Eye of Hiparkes
There is a valley in the center of Marukan, cradled by forested hills and, until recently, forgotten by all but the cruel forest kings that squabbled over the essence flows in the region. It was here that the circle of young exalts made their home, and began forging a nation of the Marukan. This plain is now called the Eye of Hiparkes, named for the wheel of roads with its hub in the center of the plain at a small town called God Crossing.
Rivers Between Us commanded that the roads be built, and in the span of two weeks they were built by two hundred earth elementals working night and day. First the road bed was excavated. Arrow-straight paths were carved through hillsides, making vaulted tunnels, and the site of the road was built up on an embankment of crushed stone to provide drainage. The road bed was cut ten paces across, wide enough for two guild caravans to pass side by side, and the bed was laid with slabs of granite five paces square and one pace thick. This was then covered with an equally thick layer of gravel and sand, and topped with a half pace of metalling, formed from paving stones fused with molten iron.
The road is well known in the area for its decorative arches, constructed apparently of solid brass, each emblazoned with a repeating sun motif. Every twenty miles along the road there is a spacious pavillion with a fire pit in the center, protected from the elements, and plenty of room for hitching horses next to a stone manger and well. Travellers in the area also call it the "Easy Road" or the "Gentle Road".
The Eye of Hiparkes connects the Plum Blossom Retreat in the north, the Flame-bond Forge in the East, and the Pagoda of Infinite Strategy in the west. Roads also extend to the northeast, leading to the Marukan Redoubt, and the southwest to Celeren, with southern roads connecting several of the smaller range towns, and an eastern road that leads to a port town on the Marukan border. At the center of the Eye is the small town of God Crossing.
Grassfoot is the god of the Eye of Hiparkes, and is but one of the many travelers to be found using the newly formed paths.
