Raekel's Pit

This shaft stands open like a wound at the crux of the southern arms of the Sentinel Mountains – a 200ft wide chasm that overflows with bowling mists and howling shadows.

According to legend the chasm descends all the way into the Abyss itself, and was opened by an ancient Ergothian priest named Raekel. This priest claimed to be a servant of Manthus (Majere), but was actually sworn to the Evil pantheon and plotted against Ackal Ergot. Knowing that Raekel desired power, Takhisis offered him the throne of Ergoth in exchange for performing a set of rituals that would give her dominion over Ansalon.

By chance a triumvirate of gods of the Good pantheon learned of this plot in advance and sent a hero to stop Raekel. Different versions of the tale cast different people in the role of the hero – from Ackal Ergot to the Elven leader Silvanos, and even a simple Gnome or Kender – but all agree that although the hero was too late to stop the sacrifices required for the ritual, they were able to stop the ritual by throwing Raekel into the chasm before he could finish.

Tales tell that each year, on the longest and darkest night, a child ten years in age crawls from the pit and then disappears into the wilds of Ansalon, and that one day when these children have all come of age they will form a conclave of thirty-three, capable of completing the ritual and finally opening the portal into the Abyss.