Incarna Gaming Network
Choose your world… and bring your characters to life!
Home - Category: Steel-Realms (Page 27)
Category: Steel-Realms
The Legend of the Questone Gateway
Posted on November 20, 2024 in Steel-Realms
A pair of adventurers – Rogahn the Fearless, a warrior, and the magus Zelligar the Unknown – discovered a path leading to the Dark Lands. They kept its secret, whether it was a physical tunnel or some sort of mystical portal, and made forays over years. They built a fortress into the hillside nearby as a permanent base, and a tower where they could see the cave complex in which was the pathway. They explored for decades successfully, but one day the Orrish followed them home.
The Legend of the Questone Gateway is a Steel Realms Timeline Event; recorded knowledge.Chronicle of The Legend of the Questone Gateway
Information Sources: Mundane Reference | Associated Phenomenology Only | Specific Lore
Knowledge is broken down by ease of discovery/availability; Any attempt to know more than what's Pervasive will require a reference, source, knowledge, check, or access to someone who can get or provide either of these.
Pervasive Knowledge / Very Easy Difficulty
A pair of adventurers – Rogahn the Fearless, a warrior, and the magus Zelligar the Unknown – discovered a path leading to the Dark Lands. They kept its secret, whether it was a physical tunnel or some sort of mystical portal, and made forays over years. Zelligars last name was Questone – hence the name “Questone Gateway”. They built a fortress into the hillside nearby as a permanent base, and a tower where they could see the cave complex in which was the pathway. They explored for decades successfully, but one day the Orrish followed them home.
In CY 8857, A pair of adventurers – Rogahn the Fearless, a warrior, and the magus Zelligar the Unknown – discovered a path leading to the Dark Lands. The pair somehow found a path or method of accessing the Dark Lands from deep in the Heartlands – in the Grand Duchy of Dunstrand. They kept its secret, whether it was a physical tunnel or some sort of mystical portal, and made forays over years. They built a fortress into the hillside nearby as a permanent base, and a tower where they could see the cave complex in which was the pathway. They repeatedly came back with fabulous riches from ancient ruins of The Fallen East. Although they were gone for months at a time, they never seemed to have been equipped to travel that distance, leading to many rumors and much speculation. They had their own select group of followers – one time mercenaries that had become permanent soldiers in their ranks, and shared in their wealth (also keeping their secrets). They explored for decades successfully, but one day the Orrish somehow followed them home, beginning a time of strife and violence for those nearby. During this time, they seemingly remained uncaring, defending only their own base of operations.
Common Knowledge / Easy Difficulty
Over time, the name has been corrupted/morphed into “Quasqueton“.
The Orrish either tunneled into their passage into the Dark Lands or found a way to use some portal and they began to raid locally from the cave complex. It became a game of tit-for-tat; They would raid, and then the Orrish would raid back. For decades this went on, and the pair grew older and took more and more with them for protection. Each time they sealed the cave complex, the Orrish would dig it out. Their reputation began its decline, and the locals blamed them for the ill fortune of the raids. The pair drifted apart. One time, the magus went to the Dark Lands on their own with mercenaries and his apprentices. The Orrish must have somehow known, they attacked their fortress and killed the warrior while the magus was raiding their own homeland. The magus never returned, while the warrior fended off the Orrish as best as he could and closed the passage. By now, the main entrance had collapsed, though many exits had repeatedly been dug out of the hillside. It seems they shared the same fate, though not together – the magus was never heard from again. Their fortress was attacked and overrun by the Orrish, everyone was killed to the last.
