According to those who have seen them, the ruins of Ahtalmarad are a maze of low lying buildings half buried in the ever shifting dunes with seven tall irregular towers. The shifting dunes cover and uncover the buildings and so the exact layout of the ruins varies. Maps of this ruin will be of little use. The seven central towers are never completely covered up and always visible.
The ruins of Ahtalmarad lie in the middle of the northern half of the great Ahtabi desert. It is extremely difficult to reach these ruins. It lies several hundred kilometers into one of the most inhospitable deserts in the world and there are no roads leading here. A caravan of camels would take more than a week to reach the ruins and only if they have an experienced guide.
There is no known history of these ruins. There are several competing theories. Some scholars believe that this may once have been the capital city of a kingdom now buried beneath the burning sands. Others think it a distant outpost of the Kytohan or Thullian Empires.
Few venture this far into the deep desert and fewer still find the ruins of Ahtalmarad amidst the sea of sand. Those who have found it bring back different stories. One group found nothing. Another brought back gleaming jewels and treasure. A third group claim to have been attacked by the guldra here.
This website was last updated November 30, 2023. Copyright 1990-2023 David M. Roomes.