Grishnak is
Morknars' homeland. What was once the pinnacle of modern science and vast, lush land is now mostly inhabitable if not deadly. 230 years ago, a secret runic experiment went out of control in the capital and unleashed
The Dark Flood on the lands. Only the southernmost peninsula of Grishnak,
Hope's end, is still intact.
It was like a lightning strike. Each time a containment rune broke, another massive explosion brimmed the Daygrasp Cathedral. Soon enough, every single High Morknar in the city gathered around the building in a desperate attempt to contain The Dark Flood within. A wall of runes raised, carved in the stone or in the air, and we prayed.
This only gave time to most of the Lows to evacuate and start spreading the message to do so on the whole continent. Riders departed on every road to inform as many people of the impending doom that was approaching.
The eldest Highs stayed as more and more containment runes broke so that the rest of us could leave. All of them perished.
On that fateful day, we almost lost everything.— Vistak Firin Geree - "Grishnak the fallen."
Devastation itself
The Dark Flood served its purpose well. Everything that was once alive - plants or animals - is now dead. The soil is infertile, water is poisoned, even the air can be toxic and heavy.
Morknars learned the latter at their own expense when the first windstorm from the north came upon
Hope's end.
Those who lived closer to the north and thus to the corruption fell prey to many diseases carried by the winds, often leading to death. An additional layer of wind runes was then built to prevent this from happening again, keeping the poisonous gales north.
Last bastion of hope
Morknars could not contain the flood at its source, Daygrasp, as the spell was at its peak strength. The former Keeper of the Great Library led their people south, to Hope's end.
The access to the peninsula was narrow enough for a runic water wall could be built in time. As expected, the water stopped the corruption and kept the peninsula safe. As soon as they arrived, the refugees started to rebuild their civilization there, while colonizers were sent all over the world to seek a new land.
Stub! This article will get expanded post-summer camp.
Richard Bradley
Sounds like a horribly devastating event! Something on par with Chernobyl in our world, I suppose. Very nice!
Matthieu A.
Oh yeah. Sadly SC doesn't have a prompt for me to write about the Dark Flood, but it's a truly devastating spell. Still, Morknars kind of played with fire and they got burnt.