Ascal's Horn was a jutting natural peak in the northeastern edge of High Forest, in an area known as the Upvale.[2][3]
History[]
Around the year -4500 DR,[4] when Ascal's Horn was merely a volcanic crag, the seven remaining members of the demon-corrupted House Dlardrageth took shelter within its series of caves. A dozen High Mages from Arcorar, alongside the heirs of Rystall Wood and Jhyrennstar, had managed to track them down. A battle ensued, leading to the death of four of House Dlardrageth's members. The High Mages used stasis magic to seal the rest of the survivors within these caves.[5]
In the Year of Owls' Watching, −372 DR, the Eaerlanni elves founded the fortress town of Ascal's Horn, which would later come to be known as Hellgate Keep, from which the peak's name was eventually derived.[2][6] Though some claimed that the peak was already named Ascal's Horn prior to this and that the settlement had derived its name from the peak itself.[3]
Centuries later in the Year of the Gauntlet, 1369 DR, the Mistmaster used the power of the artifact known as the Gatekeeper's Crystal to destroy Hellgate Keep both above and below ground, unleashing such severe destruction upon Ascal's Horn that a massive ravine was left in its wake[7] and a second rift opened along the outcrop upon which the Keep was once perched.[8] The ravine later became known as Grintharke's Gulch, a name that was coined by a bard for the sake of alliteration,[9] while the rift became known as Razorthorn Rift and was one of the first places tended to by the treants of Turlang that quickly came to inhabit the area.[8]
Around the spring and summer of 1370 DR, the treants planted trees along the cliff in hopes of breaking up its rocks and further eroding it.[8] They later aacquired the assistance of the Druids of Tall Trees and together spread the treants' rootwork atop the plateaus, causing the upper layers of rock to crumble. This both widened Grintharke's Gulch and further buried the bottom of the area's inverted-pyramid shaped gorge. The druids then carefully used the spell transmute rock to mud several times in order expand Razorthorn Rift's southern opening, further opening the ruins up to be terraformed into a proper gulch. By the summer season of that year, they had managed to bury most of the shafts that lead further down into the Keep beneath soil and rootwork.[10]
In 1374 DR, the forces of Turlang and the Druids of Tall Trees were still working together towards reforesting the area. The druids were known to be providing them assistance in the form of magic, protection, and the nurturing of new tree spouts.[11]
Geography[]
Ascal's Horn laid along a bend in the Ascal Stream, later known as Skull Stream, the westernmost source river of the more prominent Delimbiyr River.[1][3]
Following 1369 DR, much of the cliff was taken up by the central, inverted-pyramid shaped ravine known as Grintharke's Gulch. At the time the gorge measured 600 ft (180 m) long on each side and around 400 ft (120 m) deep.[9][note 1] The primary means of entering the gulch was Razorthorn Rift, which ran along the southern outcrop upon that Hellgate Keep was once perched. However, the area was blocked off to outsiders by the treants with sharp patches of brier and thorn that stood 30 ft (9.1 m) tall and stretched on across 50 ft (15 m) of land.[8]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ It's stated in the Hellgate Keep adventure's epilogue that the gulch was later widened, thus it stands to reason that these given measurements may no longer be accurate following 1370 DR.
Appearances[]
- Adventures
- Hellgate Keep
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Steven E. Schend (March 1998). Hellgate Keep. (TSR, Inc), p. 4. ISBN 978-0786907861.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Steven E. Schend (March 1998). Hellgate Keep. (TSR, Inc), pp. 4, 8. ISBN 978-0786907861.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Ed Greenwood (1993). Volo's Guide to the North. (TSR, Inc), pp. 210–212. ISBN 1-5607-6678-6.
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 26. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend (March 1998). Hellgate Keep. (TSR, Inc), p. 10. ISBN 978-0786907861.
- ↑ Richard Baker, Ed Bonny, Travis Stout (February 2005). Lost Empires of Faerûn. Edited by Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 84, 90. ISBN 0-7869-3654-1.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend (March 1998). Hellgate Keep. (TSR, Inc), pp. 7–8. ISBN 978-0786907861.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Steven E. Schend (March 1998). Hellgate Keep. (TSR, Inc), p. 18. ISBN 978-0786907861.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Steven E. Schend (March 1998). Hellgate Keep. (TSR, Inc), pp. 19–20. ISBN 978-0786907861.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend (March 1998). Hellgate Keep. (TSR, Inc), p. 32. ISBN 978-0786907861.
- ↑ Thomas M. Reid, Sean K. Reynolds (Nov. 2005). Champions of Valor. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 77. ISBN 0-7869-3697-5.