The Blighted Isle

[Drowel]

The Blighted Isle
                         By Samantha Bluestone

                 


   Dedicated to former Syndicate Headmaster Landor Amortice.



The blighted isle is a place that could  be called lifeless - but to do so is insufficient. The blighted isle is the antithesis of life. It is a  ground so defiled by negative energy that it has become the stalking  ground of wretched spirits of negative energy. Perhaps these spirits are  those of explorers long past, who've been to the blighted island in the past, but were unable to  escape.

Any living being which spends too much time in the place will invariably  find their very life drained from them, unless it is sustained with  regular doses of positive energy in the form of healing; or prevented  with a spell of Negative Energy Protection.

Upon the island are four things of particular note.

The first is a circle of stones, with a carved menhir in the center.  Upon the menhir are carved images of trees, plants, and animals. The  menhir is very likely a source, or at least an epicenter, of the blight  on the isle.To touch the menhir is to let your life be drained directly  from your body. Even brief contact with the stone can be lethal for the  unprepared.

The next is a pair of intricate runestones, on obverse sides of the  stone circle. The carvings upon them are identical in nature. Following  is an etching of the surface of the runestone:

         Quote:
                                                      Originally Posted by Intricately Carved Runic Stone                             
                              The following  depictions can be seen carved carefully upon this stone:

A group of hooded elves, humans, and halflings along with an assortment  of dryads, satyrs, and animals standing in a circle of stones.

An acorn, a claw, and a running deer.

Various crabbed and peculiar characters.
                         
one should note that the surface of the stone was marred with some  faintly glowing red substance, possibly a physical manifestation of the  negative energy blight that covers the island.

With that in mind, the third thing of note are the Negative Energy  Crystals, of which there are several upon the island; likely the effects  of the enormous negative energy present on the island, rather than any  particular cause. Also often carried by the undead deep within the Sunken Enclave I have personally witnessed one of these very crystals.

The fourth and last thing of particular note was a pathway on the  northwest edge of the clearing, entirely blocked by rubble, but which  lead to a carved opening in the rock. It remains entirely inaccessible.

From this information, I've drawn a tentative theory about the island.

Thus:
It was once a place with a great deal of life, until a time came when  the various factions of Ymph had to come together to seal away an evil  there. This is merely one theory, based on previous trends, and evidence  found on the island itself.

The clues are in the Carved Runestones: An assortment of humanoids  gathered in a circle of stones (Obviously intending the circle of stones  in the immediate vicinity). The three symbols - an acorn, a claw, and a  running deer - signify the coming together of three groups - perhaps  the Stargazers, the dryads and satyrs, and the elves. The humans perhaps  may be of any of these groups, or were simply present for the event  that the runestones describe.

An alternate explanation for the runestones is that they describe only a  glorious coming-together of the tribes of Ymph into one druidic circle,  but this offers little explanation for the current state of things on  the blighted isle. If this is the case,  perhaps their confederation came under assault by a great evil, and the  site of their druidic circle - the blighted  island - came under attack, and was made unholy, and the tribes wre  unable to stop this. It seems less probable to me.

Nevertheless the crabbed and peculiar characters suggest that the  conglomeration of peoples was formed to deal with some manner of  unnatural threat. The existence of the Runestones, the fact that there  are two of them, and the intricacy and care with which they were carved,  suggests that they must have had some degree of success in whatever it  was they sought to do.

Beyond this, I can ascertain little.


In addition there are many legends about the origin of this isle. Some folklore tells that the witch H'bala is responsible for the islands current condition. Also we have learned that The island's stewards are working actively to seek the restoration of  the Isle of Blight to its former place in Nature. They have a green gem  which seems to be, literally, the crystallized essence of nature.

Perhaps in time this island will be restored to a place were people can survive and flourish. Hopefully the Stewards can accomplish this great deed.