Weccanfeld
19-11-2007, 00:54
From the evidence available, it can be seen that the Kingdom of Morania was connected to the mainland before a massive eruption separated it from the mainland. The Kingdom of Morania itself was a bastion of Human integrity - but every day it worried about an elven invasion which never came. The army was far too large for the size of the state, and it was said that Morania's blacksmiths were the richest on the planet. The state was incredibly rich, though. Plentiful gold deposits ensured this.
Around 600 years ago, however, the Kingdom seemed to literally disappear in a puff of smoke, causing the biggest storm ever to hit the planet to start - Great Storm Morania, a huge cyclone of ash and dust, constantly fed by perpetual eruptions. And I, Raul Styman, explorer, was the first to explore this harsh land.
My first journey failed before it even got started - the storm blew my ships away before they even managed to spot Morania. However, come the second time, using rowing galleys my party managed to make landfall.
Following the advise of Mariners that had neared the island before, me and my landing party donned heavy grey robes that covered the face, offering a small slit through which I could see. The air was incredibly dry, dry as a desert, and the land seemed to be wrapped in a grey shadow - a blizzard of ash and rock seem to blow constantly, and it was impossible to see much further than a number of yards. But it was on that same day that I made an amazing discovery.
I had found the port of Isonal. Or, at least, the blasted remains of it.
The port was a ghost town, seeming devoid of all life. I had heard the towns of Morania were marble coated wonderpieces - now, they were dull grey remains. Everything was grey, even the water. Everything.
And it was here that my second expedition was to come to a bloody end.
I could see little due to my restrictive apparel, but I could hear plenty. I caught a glimpse of a creature pounce on one of my party, and with its fearsome claws rip the guts of him out, the blood briefly disturbing the eternal grey that prevailed. Several more leaped out, and all I could do was run back to the boat, through ash, rock and rubble. Only five other people made it back with me.
And yet, as my blooded party sailed away, I still had this desire to return and look at the ruins, and examine the creatures there. Thus, the Styman company was commissioned once again to return to the island - this time with a much heavier military escort. We entered Isonal once again, and were once again attacked - but this time, there was no need to run. Crossbow and spear had prevailed.
We stayed in the town for a couple of hours, and me and my entourage explored it further. We observed some of the more docile wildlife, retrieved documents that had survived the storm, and even dragged a half-eaten corpse back for study.
And once again, death would nearly find me.
I know little of what happened, but this - a ferocious creature, an 'Ash Dragon' came and killed many of the men, followed by ash ghouls and a third, mysterious type of creature, all with ruinous symbols glowing on their faces. And then, we ran. The survivors, all three of them, vowed never to return to the land, as did the ship crew - and since then, they have upheld that promise.
I did not see many creatures on the island. I only clearly observed four creatures, with two barely seen ones and countless rumoured ones still to be confirmed. Following is a list of what I found:
Ash Ghoul
The most prolific creature I saw on the expeditions, the Ash Ghoul was named as it was often spotted eating from raw corpses - the ones we identified being mainly Ash Cattle. The beasts have very long claws, legs accustomed to running, and teeth that are razor sharp. The body shares many similarities with common lizardmen, especially in terms of the hide and head shapes. There is also a possibility that the bite from a Ash Ghoul is poisonous, but this is hard to discern from the sightings we had. The Ghoul is roughly the size of a human.
Ash Cattle
The Ash Cattle seem to provide the majority of meat for the largely carnivorous population of Maronia. As the only creature we managed to acquire a corpse of (if a slightly mauled one), I can confidently say that the Ash Cattle is a bulky version of a cow, with short legs and thick skin. Where they get their food is not clear.
Ash Bat
One of the few flying Maronic creatures, it seems this animal uses the strong winds to glide across the isle. I could not find any more information on this creature, sadly.
Ash Dragon
A fearsome but thankfully seeming rare beast, the ash dragon is a large monster, very similar to some of the dragons on the mainland, save for two, possibly three main differences - the fire breath is replaced with what looks like a pyroclastic surge, the wings are merely bones forming what looks like large claws, and the possibly of blindness - however, the beast seemed able to find the location of the dozen men killed on the third expedition very easily, perhaps pointing toward a strong sense that is used in steed of sight, possibly smell or an audial one.
Ash Rat
A familiar face in an unfamiliar land, the Rat seems to survive on in Maronia, with very little changes save from camouflage.
There was also a new creature that didn't match any of the descriptions I received from mariners - this creature seemed to be a bipedal being with a large luminous symbol on it's face, and red eyes - it seemed to be slightly taller than an erect Ash Ghoul, and appeared to command the Ghouls who also shared the luminous tattoo - however, it was impossible to discern this from the distance from which I observed the death of the thirty soldiers sent to scout ahead.
There are also many more creatures that theoretically exist on the island, however I could barely find rough sightings of them, never mind convulsive proof. For all I know there could be thousands of different species on that island - however, from what I've seen, I can easily say that few of them are civil creatures.
