Skal

Skal is one of the regions of Varrenholm, and is located in the Western Ocean. It was most well known for being forcibly made independent by its parent nation, Varrenholm, in 90 AE due to its radical worship of a rock. It was the only place that follows the religion of Zenotology, the worship of the Zeno stone. However, after the Zeno stone incident was resolved, it was once again accepted as a Varren region.
==Pre Independance==
Before becoming independent in 90 AE, Skal was a colony of Varrenholm, primarily used for extra housing and religious purposes. It was believed that Myvatel, the largest island in the chain, was once home to the Norvanian hero Seigfreid. Other than that, the islands were mostly insignificant.
==Discovery of the Zeno Stone==
In 85 AE, a priest on the island was wandering around in an unexplored cave underneath the ocean, when he claimed to have found a living nether portal. He was declared mad and later imprisoned. Only a few days later, others wandered through the cave to see what he was talking about. What he had really seen was the Zeno Stone, waking up at the prescience of a living body.
Word of this stone was delivered to Jarl Anja Seigfried, leader of the island. She decided to investigate it herself, and upon touching the stone, the spirits resting inside immediately frenzied, and attempted to attack her. Though in reality, they weren't attacking, they were entering her body, and taking over her mind. A few short seconds after touching the stone, Anja turned to the group and said the stone was powerful and should be treated as an icon, and should be delivered back to Myvatel for all to marvel in it. It wasn't really Anja saying this, it was the two Nether Spirits that were now controlling her mind.
It wasn't long before many people were also possessed by the stone, and were worshiping it. In fact, a dead body was offered to the stone, and immediately, the body sprung to life, as if it were alive. Of course, it wasn't, it was dead; it was just being animated by one of the Nether Spirits that was in the stone. Shortly after, many others rose from the dead when brought before the stone, concreting the fact that the stone was an icon that should be worshiped.
==Forced Independance==
In early 90 AE, King Reginald Seigfried of Varrenholm sent a messenger to investigate what was going on on the island, as it had gone silent. Upon his arrival, the messenger was stabbed in the heart by Anja Seigfried, and his body was offered to the stone. The now re-animated corpse returned to Varrenholm to say that the island had found a higher power, and that Norvanian was nothing but trash compared to what they had found. The Corpse then demanded that Reginald himself go to the island, and offer himself to the power that had been found. Reginald refused, and the corpse attempted to kill Reginald and take him back personally. He was quickly stabbed down however by the king's bodyguards. Of course, since the messenger was dead, he wouldn't die again, so he simply rose back up and again attacked Reginald. It wasn't until several guards had entered and cut the messenger to pieces that he stopped thrashing. His head still spoke, even though it was decapitated. It warned that nothing was safe for long, as the power would claim all, and nothing could hold it back.
Reginald officially decided that the Skal islands were no longer considered part of the Varren kingdom, and was forcibly made independent. Reginald kept this info to himself however, and did whatever he could to make sure that nobody could leave the islands, and the council or other nations weren't made aware of the situation, as they would take action.
==The Liberation==
Vor was sent to the islands in the final days of 94 AE with orders to figure out what had transpired on the islands. Upon his arrival, he discovered that the nether spirits possessing the bodies of the citizens had raided the Hofoish Vault, where the Vada and Xicci stones had been stored. With all three stones in the town square, and several thousand possessed bodies surrounding them, the spirits Zeno Vada and Xicci rebuilt themselves from all of their fragments before flying away, freeing the inhabitants. It was after this that the islands could begin to rebuild; because 9 years of slavery caused most of the buildings to fall into disrepair.
==Fury of a Burning Sky==
On December 31st 94 AE, only a few weeks after the Zeno stone resolution, disaster once again struck Skal. Vor, as well as many citizens, noted that the sky was bizarrely red from the moment they woke up, even in the middle of the day. By the time the eve of the new year had arrived, the sky looked like lava was coursing through it, and a mysterious orange glow covered the land below. Just before the clock struck new year, red lightning began to strike from the sky, decimating the land. After the lightning stopped, The city on the southern side of the island of Myvatel had been decimated, with only outskirt buildings standing. Casualties were extreme, fatalities were in the thousands, and chaos once again began to spread. This event marked the beginning of The Abandonment of Skal.
==Islands==
Skal is a relatively small network of islands, with the most notable being:
===Myvatel===
Myvatel is the largest island in Skal, as well as its capital. It is covered completely in spruce trees, which were cut down and sold before the Zeno stone incident. The Zeno stone used to sit at the bottom of the town hall. After the fury of a burning sky, half of the island had been reclaimed by the ocean, while the other half was decimated.
===Hofoi===
Hofoi is the second largest island in Skal, as well as the only one that isn't inhabited. The most notable feature of the island is that it is shaped like a birds head, with a lake resembling the birds eye. The only notable thing on the island is the Hofoish vault, which contains various oddities.
===Fura===
Fura is the third largest island in Skal, and is often considered to be a part of Myvatel, due to a sand bar connecting the 2 islands together. It is very lightly inhabited.
===Gnupa===
Gnupa is the fourth largest island in Skal, and is extremely lightly inhabited. This is due to the extremely high nightcrawler population, with more appearing faster than they can be killed.
===Enga===
Enga is the smallest island in Skal, and is purely inhabited by Varren exiles.
===The Demon's Triangle===
Rather than being one island, the demon's triangle refers to the triangle between the islands of Projsvin, Sorsvin, and Vorsin. The sea in the demon's triangle is often considered to be cursed, as most ships or airships that pass through it either sink for unexplained reasons, or suddenly get caught in small but violent storms. It was in the very center of the triangle that the Zeno Stone was found.
Category:New Voldrania Category:Varrenholm Category:Islands