Uncommon Knowledge / Average Difficulty
Thus began a period of time of raids by the Orrish and tunnels collapsing by the locals. Every excursion deep into the complex resulted in dead ends – the connection to the Dark Lands was never found. For nearly 300 years, the Orrish have tunneled new breaches out of their main complex. They have fought light dwellers to standstill and even collapsed the tunnels and caves themselves in order to protect the true source of their escape back into the Dark Lands only to resurface years later in nearly the same area. Dwarves have been enjoined to seek the source and were violently repulsed. Then the Long Summer of Elancil came and for 40 years all was quiet. Then, over the last 30 years, the quiet has ever so slowly been rolled back. Mostly just small raids, striking far and wide to spread terror, but in small numbers. Now the time of peace is over. An ever increasing amount of goblins raided, and Neplanthe Keep was built to hunt and kill the raiders. Then in 9168 the Orks began to show up. Then strange things began to happen in the hills and riverlands nearby. Larger and larger raids began to happen.
La Celle-Saint-Cloud (entering Falcon Reach)
Posted on November 5, 2024 in Steel-Realms
The town of La Celle-Saint-Cloud stands as the primary entrance to the territory of Falcon Reach. A spur road that goes around the branch of the Falcon River that separates Falcon Reach runs through the city. There is always light traffic on it.
An obelisk standing stone is a trail marker that marks a spur that clearly leads to a city in the distance. A city that sits on a slight rise. Further north at rise becomes a slope that rises a good kilometer or more through hilly terrain to a plateau far in the distance. There are multiple settlements with their trail markers of white limestone clean and gleaming in the late morning sun. The vast majority of the trade coming in and out seems to favor the river here and take a spur to the main road to the east. There is a way station marking the place as Gold Robe Crossing in multiple written languages.
Climante Keep
Posted on November 5, 2024 in Steel-Realms
Climante Keep is the keep at the base of the Tolkisson Mountain Range that guards the path to the Black Hillz. It is the supply hub for the two towers of U’runde and U’dethe.
The forces of the High King’s army man this post.
Chronicle of the Keep
Information Sources: Mundane Reference | Associated Phenomenology Only | Specific Lore
Knowledge is broken down by ease of discovery/availability; Any attempt to know more than what's Pervasive will require a reference, source, knowledge, check, or access to someone who can get or provide either of these.
Pervasive Knowledge / Very Easy Difficulty
This place is famous all across the realms for centuries of unending vigilance and militarism in fighting the Orrish forces of Tallow’s Deep.
Common Knowledge / Easy Difficulty
Heartlands Spark > Set in Grand Duchy of Dunstrand of the [Fantasy] Steel Realms, as a Living World storyline.
CY 91689 A massive battle took place here, drawing in forces from as far away as the Barony of Matchalk. The tower of U’dethe was set ablaze with a sickly bruised flame, corrupting the forms of the defenders. The Orrish spilled out of the Black Hillz and fought the forces of the High King’s army from the garrison at Climante Keep to a standstill. The Curtain of Night swept forward, along a several kilometer front, pouring black waters down and flooding swathes of the Tallowed Uplands in the Black Hillz and driving the forces of light back – a new foothold was achieved! It has isolated the tower of U’runde, now under constant siege and supplied through the mystical arts of the druids of the Wyld and Lightbringer clergy.
Uncommon Knowledge / Average Difficulty
It was built using some of the approaches used in the Picket Keeps of the Heartlands.
U’runde (Tower of the Branch)
Posted on November 5, 2024 in Steel-Realms
One of the two “towers” in the Black Hillz that defend against the incursions of Tallow’s Deep. They sit within beacon sight to each other. U’dethe is the one that guards the jagged road to the base of the mountains 800 feet below. U’runde is the forward tower, on constant heightened vigilance with ranging patrols. They are both supplied by Climante Keep at the base of the Tolkisson Mountains. ‘Tower’ is a misnomer – these are walled keeps that are provisioned for prolonged sieges, though each has a centerpiece massive high tower with a beacon that can be seen from civilized lands 50km away. They are strictly military in operation, and have few civilian logistics staff or processes. Both have their own reinforced and well defended underground cisterns, and the presence of the Curtain of Night requires they be built to withstand flooding from the deluge of rain that often accompanies it. Troops are rotated between the two towers constantly, for the heightened readiness of U’runde takes a toll.
