recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Tempest Armillary

## The Tempest Armillary

The Tempest Armillary was one of the nine Apotheon Artifacts, crafted by Sartorius, the Knight of Storms from his Apotheon Shard. An armillary sphere, the original intent behind the artifact was to open designated portals between different realms and planes of reality to summon allies onto Noxerra. This was accomplished by shifting the Armillary's composition to alter the placement of the cosmos themselves, creating a powerful, magical storm to align the weather patterns of Noxerra with those of another world's, and create a dimensional rift from which allies could be summoned from. The Tempest Armillary was kept in Sartorius's Tower on the island of Krakengärd, far away from Sartorius's enemies and out of reach of his home of Halestrom, where most of his efforts were concentrated during the War of the Nine Knights.

## Disappearance and Cursing of Krakengärd

When Sartorius's corresponding Blood Rune was lost in the sea during the Invasion of Krakengärd by the forces of Valtoria, Sartorius - against the advice of his adviser Celtius and despite the efforts of his honor guard - activated the Armillary without it, causing a chaotic series of rifts to open around the island, and eventually shifting it to it's own pocket dimension - a demiplane which it now permanently resides in.

For centuries the Tempest Armillary was still active, and roughly every month a new storm was summoned that opened various rifts between dimensions from which other people and creatures are summoned to the island, and a small window appeared during which Krakengärd appears on Noxerra. Without the Blood Rune, the Armillary was unstable and chaotic in its function, still locked within Sartorius's Tower, protected by a constant magical storm of it's own making that emanates from Mount Stormfall's summit.

## Finding Sartorius, Stopping the Drowned, & Destruction

When the party ventured to reclaim the Armillary from the tower to prevent the Drowned from obtaining it, they discovered that the artifact had become embedded in the flesh of Sartorius himself, using his blood as a power source - who had been transformed into a mutant aberration fused with various extradimensional abominations, driven insane and barely conscious of his twisted state. The party managed to put him out of his misery, however, and later just managed to keep it out of the hands of the Drowned when they were temporarily captured not long afterwards.

In their final confrontation with the cult and it's leaders - Cthar-R'yatha and the High Trident - the aboleth nearly managed to use the Armillary and Sartorius's Blood Rune (which he had obtained centuries earlier in the aftermath of the invasion) to summon the Sunken God, but the party managed to kill the beast and prevent the ritual from completing. Jorg-Hammer destroyed the Armillary with the Warden's Arm, ridding the realm of yet another one of the Apotheon Artifacts - and removing the curse over the island and returning it to Noxerra once again.
Dreadmont

Dreadmont is a city-state in Noxerra, located in the Eastern Wasteland. Founded not long after the War of the Nine Knights, it is the largest and most prosperous city in the east, and an unofficial seat of centralized government for the region. It was founded and is ruled in the present by the Five Families, a collective of five noble families whose ancestry dates back from before the War. The head of each of the Families is a member of the ruling Council of Dreadmont. The city is secured behind a large wall, and was erected in close proximity to the large water source of Lake Halstein. Dreadmont is divided into five districts, each ruled by one of the Families. They include:

* The Government District, ruled by the half-elven Halsteins
* The Historical District, ruled by dwarven Margraves
* The Commerce District, ruled by the human Satos
* The Entertainment District, ruled by the dragonborn Ozrens
* The Witching District, ruled by the human Havelocks

Dreadmont is also home to the Blood Hunters, a militant organization of monster and mage-hunters. Despite it's harsh laws and strict government, Dreadmont is a prestigious and powerful city-state that wields much authority across the eastern wasteland.
Daniel Becket

Reverend Daniel Becket is a priest of the Church of the Lost Dawn, based in the city of Sunvale in Yarmouth. He is also secretly a dhampir. Known for his handsome looks, raw charisma, and fiery sermons against the supernatural, Becket has cultivated a popular reputation in Sunvale. He is most notable for driving a young Nymue Solamor out of the city when she found him performing dark rituals on a young girl that he had apparently murdered. Having discovered his true nature (which stands in stark contrast to his public persona as an anti-supernatural crusader), Becket scared Nymue off into exile, leaving her paranoid thereafter of the Lost Dawn and it's other members, given Becket's influence. His current status since Nymue left Sunvale is unknown, though he is presumed to still be active as a powerful member of the Church.
Tormath Mordenstone

King Tormath Mordenstone was king of Mordenheim during the Shattered War of the Shattered Kingdoms era, having ruled for a great many years prior, his ancestors having founded the kingdom many centuries earlier. A wise and hardened king, Tormath led his people against the threat of the northern armies of Astra Heldegarde during the war, eventually prevailing against them.

Mordenheim's victory was largely accredited to the valor of Sir Joskar Ironward in the final battle against Heldegarde's army during a great siege of the capital city. When King Tormath asked the young knight to name his reward for his service, Sir Joskar requested the hand of Tormath's daughter, Kostra, in marriage. Tormath agreed, and the two were wed.

