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Records of Stone Mote Haven
History of Stone Mote Haven
Records: The full records of this ONLY appear in Greater Ducateon Collective. A few references to it exist, but it thousands of years old and most references outside the Ducateon have themselves been eradicated or are obscure, referring to it in its early days by the plateau name, not the Ducateon name. Records exist deep inside the settlement itself, waiting to be discovered.
At one time it was an Outholt for a small Ducateon colony named ‘Stone Mote Haven’ around CY 1400. It was initially discovered by Ducateon explorers of their first king in the Steel Realms (Understar Brightmote) around CY 1360. They were drawn by a strange vibration from far away. Sinister is how the records describe it – but powerful to the extent that they could not resist it… from either curiosity or an unnatural lust for power by some. They sensed a deep, large natural cave complex when they arrived, and set up a small way station as they put down roots over the next decade – slow and steady. The stone was Blackstone. They sent for assistance after they found unique properties in some of the stone near it – something new – and decided to make preliminary cuts to follow a vein of sediment to a red marble cluster just under the surface. The stone was good – strong and lustrous when polished. They carved the Outholt on the north face of the plateau, into the side, and set up their forge. It was mostly vertical, with a rubble and paved and fused ramp that rose to its heights for moving goods.
In the decades they had been working it, they had only focused on the mine, the forge, and the Putholt and trade market. There was a sense of not wanting to disturb anything else… There was a deep “wrongness” about the place, and the settlers respected it and stayed away from the top and areas that were not required.
Eventually, the space for the “hanging” gardens at the top was being cleared when a vent was discovered. The chimney/vent of the natural cave complex was lined with odd crystals, which had the effect that when a fire was burning, it would release motes of light that rose up over a hundred feet (this was especially very beautiful at night) before winking out. Iron and steel exposed to the light took on its radiance and color. The Ducateon began to work, and soon they sensed a consciousness in the earth, deep in repose, that was tied to the effect in the motes of light. A channel was dug down, and the chimney went further than they dared explore – for the sentience they had sensed lay at the heart of the effect.
They suspected a powerful spirit at work, and chose to try to exploit its effect but not disturb its slumber. Something corrupted the dwellers – the priest was murdered and it made to look like an accident. The leader of the Holt had no priest to call on, and simply declared it to be a manifestation of Him – a good omen. They proceeded to sing their songs and cut into the stone, dig down, and at the same time into the hill side. To the convergence they moved their forge. A vein of warm red iron became their focus, from which they forged their tools and armaments.
Unfortunately, after a year or so, the vibrations in the deep awoke the presence they had sensed. The burgeoning Holt was abandoned after a woken dragon attacked the unfinished colony, and smashed the Holt, causing an earthquake in the upper reaches. No one knows how the dragon escaped its prison deep in the earth without being noticed, but it did. The dragon destroyed what it knew was the heart and soul of the Ducateon settlement – the forge and quarry – where stone and metal craft were being done for the Holt. It ravaged the cliff face of the plateau, digging into the hard rock until a hundred feet had been cracked and collapsed. Stones flew for miles in every direction with each flap of its wings. Once it dug out to rooms and tunnels leading to the forge, it only took minutes to ruin the work of decades with its breath of fire. It left the temple – where the priests had gathered and their prayers were protecting what few of the populace as they could. The dragon was said to have laughed at this attempt, but it gave pause. It had torn the entire lower Outholt out of the cliff face. The Outholt town and market were burned to ash. The stones it had torn up, and the town were on fire and dissolving from the dragon flames. Something made it stop, and it alighted into the sky, never to be seen again. The few that survived packed what they could and left the region.
Timeline of Stone Mote Haven
- CY 1359: The Rite of the Resonant Flash performed
- CY 1398: Resonant Call “heard”
- CY 1400: Expeditionary force sent
- : Initial report confusing; Blackstone found
- : “King” Brightmote declares a new settlement; colonizing force sent
- : Holt (Way Station) Stone Haven founded for exploring West March Mountains (Scar Flow now)
> The plateau is left alone in order to camouflage the presence of the Holt initially
- : A vein of Blackstone is mined until planar Anima Fount opens; many strange creatures assail the settlement
> The top of the plateau becomes imbued with a strange life all its own; changes to the spring and pond are observed and noted.
- : The red marble vein of Blackstone found (tentative mining and processing)
> Some records indicate that this was an event or creature that triggered it – not natural
- : Request for more of the priests of Him and specialists
- : Stone Haven Forge begins operation
> Pond is used as quench water and some properties become known
- : Stone Haven trade market created
> Humans invited to settle and some mercenary bands are brought in to fight.
- : Holtmote Vent found and named
> Ducateon humor
- : Politics and power errodes the local collective and caste barriers
- : Forge and settlement renamed to Stone Mote Haven
> Records note that humans and Ducateon were interbreeding extensively; many dwarves born
- : A Red of the Blood of Gethnirt destroys the entire outholt and surrounding community – this creates the Graymist effect