Hills of Shade

Secrets of Faydwer – Unfolding the Lore: Part 7 Hills of Shade

The Elddar elves fled Tunaria, the land now known as Antonica, to escape the destruction that Solusek Ro wrought upon their land. They found their way east, to Faydwer. Over time on the new continent, the Elddar branched off into two distinct tribes: the Koada'dal and the Fier'dal. A fraction of the Fier'dal population settled in the Hills of Shade, creating a small village they named Kirathas. The elves of Kirathas cherished nature, and resided in simple wooden huts not unlike the structures of Kelethin.

Much later, an enterprising group of humans led by their captain Han Jensen, "discovered" Faydwer while searching for profitable fishing routes. They erected a crude port on the northern coast, opposite from Kirathas in the southwest, and named it Blackwater. Under Jensen's orders, they made a point of keeping Blackwater's location a closely guarded secret. This protected the sanctity of their bountiful fishing port, but it also eliminated any possibility of a rescue should disaster strike.

It was only a matter of time before the elves and the humans met. The first introduction was between a young fisherman, Fendel, and the daughter of Kirathas' leader, an elven girl named Amber. They stumbled upon one another at an elder oak tree. Their initial fear of each other melted away, replaced by curiosity. Curiosity turned to friendship, and friendship blossomed into love. This was a union that was blessed by the goddess of love, Erollisi Marr.

Unfortunately, the subsequent interactions between the citizens of Kirathas and Blackwater were anything but blessed. Territorial skirmishes and confrontations spiraled out of control, escalating into all-out war between the two villages. Not long after Amber gave birth to Norrath's first half-elf, she was slain by her own father. He felt the act of sacrifice would end the conflict, but Fendel's screams of anguish reached Erollisi's ears. She descended upon the squabbling tribes, furious that her gift of love would be twisted into such hatred and pain. She cursed the inhabitants of the hills to relive their mistakes, forever.

Today, the Hills of Shade are haunted by all manner of twisted and tortured creatures. The residents of Kirathas and Blackwater continue to battle each other even in death, seemingly unaware of their tragic fate. The elves' ancient burial catacombs, the Crypt of Shade, are overrun with the undead. Feeding off of the decay are a vicious new breed of Sporali, darkly transformed by the remains they consume. The foliage of the grove, disfigured by the divine curse, stand guard near a statue to Erollisi. A flock of crow aviaks known as the borrowers has taken up residence in the northwest, decorating their home with scavenged baubles, brightly colored cloth, and bone.

The Hills of Shade were almost completely ignored by the residents of Faydwer for many years after the destruction of Durathin. Bandits and criminals are likely to have taken refuge there, but such outcasts were far enough from civilization that no real effort was made to discourage this kind of self-imposed exile. Common wisdom across Faydwer held that nothing of importance would ever come of the Hills of Shade.

Of course, nature abhors a vacuum, and such a vast, unregulated wilderness could not go forever unexploited. Though unsuited to supporting living communities, the hills proved far more accommodating for groups of undead. Such creatures didn’t mind getting lost, since they had no destinations anyway and had all the time in the world; they had no love for the sun, so the shade was a boon; and they had no need for farms and ranches to produce food. Over years, the number of undead in the hills grew to stunning proportions.

The more powerful undead forced their lesser brethren to built grand tombs, turned the peaceful corpses already interred within the hills into new kinds of undead, and seeped the powers of necromancy into the ground itself. A kind of hierarchy developed, and a black necropolis was built to serve as home to the throngs of undead. Unlike earlier societies of such creatures, the undead of the hills kept to themselves. It is unknown if this time of quiet was the calm before the storm, or if the walking corpses truly had no desire other than to be left alone by the living. In any case, they did not raid outside their borders or build any defenses that might be noticed by casual travelers.

Even so, it is surprising that this dangerous development went unnoticed by the guardian races of Faydwer. No report of vast armies of undead reached the lords of Felwithe, Kaladim, Kelethin, or far off Ak’Anon. Many have since suggested that some powerful being (probably a spellcaster) may have concealed the activities of the undead in the Hills of Shade — creatures ranging from Mayong Mistmoore to the dragon Trakanon and even the gods themselves have been suggested for this role. No real evidence of such a plot has ever been produced, but the suspicion remains that some force must have protected the black dead of the Hills of Shade.