Langdarma

Langdarma was a very isolated and mysterious country hidden deep within the Yehimal Mountains.

Geography
Langdarma was a valley located in the heart of the Yehimal range, surrounded on all sides by high mountain peaks and covered above by thick glacial ice. The land was consistently described as an earthly paradise—pure glacial waters cascaded down cliff-side waterfalls in many places, several of which were at least a mile high.

Geographical features
The residents of Langdarma split their nation roughly in half, calling the highlands formed from the Shang Po mountain basin "Upper Langdarma" and the lowlands of the valley "Lower Langdarma".

Government
The ultimate authority in Langdarma was the Sannyasi, a movanic deva who cared for the entire valley and its people from his palace in Lower Langdarma.

Trade
Langdarma was entirely self-sufficient. It did not trade with any of its neighbors.

Defenses
The only access to Langdarma was through magical gates, the locations of which moved among the surrounding mountain trails. If a visitor were to pass through one of the gates, they would soon be confronted by the Sannyasi, who would quiz them on their intentions, employing magic to determine their honesty. If their intentions were ill, they would be healed, supplied, and ejected from the nation's borders—though violence would only be used as a last resort.

History
According to the Sannyasi, the Yehimal Mountains were originally inhabited by entities known as the Serene Ones. One of these entities called herself Abhirati. She emerged full-grown from beneath the roots of three mountains and came to reside in Langdarma, spreading harmony among the creatures living in the Yehimal Range.

Abhirati was the first of the Serene Ones to leave the Material Plane around 10 millennia before the 14th century DR, and in her place, she left the Sannyasi and a lingering magical aura of peace, which she taught the Sannyasi to harness for the benefit of the land. Since Abhirati left Langdarma, the Sannyasi worked to maintain the status quo, so that should Abhirati ever return, the land would be as she remembered it.

In 1368 DR, Atreus Eleint, an acolyte of Sune, quested to retrieve a vial of water from the Fountain of Infinite Grace located within the borders of Langdarma.

Rumors and legends
Of the few scholars who knew of Langdarma and its history, opinion was divided as to the fate of Abhirati. Some believed that she went to wander the planes and was now Sharess, while others insisted that she became Sigil's Lady of Pain.

Notable locations
Sannyasi's Palace: Where the Sannyasi resided and spent his time training the people of Langdarma to harness Abhirati's magical aura to heal the sick and injured.

Inhabitants
Langdarma was inhabited by ethnic offshoots of the Mar race of humans, more commonly found in Konigheim. A few visitors per year would stumble through a gate every so often.

Appearances

 * Faces of Deception