Post by Alchemist on Mar 26, 2014 5:09:24 GMT
Paleoth
An enchanting and abandoned by the Arcantian inhabitants. A stretching, crescent island that’s size is approximately that of the booming capital of Osceaux, with land deemed inhabitable by the people of Syirith. The land is covered by a dense fog that causes hallucinations and misdirection, and is said to have majestic properties that keep out the turbulent weather of Syirith. Eighty percent of the water around the area is toxic, leaving many carcasses of decaying sea creatures that are not accustomed. Numerous explorers have died along the coast of Paleoth, their wreckage not making it past the shoreline. The mountains of the island are visible from Ariya, though from a distance they seem to waver and bend in awkward directions. Famous explorer and philosopher Liam Sparrow, one of the only men to make it out of the death trap alive, had confirmed before his death that there were multiple areas with questioning history and bizarre characteristics that the people of Nu Guardia should be cautious of. “...Never before had I been tested the way I was tested the week I spent in Paleoth. The islet knew my deepest secrets and darkest fears before I had even gone twenty paces in to the shrubbery. I could not see my hands from my face for quite some time, and my map early on the second day had become missing. Each evening I had a night terror, each one worse than the last, before I disregarded sleep. I had gone mad on that island, and my only sources of company were creatures resided there. All of which were intelligent, probably beyond most of us that live comfortably in the civilized world...” -Liam Sparrow
The Dead Shoreline is the entrance to Paleoth, where the water is the most toxic and wreckage lie pitifully in the sand. Small irregularly-shaped land masses orbit the circumference of the island (These were the inspiration for Ariya.) Popular belief suggest that the Arcanians that lived there centuries ago miraculously altered the polarity of the island and support the strange movement of these chunks of earth, but the true reasoning for the phenomenon is unknown. This area is where the fog and forestry is thickest, which causes great difficulty for all who try to venture onward. It is also dangerous due to the landmasses dropping abruptly along the shore at random intervals with intense speed, and then slowly driving themselves into the sand, only to lift up and encircle the island again.
The Dead Shoreline
SoulRiver
On the south shore of Paleoth, a narrow river begins and ends in a small lake that Sparrow and other explorers (or so he claims) called SoulRiver. The water in the lake is the only body of water among the many on the island that is not toxic. The lakebed is surrounded by glossy, jagged rocks that suggest volcanic activity. North of the lakebed, there is a deteriorating, abandoned temple made of stone, whose name had been lost over the thousands of years. Sparrow believed that the temple had riches and treasures from legend, and made an effort to open the heavy entrance of the ruined building, only to be greeted by the dragon Nephelim and told to turn around. “After I had reached SoulRiver, I was exhausted. I rested on the blackened bedrock of the place gulping up handfuls of water, not caring about the toxicity. Thank Ivyrn, for it was fresh. A few hours passed, I got up and staggered to the entrance of the temple. I had come across a few crumbling buildings, but I was sure the one before me at that moment was the House of Truth that my father and his father had told me of long ago, where the Arcantians kept bits of their treasure and secrets hidden from the rest of the world. The door was sealed shut by a triangular stone that not even I, a man healthy and in prime, could lift. As I struggled, I felt the heat of a thousand suns on the back of my neck. A dragon from the days of old, named Nephelim, after greeting me with impeccable grace and courtesy, told me to go back to Osceaux to my wife and son. It shocked me that he knew of my family, and it terrified me that I had not heard a creature so monstrous in size creep behind me. I could tell from the magnificence of his scales and the intelligence, warning, and authority in his eyes that my adventure was over.”
-Liam Sparrow
-Liam Sparrow
