Oriab
Encyclopedia
Oriab is a fictional location in H. P. Lovecraft
's Dreamlands. It is a large island in the Southern Sea and is lush and fertile. Its most prominent landmark is the tall, snow-capped mountain Ngranek. It is home to the magah birds that nest in its resin trees.
, and the city rises in great stone terraces behind them, having streets of steps that are frequently arched over by buildings, and bridges between buildings." (The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, Lovecraft.) A pair of lighthouses named Thon and Thal guide ships to its harbor.
Baharna is known for its pottery and for the curious figurines that its artists carve from the lava
of Ngranek. The people of Baharna ride zebra
s in place of horses.
and is two-days ride by zebra from Baharna. Lava gatherers frequent its slopes, but none climb too high for fear of the dreaded Nightgaunts.
Caves in Ngranek connect with tunnels that stretch to the lower reaches of the Dreamlands. Nightgaunts regularly use these passageways to travel to and from the underworld
.
The gods of earth, the Great Ones, once dwelt on the pinnacle of Ngranek, but now reside at Kadath. The gods have marked their prior residence here with a gigantic likeness of their image carved into the far side of the mountain. That part of Ngranek is hard to reach because it faces sheer, jagged cliffs and a lava-filled ravine. Rumors hint that men who once lived there angered the gods, but what fate befell them after that is not known.
trees. A road leading to Ngranek lies along Yath. An underground canal
with granite
gates connects Yath with Baharna and passes under the entire city.
The ruins of an ancient city, whose name and history is long forgotten, lie on the shores of Yath opposite from Baharna. These ruins are shunned, most likely because of the nocturnal, bloodsucking creatures, known as wamps, that dwell there.
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
's Dreamlands. It is a large island in the Southern Sea and is lush and fertile. Its most prominent landmark is the tall, snow-capped mountain Ngranek. It is home to the magah birds that nest in its resin trees.
Baharna
Baharna is a major seaport on the northern coast of Oriab. It has "wharves of... porphyryPorphyry (geology)
Porphyry is a variety of igneous rock consisting of large-grained crystals, such as feldspar or quartz, dispersed in a fine-grained feldspathic matrix or groundmass. The larger crystals are called phenocrysts...
, and the city rises in great stone terraces behind them, having streets of steps that are frequently arched over by buildings, and bridges between buildings." (The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, Lovecraft.) A pair of lighthouses named Thon and Thal guide ships to its harbor.
Baharna is known for its pottery and for the curious figurines that its artists carve from the lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
of Ngranek. The people of Baharna ride zebra
Zebra
Zebras are several species of African equids united by their distinctive black and white stripes. Their stripes come in different patterns unique to each individual. They are generally social animals that live in small harems to large herds...
s in place of horses.
Ngranek
Ngranek (or Mount Ngranek) is a towering, extinct volcanoVolcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
and is two-days ride by zebra from Baharna. Lava gatherers frequent its slopes, but none climb too high for fear of the dreaded Nightgaunts.
Caves in Ngranek connect with tunnels that stretch to the lower reaches of the Dreamlands. Nightgaunts regularly use these passageways to travel to and from the underworld
Underworld (Dreamlands)
The underworld is a fictional location in the Dream Cycle of H. P. Lovecraft. It is described in detail in Lovecraft's novella The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath ....
.
The gods of earth, the Great Ones, once dwelt on the pinnacle of Ngranek, but now reside at Kadath. The gods have marked their prior residence here with a gigantic likeness of their image carved into the far side of the mountain. That part of Ngranek is hard to reach because it faces sheer, jagged cliffs and a lava-filled ravine. Rumors hint that men who once lived there angered the gods, but what fate befell them after that is not known.
Lake of Yath
Yath is a large inland lake that lies just to the south of Baharna. Beside the lake are rolling hills and small villages whose residents dwell in modest stone houses and tend groves of fragrant resinResin
Resin in the most specific use of the term is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees. Resins are valued for their chemical properties and associated uses, such as the production of varnishes, adhesives, and food glazing agents; as an important source of raw materials...
trees. A road leading to Ngranek lies along Yath. An underground canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
with granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
gates connects Yath with Baharna and passes under the entire city.
The ruins of an ancient city, whose name and history is long forgotten, lie on the shores of Yath opposite from Baharna. These ruins are shunned, most likely because of the nocturnal, bloodsucking creatures, known as wamps, that dwell there.