The Towers of Barattiel (Patreon)

Beyond the Highlands of Ku are the Shores of Hephron where canyons have been cut into the flinty sands and stone bringing water from the occasional torrential rains of the highlands almost straight down to the Grey Sea.

Along one waterway are a set of natural towers or spires rising up to sixty feet above the shoreline where harder stones resisted erosion... or according to legends of the tribes of Ku, where the angel Barattiel fell from the sky, its wings torn from it by foul elven magics.

Seen as a sign of rebellion against the elven empire, heroes and shamans of the Ku Highlands traveled to the Towers of Barattiel where a shaman's camp gradually became a hard shelter and then a small fortress built up as a token resistance to the empire that had long ago forgotten this entire region and ignored the presence of the human tribesmen.

The Bastion of Barattiel was built up along two of the natural spires and an artificial tower built by the tribesmen around a supposed relic of the fallen angel. Claims around the firelights in the Ku Highlands are that the cracked skull of the angel was used as the cornerstone of the tower, and remains there to this day - a potent angelic ward. In the map of the Bastion and towers above, elevation breaks are shown at heights of roughly 7.5 feet – making the tallest spire just shy of 70 feet above the water level.

Lost for decades during the actual conflict with and defeat of the elven empire, the fortress at the towers was rediscovered by adventurous fishermen seeking better river fishing around the Grey Sea. The canyon fortress and the towers are avoided now because the tops of the spires have been taken over as nesting sites by the ash-grey wyverns that hunt in the Ku Highlands and along the shores of the Grey Sea.

This map was originally drawn last summer for RPG Crate where it was paired with a short adventure. It is presented here free for your personal use and enjoyment. 

You can download the map of the Towers of Barattiel from the blog post at http://wp.me/psUVp-2ru