U’runde – the Tower of the Brach – is the first line of defense in the Black Hillz. Their daily job is to conduct long and short range patrols for Orrish presence, and test waterways, known caverns, and avenues of attack from Tallow’s Deep. At night, the Light of U’runde shines directly on the split entrance to the path to Tallows Deep like a searchlight.
Chronicle of the Tower
Information Sources: Mundane Reference | Associated Phenomenology Only | Specific Lore
Knowledge is broken down by ease of discovery/availability; Any attempt to know more than what's Pervasive will require a reference, source, knowledge, check, or access to someone who can get or provide either of these.
Pervasive Knowledge / Very Easy Difficulty
This place is famous all across the realms for centuries of unending vigilance and militarism in fighting the Orrish forces of Tallow’s Deep.
Common Knowledge / Easy Difficulty
Heartlands Spark > Set in Grand Duchy of Dunstrand of the [Fantasy] Steel Realms, as a Living World storyline.
CY 91689 A massive battle took place here, drawing in forces from as far away as the Barony of Matchalk. The tower of U’dethe was set ablaze with a sickly bruised flame, corrupting the forms of the defenders. The Orrish spilled out of the Black Hillz and fought the forces of the High King’s army from the garrison at Climante Keep to a standstill. The Curtain of Night swept forward, along a several kilometer front, pouring black waters down and flooding swathes of the Tallowed Uplands in the Black Hillz and driving the forces of light back – a new foothold was achieved! It has isolated the tower of U’runde, now under constant siege and supplied through the mystical arts of the druids of the Wyld and Lightbringer clergy.
U’dethe (Tower of the Root)
Posted on November 5, 2024 in Steel-Realms
One of the two “towers” in the Black Hillz that defend against the incursions of Tallow’s Deep. They sit within beacon sight to each other. U’dethe is the one that guards the jagged road to the base of the mountains 800 feet below. U’runde is the forward tower, on constant heightened vigilance with ranging patrols. They are both supplied by Climante Keep at the base of the Tolkisson Mountains. ‘Tower’ is a misnomer – these are walled keeps that are provisioned for prolonged sieges, though each has a centerpiece massive high tower with a beacon that can be seen from civilized lands 50km away. They are strictly military in operation, and have few civilian logistics staff or processes. Both have their own reinforced and well defended underground cisterns, and the presence of the Curtain of Night requires they be built to withstand flooding from the deluge of rain that often accompanies it. Troops are rotated between the two towers constantly, for the heightened readiness of U’runde takes a toll.
U’dethe – the Tower of the Root – guards the pathway out of the Black Hillz down to the civilized lands below. Their daily job is to ensure no ambushes can be prepared, and to keep the pathways of the movement of troops and supplies open to Climante Keep at the base of the road. .
Chronicle of the Tower
Information Sources: Mundane Reference | Associated Phenomenology Only | Specific Lore
Knowledge is broken down by ease of discovery/availability; Any attempt to know more than what's Pervasive will require a reference, source, knowledge, check, or access to someone who can get or provide either of these.
Pervasive Knowledge / Very Easy Difficulty
This place is famous all across the realms for centuries of unending vigilance and militarism in fighting the Orrish forces of Tallow’s Deep.
Common Knowledge / Easy Difficulty
Heartlands Spark > Set in Grand Duchy of Dunstrand of the [Fantasy] Steel Realms, as a Living World storyline.
CY 91689 A massive battle took place here, drawing in forces from as far away as the Barony of Matchalk. The tower of U’dethe was set ablaze with a sickly bruised flame, corrupting the forms of the defenders. The Orrish spilled out of the Black Hillz and fought the forces of the High King’s army from the garrison at Climante Keep to a standstill. The Curtain of Night swept forward, along a several kilometer front, pouring black waters down and flooding swathes of the Tallowed Uplands in the Black Hillz and driving the forces of light back – a new foothold was achieved! It has isolated the tower of U’runde, now under constant siege and supplied through the mystical arts of the druids of the Wyld and Lightbringer clergy.