As of now, information of the island is incredibly scarce. I alone seem to provide descriptions of what lives on the island. But something about those islands seemed...strange. But, I foolishly thought I could explore one of the last great wildernesses of the planet.
I was wrong.
Around 600 years ago, however, the Kingdom seemed to literally disappear in a puff of smoke, causing the biggest storm ever to hit the planet to start - Great Storm Morania, a huge cyclone of ash and dust, constantly fed by perpetual eruptions. And I, Raul Styman, explorer, was the first to explore this harsh land.
My first journey failed before it even got started - the storm blew my ships away before they even managed to spot Morania. However, come the second time, using rowing galleys my party managed to make landfall.
Following the advise of Mariners that had neared the island before, me and my landing party donned heavy grey robes that covered the face, offering a small slit through which I could see. The air was incredibly dry, dry as a desert, and the land seemed to be wrapped in a grey shadow - a blizzard of ash and rock seem to blow constantly, and it was impossible to see much further than a number of yards. But it was on that same day that I made an amazing discovery.
I had found the port of Isonal. Or, at least, the blasted remains of it.
The port was a ghost town, seeming devoid of all life. I had heard the towns of Morania were marble coated wonderpieces - now, they were dull grey remains. Everything was grey, even the water. Everything.
And it was here that my second expedition was to come to a bloody end.
I could see little due to my restrictive apparel, but I could hear plenty. I caught a glimpse of a creature pounce on one of my party, and with its fearsome claws rip the guts of him out, the blood briefly disturbing the eternal grey that prevailed. Several more leaped out, and all I could do was run back to the boat, through ash, rock and rubble. Only five other people made it back with me.
And yet, as my blooded party sailed away, I still had this desire to return and look at the ruins, and examine the creatures there. Thus, the Styman company was commissioned once again to return to the island - this time with a much heavier military escort. We entered Isonal once again, and were once again attacked - but this time, there was no need to run. Crossbow and spear had prevailed.
We stayed in the town for a couple of hours, and me and my entourage explored it further. We observed some of the more docile wildlife, retrieved documents that had survived the storm, and even dragged a half-eaten corpse back for study.
And once again, death would nearly find me.
I know little of what happened, but this - a ferocious creature, an 'Ash Dragon' came and killed many of the men, followed by ash ghouls and a third, mysterious type of creature, all with ruinous symbols glowing on their faces. And then, we ran. The survivors, all three of them, vowed never to return to the land, as did the ship crew - and since then, they have upheld that promise.
I did not see many creatures on the island. I only clearly observed four creatures, with two barely seen ones and countless rumoured ones still to be confirmed. Following is a list of what I found:
Ash Ghoul
The most prolific creature I saw on the expeditions, the Ash Ghoul was named as it was often spotted eating from raw corpses - the ones we identified being mainly Ash Cattle. The beasts have very long claws, legs accustomed to running, and teeth that are razor sharp. The body shares many similarities with common lizardmen, especially in terms of the hide and head shapes. There is also a possibility that the bite from a Ash Ghoul is poisonous, but this is hard to discern from the sightings we had. The Ghoul is roughly the size of a human.
Ash Cattle
The Ash Cattle seem to provide the majority of meat for the largely carnivorous population of Maronia. As the only creature we managed to acquire a corpse of (if a slightly mauled one), I can confidently say that the Ash Cattle is a bulky version of a cow, with short legs and thick skin. Where they get their food is not clear.
Ash Bat
One of the few flying Maronic creatures, it seems this animal uses the strong winds to glide across the isle. I could not find any more information on this creature, sadly.
Ash Dragon
A fearsome but thankfully seeming rare beast, the ash dragon is a large monster, very similar to some of the dragons on the mainland, save for two, possibly three main differences - the fire breath is replaced with what looks like a pyroclastic surge, the wings are merely bones forming what looks like large claws, and the possibly of blindness - however, the beast seemed able to find the location of the dozen men killed on the third expedition very easily, perhaps pointing toward a strong sense that is used in steed of sight, possibly smell or an audial one.
Ash Rat
A familiar face in an unfamiliar land, the Rat seems to survive on in Maronia, with very little changes save from camouflage.
There was also a new creature that didn't match any of the descriptions I received from mariners - this creature seemed to be a bipedal being with a large luminous symbol on it's face, and red eyes - it seemed to be slightly taller than an erect Ash Ghoul, and appeared to command the Ghouls who also shared the luminous tattoo - however, it was impossible to discern this from the distance from which I observed the death of the thirty soldiers sent to scout ahead.
There are also many more creatures that theoretically exist on the island, however I could barely find rough sightings of them, never mind convulsive proof. For all I know there could be thousands of different species on that island - however, from what I've seen, I can easily say that few of them are civil creatures.
As of now, information of the island is incredibly scarce. I alone seem to provide descriptions of what lives on the island. But something about those islands seemed...strange. But, I foolishly thought I could explore one of the last great wildernesses of the planet.
I was wrong.