Tag: loc-rhyl
Chapel of the Black Sun
Posted on July 31, 2026 in Steel-Realms
The Chapel of the Black Sun is a place spoken of in whispers and hushed tones. It is associated with all the evils that The Great Forest of Rhyl has to offer. It has a few names to different cultures and local folk. It is said to sit at the heart of the forest, impossible to find, impossible to destroy – like a festering wound. A perpetual fog rolls out of the area in multiple directions.
It is covered in Frost-Melded Icescapes from repeated attempts by the dragon to destroy its presence.
Chronicle/Facts of the Locale
Knowledge is broken down by ease of discovery/availability & Meticulous Record Keeping may improve usability; 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. Specific Lores may increase the chance of knowing specific elements.
Trivial Outcome / Very Easy Difficulty & Pervasive Knowledge
Information Sources: Mundane Reference | Associated Phenomenology Only | Specific Lore
For those native to or long-dwelling in the region, ALL Common Knowledge may be Pervasive.
Rumors About the Locale
- It is guarded by a nest of zombies and skeletons of those who sought its powers.
- Those who enter will be driven mad.
- It is at the exact center of the Rhyl Forest.
- The Chapel of the Black Sun is a place of pilgrimage for followers of the Church of Darkness.
Rhyl Formative Events
See the Herald's Quarterly for world updates.
Rhyl Formative Events
CY 7007 The area of North Gate Garrison freed & The Red March created; Money, supplies, armaments, and manpower flow into the north to fight the Lich Lords.
CY 6514 The Grand Duchy of Rhyl is created by the High King. In exchange for the resources and organization that can be brought to bear against the now organized undead armies, the lands become part of the High King's domain.
CY 6909 The Fall of the Grand Barony of Altair from a curse by the Lich Lords. The main passage of troops and supplies from the hinterlands and nfar north to the The Grand Duchy of Rhyl is sacked by an undead army led by a ghoul king.
CY 5980 The Kingdoms of old Rhylan united settled as a single Kingdom of Rhyl to fight the Lich Lords drive south. After centuries of warfare between territories and races, the common cause of the threat to the north secures a lasting peace.
> For 3000 years, the Kingdoms of old Rhylan was the primary form of Rulership in the territory of the current Grand Duchy.
CY 5580 Fall of Dundaria in the North - Frostfang spreads, the Lich Lord power rises. Hordes of the undead, fortunately disorganized (at first), sweep south and west from the heart of old Dundaria.
CY 2330's Fall of East / Rise of the Dark Lands (Orrishai Abandoned); Refugees flee - some cross the Tolkisson Mountain Range into the 'Lands of Rhylan' that would become the Kingdoms of old Rhylan and finally.
CY 1000 (Approximately) The Dragon of Rhyl is killed and its influence ends in the area around the Great Forest of Rhyl and the surrounding territories.
Simple Outcome / Easy Difficulty & Common Knowledge
For those native to or long-dwelling in the region, ALL Common Knowledge may be Pervasive.
A perpetual fog rolls out of the area in multiple directions, further obscuring its overgrown and mystically concealed pathways.
Minor Outcome / Average Difficulty & Uncommon Knowledge
The Chapel is referenced in The Endless Gates and Nonleveaux’s Lament.
The Chapel of the Black Sun is an icon of evil – a manifestation of the evil Black Lodge of legends.
A place to petition the void. A place to violently take the power of the void. A place to merge with the void. Speaking the Litany of the Void will draw its powers to the speaker here.
Divisive Influence: Its influence spreads. It un-civilizes, creates friction and division, shatters diplomacy, and unravels the ties of solidarity. The Frost-Melded Icescapes has diminished this effect, and empowered their lingering effects for tens of thousands of years.
Scarce Knowledge / Hard Difficulty
Inside everyone is blind. No mystical or mundane cure or counter for this will function.
It has no real association with the Church of Darkness.
The exact location of the Chapel of the Black Sun is at a crossroads of territorial, geological and mystical sources. It sits above Shoulder Blades Pass, at the place where a primary source of the Delben River (the divides the Wyldes of the Northern Heartlands and Freelands of the North) flows west into Blackwater Bay.
Rare Knowledge / Very Hard Difficulty
The chapel/church appears only during an eclipse.
The power of the Chapel of the Black Sun is part of what gives Blackwater Bay its name.
The Chapel of the Black Sun is where the majority of the source of the Plague of Hags stems from.
Hares Dream
Posted on July 10, 2026
The Hares Dream is a phenomenon of sleeping on or near areas of the ‘Albocris Estate‘. In it, the character perceives the world as though they were a hare where they are. Night or day, predators are constantly being perceived around them. They run as fast as they can, legs pumping, breathing ragged and heart rate through the roof. Their thoughts are filled with nothing more than survival, panic, and terror. It goes on and on.
