Drakan: The Ancients' Gates - The Lands of Drakan: The Ancients' Gates

The Lands of Drakan: The Ancients' Gates

In their quest to open the four gateways, Rynn and Arokh must journey through many treacherous lands where beasts and demons crawl and allies hide, awaiting salvation.

• Surdana: The main overworld interconnecting almost all the rest, Surdana was once a backwater region for the Order of the Flame. The main headquarters of the Order was on the Southern Continent, however all was laid to waste during the Dark Wars and even the air there is poisonous. The city is ripe with hidden underground tunnels beneath the castle and in the cellars. Surdana is where you meet important characters such as Lady Myschala, General Dehrimon and Jade the Sorceress. The city is under siege by many monster races, feral dragons roaming the skies, and gangs of Grull lurk outside the city's walls, waiting to ambush the unwary and pick their pockets. The vile Trogs from the Shadowmire chop their victims to bits, the ghostly Inquisitor emerges from the deep tunnels to snatch up people in the night, only to interrogate and torture them to death, and the undead rise from their graves to kill their living brethren, and now the Desert Lords themselves have made their way to this place. Rynn and Arokh must move quickly before the castle is overtaken. Fortunately Surdana is where the Mother's Eye can be found, an ancient gateway connected to the other four gateways all over Drakan. If all can be opened, reinforcements can be dispatched and entry to the realm of the spirit dragons is possible. Several sidequests that Rynn can take upon herself is investigating The Inquisitor's Lair to slay the undead fiend, to navigate the Monastery of the Brotherhood of the Eternal Word's catacombs to find the source of the evil that is bringing the dead restlessly from the grave and to slay the Necromancer, Khossa Vole, in The City of the Damned.
  • The Shadowmire: This dank place was once a forest, but due to some unexplained circumstance, it was flooded and became a swamp. There is a mine here that is used to dig up a special kind of powder that can be used to make explosives known as Blasting Pots. There is also an ancient memorial here known as The Tree of Mourning, where friends and families of the deceased honor their dead by placing jewels and many other valuable items within the chamber below the tree. Here is where you must find the Cypher Rune, the key for Arokh to open the Ancients' Gates. But the journey into the mire is perilous, for in recent years the blood-thirsty Trogs have made the swamps their home and the Tree of Mourning is now the territory of the Trog Chieftain, Toadfist. The Trogs massacre any humans who enter the swamps and then decorate their homes with the remains. Because of Arokh's immense size he cannot fit through the dense trees so Rynn must sneak her way past the Trogs to get the Cypher Rune...and if she's lucky, she may find a valuable weapon from the Order of the Flame here as well.
  • Kragmoor: This wasteland is home to many different monsters and beasts that patrol Drakan. Black Wings and Bat Dragons make their nests in the mountains while Giants roam the valleys, and packs of Grull and Wartok make their camp here. The Wartok Captain, Snotmaw, has made this barren place his headquarters and has gathered his forces to prepare to invade Surdana. If she can keep her eyes open while slaughtering beasts, Rynn may find a weapon of the Order here too.

• The Andrellian Islands: This is a small group of islands with rocky shores that often make a risky place to land while sailing. However, those who have come here are held prisoner. The Desert Lords have sent their assassins here to lie in wait for the Dragon Rider and have bestowed great power on the Grull shaman, Bonegrinder, who now uses his newfound power to trap sailors in his storms. One of the small islands features a mine containing mana crystals, which the Grull and Wartoks use at their leisure. Rynn and Arokh must find a guide here to lead them to Ravenshold, but with the storm around the islands trapping everyone within, they must find a way to ease the storms if they are to proceed.

• The Northlands: According to Arokh, the ancient city of Meridia used to be in this cold expanse. The icy wilderness of the Northlands are treacherous, and have a way of "weeding out the unwary".
  • Ravenshold: Ravenshold is the main fortress of the Northmen, and here you will meet Ranwulf and his men. They will point you in the direction of the Gateways in the Northlands. Here you will also meet the wizard, Zegorro, who knows of the barrier around the Half-Men's land and will agree to help you if you bring him the right ingredients. The wilderness of Ravenshold is the territory of the enormous Yeti, Daemog, who has killed all hunters who have gone after him, and even a few who haven't. Ravenshold is also the stomping ground of the pagan Frost Grulls, who have set up altars to drain the blood of any unfortunate human victims they capture. Rynn and Arokh must also search out the Ancient Forgotten Tomb if they are to collect an important ingredient for Zegorro's spell. You will find the first of the four Ancients' Gates here.
  • The Northern Tundra: The Tundra to the north connects to Ravenshold, as well as the land of the Half-Men, which now has a barrier around it. The Tundra's wilderness is just as perilous, where a band of Wartoks, under their leader Stormhowler, have made their camp and rob from the Northmen camp nearby. Not only that, but a magical portal nearby leads to a hidden valley crawling with deadly Ice Golems who freeze their victims to death with their deadly gaze. The second half of Zegorro's ingredients can be found here.
  • Shiverbane: This is the land of the Half-Men, forced to live here because of their war with the Northmen. The Half-Men seek to expand their territory and have allied themselves with the Desert Lords to make it happen in return for guarding the second of the Ancients' Gates which can be found here.

• The Valley of the Fallen: The Valley of the Fallen, also known as The Desert of Tears, has become a barren desert as a result of the Desert Lords' evil magic. There was once a prosperous system of farms here that became the first victims of the Desert Lords. When the farmers and villagers resisted, Jasaad sent the Pain Golem to crush nearly all opposition. Now the Wartoks have made the valley their headquarters and guard the third of the Ancients' Gates that stands here. According to Arokh, the Valley was the site of great bloodshed during the Dark Wars. A testament to the Dark Union rests in the deserts, the Sanguinade ("the walk of blood"), also known as the Devil's Mouth Ruins. The forces of the undead seem to be amassing in this horrid place. Deep within the Ruins there is a piece of land, a floating island that acts as an elevator that takes its riders high into the clouds to the floating fortress of Stratos.

• Stratos: Stratos is the main headquarters of the Desert Lords in the world of Drakan. It is a series of floating islands, and Jasaad's elite forces are found here in the forms of Djinns, Golems and Desert Lords. The fourth and final of the Ancients' Gates is found in the Golem Palace, a temple in the heart of the islands where the Pain Golem stands silently on guard. If Rynn and Arokh are to get past the golem and open the final gate, Rynn must make her way through the well-furnished interiors of Grotus' headquarters and the Bridal Hall and enter the hellish pit that is the Flesh Mage's Palace, the Necropolis. in order to find the one key to getting past the Pain Golem and to the Final Gate.