Eye of Shyish
The island is surrounded by several small mountain ranges. Many would-be dismissive of their short stature but they are deadlier then they appear. They are made up of razor-sharp obsidian rocks that have a unique color that is similar to the blackish purple of a raven's feathers. Be warned that traversing uncertain trails through the mountains can easily lead to evisceration. The interior of this mountain range consists of relatively flat lands. They gradually slope inward forming a basin whose lowest point lay at the central circular region that is surrounded by water.
The central lands of the Eye of Shyish are barren and covered in a fine black sand that is as course as gunpowder. Coincidentally, this powder is highly flammable when mixed with salts harvested from seawater and carbon from burnt bone. When this alchemical mixture is touched by flame, it explodes in a plasmic purple flash of light. A covetable resource for those who would seek to use it. The locals from the nearby Wailing Marshes refer to this substance as Grave-Powder.
The only life that seems to exist within these lands are in its surrounding waters. No plant or animal makes its home here for the soil is poison to most flora and fauna. It would seem the main draw of this island is its defensive positions and unique natural resources. Although, an odd energy seems to pulse beneath the ground, like the heartbeat of a dying man.
EVENTS
In 2 AOB, during the ominous Dark Chills, the Abyssal Fleet of Captain Aldernon Numan landed at the Eye of Shyish. Immediately they began to study the properties of the plentiful Grave-Powder, and the Observatory was built to oversee the budding mining operation. Soon barrels of this esoteric explosive were being filled and sailed to Skullport. Much of it was stockpiled to serve as the fleet’s arsenal, but some inevitably was sold to locals (at a much inflated price, of course). Many a cursed galleon was summoned from the Maelstrom thanks to grave-powder, and the fleet’s influence continued to grow.
As the operation grew, Charnelmine was built at the center of the island to dig deeper into the soil. Large undead constructs of bone and timber were put together to halt more and more grave-powder, as the operation became a veritable industry. But a eerie foreboding is said to be in the air. That grave-sand is not the only material that lies buried under the Eye of Shyish… that the island has secrets only Captain Numan’s Fleet knows, and so far they are not sharing them… rumors abound of shipments sent elsewhere, containing not powder… but something else. It will become a matter of time for prying eyes to start being a presence at the Eye, for such a large operation cannot remain air-tight forever… especially given the mutinous and treacherous nature of the workforce, even after death. The Fleet’s Oath is to the mast, not to silence over affairs of enterprise.
The island is slowly being settled in its entirety, as Capt. Numan’s fleet seems to be making it their base of operations… settlement after settlement, of raucous deathless pirates and other cutthroats who have gambled away their souls to escape the clutches of the Great Necromancer. More and more ghostly ships sail into and off the island at all times now, reinforcing the routes traveling the straits surrounding the island and through the Wailing Marshes. Does Captain Numan have a plan for this burgeoning empire? What does he seek? Time will tell if this cursed place may end up being their undoing...
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