Danarg

Danarg
Population	50,000 Ghagrim and Agarashi (MS 5000/5050)

The Danarg is a swampy jungle that encompasses the area that was once the crater of a massive volcano controlled by Agarash the Damned. Ungoverned and left to its own devices, it is now infested by Ghagrim and Agarashi, which raid Talestria regularly.

History

In ancient times, the Danarg was once a seat of power of the Elder Magi. After the defeat of Agarash, they regrouped in the lands of the Danarg to clean up the Agarashi who had escaped the destruction of Naaros. They turned the Danarg crater into a rich fertile paradise and built the Temple of Ohrido there. It then became the centre of the Elder Magi civilization during the Age of the Old Kingdoms.

After the Elder Magi embarked on their journey to eradicate the remainder of the Agarashi, however, the Great Plague arrived as they attacked, wiping out the Elder Magi who remained. The Cener Druids, who had created the Great Plague, predicted that the Danarg would eventually become a swamp. Those Elder Magi that survived fled to Dessi, where they were better-protected against he Great Plague. The Agarashi counter-attacked, only to find the Danarg largely abandoned, and took out their wrath on any remaining living creature in the region. Their magic and violence corrupted the land beyond redemption, and the Danarg Lake, once full of pure water, was turned foul by the blood and bile spilt, causing the aquatic life to become mutated and evil. The Danarg also slowly spread its corruption, encroaching on the Mordril Forest. Once a wondrous forest, the soil became poisonous, and is doomed to become part of the Danarg in the distant future.

At some point, a Lorestone was stored in the Temple of Ohrido, which was subsequently called the Lorestone of Ohrido. In MS 5060, during the events of The Jungle of Horrors, Lone Wolf entered the Danarg in order to recover this Lorestone.

In MS 5097, the creatures of the Danarg invaded Talestria, in far greater number and well beyond their usual limits. This was repeated in MS 5102, and this time, the Talestrian army was hard-pressed to fight, and unable to call in their ally, Palmyrion, in the middle of battling a plague and an invasion by the Cener Druids of Ruel. By autumn, the Agarashi horde destroyed Fort Kazlo and swarmed Talestria, cutting the country in half. King Haigh V of Sommerlund, husband of Queen Emyla of Talestria, deployed three infantry Cassels, supported by Kai Captains, to help. This was against Lone Wolf's warnings, leaving Sommerlund ripe for an infiltration by Helghast, and the Restless Dead awoke from the Maakengorge, moving on Ruanon.

Geography

The Danarg is a dark, deadly swamp, full of horrors. It is surrounded by the Hammerlands and Bor to the west, Ogia to the north, and Talestria to the east and south. Its western and northern borders are mountainous. A massive lake, the Danarg Lake, sits in the middle of the Danarg, fed by the River Swarle.

The Danarg itself is located in a crater of a massive, ancient volcano. There is a red island of volcanic rock within the mire. The Temple of Ohrido is located to the west of the Danarg, beyond a sea of green-black vegetation. The power within the Temple has kept the corruption of the Danarg at bay.

Demographics

The Danarg contains no humanoid settlements. Its population in MS 5000 was 50,000, consisting of Ghagrim and Agarashi.

In the gamebooks

The Danarg is the primary setting of The Jungle of Horrors. In this book, Lone Wolf embarks on a quest, together with Lord Paido, to recover the Lorestone of Ohrido. Lone Wolf managed to obtain the Lorestone, but Paido was captured by a Kraan rider.