A dual-mountain state in the Wurmspine range of western Tarkhon, where Rhea scholar-monks and human merchants share an uneasy but enduring partnership. Two cultures, two capitals, one strange nation bound together by underground tunnels and a shared water source.
Position and Borders
Murth occupies two mountains and the valleys between them in western Tarkhon:
- North: Mt. Disyus, home to Eynmore
- South: Mt. Arn, home to Vastilin
- Northwest: The Plains of Oblivion (cursed memory-erasing grasslands)
- East: Mountains leading toward Vogenfeld
- South/Southeast: Routes toward the Kingdoms of Fire
The state is relatively isolated; mountain terrain limits access, and neither city has pursued expansion. Murth wants to be left alone with its books and its trade.
Lake Stillwater
The heart of Murth, an underground lake lying beneath both mountains, fed by glacial melt and ancient aquifers. The water is unnaturally still, unnaturally clear, and unnaturally cold.
Lake Stillwater is why Murth exists. A thousand years ago, both communities dug for water and found the same lake. Rather than fight, they negotiated the Stillwater Compact: shared access, shared responsibility, connecting tunnels.
The lake's shores, such as they are in the underground darkness, host the Chamber of the Compact, where the original agreement is carved in stone. Representatives from both cities meet here for matters requiring joint decision.
Some say the lake has properties beyond simple water. Rhea scholars study it; human merchants would love to bottle it. Neither has succeeded in understanding, or exploiting, whatever makes Stillwater special.
The Murthian Tunnels
Miles of passages connect Eynmore and Vastilin through the mountains, with Lake Stillwater at the center. The tunnels are Murth's circulatory system: trade, communication, and transport all flow through them.
Key Locations:
- The Stillwater Shore: Underground lake access, neutral ground
- The Chamber of the Compact: Meeting hall carved from stone, where the original treaty is inscribed
- The Waystation: Midpoint rest stop, perpetually staffed
- The Iron Gate: Vastilin's tunnel entrance, heavily guarded
- The Breath Gate: Eynmore's tunnel entrance, where thin air meets thick
The tunnels are governed by tunnel-wardens, officials from both communities who maintain neutrality and ensure neither city can cut off the other. The current Chief Warden is Sera Coldwell, a human woman trusted by both sides (which means neither side fully trusts her).
The Plains of Oblivion
Northwest of Murth, beyond the mountains' protection, lie cursed grasslands where memory dissolves. Travelers who enter forget—first recent events, then learned skills, then eventually who they are.
The plains creep closer to Murth some years, retreat others. No pattern has been found. The cause is unknown—perhaps ancient magic, perhaps something worse.
Satyrn Gray, the palace of Queen Eranes, stands somewhere in those plains. Eranes is a half-titan of immense power who deliberately forgot her own heartbreak, and took the surrounding land with her. She's not hostile to Murth, but she's not friendly either. She barely remembers Murth exists.
Murth maintains watchers to track the plains' boundaries and warn if they expand. Sometimes the watchers forget to come home.
Relationship with Tarkhon
Murth is technically part of the Tarkhon Empire, paying tribute to Tarkhetan. In practice, the relationship is distant.
Murth has nothing Tarkhon urgently wants—no strategic position, no vital resources, no threat worth addressing. The tribute payments are modest. The imperial presence is minimal. Tarkhon has bigger concerns.
This suits Eynmore perfectly. The Rhea want to be forgotten by empires.
This frustrates Vastilin somewhat. The merchants would welcome deeper integration—more trade, more markets, more opportunity. But not enough to push for it unilaterally.
Points of Interest
The Breath Gate: Where Eynmore's thin air meets the tunnel's thicker atmosphere. Human visitors pause here to acclimatize before ascending. Rhea visitors pause to enjoy the last comfortable air before descending.
The Market of Whispers: A trading post in the tunnel system where Rhea and human merchants meet to negotiate. Named for the Rhea habit of speaking softly, and for the secrets that change hands here.
The Monastery of the Empty Hand: Where Master Stonefist trains martial monks in combat techniques refined over sixty years. Occasionally accepts outside students—for a price, and a commitment.
The Archive of Fallen Pages: Texts too dangerous for the main library, sealed in a chamber that only the High Contemplative can open. Rumors claim it contains knowledge that could end kingdoms. The Rhea neither confirm nor deny.