Above glades and hills, villages and countries, loomed thirteen solemn mountains. Their tips were frosted white with newly fallen snow, though at the base of the mountain rain fell softly onto the canopy below. The mountains stood in the center of a continent surrounded by a wide expanse of forest. Countries formed from the coasts and reached inward stopping abruptly at the forest surrounding the mountains.

The area within the forest was the only large expanse of land on the continent that hadn't been settled by people. It had been tried ages ago when countries first began to venture into the new land when they cleared vast patches of forest as their empire expanded. But as people ventured further into the center of the continent, the vicious beasts living there became increasing more aggressive and domineering.

But the tantalizing untold promise of wealth from beast pelts and precious mineral mines pushed the more powerful countries deeper into the center of the continent. As more and more area was explored and settled, only the forest surrounding the mountain was left unperturbed. While beast pelts and precious mineral mines drew many powerful countries' forces into it to subjugate the area and clear the beasts, it soon became clear to the countries to hold any area within the forest directly surrounding the mountains was too costly.

In the past, before countries learned to avoid it, powerful mages and warriors would be sent to help build and secure settlements in the forest by areas that could be used to mine ore and minerals. Usually, the attempts would not last longer than a week. The longest lasting settlement had been an ambitious project of one of the more powerful northern countries aiming for the wealth hidden within the forest. Having seen others fail time and time before, its king deployed seventeen of the most brilliant mages of his kingdom, and sixty hardened veterans of war into the forest to secure a cavern around three miles into the forest. With them came fifty odd villagers to mine the caves. These villagers were those from the outskirts of the forest; people who were used to seeing and dealing with violent beasts from the forest.

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The settlement lasted six months. It was a brutal war of attrition for the people there. By the end of six months, only fifteen of the original hundred twenty seven remained. The king constantly sent in more mage and warrior reinforcements; however, they could not deal with the constant fight against the beasts within. Assaulted in the day by tiger like beasts, at night by nocturnal creatures they described as living nightmares. With the passing of each month, the king was warned of the cost of the settlement. Of the number of lives that were lost. But he held fast to the idea that they were clearing out all the beasts from the area and that it would be safer soon.

And so it persevered. Until one day, when the settlement disappeared leaving only a pile of ash in its place. It was unable to function after that. Having its force weakened by the loss of a third of its most promising and powerful mages, as well as the loss of senior warriors and money from the failed venture, the kingdom later fell from invasions by its neighbors.

As time went on, countries settled around the forest and the thirteen mountains. They had many names for the area. The southern ones called the mountains Grigrand or the Castle of Ice. To the east they called it Sifre Atec which meant Middle Mountains. In the west, the people worship it as Vladre or God's Hands. After the settlement that lasted six months vanished, the northern countries took to calling it Aligore, the Forest of Death.

But to the sentient creatures held within the expanse, it was Cthea Pgrevre.