Abyss of the Hated Mother

The Abyss of the Hated Mother is the headquarters of the Dark Delvers. It is a complex of caves and tunnels hidden beneath the northern flank of Mount Nirka. Currently, the site lies squarely within Darkon, whereas it once nearly abutted the frontier of Arak. In 579 BC Darkon appeared on the northern frontier of Arak, virtually at this spot. Dwarves from Tempe Falls and gnomes from Mayvin ventured into Arak and set to digging into its mountains. Miners returning to Darkon brought stories of strange temporal fugues. One might spend a week underground and return to the surface to discover that only a day had passed. The phenomenon seemed to be pervasive under the principle peaks of Arak at the very least. The infamous Lake Temporus, fed by waters the well up from beneath the earth, was subject to an even stranger alteration of time. The human, surface dwellers of Arak warned their visitors from the north against digging too deep. For at an unknown depth lay Niurin Scaa ("Shadow Nether"), the hidden kingdom of the shadow fey who, it was said, swarmed up to the surface and under the cover of night devoured the souls of mortal men. In 740 BC Darkon annexed the land of the Arak and the Darkonian frontier was pushed far south to meet that of Nova Vaasa. This was a consequence of Niurin Scaa and the shadow fey being dragged away to the southwest by Gwydion the Sorcerer-Fiend. The land of Arak ceased to be and the Land of the Mists tore open beyond Tepest. The Shadow Rift, sealed by roiling black mist, became the new land and kingdom of the Arak. It is unknown whether time now flows normally beneath the mountains of former Arak and at Lake Temporus. If not, perhaps something of Niurin Scaa remains to be found and plundered by the Dark Delvers, for their tunnels run deep and are not yet plumbed to their bottom.

The Abyss of the Hated Mother would have been reached from Tempe Falls and perhaps from Liara via the road that preceded that of the Strigos Road.

Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue

		Forbidden Lore:Cryptic Allegiances
		Forbidden Lore:Cryptic Allegiances - pp6-7
		Forbidden Lore:Cryptic Allegiances - pp6-7
		Forbidden Lore - poster map