest days of the Eldritch War. In their expedition in Oakenstone Valley, the Seven Sages drew strength from the Sanctuary Tree.

The House of Elements was the laboratory in which the Elements of the Sages were first pieced together and studied. The upper half of the Elemental Rings Diagram was inscribed into its floor for reference.

East of the Valley of Mist are mountains greater than those anywhere else in Elmguard. With great mountains come great caves - large, open caverns howling with highland winds. Populated by hardy folk resistant to the cold climate and thin air, these highlands see few travelers, save those who visit the rebuilt Temple of Oakenstone - a replica of the temple buried in the Valley of Mist and ravaged long ago by the Eldritch.

This temple houses an artifact - Oakenstone’s Diamond, a massive crystal brimming with raw power that protects the people of the highlands. The ceremonial promotion of an Auror of Terra from First Class to Master of Terra takes place before this Diamond, as a tribute to Oakenstone and to obtain his blessing. Some say that this blessing alone is half of the power of a Master of Terra.