Dang Caverns

The Dang Caverns were a series of caves lying beneath the northeastern Ziyero Ridge in Koryo.^[2]

Description[]

The caverns were vast and extensive with hundreds of levels. They were also hundreds of ways to enter them, or to exit them.^{[1][note 1]}

History[]

According to legend, the entire Han clan sought shelter in the vast Dang Caverns when the Kanko volcano rose up out of Kang Bay and erupted, raining fire over the land.^[1]

The wizard Cho Lu-k'u died in the Dang Caverns and cursed the tunnels, seemingly leading to the monsters that lurked there.^{[1][speculation][note 2]}

Around 1350 DR, the king of Silla and former emperor of Koryo abdicated his throne amidst a naval catastrophe. He and his most loyal supporters escaped to the Dang Caverns.^[1] There, in secret, he mustered an army with which to reconquer Koryo, apparently paid for with looted treasures and gems mined in the caverns. He also made pacts with wicked wu jen and dreadful spirits of the deep pits for their aid.^[3]

Inhabitants[]

The tunnels were reported to be home to evil monsters that hid from the light.^[1]

At times, however, regular Koryoan humans were more likely to dwell in the caverns. In prehistoric times, the Han people sheltered there, and later, in the mid–14^th century DR, the ex-king of Silla and his supporters made a base there. Often, brigands also hid in the caves to avoid the authorities.^[1]

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