Ramiel

The sacred mountain of the Illyrian legions, where the Blood Rite is held and only the strong survive.

Also known as: The Spire, The Black Peak, The Blood Mountain, Ramiel the Unforgiving

What They Know

Ramiel is the site of the Blood Rite, a brutal week-long trial where Illyrian aspirants fight to the summit — and only those who reach the top earn the right to be called warriors.
The mountain is considered sacred to the Illyrian people; to climb it is to honor the ancestors, and to fall is to be forgotten.
The slopes are studded with ancient cairns and the bones of aspirants who did not survive, left as warnings and memorials alike.
No High Lord outside the Night Court has ever set foot on Ramiel, and the Illyrians tolerate no interference from outsiders in their rites.
The peak is said to be touched by the Cauldron itself — a place where the wind carries voices and the stone remembers every death.
A Blood Rite is called only when a new generation of Illyrians comes of age, and the timing is determined by the war-camp leaders, not the High Lord.