The Devastation of Naros

As we know it today, the Naros Archipelago is a group of islands which together form a spectacular natural harbour which forms the base much of the seaborne trade of the Sea of Strange Lands. This peaceful and prosperous place was, however the result of perhaps the most violent volcanic erruption of Challaria's history. Before the year 339MD, Naros had been a single large island, rising to a mountainous peak. It gave the impression of having been this way for many centuries - deeply eroded gullies, mature forests and such like, though until a century before it had been unknown to the maritime cultures that plied those waters. In short it seems to have appeared fully formed and more or less overnight.

But no matter. Over the following decades there had been some settlement of the island by the Mor of the The Churran Empire for its lower slopes were fertile and the surrounding seas productive. It played little part in the trade networks though as it posessed no good anchorages. Some 50 years after it appeared, the island also became home to Kamgrimmur, who took up residence in a greatcavern on the southern side of the island - the appearance of a drakkun on the island was a matter of concern for the other inhabtants but Kamgrimmur was a tolerable neighbour as long as they were left alone.

The events of 23rd of Garner 339MD are well documented through the log of the trading ship "Wave Foam", which in the mid morning was a few hours sailing south the island. A great explosion shrouded the island in smoke when this cleared he familiar shape of Naros was no longer present, its place taken by a much lower island. The "Wave Foam" had no wish to be emperiled by further events and continued on to it's destination of Gra-Tul.

Manifestation

The Devastation of Naros clearly had major effects on Naros itself, for most of the island had disappeared. The only inhabitants of the island to have survived were a few fishermen and sailors who had been at sea; Kamgrimmur had been away, but most of their crew had perished as their mountain home was flung into the skies. Though it was little consolation to the survivors, the remains of the island now formed a large sheltered basin that was a near perfect harbour - or rather around which several great harbours could be based.

But his was far form the end of the matter: the explosion also triggered a tidal wave that spread out from Naros and caused much damage around the shores of the Sea of Strange Lands. Islands within the sea and ships on the sea saw little - a rising of the sea perhaps the height of a man that returned to normal a short while later. Only a few very low lying islands were seriously affected by this - but on the shores of the sea areas up to 2 hours walk from the coast, and well above it were innundated. Few of the ports on the sea escaped devastation and even the capital of The Churran Empire saw its lower lying areas swept away.

The dust thrown into the air resulted in spectacular sunsets across Challaria over the next few months - as well as an unusually harsh winter, followed by the "Redsummer" - a cold and wet summer which saw famine and cold weather when harvests should have been filling barns and stores across the northern parts of Challaria.