Isle of Shadow and Death

The Dark Chill

"The First outsider has stepped foot onto the island with an army of demons in tow. The moment that those dark talons clawed these barren shores, a chill swept like a wave across the world. It manifested as a fleeting shadow across the sky accompanied by a sudden icy shiver up the spine. The wave dissipated almost as quickly as it came. Something Stirs..."

Approaching the island is a hellish journey. The waters surrounding it are as black as ink, and a tempestuous vortex of clouds as dark as ash encircles its outer reaches like a hurricane. Flashes of blue lightning are the sole source of light within these dark clouds. The damp briny taste of the sea air burns with each breath, and each splash from the icy sea chills you to the bone. The waves loom overhead like mountains and crash onto the sinister waters like an avalanche.

The Island itself is covered in smokey mists. Pulses of subtle luminescence flicker within the swirling vapor in shades of dark blues pinks and purples. Their brief illuminations paint visages of horror onto the swirling charcoal canvas. The ground cracks underfoot like the brittle charred remains of billions of cremated beings, petrified by time. Each step you take emits a loud crunch before kicking up a small wave of fine ash that becomes enveloped by the surrounding mists. Sharp Rocky hills roll across the landscape gradually climbing in elevation towards the island's center. You come across no living creatures, no plants, no life at all in this accursed land.

The air grows denser as you move inland, and higher up into the rocky hills. You feel almost as if the island is pulling you towards its center, and notice the swirling mist has been gently gliding in the same direction. Strange sounds recognizable as cries of pain and suffering echo across the fringes of your hearing before dissipating within the mist. When you reach the center of the island, you find a gargantuan chasm that spans the length of the Isle. The mist transmutes into colorful etheric streams of energy that flow into the chasm. The sound it makes reminds you of the rasping rattle of a dying man's last breath with one final whisper on his lips. The chasm's nadir holds only darkness which swallows the etheric energy into its bottomless void. The chasm's power pulls you forward, not just physically but mentally as well. The emptiness of the void has an allure that is both tranquil and exhilarating.

One must ask, what is this strange place?