Shancere (ruins; Rhyl)
Posted on July 9, 2026 in Steel-Realms
Shancere (shan-ser-ay) is an ancient place. It may go back to the days when the elves and Dragon of Rhyl fought, before the modern age. It seems to be ruins, built upon ruins, built upon ruins. It is right inside the Southern Edgelands of the Forest of Rhyl and has steadily encroached on it for near a millennium, reclaiming it for nature. a few dozen kilometers away is Icen Churnidz – the ancient and potent Frost-Melded Icescape.
A hill rises up above the tree line. Smaller trees grow around it, marking the area cleared for defense a long time ago. You feel loneliness, hopelessness, sadness, and melancholy. This place has long been abandoned by civilized folk, it feels thoroughly wild – though its structures still stand. The centerpiece is an abbey of stone, rising up on the top of the hill. The large structure has a aura of ancientness about it, and time feels like it stands still in viewing it.
There is a small herd of 150 Wild horses nearby.
Abbey of Stone
The abbey is the centerpiece still, though you cannot tell what god or gods it may have once been dedicated to.
The Church Ruins
There is no roof. The walls are broken.
The Terraced Steps
A set of 5 terraced steps, seemingly built for giants, lead up to the double doors. The steps are cut into the earth, set with massive blocks that total 25m wide – as wide as a the church itself at the front. At the outside edge on both sides are a set of smaller human sized steps – three for each of the terraces. Strangely, the humanoid sized steps have been seemingly purposefully broken by tools.
As you climb the terraces that are steps, you feel like an interloper – as if this was never intended for you and your ilk. The human sized steps look broken and dangerous – and purposefully ruined to make it seem that way – as if a warning.
Massive Double Doors
The double doors stand closed, though it is easy to enter the church through a hole in or over the broken walls.
A smell like old earth, stale air as if from a cavern deep in the earth where nothing has moved in a millennium wafts upon the breeze. It smells of… the past. An ancient and cold past. Nostalgia overcomes you as your mind wanders into long forgotten memories.
Broken Altar
The Abbey Well
Places & Geographical Features of the Albocris Edgelands (Rhyl)
Posted on July 7, 2026 in Steel-Realms
Places & Geographical Features of the Albocris Edgelands are the natural places in the Ablocris Edgelands of Rhyl.
Blackrock Tower
Posted on July 6, 2026 in Steel-Realms
Blackburrow (Rhyl) is one of the three towers of the Blackburrow region in the Southern Edgelands of the Forest of Rhyl. Each of the Blackburrow towers is slightly different but the same materials comprise the structures. Like all the towers and their structures, they are seamless, without entry or windows, and rise straight out of the earth. They have no crenelation but have an odd spiral peak. The forest has overgrown it all if anything stood nearby. The towers are about 7m diameter & 25m tall, and vegetation and trees grow right up next to them now. No one knows how deep they go, though several attempts to dig down have met more of the same material even at 5m below the surface. The inky black substance appears oily but is solid.
This particular construct has a ring of boulders around it of the same materials. These 7 objects are 5m away from the tower wall and are roughly 4m in diameter & irregularly shaped.
At a Distance:
Close Observation:
Markers: This named spot in particular has been designated for Historical Designation and Exploration in the Steel Realms.
Chronicle/Facts of the Locale
Knowledge is broken down by ease of discovery/availability & Meticulous Record Keeping may improve usability; 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. Specific Lores may increase the chance of knowing specific elements.
Trivial Outcome / Very Easy Difficulty & Pervasive Knowledge
Information Sources: Mundane Reference | Associated Phenomenology Only | Specific Lore
For those native to or long-dwelling in the region, ALL Common Knowledge may be Pervasive.
There may once have been outbuildings and other structures, but they are gone now. If there were, they were likely of organic material and long rotted. If they were stone, the materials were probably used in far away building projects rather than cutting from quarries.
Rumors About the Locale
- The tower is cursed.
- The tower comes from the time of the Godswar.
- Strange lights can be seen on certain nights.
- Fumes cause those sleeping nearby to be poisoned.
Simple Outcome / Easy Difficulty & Common Knowledge
For those native to or long-dwelling in the region, ALL Common Knowledge may be Pervasive.
While the cold does not radiate from the ‘tower’, it does seem to provide some minor fire-retardant effect for the plants and trees growing with 10m of it. It takes about 2x or 3x the prolonged flame to catch them alight.
Property – Cold: The materials are cold to the touch. They do not do damage or radiate cold any further than direct contact.
Minor Outcome / Average Difficulty & Uncommon Knowledge
Property – Impervious: The stone towers seem impervious to all attempts to mar them – many have been made. Even siege weapons were brought up and launched against them to no avail.
Scarce Knowledge / Hard Difficulty
Property – Dark: Any source of light does not reflect off the material it is made from. In addition, any light that is within 5m of it has its luminosity decreased by half. It does not reduce heat radiance from fire based light sources.
Rare Knowledge / Very Hard Difficulty
During the time of summer equinox, the tops of the tower flash with colored lights, though at the same time a fog covers the entire structure and masks most the effects from being seen.