The land Anireth colonized last, led by the warlord Erven, forefather of the Gray Folk.
The Mark is the region nearest to the Forgotten East and is walled to the west by the Elder Peaks, above which one can admire the vastity of the area. It ranges from the Hollow sea to thenorth to Lost Aresya to the south, so it is very well connected.
In the Lunar Age, it is a place filled with perils and popular legends now turned into vivid nightmares threatening the refugees. It is nonetheless the most densely populated and best defended place on the continent, for it encompasses the two most important settlements in the modern world: Ervenrun and Owlrock, stalwarts against darkness.
In the midst of its plains are the ruins of old county seats, such as Arveron, now known as Dreanstrider Haven.
Owlrock
Owlrock is a small village dating back to 49 B.E. near the roots of the southern side of the Elder Peaks. It was built and manned by the Anireth soldiers that conquered the area and eventually blended with the Gray Folk. Even some Alperns settled there over the decades in their southward migration and the village became an important crossroad.
After the cataclysm, its denizens were slain or driven away by the Undead, until Rizadrin emerged from the World Below and restored it as a safe outpost and made it the founding site of the newborn religion known as the Lunar Cult. In most recent times, its fortress, seat to the new baron, became the Lunar Temple, also known as Mirithrun (“Silver Haven”, in the First Tongue) and is the core of the new creed.
The village habors several different ethnicities despite its diminutive size and is protected against the threats of the outside world.
Many come seeking warmth from the braziers along its alleys and protection from the Cult militia, populating the village. High Priestess Anvernia, an aloof yet steadfast Rizadrin, rules there.
Ervenrun
Known as the White Town, this forlorn outpost, once forbidden to common people, was the fortress of Erven the Mighty, forefather of the Gray Folk. His relics were once kept here, along with is body, becoming a destination for pilgrims who believed he would lend them his strength. Also, tradition demanded regents had to pay homage on the day of their election.
All of this went on until the advent of the Lunar Age, when it became a fortified citadel on the heights, and houses numerous survivors.
The White Town leans against the cliffs and its many layers end in the underground where the Anireth enclaves dwell and the outcasts take shelter. When the world fell apart and the skies darkened, the old catacombs were sealed with Erven’s spoils inside. Haunting echoes from the shadows of the mountain and ghastly voices still call the name of the buried king.
Still, the catacombs are considered to be hallowed grounds, where revenants from another time guard hero’s remains in their regal crypt. No one has dared to enter since the Last Sun, and the massive portal has since remained sealed and forbidden to all by the Wardens of the Dead.
Forest of Streghi
Where the lost empire of the First Men borders the Mark, an old wood of dead trees stretches for leagues.
It is named after legends of old primal spirits, connected to Enfaerun since before the cataclysm. This wood is so thick and wretched that the deadwood obscures the moonlight as if it were a canopy.
Amongst the spirits and imps infesting it, the Streghi are the most numerous and dangerous, luring adventurers to their door. Haunted barns full of long-lost memories stand in the few clearings.
Marshes of the Hollow Sea
Once thriving and fertile, it is now among the vastest and ghastliest marshes on the continent, where ruins of rural buildings can still be found amid the willows.
An odd atmosphere of bubbling puddles where unknown creatures make unsettling noises, and the air is so damp that it is hard to breathe.
Some old trails leading to the sea still exist but straying from those can instead lead to drowning. Travelers who eventually find their way often light the old signal pyres for those who follow.
Kingpost
In the easternmost mountain crossing, in the heights that border the Forgotten East, stands a crooked stronghold perpetually covered in snow.
The cataclysm secluded it form the rest of the world, and the prisoners, soldiers, and regents inside it were abandoned to an unknown fate, for none have since reached its high perch.
Still visible from afar when the weather clears, it remains the only way to go east without climbing the harsh mountain range. It is composed of two towers carved in rock, connected by a narrow bridge suspended over the abyss.
Ruins of Penumbra
Amidst the middle flatlands, next to Vaas village, wayfarers can see buildings in the fog, wrecked by a war dating back to the first years of the Lunar Age. These ruins are what is left of Penumbra, as erased from the lands as it is from memory and maps. Many fell fighting the creatures of the night in defense of the Eastern Mark and the refugees fleeing to Ervenrun.
Histlith’s Spear
This mountain town is named for its founder and benefactor, Hislith, Erven’s daughter, great huntress of the Gray Folk.
For centuries, it has been a stragegic vanguard for its people, but now all that remains are one tower and some ruined homes on a remote pinnacle.
There is no reason to venture into these ruins since there are rumors of ghosts and curses wandering about. Some even speculate that it is the home of the matriarch of Ezreal El’s vampires, Acirenzia herself.