A ridge of hills running roughly north-south through Phyr Island's eastern interior, separating the Jungle of Spines from the relatively safer eastern shore. The hills take their name from what stands upon them.
Three thousand soldiers. Frozen in stone. Still there after three centuries.
The army that invaded Phyr Island in 3,041 SD remains exactly where Queen Haegstra stopped them. Stone legionnaires stand in marching formation, their faces frozen in expressions ranging from confusion to terror to simple blankness—those who were petrified before they understood what was happening. Stone horses rear or stand placidly. Stone supply wagons sit with stone goods still loaded. Stone war dogs crouch mid-lunge or lie curled as if sleeping.
Time and weather have damaged some of the statues. Arms have broken off. Faces have eroded. A few have toppled entirely, lying in fragments among the undergrowth. But most remain standing, an army that will never complete its march.
The Treasures of the Hills: The petrified soldiers still carry their equipment. Weapons, armor, coins, personal effects—three thousand soldiers' worth of military gear, untouched for three centuries. The temptation to loot the Statue Hills draws occasional treasure hunters to Phyr Island.
Most of them regret it. The curse lingers strongest here, at the site of its origin. Spending too long among the statues—sleeping in their shadow, touching them, disturbing their belongings—accelerates the spine sickness dramatically. Treasure hunters who fill their packs with ancient coins often find their fingers hardening before they reach the coast.
The people of Attla occasionally harvest from the hills, but carefully. They know which areas are safer, how long they can stay, which items carry more of the curse than others. They do not share this knowledge freely.
The Soldiers' Faces: Most statues show confusion or terror. But roughly two hundred show something else: recognition, calm acceptance, faint smiles.
These were Haegstra's agents—cultists and spies planted within the Chimean army. They fed her information about the invasion's timing and route. They believed she would spare them, or reward them, or grant them a place in her new order.
She petrified them with everyone else.
The Attla elders know this history. They can identify the smiling statues by unit position—the spies were concentrated in the command staff and supply trains, where they could do the most damage. Some treasure hunters specifically seek these statues, believing the agents carried hidden valuables or coded information. A few have found small caches. Most have found only stone and spine sickness.
The smiling faces are not a mystery. They're a reminder that Haegstra used people, then discarded them.