Juer
Juer was once a thriving spiritual and agricultural hub, built around the Abericlase and dedicated to Ilmos, the god of nature and the hunt. Founded in 2487, the city flourished for centuries as a sacred place where harmony between nature and civilization thrived. Its centerpiece was the Evertree of Harmony, a colossal living tree entwined with the Abericlase, radiating divine energy that nourished the land.
In 4219, disaster struck when the Abericlase went dark, unleashing a devastating curse upon Juer. The Evertree withered, undead horrors poured forth from the temple, and the surrounding land was reduced to a desolate wasteland. The survivors fled, leaving the ruins to decay. However, lycanthropes—Ilmos's cursed children—rose to reclaim the city, eradicating the undead and becoming the new guardians of the cursed land. Now known as the Hollowfang Keepers, this fierce pack prevents anyone from entering the ruins.
Today, Juer is an abandoned wasteland of twisted, skeletal trees and crumbling ruins. The once-sacred temple lies in eerie silence, dominated by the hollow husk of the Evertree. The cursed city is shrouded in dark legend, avoided by all but the desperate or foolish.
Demographics
Juer is sparsely populated, with only the Hollowfang Keepers inhabiting the cursed ruins and surrounding lands. Their numbers are estimated to be no more than 200 individuals, all lycanthropes. The city’s former population of druids, clerics, farmers, and artisans fled or perished during the fall of the Abericlase. No non-lycanthropic individuals reside within or near the ruins.
Government
The Hollowfang Keepers operate under a tribal hierarchy, led by Eryndral "Ashfang" Kaelos, the Alpha. Decisions are made through the Alpha’s guidance, with counsel from elder lycanthropes who have witnessed the city’s fall. Eryndral enforces a strict mandate of isolation. Trespassers are hunted or driven away to protect the ruins and the Abericlase. The pack views themselves as the stewards of Juer’s cursed lands, ensuring no one disturbs the ruins or the dormant Abericlase. Their governance is less about administration and more about survival and protection.
Defences
The primary defense of Juer is the lycanthrope pack, who patrol the ruins and surrounding wastelands. The cursed, desolate landscape also acts as a deterrent for most travelers. The land itself feels hostile, with twisted trees, stagnant pools, and an eerie atmosphere.Lingering magical corruption from the Abericlase’s fall causes unpredictable magical phenomena and surges, creating an additional layer of danger for anyone attempting to enter.
Infrastructure
Most of Juer’s infrastructure lies in ruin. Roads and buildings have been overtaken by skeletal vines and crumbled under the weight of time and the curse.The Hollowfang Keepers live in makeshift shelters built into the ruins or among the outskirts, using scavenged materials and natural camouflage to blend into the cursed landscape.
History
Juer was founded as a sacred sanctuary dedicated to Ilmos God of the Hunt and Nature . Located atop a convergence of powerful ley lines, it became the ideal site for housing the Abericlase of the Verdantia Territory and became the grand temple dedicated to Ilmos and was named the Evertree as it had always been there and would always continue to be there with the blessings of the nature god. The druids and clerics who served Ilmos ensured the temple radiated his divine blessing, which nourished the land and empowered the surrounding wildlife. Pilgrims and scholars from across the realm visited Juer, seeking blessings or knowledge. The city flourished for nearly 1,700 years as a center of faith, agricultural bounty, and natural harmony.
The year 4219 marked a catastrophic turning point for Juer. The Abericlase, the heart of the city and its divine anchor went dark. Without warning, the glowing artifact’s light was extinguished, and the temple’s living tree began to wither. The city’s thriving fields and forests rotted away, replaced by barren earth and blackened, twisted vegetation. Worse still, the Abericlase’s fall triggered a curse that poured out corruption across the land. From the temple erupted hordes of undead monstrosities—ghouls, wights, and skeletal horrors—spreading terror and destruction. Many of Juer’s inhabitants were killed outright or transformed into undead themselves, their bodies and souls twisted by the artifact's unraveling power. Those who escaped carried lingering afflictions, their connection to nature and the natural order completely severed.
Among the chaos, the Lycanthropes , cursed beings of Ilmos’s divine will, rose to reclaim the land from the undead. These beings, driven by instinct and primal rage, answered a primal call to protect the desecrated site. Packs of werewolves, werebears, and other lycanthropes emerged from the wilderness to wage war against the undead hordes. For months, the battle raged across the cursed ruins of Juer. The lycanthropes, immune to many of the undead’s corrupting effects, eventually eradicated the creatures, but not without great losses. Those who remained declared the city forbidden, vowing to prevent anyone from approaching the temple and the Abericlase. They established themselves as the Hollowfang Keepers, a feral and territorial tribe bound to Ilmos’s will.
Climate
Juer’s climate was once temperate and lush, marked by fertile seasons and mild winters. Since the fall of the Abericlase, the area experiences unnatural weather patterns such as dry seasons, unnatural storms of poison rain, and stale air.
“This land may be cursed, but it is still ours to protect. Let the foolish and the greedy come—I will show them what remains of Ilmos’s wrath.”
RUINED SETTLEMENT
4219
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