A NOVICE’S GUIDE TO THE WYRDEN BASIN

 

By Thul Nightshade, Keeper of the Blackened Bones

 

Greetings, novice, and welcome to the Ebonguard and the service of the Wyrd. You do not know it yet, but your tah’vrai will take you to far-off lands, distant from the guarding shadows of the Master Ravenwood. Rest easy, however, for a part of home will be there waiting for you wherever you go: those before you have secured all the known world under the savage aegis of the Wyrd and the leadership of the Glomdoring. The following serves as a brief introduction to the known lands, which shall harbor you in your early adventures, and in your years to come as a fully-fledged enforcer of the Wyrd.

 

GLOMDORING FOREST

 

Birthplace of the Wyrden Lord, home to the Master Ravenwood, and center of power over three entire planes, the Glomdoring Forest is without a doubt the center of Lusternia. Here, the Shadow Court administrates over all creation, the Ebonguard legions train for assignments near and far, and the Blacktalon and Shadowdancers pay tribute to the Great Spirits which rule over all others.

Dark and majestic, the air thrums with life all through the forest, which spreads all across the southern edge of the Basin. When locals speak of Glomdoring proper, they refer to the area in the center of the forest, around the Master Ravenwood Tree, but the woods extend from the edge of the Sakarich Plains to the bank of the Shallach River. Several small settlements exist within the forest’s borders, including the ancient krokani stronghold Djarrakh, the Mangroves druid settlement along the Sea of Despair, and the Urlachford training camp at the northernmost edge of the forest. It is easily possible to live one’s entire life without once stepping out of the shelter of the ravenwoods.

Special mention should be made of the Temple of the Wyrd, located steps from the Master Ravenwood. Here, the offices of the Shadow Court are kept, beneath grand murals depicting the Wyrden Spirits, Night and Crow foremost, with Moon, Lake, and Maeve in humble attendance. Messenger crows fly in and out of the Temple at all hours, carrying missives from the far ends of Lusternia to the seat of the world’s power. Temple duty is one of few permanent assignments the Glomdoring contains for an Ebonguard, offered only to the most respectable young knights. Should you manage to obtain such a position, be proud and be vigilant, for our Lord Himself is known to frequent the Temple.

 

SAKARICH PLAINS

 

Once barren desert, the strength and majesty of the Wyrd has given new life to these lands, which thrive with cacti, hearty brush, large and poisonous insects, and a wide variety of lizards. After remaking Grandmother Scorpion and ensuring her loyalty, the Wyrden Lord saw fit to grant her and her mortal agents, the Nekotai, stewardship over the regrown plains. They administer the region from the village of Dairuchi, a center for martial arts study and leading exporter of poisonous substances.

Notable among the region’s features is the city of Gaudiguch, formerly part of the Failed Empire. Lost in time during the Taint Wars, the city eventually returned, not a single soul left living inside. Its people had uniformly become petrified husks, and after initial investigations, the Nekotai forbade resettlement, leaving the empty city as a warning to those who would violate the natural order.

Ebonguard assigned to this region tend to fall into one of two duties: either driving away squatters from the ruins of Gaudiguch, or border patrol along the edge of the plains. Though there has been little activity for many years, whenever Shikari the Petulant sends agents against His brother, they most often appear in the Sakarich. Aslaran fighters, sun fae, ensorcelled beasts and howling dracnari spirits have all been sent to challenge the supremacy of the Wyrd, and here, at the edge of the known world, they have all been put down.

 

BLACKTIDE PROVINCE

 

Covering the stretch of land between the Estengare River and the borders of Serenwilde, Blacktide Province contains a wide variety of open lands, including the Oleanvir Valley, the Hifirae Hills, and the Blacktide Pools at the center of the administrative area. Once home to a misguided group of individuals looking to restore the Failed Empire, it was revealed that a cabal of hateful Elder Gods was behind their foolish behavior. The Wyrden Lord Himself intervened to save the people of Blacktide, blasting away the corrupt Elders’ hateful edifices and banishing Them to the Void. Grateful, the people of Blacktide embraced the Wyrd, and gladly took on the blessed duty gifted to them by the Lord: to serve as the stewards of Sister Lake’s realm.

Through the Whirlpool of Endless Fathoms, the Blacktide Coven serves Sister Lake, and Sister Lake serves Mother Night. All the Basin’s rivers, lakes and seas know the gift of the Wyrd through their works, and they look now to extend their reach to the Marne, which is said to be a body of water greater than all of the Basin.

Ebonguard may find themselves called to assist in Hifirae, to gather centaurs for the annual Traitor’s Hunt, but for the most part duties in the area take place around the Pools. The ruins of the corrupt Elders attract hateful, luminous spirits and delusional mystics seeking to claim unnatural power from the shattered stones. Additionally, watery fae spirits have been known to flee in terror from Sister Lake’s wyrd-infused glory, and periodically require wrangling before they can be properly bound. Young Ebonguards assigned to Blacktide are therefore encouraged to have a good understanding of magic and ritual procedures.

