Helius
Realm of the Drowned
Introduction
Helius was once a Realm lush with life and home to a grand civilization that stretched across its solitary continent. From the forgotten depths of this world's oceans rose a terrible creature that promised power to those who would serve it, swore to make kings of even the lowliest of mortals. Thus, a tyrannical Mageocracy and their Sorcerer-King came to rule over the land and its peoples. His magical prowess, cruelty, and the eternal knowledge of his master saw the birth of a culture that could have one day gone on to conquer the Cosmos. Yet the Revolution of Spears saw the fall of the great Mageocracy and the imprisonment of both the immortal Sorcerer-King and his fabled master. Centuries would pass before a few unwitting fools would, unfortunately, release these archaic evils back into their world, a terror that would spell the doom of an entire Realm.
The unending hunger for conquest no longer fueled the plans of the King-Maker and his most devoted servant; instead, plots of revenge and vengeance consumed their vision for the future. Arcane Horrors, grisly amalgamations of flesh, and terrors from the deep marched to the call of their lords of the end-times. These heralds of the apocalypse drove the sea to swallow the land, twisted the creatures they consumed to serve their vision, and wiped the world clean of all that would not submit. Helius is now the Realm of the Drowned or the Damned Depths in its most literal translation from its designation in Hulm. All that remains within its inky black depths sits ten-thousand leagues beneath the ocean's surface, home to ancient ruins and twisted deepsea creatures that make even the most stalwart soul shiver. It is a Realm enslaved to the will of a single creature known by many names: the King-Maker, the Great-Devourer, the Serpent of Salesh.
As of the 99th of Fall, there has been no documented proof that Helius is anything more than another "Realm" owned by the Divine. Though First Chronicler Dods insists otherwise, my colleagues and I have concluded that this Realm is nothing more than a world of punishment created by Shadiym himself. Thus, we have declared it to be a non-threat to Ravare, if it even exists, and will be diverting its research stipend.
Meta
Helius is the Water and Decay Realm, located in the Astral Anchor Constellation. This Realm was originally Wired's alternate campaign that has since merged with Ravare. It is a world utterly consumed by an evil born from its darkest depths and was unwittingly released from captivity by a ragtag group of charming adventurers. It is also the homeland of renowned Realmhopper and scholar Elias Dods.
Geography
One of the larger realms, Helius originally boasted a single super-continent and a few great bodies of water. When the Great-Devourer escaped from his eternal prison, he brought disaster on a cataclysmic and world-ending scale to the Realm. The entire Realm was flooded completely under hundreds of miles of inky black water. A single colossal ocean now spans this world's whole surface, with some sections sporting cavernous depths found in few other places in the Cosmos. Enormous waves decimate anything that manages to breach the water's surface, and crushing pressures have left only the skeletons of the world of the ancients.
Atmospheric Conditions
A handful of ruins and artificially created caverns of the ancients have survived with strange breathable atmospheres preserved within them. Yet otherwise, Helius supports no atmosphere with its vast ocean seemingly reaching to the stars themselves.
Sophonts
Sophonts have nearly been eradicated from Helius by the King-Maker, with the only semblance of their kind remaining in the twisted minds of his enslaved servants and his chosen champions. The only creatures with souls that have survived are utterly devoted to their lord of the drowned.
Flora
The remnants and ruins that dot the flooded continent are covered in coral reefs and forests of underwater grasses and tree-like structures. When you reach the bottomless Depths you start finding more exotic plants that rely on consuming the Glow ripped from living creatures to survive.
Fauna
Two kinds of fauna exist here, massive leviathans that dwarf any attempt to describe their sheer massive size and a vibrant ecosystem of fish and crustaceans. Primal Elementals run rampant across the Realm, often taking on the forms of local sealife.
Perhaps a few caverns of air-breathing creatures that have survived the ages. Massive manta-ray like creatures that harvest entire swarms of fish in single bites.
Energy Sources
The Glow is present only in the ruins of the ancients and leaks like oil from their constructions of strange arcane glass. It drifts ever upward, pooling at the surface in shimmering sheets before being dispersed at the passing of the next tidal wave. Because of this, few creatures make the arduous journey to collect it, let alone go to the trouble of learning to wield it. Only the King-Maker's chosen champions and a handful of deviants continue to Weave the Arcane Magics.
Primal Water runs the entire realm with chaotic fury, it is unavoidable and all creatures must learn how to wield it or protect themselves from it.
Technology
Helius was once extremely technologically advanced. Having mastered many methods of production, discovered the secrets of electricity, and begun experimentation with combustion. After the cataclysm that flooded the Realm, technological progress halted as the world was effectively brought back to the stone age. Some relics of technology can be found secreted away in vaults within ancient ruins.
General Information
Alternative Name(s)
Damned Depths, Ocean of the Damned
Type
Dimensional plane
Location under
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