The Way of the Dead

Legends abound about the Way of the Dead and too many tales involve more fiction then fact. After running into this repeatedly, the Headmaster of the Institute of Flungge, Rattorius BlueFinger the Fourteenth, delved, compiled, wrote, and editted the following for the Flungge Encyclopedia, Volume Seven.

In the ancient days, men and dwarves, elves and halflings, all manner of beings wandered the land of Kryss, what would one day be known as the Northern Realm before settling the fertile lands around what we now call The Way of the Dead. For hundreds of years, the towns grew and flourished with only the occasional war until no towns remained. The cities in turn grew until they overlapped each other and efforts had to be made to preserve farmland to support the needs of the citizens. And so we see still, when expeditions brave and foolish enough to explore below manage to return. The key question: what happened?

Thus begins the most quoted entry about The Way of the Dead in arguably the whole of the realms. Yet, the details which follow offer only marginally better facts then the source materials. The following represents the best information available at the current editting.

Earliest name: YYsdrivv'll, attributed to the draconic lizardmen who settled this area within the first millenia.

Additional names: Yisdrit, Yisdriv, Yis'll, The Fierce Rapids, Prasell's Despair, & The Northern River

The First Age

The lizardmen entered into trading relationships within their first century. The primary tradegood: fish. The lizardmen continued to refine their technique for catching fish, but the truly astounding improvement came as these ingenious beings found a way to preserve the fish for weeks at a time. Thus what we call fish were for a long time known as Yys-met (roughly translated as "Food of Yys".)

Historians routinely mark the division between the first and second age based on the founding of the seven towns. Extensive evidence exists that these towns creation represented an effort to capitalize off the fishing opportunities as well as reducing the cost of transportation. However, these efforts also lay the groundwork for coming Way of the Dead.

The Second Age

Much of the second age passed with the seven towns flourishing, but the lizardmen went into decline. With towns to either side of their main villages, the lizardmen faced difficulties catching the quantities of fish previously common. This lead to financial devastation over the first century and dwindling populations in the second century.

The seven towns initially argued and warred over the fish, a term adopted when a sage pointed out that fighting over the Yys-met implied the lizardmen had priority. By the close of the first century, the Fishing Grounds of lore had been created and the first Rules of the Nets set forth.

Tornaton and Berrilton, the furthest down stream and closest to the Fishing Grounds became the primary centers of fishing. Processing centers and the necessary craftsmen to build the items a town needs became the secondary and tertiary trades of these towns.

Mephotros and Regeltan, found that building vessels to work the waters provided a means of growth and commerce.

Doralot built a temple which gets much attention even now. All indications point to life around this town centered on the temple.

Gershmalaya appears focused on training fishermen and other local trademen, at least based on the number and types of libraries, brothels, and areas of congregate.

And of course, we have Ingrotia. Legends of the metal and wooden gadgets produced in this place continue to grow every day. Perhaps the tales surpass all good measure by now, but evidence of the Toothed I marks many wonders still working and discovered today.

The Coming of Grr'chal'dorroth: The End of the Second Age

The change from one age to another comes in various forms, but all of the scholars agree that the arrival of Grr'chal'dorroth (pronounced Gur-chow-doe-rahth) ushered in a new age. Much confusion exists about Grr'chal'dorroth, but several facts have been confirmed.

1. Grr'chal'dorroth described as a black dragon, but in fact shed scales of every color imaginable.
2. No one knows whether Grr'chal'dorroth was male or female.
3. Grr'chal'dorroth eventually made his home in the Mount of the Dragon.
4. Grr'chal'dorroth only attacked one time and stories consistently show this to be a response to an attack.

The creation, discovery, or arrival of Grr'chal'dorroth remains a contenscious topic. Current debate finds the discovery or arrival options most likely. However, none can fully discount the idea that the lizardmen found a means of creating the monstrosity which bore such a resemblance to their own kind. Perhaps the chief argument against the creation belief is the events of the fourth age.

The Third Age

Students of the Third Age tell of a confusing mingling of good and future horrifying events. The towns grew to small cities during this time. The discovery of magic and ways to capture the God's power to do certain acts definitely stand out during this period. Alternatively, the gradual increase in the number of dragons boded ominously what the future might hold. Relations with the dragons were fine, but none in our age can look at that increase without some trepidation about what would come.

The End of Fourth Age

The near elimination of the lizard-folk marks the key event which ended the Fourth Age. The Dragons descended on the Community and damaged everything to some extent, but the villages of the lizard-folk ceased to exist within days. Only lizard-folk travelling or away from those villages for whatever reason remained alive.