 

SERENWILDE FOREST

 

As Glomdoring was reborn from the Taint in the sacrifice of Viravain and Isune, Serenwilde rejoiced in the new strength granted to nature. Mother Moon and White Hart were among the first granted the glory of the Wyrd outside the Glomdoring, and now the Killing Moon and Black Hart shelter the Serenwilde in their strength.

The administrative area covered by the Serenwilde Forest includes the forest itself, and all lands east up to the Emerald Road. The area is characterized by a devout, if somewhat unthinking devotion to the Wyrd, a residual effect of the spirit patrons’ own fervor. As a result, Ebonguard presence is generally limited in the area, as the Serenguard, Moondancers and Hartthorn are capable of handling most disturbances. New assignments generally fall into one of two areas: the Wyrden Mountain or the Acknor Project.

The peak of the very world, the Wyrden Mountain hosts a number of important sites, including the Portal of Fate, the World Library, and the shrines to the Incarnations, those heroic mortals who gave themselves in service to the world, and became as one with the Lord as reward. Pilgrims pass by the shrines of Soll, Sojiro, Xiel, Ceren, Esano and Sidd on their way up the peak to the shrine of Avechna, to pray for the day when the Avenger is no longer needed. Ebonguard are assigned to protect the passage from bandits, to monitor the remaining Seals for tampering or damage, and to assist in the proper distribution of novices from the Portal, according to talent and need.

The Acknor Project, located at the edge of the Balach Swamp, is a Blacktalon-led effort to undo the degenerative, weakening effects of the Taint upon the orclach people while avoiding the stagnant state of undeath towards which the race gravitates. As a relatively new project, formed in the wake of the Time Dame incursions, effects have been dramatically varied. Ebonguard assigned to this post can expect to deal with giant, mutated, highly-aggressive orc runaways on a regular basis.

 

THE RING

 

The mountains surrounding the Wyrden Basin are host to a number of far-flung settlements and hidden treasures. Here, at the borders of the known world, the Ebonguard travel in force, seeking out the multitude of secrets hidden on distant plateaus and deep caves, guided by the whispers of Brother Rock.

Misguided refugees from broken Magnagora still hide in the Eastern Mountains, scheming to conquer the Basin in the name of their failed Taint. While the Taint has been proven as a failure, out of line with nature and doomed to turn in upon itself, their efforts are occasionally problematic. No less than five such settlements have been found and neutralized in recent years.

The Ring is administrated from Hallifax, the lone city the Lord has permitted to exist in the Wyrden Basin. Following its re-emergence from broken time, Hallifax was resettled, and is now used as both the provincial capital of the region and the center of the Basin’s temporal research. Under the watchful eyes of guardian crows, lucidian, trill and dracnari specialists examine past, future, and alternate events. With the Matrix and the Wheel of the Goloths at their command, researchers soon hope to spread the glory of this Wyrden Age to less fortunate timelines.

An unfortunate fact of Hallifax’s existence is that it requires an inordinate amount of crystals. As such, Ebonguard duties in the ring include hunting wild rockeaters, locating and delivering mining recruits, finding new gem seams and generally ensuring a steady supply of resources to the city.

 

THE UNDERVAULT

 

Deep underground, a sprawling complex of caves and tunnels stretches out for untold miles, comprising the final, largest administrative area of the Wyrden Basin. Here, giant beasts patrol the darkness at all hours, preying upon the weak, the inept and the foolish without mercy. Ebonguard stationed here will only need to get used to the size of the creatures and the lack of trees.

The vast majority of the Undervault’s population consists of the illithoid, who administrate the villages of Ixthiaxa, Mmakigogota, Illwell and Stillwater. Stillwater is of particular note, as it houses the Kepheran Slave Hives, which breeds the manual laborers and psionic relays used throughout the area. Once a year, a particularly large batch of kephera is brought to the arena at Mmakigogota, to participate in the Liberation Festival. There, the kephera are subjected to a series of trials against progressively tougher foes, culminating in illithoid martial arts masters if they make it past the gauntlet of Undervault beasts. This ritual serves to empower the Gate of the Wyrd for another year, and is also a highly entertaining cultural event.

The Gate of the Wyrd rests below Illwater Lake, at the entrance to the Great Illithoid Prison. Behind the Gate, madness festers, as illithoid still in the grips of the Leviathan’s control languish in filth and devotion to a nihilistic religion. Only those illithoid with the strength and clarity to pull free and pass through the Gate of the Wyrd are considered worthy to persist in the Basin. Ebonguard are periodically required to enter the Prison to slay Cthogglogg, a persistently-returning barrier to the illithoid people’s evolution.

 

CONCLUSION

 

All lands resonate with nature. All lands belong to the Wyrd. The lands of the Basin are wide and varied, but there exist lands beyond that have yet to acknowledge their Lord. Your early assignments will place you in lands already prepared for the glorious Age of the Wyrd, but with time and experience, you will join the Lord’s Reach to lands unknown. Perhaps you shall chart the Marne. Perhaps you shall quash the hateful insurrection of our Lord’s Brother in distant jungles. Perhaps you shall bring time itself to heel. Just be ready, and know no fear, for the Wyrd has already triumphed.

 

Written by my hand this day, 20 Tzarin, 222 years after the Birth of Our Lord Xynthin.