Twilight Vale

The Twilight Vale was a mystical valley far to the north of Faerûn that only existed when the shadow of Othea Tor fell upon it. It was the location of the citadel of Voninheim, one of the last strongholds of the great Ostorian Empire.

Description
The Twilight Vale was a barren valley located on the northern edge of the Ice Spires, within the Bleak Plain. It was a deep fissure full of purple gloom. Its borders were precisely in the shape of the shadow of Othea Tor. The walls of the fissure were black like slate and were well over a hundred feet in height.

The burial drumlins of the fathers of the giants&mdash;Vilmos, Nicias, Obadai, Ottar, Masud, and Ruk&mdash;were found around the Vale.

Since the valley only came into existence when the sun fell behind Othea Tor, it was perpetually in twilight. When not in the shadow of Othea Tor, only a dagger-wide rift appeared on the ground.

Strange omens and apparitions were often seen in or near the valley, which had been known to drive some people mad.

Defenses
The giants living in the Ice Spires North would defend the valley against intruders.

History
The location of the Twilight Vale was once a meeting place for all of Annam All-Father's terrestrial sons, the fathers of the true giant races. For this reason, the valley was considered holy to the Jotunbrud. It was the location of Voninheim, capital of Ostoria.

The Twilight Vale took on its mystical qualities when Othea, the mother of all giants, cursed her eldest son Lanaxis as her final dying act after he had poisoned her. She prophesied that, if Lanaxis or Arno and Julian should leave her shadow, he would become mortal. Othea Tor, her physical manifestation on Toril then grew brittle, cragged, and moss-covered.

After the death of Hartkiller at conclusion of the War of the Hart, the Twilight Spirit, a mist-veiled being of immense size, began visiting the giants in the region of Hartsvale, telling them that they had sinned against Annam's chosen successor. Every year, the Twilight Spirit summoned the giants to the sacred valley in the shadow of Othea Tor, which received the name "Twilight Vale".

The Twilight Vale was destroyed forever in 1369 DR, when Tavis Burdun destroyed Othea Tor with the Sky Cleaver axe.