The Deep Woods of Olmar

"Deep down under ground, below the Chraster Castle lies a wood of rock and stone, and critters made of gravel.   Some call it myth, some call it legend.   others call it cursed, Myself I call it wretched.   For there live the pagans, servants of old.   Crude and godforsaken, folks who like the cold.  They shun the sun and fear the sheer power of our castle.   Yet somehow, their pagan gods gave their prayers answers.   Deep down under ground, servants of the gloom.   Deep down under ground, in mother earth's womb." "- Unknown Miekning author"The Deep Woods of Olmar is a petrified forest in Miekning. It resides in a colossal dark cave system in the Chraster mountain, upon which lies the remarkable Chraster Castle. It is said that some of the last remaining tribes whom worship The Old Gods dwell here, and according to legend, the gods have given them great blessings for their patronage. Little is known about the tribes of the forest, but legend has it their eyes have gone pale and milk-like from living in the dark for too long. In the Emuravi-books, these cave dwellers are usually referred to as The Eyeless. John Wilson seems to enjoy making the locals of the area simply call the eyeless "those damn troglodytes over there under the chraster castle".

By most inhabitants of Miekning, the petrified forest is merely seen as a fairy tale. However, The Schrigner family's second-born son Lukas Schrigner knows that it's real, since he's been there. In the spin-off book The Hand that Dealt the Ace, Lukas ends up in the deep woods of Olmar. This is our first introduction to The Old Gods and our only encounter with The Deep Woods of Olmar so far, although they are mentioned in other books as well.

Also found in the woods are strange enchanted creatures of stone. These are the Kamen. They appear to be regular insects at first, but upon closer inspection they are clearly made of tiny little rocks. Many entomologists and other wildlife biologists have traveled far to study the wildlife of the deep woods of Olmar, but almost all of them have failed to grasp the dangers that lurk in the caves. Therefore, very little information about the Kamen has managed to make its way out of the caves.