View source for Jungles of Kled

'''Jungles of Kled'''

Origin:  [[H.P. Lovecraft]], ''[[Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath (fiction)]]''

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==In the Mythos==
<blockquote>
...Up the river Oukranos past the gilded spires of Thran, or his elephant caravans tramp through perfumed jungles in Kled, where forgotten palaces with veined ivory columns sleep lovely and unbroken under the moon...
<br>&mdash; [[H.P. Lovecraft]], ''[[The Silver Key (fiction)]]''
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
Late in the day the galleon reached those bends of the river which traverse the perfumed jungles of Kled. Here Carter wished he might disembark, for in those tropic tangles sleep wondrous palaces of ivory, lone and unbroken, where once dwelt fabulous monarchs of a land whose name is forgotten. Spells of the Elder Ones keep those places unharmed and undecayed, for it is written that there may one day be need of them again; and elephant caravans have glimpsed them from afar by moonlight, though none dares approach them closely because of the guardians to which their wholeness is due. But the ship swept on, and dusk hushed the hum of the day, and the first stars above blinked answers to the early fireflies on the banks as that jungle fell far behind, leaving only its fragrance as a memory that it had been. And all through the night that galleon floated on past mysteries unseen and unsuspected. Once a lookout reported fires on the hills to the east, but the sleepy captain said they had better not be looked at too much, since it was highly uncertain just who or what had lit them.
<br>&mdash; [[H.P. Lovecraft]], ''[[Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath (fiction)]]''
</blockquote>

The lush, tangled, orchid-heavy, tropical Jungles of Kled are a jungle land along the [[River Oukranos]] beyond the gilded spires of [[Thran]], the green and verdant hills and valleys of the jungle dotted with abandoned and haunted cities and palaces preserved by the Old Ones against the day of their return.  Elephant caravans are known to skirt the more dangerous reaches of the jungles.

Chaosium adds some detail to the region, describing its natives placing them beyond the Forest of Parg (mentioned by Lovecraft only in passing as the source of the fat, black slaves traded in by the [[Moonbeast]]s and folk of [[Dylath-Leen]]); some of Chaosium's content is drawn from [[W.C. DeBill]], Jr, "[[In ‘Ygiroth (fiction)]]", specifically in details relating to the Forests of Parg, the City of 'Ygiroth, and its savage inhabitants.

===Natives, Flora, Fauna===
According to Chaosium, the natives of Kled are small brown men who worship no known gods. Though small, the Kledans are brawnier than the men of the Forest of Parg, and often deal in slaves from that land. The few cities within Kled's boundaries, such as N'Kraal and M'fuhnoo, each form their own principalities and are said to be opulent to the point of barbarism—brazen cities built of ebony and ivory where no man rules as king, the only law is wealth, and the only order is brute force. While Kled is considered to be one of the Six Kingdoms, it has no one ruler. The wild jungles of that land are inhabited by savage tribes of pygmies rumored to be cannibalistic.  Kled is otherwise filled with all manner of wild beasts, both mundane and [[Fabulous Creatures|fantastic]], including Fireworms, Witch-Trees, and many other strange jungle creatures.

===Forest of Parg===
Across the Skai from Dylath-Leen, to the west, is the forest of Parg. Parg is a land resembling the jungles of the Congo. Tribes of ebony-skinned humans, some cannibalistic, live in Parg. The money-hungry men of Dylath-Leen often send expeditions to Parg to capture slaves and trade for ivory. Parg is also home to many [[Fabulous Creatures]] of the Dreamlands.

===Valley of Mynanthra===
A valley on the north slope of Mount Lerion. It contains the headwaters of the [[River Skai]]. The ruins of ‘Ygiroth lie just above it on the mountain slope.

