The Noarian Caves are among the most enormous limestone caves of Santharia near the small seaside village of Tarannoar at the south coast of the province of Sanguia. The Noarian Caves served as a hideout of whole human fleets during SW II. From there the Serphelorians managed to strike several decisive blows against the Quaelhoirhim fleet at the very beginning of the war.

Image description. View on the entrance area of the Noarian Caves at the south coast of the province of Sanguia. Picture by Quellion.

Location. The famous Noarian Caves are located east of the former Serphelorian seaside village of Tarannoar, which is now part of the Santharian province of Sanguia.Tarannoar lies on the North Coast of the Gulf of Maraya, about 8 leagues southwest of the elven Quaelhoirhim settlement of Elving and the Zeiphyrian Woods.

Caves Entrances. The caves were formed by the extensive erosion of the limestone over time and have two main entrances, one from the seaside and one from within the lands, which lies directly under Castle Starhail. All other entrances were sealed off during SW II (550-501 b.S.) in order to prevent the enemy from discovering the large contingents of human resources hiding there.

The cave entrance from the seaside looks more like the mouth of a river (about 150 peds wide) rather than that of the entrance to a beautifully calm large cove (10.000 peds x 5.000 peds) that is well sheltered. This may be partly the reason why the human fleet could operate from here undetected for so long during SW II. Several decisive strikes against the Quaelhoirhim elves were launched from this location until in 506 b.S., five years before the end of SW II, the caves were discovered by elven scouts and the human fleet was completely destroyed. However, the cove area is well protected and is only accessible from the sea or via a small trail. This made the cove quite a strong defensive position.

The second entrance is not a natural one. At the back of the cave system a hidden manmade connection was made to Castle Starhail via a series of tunnels just before SW II. In addition to the tunnels two large barracks were made and a small watch room. These where useful for getting supplies to and from the caves without being observed by onlookers. The tunnels were kept hidden by an illusion spell set into a stone, embedded into the manmade tunnel near the entrance of the natural cave system from the castle tunnels. However, the Quaelhoirhim elves managed to overcome this obstacle and succeeded in infiltrating Castle Starhail from these tunnels at the end of SW II.

Cave Description. The entrance to the main cave network from this enormous cove is narrow, about 2 peds across and salt encrusted for about 50 peds into the main cave system. In general the tunnels are winding and uneven but the caverns are big enough to house an army easily. The limestone tunnel runs for about 100 peds from the cave entrance , where it bends to the north and widens considerably (about double in width) and splits into two tunnels, one running north and the other running ENE. To the North the natural tunnel runs relatively straight for about 500 peds before a junction running west and the main tunnel carries on north but starts to bend and twist. This opens up into a large cavern (known as the "Cavern of Blood") with one exit to the north. The cavern itself is dull red in colour (rumour has it is the blood spilt during SW II that stained the walls). Although the cavern is still made from limestone it is stained with iron which has been filtered out of the rock layers above. With the stalactites hanging from the cavern ceiling and a smooth cavern floor (all red) it makes it an eerie sight. There are a total of 10 caverns in the natural cave system. Other areas in the cave system worth noting are as follows:

Lifeforce tunnel. This is a very narrow tunnel which leads from the central cavern of the cave to the extremely large cavern at the back of the cave. The tunnel is only passable by slim people, dwarves e.g. would have no chance of getting through. If someone is passing through this tunnel their heartbeat can be heard at either end of the tunnel ar it is that narrow.

The Back Chamber. This chamber is huge and initally had a total of three natural exits to the surface before they were sealed and one manmade connection that is hidden. This is the chamber that was used to hold the vast majority of the human forces that powered the fleet during SW II. The chamber still bears the scares of having so many people living in it for such a long period. The chamber floor is smooth and alot of the natural edges to the walls are worn down and rounded.

In a few of the caverns there are some exquisite formations which have survived the wars intact. Also in these caverns there are some excellent specimens of fossilized coral and small marine life of a dim and distant past. The north camber is one such example. In the walls of the chamber there are the fossilized remains of the feirdeswe coral which now seems to be extinct. There is an abundance of these which proves that these caves where once the seabed of a warm, pure, shallow sea.