Editing Arket (section)

== Landscape of Arket ==

==== Ataru Lake ====
The largest freshwater lake on the continent is Ataru Lake. Teaming with fish and flora completely unique to the lake, Ataru is said to be a gift from the High Gods themselves. While most of the lake is seven or eight feet deep, a central depression towards the center of the lake reaches a maximum depth of more than two-thousand feet. Here, many deep dwelling creatures live in a series of submerged caves. There is a legend that an ancient monster from the Glass Sea resides in these caves. Locals in Ioka for generations have claimed to see the Ataru Lake Monster.

==== Kumo Haaku Mountains ====
These mountains are the tallest in Arket. Home to many rare ores, the Kumo Haaku are a favored destination of miners hoping to seek their fortunes. [[Ark]] regulates the mining heavily. The tallest peak, the Titan Finger, is a spiritual oasis of primordial power. It is the site of many rituals performed by clerics of Ark.

==== Sukoshi Peaks ====
The Sukoshi Peaks are dwarfed by the Kumo Haaku. However they are considered sacred due to [[Ark|Ark’s]] journey and acquisition of the mountain aether on the peaks. Many take religious pilgrimages to the peaks to see the holy landmark.

Additionally, the peaks are home to a thriving griffin population. The griffins hunt mountain goats on the peaks. Over the past decades, through Ark’s efforts at revitalizing the mountains, the mountain goat population has grown to the point where the griffin do not hunt off the mountains. While tame, the griffins have been known to attack travelers that stray too close to their nests.

==== Swamp of Oda the Merciless ====
Located to the North of Tatakai, the swamp is named after a terrible warlord that plagued the Arket peninsula in the past. While the civilization that Oda terrorized is long gone, his legacy of terror remains. As part of that legacy, ghosts and other wayward spirits haunt the swamp. In addition, scavengers like trolls or hydras prowl the swamps looking for scraps. Particularly for hydras, the lack of humanoids within the swamp has made the ideal conditions for breeding. Most hydras incubate their nests for two years before tending to their young for another five. At any given time, there are thought to be more than fifty hydra mothers within the swamp. Scholarsand biologists have documented the migration of hydras from all over Ramesh to the swamp of Oda the Merciless. Because of this, many scholars simply refer to the area as the Hissing Bog.