Ruins

I ran across little sign of the ancients in the Hinterlands. Apparently, the Ringing Mountains were IS much a barrier to them as they are to us. The sole Exception was a strange temple I found in the forest, concealed in the heart of the Dragon Crown Mountain. While I did not have time to explore it as carefully as I would have liked, l can assure you that it was unlike anything I have seen elsewhere on Athas.

Encounters

The only encounters I had were with wild beasts; I came across no sign of intelligent races in the Hinterlands. This is not to say that such races don't exist, only that they are very rare. If there are intelligent races in the Hinterlands, I would guess that they are primitive hunting and gathering clans, or possibly even nomadic herders. There is no sign of economic activity in the region, so it would be out of :he question to encounter raiding tribes, merchants, villages or cities. So far, I have tried to describe the general nature of Athas. To a certain extent, my abilities in this regard have been limited by mortal weaknesses: it is impossible for one man to visit all the corners of the world in his lifetime. Therefore, much of what I have set down in these pages has been gathered from conversations with fellow travelers, gleaned from the records of far-ranging merchants, or extrapolated from what I know via first hand experience. Of course, there are bound to be certain errors and vagaries in such material. That won't be the case in the material presented here. In these pages, I will describe, in as much detail as possible, only sites that I have seen for myself. No doubt, when you visit some of the places depicted below, you will find that certain things may have changed. Despite these differences, I believe you will find this record amazingly accurate; at one time, at least, these places were exactly as they are described here. In honor of my home city, I call the region I have explored the Tyr Region. This in no way implies that Tyr dominates this vast area - it doesn't - or even that is the largest city in the area - it isn't. All that it is meant by the name is that I started my explorations in Tyr, and this is the region I have explored. The Tyr region lies on the western shore of the Sea of Silt. Judging by what I have heard from other explorers and travelers, the land around Tyr is fairly typical of the regions bordering the Sea of Silt, with about half of its entire area taken up by Tablelands. The large Map of the Tyr Region shows the terrain of this area, as well as the locations of all the locales described below. Before reading further, take a few minutes, if you will, to study this map - if for no other reason than to appease the ego of an old man who has spent countless hours ruining his eyesight to make it.