No discussion of the Fourth Age would be complete without at least a passing glance at The Battle at Nausileen Pass. For a complete account, there are numerous excellent texts which are attributed later. Related to the Way, the key detail is the Death of PhalioFrax.

Whether one subscribes to a conspiracy-based theory or the political-social theory hardly matters when upwards of forty dragons battle in the skies, on the mountains, and under the earth for eight days. As the ebb and flow of the battle shifted, PhalioFrax fell under such an enormous concentration of powers that a plume of dust and earth soared higher then the highest dragon. This plume remained for hours with material raining down for weeks in areas which took months to send a courier! But within minutes of the initial blast, a raging torrent of water flooded the banks and quickly gave way to a wall of water. Accounts place the wall of water upwards of two hundred feet, but the accepted number is closer to one hundred feet. It hardly matters. A total of 27 men, women, and a sole infant, most fishermen with the infant and her mother in a row boat as the only exceptions, were the only survivors of the Seven Cities. Estimates place the inhabits who died in the tens of millions.

Scholars continue to debate and research the events of that day, but no consensus has been reached. Somehow the arcane energies not only combined to create a massive blast but also found/created/exposed a source of water which flows to this day and keeps the water nearly a hundred feet deeper.

Way of the Dead

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The Way of the Dead

The Fifth Age: Modern Age

Summary of Modern Age

Dragons died. A lot of dragons died. And many fell into the Way of the Dead that week. The mingling of dragon blood, the waters, the arcane forces, and the remains of the cities have made a confusing waterway. Beings of unknown origin are said to inhabit some of the cities and come to the surface from time to time. Fish have grown in size, but their numbers no longer meet the needs of the surrounding villages, much less the country in full. The days of casual cruising on the river have only recently returned as magical and "steam" powered vessels took to the waters with enough power to fight the prevailing currents. There are also horrible stories of explorers dying hideously if they approach Ingrotia.

Ecology

For many of the native species on the day of the flood, the depth of the water plunged them into darkness and cold beyond their normal ranges. Some shifted to more hospitable climates once the initial rush subsided, but for several species of fish the river no longer remained tame enough to allow swimming in it. For some of these species, this resulted in shifting their prime nesting and living areas down river. For others, evidence points to their total destruction, something scholars have started calling "extinction".

After nearly 2 centuries, scholars continue to observe changes to the environments along the river and the creatures calling it home. Larger creatures call the river home now and threaten surface travel as well as the fishing stock. Efforts to clear these creatures rarely produces much success, but continues every few years as memory of the last attempt fades.

Trade

The loss of the seven cities echoes still through the land and seldom more obviously then in the form of trade. Where fertile land and established trade once made the river a prime trade community, the destruction and loss of so much of the knowledge and skill as well as the excellent land has caused devastation. Most of the trade on The Way of the Dead focuses on couriers. Few people chance the water without a lot of coin involved and mostly its Kings and governments willing to spend. There have been a number of exploratory expeditions recently which has lead to a new industry cropping up with supplies for the fools who call themselves "adventurers".

Key Powers

The Towns of Aspargia, Phaledra, and Noxxis account for almost all of the boats on The Way. Noxxis, sitting nearest to Ingrotia protects their claimed territory most assiduously and has steadily increased the size and speed of their ships while recently adding arcane weapons to them as well. Aspargia tends to trail Noxxis by about ten years, historically on their ship upgrades. Phaledra remains primarily a fishing powerhouse with only a few "warships" to deal with the handful of pirates.

Pirates

Rumor has it that every ship that fit more then three people on it that survived the end of the Fourth Age was turned into a pirate ship. This scholar is inclined to believe this rumor. While the ratio of pirates to free trade, fishing, and warships has definitely diminished, the piracy problem persists.

According to one of the least reputable scholars, there is a town where pirates recruit, buy and sell goods, and raise a ruckus while on land. However, the scholar turned up one day without a tongue and no hands before he finished his notes. As the scholar reached a point where he might have passed on the information in another form (he had been teaching himself to write with his feet) he was found drowned in his wash basin. Being a scholar myself and liking the use of my hands, tongue and watch-basin, I am hesitant to say any more.

The Unusual Side

Each of the cities has become known for strange comings and goings. The most unusual are Ingrotia where strange noises and disappearances get reported several times a year and Doralot where a significant undead uprising has occured twice.