The Sunken Lands
The continent of Kotesh was once dotted with glittering cities and bustling trade routes. Its mountains were filled with precious metals and stones, and its many inland seas provided a properous fishing and pearl trade. The Sorcerer advisors to the Ko-nai chieftains of its city states were some of the most powerful magic-users in all of Terra Argos, rivaling even the Archmages of Waylandell. At that time, Kotesh was known as the Golden Land, with more wealth and riches than any civilization since could boast. That was, until the calamity struck.
There are many myths and tales surrounding the sinking of Kotesh that have been told in the many milennia since. Some say that an emmissary from the sea came one day to ask the city-states for help, and when the Ko-nai laughed in his face, he cursed the land. Others say the gods themselves began to fear the power of the chieftains should they band together, and cast the entire continent into the seas. What is known for sure is this: one day, the mountains crumbled, and the seas rose. Cities collapsed as waves as high as the Sorcerer's Towers crashed down upon them, escape to high ground became impossible as mountain peaks fell and crushed the roads beneath them. Almost overnight, Kotesh was reduced to scattered islands within a blackened sea, with once-great cities resting silently beneath the waves.
In present days, very few sentient species survive in the Sunken Lands, and those that do are little more than scattered tribes, suspicious of outsiders as they scrape out a living amongst the rocky islands and cursed waters. The seas there are dangerous, full of sharp reefs and unknown creatures lurking just beneath the surface. What few adventurers and treasure-hunters still sail the waters in an attempt to find the lost riches of the Ko-nai rarely return, and those that do are never the same, often driven mad by the experience.
And so, the Sunken Lands still lie to the southeast, a bleak and foreboding warning against the dangers of pride and opulence.
There are many myths and tales surrounding the sinking of Kotesh that have been told in the many milennia since. Some say that an emmissary from the sea came one day to ask the city-states for help, and when the Ko-nai laughed in his face, he cursed the land. Others say the gods themselves began to fear the power of the chieftains should they band together, and cast the entire continent into the seas. What is known for sure is this: one day, the mountains crumbled, and the seas rose. Cities collapsed as waves as high as the Sorcerer's Towers crashed down upon them, escape to high ground became impossible as mountain peaks fell and crushed the roads beneath them. Almost overnight, Kotesh was reduced to scattered islands within a blackened sea, with once-great cities resting silently beneath the waves.
In present days, very few sentient species survive in the Sunken Lands, and those that do are little more than scattered tribes, suspicious of outsiders as they scrape out a living amongst the rocky islands and cursed waters. The seas there are dangerous, full of sharp reefs and unknown creatures lurking just beneath the surface. What few adventurers and treasure-hunters still sail the waters in an attempt to find the lost riches of the Ko-nai rarely return, and those that do are never the same, often driven mad by the experience.
And so, the Sunken Lands still lie to the southeast, a bleak and foreboding warning against the dangers of pride and opulence.
Comments