Xammux, also known as the Caverns of Xammux, was a partially flooded cave system that contained the legendary Library of Tarchamus.[1][4]
Description[]
The entrance was a great stone door located in the side of a cliff within a ravine at the edge of the High Forest.[1] This door was covered in warning messages and references to "Xammux, The Many" scratched in multiple languages,[1][5] and part of the door had collapsed and fallen away as of the late 15th century DR.[5]
The interior was a cave complex that descended into flooded lower levels deep beneath the Nether Mountains, although even the upper levels were often damp.[1] Navigating the caves brought explorers first to a lake and then to a flooded passageway with a strong current, through which it was not possible to travel without some means of water breathing. Beyond this were the decorative stone doors that led to the library.[4]
The flooding of the caves was due to the presence of a subterranean stream that flowed from an aquifer in the Underdark into the River Rauvin. When this stream overflowed, the caves filled with water such that even the main entrance would leak, and debris and treasures from the caverns would be washed out to the river for the locals to find.[2]
Geography[]
The ravine was located on the northern edge of the High Forest at the base of the Nether Mountains a few days' journey east from Everlund in the Silver Marches. The ravine entrance was marked by a handful of standing stones.[1]
History[]
The complex housed the Library of Tarchamus, which was constructed by the Netherese arcanist known as Tarchamus the Unyielding sometime prior to 1374 NY (−2485 DR).[4][6] By the late 15th century DR, little was known about the complex save that it was believed to have been abandoned by its original creators for centuries.[1] In this time, references to the Library of Tarchamus became garbled, and the place came to be known as "Xammux" in a corruption of the original "Tarchamus",[2] and any meaning behind the name was long forgotten.[1] As of the late 15th century DR, this corrupted name had attracted cultists of The Xammux, who locals suspected of using the caves as a base of operations.[2][note 1]
The library was destroyed in a volcanic eruption caused by a casting of Tarchamus' volcano by the cambion Lorcan in Flamerule of the Year of the Dark Circle, 1478 DR. The eruption blew the top off of the mountain above the caverns,[7] however at least some of Xammux survived more-or-less intact.[1]
Inhabitants[]
The moist upper levels of the complex were the hunting grounds of fungus creatures and the occasional hydra,[5] while the flooded depths were home to pale-colored horrors.[1] It was also home to a large colony of cavern botflies.[5]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ While references to The Xammux are indirect in both the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide and Lesser Evils, author of the latter Erin M. Evans confirmed in a tweet that the location was understood to be used by cultists of The Xammux: "This was a location indicated on a 4e map as a site frequented by cultists of Xammux. I figured the mistranslation of Tarchamus led them to use the cavern and whether they successfully contacted any elder evils is someone else’s story."
Appearances[]
- Novels
- Lesser Evils
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 147. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Erin M. Evans (December 2012). Lesser Evils. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 8. ISBN 978-0-7869-6136-8.
- ↑ Map included in Erin M. Evans (December 2012). Lesser Evils. (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 978-0-7869-6376-8.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Erin M. Evans (December 2012). Lesser Evils. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 10. ISBN 978-0-7869-6136-8.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Erin M. Evans (December 2012). Lesser Evils. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 9. ISBN 978-0-7869-6136-8.
- ↑ Erin M. Evans (December 2012). Lesser Evils. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 15. ISBN 978-0-7869-6136-8.
- ↑ Erin M. Evans (December 2012). Lesser Evils. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 22. ISBN 978-0-7869-6136-8.
Connections[]
| Cities & Sites of Netheril | |
| Low Netheril | Abbey of the Moon • Algid • Arctic Rim • Augerbend • Bandor • Blister • Canlespiere • Castle Bello • Coldfoot • Conch • Coniferia • Dagger's Point • Dahla River City • Dalekeva • Dekanter • Earsome • Fluvion • Frothwater • Grog • Harborage • Holloway • Imbrue • Monikar • Myshella • Northreach • Remembrance • Rdiuz • Runlatha • Scourge • Sepulcher • Seventon (Fenwick • Gers • Gilan • Gustaf • Moran • Nauseef • Janick) • Specie • Thiefsward • Tinnainen • Trinity • Ularith • Unity • Westwendt • Wreathe • Xanth • Yeoman's Loft • Zenith |
|---|---|
| Netheril's Frontier | Barze • Forgotten Keep • Illusk • Kryptgarden Falls • Orogoth • Quesseer (Old Owl Well) • Sargauth Enclave • Selskartur • Spirecoast • Skelem • Xammux |
| Other | Angardt (Kismet) • Apothec • Cantus • Delzoun (Ascore • Tzindylspar) • Hoyden • Rengarth (Frostypaw • Vandal Station) • Thaeravel (Rasilith) • Demiplanes (Tomb Tapper Tomb) |