About 600 years ago, there existed the Kingdom of Nyranthorm to the east of the Beodoec Range. The kingdom was a theocracy dedicated to the God of the Pure at Heart; Mitra Pureheart. At this time, Blue Mountain was in its infancy.
The eastern border of the realm was, of course, the Beodoec Range, a formidable barrier through which only one pass was known to exist. This pass was known as Redmoon Pass. Early explorers from the kingdom found little in the eastern realms to recommend them. Nevertheless, a small fortress was established in the pass to ward off invading barbarian tribes, both human and non-human. Eight years after establishing the fortress a large group of pilgrims traveled through the pass to the eastern realms to seek their fortune. These pilgrims were the last to transit the pass for over 500 years.
The fortress in Redmoon Pass, known as Mitra’s Fist, was eleven years old when disaster struck. On an overcast lightless night, a mighty tower of black stone appeared mysteriously out of nowhere, crushing in its wake fully half the fortress. Opposite it stood the White Tower of Mitra, an edifice of stone erected by devotees of Mitra as a symbol of their dedication and love for their God.
The black tower was recognized immediately as, an artifact of the evil incarnate, and bitter enemy of Mitra and his followers; Set, the Snake God. The Lord-Commander of the fortress, a high priest of Mitra, immediately sent word to his liege, the Priest-King of Nyranthorm who arrived within hours of the manifestation in the company of his most faithful bodyguard, Vishar, a Storm Giant. His arrival triggered the beginning of the holocaust. The iron portals of the black tower swung open discharging the army of Set. At its head was Manahath, a chosen Son of Set. With him were three Lesser Sons of Set: Vrednii the Eater of Corpses, Balaar the Shaker, and Konah the Dissenter. The bulk of the army consisted of the ophidius Minions of Set. Directing his army from the upper level of the dark tower was Pnessutt, an evil lich and high priest of Set. Even the awesome power of the Priest-King of Nyranthorm, bearing several holy relics of his religion, could not halt the flow of death that emerged from the dark tower. The wizard battle that followed was apocalyptic as magical forces of indescribable power were brought to bear in an effort to destroy. On the one hand there was the Lich-Priest, Pnessutt, a Chosen Son of Set, three lesser Sons of Set and an army of shape-changing Minions of Set. The forces of good included the Priest-King of Nyranthorm, the Lord-Commander of the fortress, the Mage-Priest of the fortress, Vishar the storm giant and several Lions of Mitra. The normal contingent of soldiers in the fortress had almost no impact on the battle.
The Priest-King was felled by a mortal wound delivered by a Consecrated Warrior of Mitra by the name of Holomir Goldheart. At the time of the slaying, Holomir wielded Ny-Seraph, a holy sword and religious artifact of Mitra. The murder though was not as it appeared. Holomir was under the mental domination of Pnessutt and, although he fought with every fiber, of his existence, even seeking to slay himself to avoid killing his liege, Pnessutt was too strong for him and the foul deed was done. The slaying of the Priest-King with a holy relic of his religion had immediate monumental effects. The sky overhead darkened and the ground shook. Winds of hurricane force filled the pass and the mountains began to tumble. Landslides that left the village strangely intact as they buried it soon covered the pass to depths of hundreds of feet. A curse was placed on the White Tower that trapped all within it in a time stasis. This same stasis trapped the soul, but not the body, of Holomir Goldheart, thereafter known as Holomir Lost-Soul. Holomir was trapped near the white tower when the landslides covered it but he was spared.
Residual magical forces of the wizard battle had several other effects. Those few that survived became immortal in much the same way as Holomir in that their souls became trapped. Most of these trapped souls were linked to the black tower though a few were trapped in other, ways.
The Kingdom of Nyranthorm experienced a period of chaos with the death of their leader. During this time temples of Set began to appear around the kingdom. By the time the threat was noticed, the followers of Set had grown considerably in numbers and a religious Civil war broke out. The war lasted for five years. It ended when a smaller kingdom to the south of Nyranthorm took advantage of the civil war and attacked Nyranthorm. The invaders succeeded in defeating the depleted armies of both Nyranthorm and Set. The result of the invasion was that Redmoon Pass was all but forgotten. Those few that did venture into the eastern Beodoec Range found the pass completely blocked and unpassable.
Over 500 years passed before another attempt was made to find a way through the Beodoec Range. A group of devotees of Mitra, fleeing religious persecution, sought the old road to the eastern realms. To their surprise the way was not blocked. Even more surprisingly was the existence of a village.
The village, of course, was erected by the survivors of the apocalyptic battle. They could not leave Redmoon Pass lest they whither and die, soulless. Most of the villagers had become followers of Set, whose power was strong in the pass. The arrival of the pilgrims was to them a signal that Nyranthorm still existed. One of the pilgrims decided that he would remain in the pass and re-establish a temple of Mitra. He departed the caravan in search of a location for his proposed temple. While he was away, the caravan was attacked by the villagers and all were put to death; some immediately while others were killed in horrible manner as they were given as offerings in the Temple of Set. This evil temple was located beneath the village, for, during the intervening centuries, the villagers had managed to tunnel down and discovered the site of the ancient fortress. Above the ground, however, everything seemed innocent.
The single survivor, unaware of the fate of his companions (and assuming that they had departed while he was away), was allowed to establish a temple of Mitra in the pass. This was done in case a powerful contingent were to arrive from Nyranthorm. The evil villagers could masquerade as loyal followers of Mitra. The old priest never suspected the villagers.
Several more times during the next few years caravans arrived in Redmoon Pass seeking passage to the east. Their passage, however, was to the next world via the bloody swords and ceremonial daggers of the villagers. One year ago (game time) a caravan succeeded in getting through. Prior to arriving in Redmoon Pass, the superstitious leader of the gypsy caravan had his seeress conduct a reading. Her reading indicated that, no matter what obstacles lie ahead, the pass should be transited with all speed. The villagers of Redmoon Pass, thinking the gypsies were going to set up camp on the east side of town, allowed them through. By the time they discovered the truth, the gypsies were too far away to pursue. |