Kingdom of Ostelux

The Kingdom of Ostelux is a nation within the Empire of Strios.

Geography
Ostelux is a mountainous kingdom, with an average elevation of 8,000 ft. It is home to the largest mountain range on the planet, the Albrek Mountains, which stretch through it to the west, forming a natural border with Qeglax and Prailor. It's north is home to incredibly cold temperatures, and is mostly uninhabited except for a few small ports. It's west, along the border with Prailor, is considered the most inhabitable part of Ostelux by outsiders, and has the flattest land in the kingdom. Most farming is done in this area.

Hjolmiir's Abyss
Hjolmiir's Abyss is a mile wide hole that supposedly leads to the center of Odrix. The ancient dwarves believed it to be the mouth of Hjolmiir, their god of war, and that if they did not provide him with sacrifices he would swallow the world. As a result of this belief, tens of thousands of people were thrown into the Abyss as sacrifices every year until the Dwarven Pantheon was replaced by Vroskism as Ostelux's official religion in 2456 BDR.

There have been three large-scale attempts to settle the area surrounding the Abyss, but each ended horribly The first attempt was the largest of the three, with about 30,000 people involved. Ten years after the settlement was established, a trade caravan stopped there for supplies and found that everyone in the city had been decapitated, their heads piled in a pyramid in the market square. Many of the citizens had died in their beds, and their bodies, besides missing their heads, were completely unharmed. The second settlement disappeared entirely, leaving behind no trace of its existence, its only survivors a group of hunters who had left a week earlier and returned to find an empty field where the town had stood. Everyone in the third settlement went insane, with those worst affected being completely catatonic, and the rest unable to form coherent sentences or care for themselves. They complained of hearing whispers, and would only speak of "the return", but couldn't elaborate on what that meant.

After these tragedies, a hundred miles of land around Hjolmiir's Abyss has been abandoned, and has remained almost completely untouched for hundreds of years. Those that visit report seeing tendrils of shadow at the edges of their vision, hearing whispers much like those from the third settlement, and having disturbing visions that show the end of the world, among other things. These instances appear to get worse the closer one is to the Abyss, which is likely why no one that has made made it within five miles of the Abyss has ever been heard from again.