A great billowing cloud of ash and smoke towers toward the heavens in

The southwest, threatening to block out the sun.

The ground shakes beneath your feet as a tremendous earthquake rocks Thera.

Flakes of mortar fall from Galadon shops, while an enormous wave kills hundreds on the Hamsah seaport. Arkham, sheltered by its deep wharf, is spared.

The city of Seantryn Modan, jewel of the Southern Continent, is nearest to the heart of the quake and therefore the hardest hit.

Fire crews work to contain blazes as guards work to clear rubble under the demanding gaze of the Empress. The city is soon restored to its former beauty.

Lookouts aboard ships in that area of the Aryth Ocean report a new mountain risen from the sea.

For a while, all is still.


| 28 - 35 | Anliltuel - PRISON OF GLYMARACH

Glymarach, a massive undersea volcano, emerged suddenly from the depths of
the Southern Aryth. Preceded only by an ominous undersea rumbling endemic to
the area, the sirines thought little of what had been a daily occurrence.
That day, they had no chance. The voices which once hauntingly lured men to
their doom rose in a cacophonous shriek, but were hopelessly drowned out by
the rising mountain. Shipwrecks and thatched huts were rent asunder and
consumed by elemental fire. After many weeks, the rumblings ceased, and a
new mount changed the profile of the bleak Aryth skyline.

Their civilization in ruins, the few remaining sirines who survived gathered
what meager belongings they could and began to rebuild. Such a raw source of
elemental power did not go unnoticed, and soon dark eyes looked westward at
the potential for a new lair. The wizard, unknown to many even in his own
homeland, came from far to the east. Not one for brute strength, the cunning
implementation of remorseless sadism was his daily bread. Glymarach and its
winding network of extinct lava tubes and caves filled with mineral wealth
was the perfect choice.

Again, the sirines were taken completely by surprise. Immune to their charms,
it took little effort for the wizard to enslave the entire population. A mining
complex was set up within months and the wizard sat back to enjoy the
fruits of new enterprise. With his financial needs taken care of, the wizard
spent much of his time studying the gathering of elemental powers. After a
time, the wizard began to grow tired of his isolation and looked toward other
pursuits to occupy himself. The all-but-deserted island offered the ideal
opportunity for the exploration of torment and torture.

He kept his first prisoners in conventional cages, but the ordinary methods
of breaking them were no challenge. The wizard found that the most
fascinating captives were those continually confronted by their own miseries.
He engineered three prisons and set them within the tunnels of Glymarach.
There his playthings endured years of anguish. Yet this too became boring to
the wizard. How to draw fresh toys to this forgotten and forsaken corner of
the world? After some thought, he hit upon an interesting idea.

One night, three highly-valued items simultaneously disappeared from the
hands of their owners. The same brief note was left in their places. Knowing
his victims to be occupied with pressing concerns, their responses would all
be the same: to send glory-seeking adventurers in the hopes of returning
their stolen property. Time would not be wasted on those of little renown,
and the wizard would soon have his pick of new bodies for his sadistic
pleasure.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 12/21/2011 06:07PM by NbM.