Volcareth
Overview
Volcareth was a great female dragon of immense age, regarded as one of the most ancient beings recorded in the lore of Areth. According to A History of Rislandia, she had already lived through the Age of Giants and the Great Sundering before she ever settled beneath the Oler Mountains, making her older than any civilization known to Rislandian scholarship. In the span of her waking life she witnessed the rise and fall of countless peoples and kingdoms across the continent.
History
Before the Iberanth Peninsula Was Settled
According to A History of Rislandia, Volcareth established her lair beneath the Oler Mountains before any human presence on the Iberanth Peninsula. By that time she was already ancient, having endured the Age of Giants and the Great Sundering. The sourcebook describes her as having seen civilizations rise and fall across the breadth of Areth before she ever chose the Oler range as her home.
The Long Sleep
At some point after settling in the mountains, Volcareth resolved to sleep for centuries. As A History of Rislandia records: "She burrowed deep into the mountain, coiled herself around a vein of fire crystals, and closed her eyes." Before surrendering to slumber, she charged the mountain spirits with a single instruction — to wake her only when the world had need of her again. The fire crystals around which she coiled herself are understood by scholars to be the source of the warmth and energy sustaining her through the long centuries of dormancy.
Dreams and Their Effects on the World Above
According to A History of Rislandia, Volcareth's dreams were believed to shape the physical world above her resting place. The sourcebook attributes the following phenomena to the nature of her dreaming: fire dreams were said to produce hot springs; dreams of anger caused tremors and rockslides; dreams of sorrow brought storms; and dreams of joy produced sunshine and blooming valleys. Whether these accounts reflect genuine supernatural causation or the folk beliefs of the peoples living near the Oler Mountains is not addressed by the sourcebook.
The Nightmen Invasion
During the Nightmen Invasion, soldiers operating near the Oler Mountains reported hearing deep rumbling from within the peaks, described as resembling breathing or a heartbeat. According to A History of Rislandia, local guides attributed these sounds to Volcareth stirring in her sleep. The sourcebook does not confirm whether she woke or whether the stirring had any direct effect on the course of the invasion.
Prophecy
Volcareth is the subject of a prophecy preserved in A History of Rislandia stating that she will wake in the world's darkest hour and decide the fate of all. The sourcebook does not identify the origin of this prophecy, the party who recorded it, or whether any faction in Rislandia or beyond has acted upon it. The mountain spirits she charged with waking her are the only agents named in connection with the prophecy's fulfillment.
Legacy
Volcareth occupied a singular place in the lore of the Oler Mountains and the broader Iberanth Peninsula. Her existence predated the Orethan Dominion, the exodus of Jory Malaky, and the founding of Rislandia itself. The folk traditions surrounding her dreams — explaining natural phenomena from hot springs to storms — suggest that the peoples living near the Oler range incorporated her presence into their understanding of the natural world long before any formal historical record was kept. The report of rumbling during the Nightmen Invasion indicates that awareness of Volcareth persisted into the era covered by the novels, even if she remained dormant.