===Mount Lerion===
Surrounded by the forest of Parg, Mount Lerion rises seven and a half miles into the sky. It is riddled with caverns, and the unwary or careless often disappear from its slopes. Lerion is said to be one of the peaks upon which the gods once dwelt. Sometimes, on moonlit nights, they travel there from their home atop Kadath in ships of cloud to dance upon its peak until the sun's rays gently herald the coming of dawn, and wise men know better than to disturb the revels of the gods, so no one dares climb Lerion's heights; in a cleft of Lerion is built the monstrous '''City of 'Ygiroth''' and its Nightmare Temple.

===City of 'Ygiroth===
A primitive stone city raised in a cleft of '''Mount Lerion''' by the primitive [['Ygiroth]] in honor of the [[Thing in the Yellow Mask]], a citadel of horror unmatched in the Dreamlands, with an unspeakable temple of nightmare at its heart.  At one time, the [[Frazetta Man#'Ygiroth|ancient 'Ygirothians]] dwelt once in the clefts on Mount Lerion; their city still stands on the slopes of Lerion, and is remarkably well preserved, yet now stands empty, it savage inhabitants having in antiquity fled the city and flung themselves upon the spears of their enemies in lunatic despair at some nameless blasphemy conjured up in the Temple of 'Ygiroth.  Few people who know of the city's history will enter it today, out of fear of whatever it was that was conjured by the 'Ygiroth in their Nightmare Temple.  Much of what little is known about 'Ygiroth can be learned from the folk of [[Nir]], however, the residents are very reluctant to speak of Lerion and its former inhabitants; Nir's greatest landmark is the great stone bridge which spans the River Skai, and the masons who built the bridge 1300 years ago sealed a living sacrifice, rumored to by 'Ygirothian, into the central piece to protect against evil.

===Castle of the Sacred Fount===
A palace, located in the Jungle of Kled, sometimes thought to be one of several ivory palaces guarded by the Great Ones, though it is not. It is a strangely lifeless palace containing a sickly pool of collected rainwater beneath a grotesque statue of a jackal-like creature, and a gate to an alien realm whee [[Yibb-Tstll]] holds court.

===M'Fuhnoo===
M’FUHNOO: One of the cities of Kled.

===N'Kraal===
N’KRAAL: One of the cities of Kled.

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==Heresies and Controversies==
Optional.  This is a good place to include non-canon and controversial aspects of the Location's mythos.  Suggested Alternative Theories include:  Derleth's elemental scheme; pseudo-science interpretation; "fanon" interpretations; unofficial humorous or eccentric takes on the mythos like Lovecraft's family tree; identification with "Real Life" mythological, religious, folklore, natural, and historical phenomena; rumor and speculation contribute some flexibility and ambiguity to the mythos. 
[[Image:filename.jpg|thumb|200px|right|AltText]]
* Alternative_theory.  ([[source]])
<blockquote>
No more could his galleys sail up the river Oukranos past the gilded spires of Thran, or his elephant caravans tramp through perfumed jungles in Kled, where forgotten palaces with veined ivory columns sleep lovely and unbroken under the moon.
<br>&mdash; [[H.P. Lovecraft]], "[[The Silver Key (fiction)]]"
</blockquote>
==Keeper Notes==
Optional. Suggestions for using this deity in the CoC RPG, and in fan-fiction. 
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==Associated Mythos Elements==
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* Tome: [[Tome1]]
* Race: [[Race1]]
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* setting:  [[Dreamlands]]
* location: [[River Oukranos]]
* location: [[Thran]]
* tome:  It is written in the ''[[Fourth Book of D'harsis]]'' that there may one day be need again of the palaces of the Old Ones in the Jungles of Kled.

==References==
* fiction: [[H.P. Lovecraft]], "[[Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath (fiction)]]" and "[[The Silver Key (fiction)]]"
* fiction: [[Kij Johnson]], ''[[Dream Quest of Vellitt Boe (fiction)]]
* fiction: [[W.C. DeBill]], Jr, "[[In ‘Ygiroth (fiction)]]"

[[Category:Dreamlands]]
[[Category:Mythos:Locations]]
[[Category:Mythos:Locations:Dreamlands]]
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