Post by DC on Sept 5, 2014 15:14:33 GMT -5
Hystnuv'er, "the Swamps"
Region of Kalg'rai: Hystnuv'er, the swampland region.
Hystnuv'er is the part of Kalg'rai nobody dares venture into unless they wish death, or are in search of the only place to learn darker forms of magic and usage of mana. This region of kalg'rai takes up two-fifths of its surface, and is the most inhospitable, uninhabited places of the continent, and with good reason, too. Hystnuv'er is a massive region of swampland that hosts everything from alligators and crocodiles to creatures that do not very much like to leave swamps, and want nothing more than the flesh on your bones to devour. Very seldom is it that humans or metahumans are able to adapt quickly enough to the swamps in order to live in them to learn plague magic or necromancy.
But, this region is the only place that will teach someone necromancy, only if they can find a dark temple or other ominous remnant of what might have once been a thriving city region. How the swampland came to be, nobody knows, nor do they very much like to even think about, much less talk about. There are a lot of theories that exist as to how the land came to be, though many stories claim a commonplace of a dark entity resided in Hystnuv'er, and when he died, his energies permanently tainted the land and corrupted its mana to produce a vile and wretched place as his soul once was. Other stories claim that all of the souls of those who die go to the swamps, and once enough people died, their combined agony and torment resulted in the land's descent from quite possibly an astounding beauty, into what is now a heinous, unfathomably vile swampland.
Should one wish to learn necromancy, plague magic, or anything to that degree, they would find themselves in search of either a temple, or possibly even a sentient being within Hystnuv'er to teach them the magic. But due to the hostility and unwelcoming presence that the swampland itself produces, very few are able to reside for more than a few hours before being attacked by noxious fumes, fatal diseases, or surprisingly well-organized ambushes from groups of creatures—before they descend into violence against each other. If one seeks advice about venturing to Hystnuv'er, the best they will get is to "stay away". Everyone who goes to Hystnuv'er disappears, and never comes back, or so legend says...
There are no cities within the swampland, there are no known towns, or settlements that one would know within the swampland, making traversing it even harder than it already is. Even mapmakers refuse to venture into the swamps to try and create a map; explorers refuse to venture into the swamps to find new treasures or sights, and officials refuse to give any details that they may or may not know about the swamps. Just talking about it, one will be hushed almost immediately, as if the swamps are an embarrassment to Kalg'rai as a whole.