The union gave rise to a new, merged dwarven noble family - the Stonewards - who would go on to rule Mordenheim until the end of the War of the Nine Knights, when King Osmand, the Knight of Iron, was slain.
Karina

Karina is a tiefling former slave that was liberated from the Jadus Embassy in Durkheim by Esther, while the party was pursuing the serial killer and werewolf Seamus Walsh. Formerly simply a common deckhand aboard an independent trading ship, she was captured by Fortunato privateers and was eventually procured by Minister Na'ssaru, the Zalharad ambassador in the city. It is an unknown what her intended job was to be as a slave, as Esther managed to liberate her before she could be transported south.

She was a partial witness to Captain Hedwin of the Hellfort Recruitment Office and his involvement in the murder of one of Seamus's victims, which led Esther to an ultimately successful rescue attempt to find out the full extent of what she knew. Despite the trouble the rescue caused for the party, Karina was ultimately taken in by Malgrim, who agreed to help smuggle her out of the city, though she opted to remain to work at the Crag with him. A quiet and timid creature, Karina only spoke her native abyssal, making communication with her additionally difficult, though she was very grateful towards her savior, Esther.
Carver Farms

Carver Farms is a property of several acres of farmland in Yarmouth. It has heavily guarded and well-defined borders and is controlled by the illusive Carver Family, led by patriarch and cattle baron Zebediah Carver. The family settled the land some time after the war, and have controlled it since, becoming the dominant exporter of meat, dairy, and grain products across Yarmouth, while also doing lighter trade with Durkheim and the slaver states of Sethulhmet. The farmland's borders are guarded by a small army of private mercenaries, with the Carvers being very protective of their stock and land.
Lysandyr Nu

Lysandyr Nu is a mysterious half-elven mercenary. A charming (if somewhat arrogant) and skilled and seasoned adventurer of Noxerra's wasteland, Lysandyr moves about in numerous mercenary circles, seemingly having traveled almost the whole of western Noxerra. Among other clients, he is apparently a regular employee of the Orrukov Regime, working as a relic hunter during numerous delves into the Underdark below the city (alongside such other alleged mercenaries such as Elata, secretly of the Taken Sisterhood).

Curiously, Lysandyr did at some point makes his way to eastern Noxerra where he hired Pezzack to retrieve an obscure map fragment from a local ruin. When Pezzack returned with the map, Lysandyr and those others with them refused to pay the tengu the full amount for the job, provoking Pezzack into cutting off the half-elf's hand and take it as a trophy - later turning it into his holy symbol of Calistria. Ironically, at some point Lysandyr was approached to be recruited by the 40 Lashes - who would go on to try and recruit Pezzack as well. Lysandyr declined the offer, however, believing the assassin's guild to be below him.

Some years later in 237 A.C. Lysandyr and two other elvish gentlemen were in Scarab, in the desert of Sethulhmet, where he hired Esther - who he recognized as the "Crimson Mirage" of Kaath's Crucibles - to assassinate Ordeon Sudara in Mordenheim. Through powerful portal magic, he sent her east - but seemingly abandoned her there when she magically returned evidence of Ordeon's demise.

Lysandyr resurfaced and encountered both Esther and Pezzack together at the Black Palace in Durkheim, when the party as a whole had been summoned by Tsar Ulrich to take part in a new, specialized expedition into the Underdark that Lysandyr himself was envious that he had not been selected for. He exchanged pleasantries and quips with the party, noting that his hand had been replaced by a Forgeborn-like replacement. After this encounter he disappeared once more - his true employers and motivations uncertain.
Orrukov Regime

The Orrukov Regime is the ruling body of Durkheim. A royal family of duergar, the Orrukovs have ruled the city-state and surrounding mountains that were once the territory of Zventhos since the aftermath of the War of the Nine Knights. One of many noble families to lead expeditions from the underdark to the surface to claim the abandoned lands of their drow rivals, the Orrukovs - led by Vaerald I, often called "Vaerald the Risen" in Durkheim - and their armies emerged victorious in the initial race to establish dominance in the region, bringing other rival armies under their control and slaughtering those who did not submit to their reign. The Orrukov established themselves as a new royal family, with Vaerald as it's first Tsar, and rebuilt much of the drow's abandoned city into the current state of Durkheim, opening the mountains' borders to other wastelanders and establishing one of the first civilized settlements in the new wasteland of Noxerra. Because of their longevity, the Orrukov Regime have been of the most effective ruling bodies in the post-war world, in no small part due to their isolationist, self-interested policies, ruthless efficiency, and adherence to a pre-war monarchical power structure. The oldest able-bodied offspring of the previous Tsar is considered the ruler of the Regime, and named Tsar or Tsarina. In the time since their conquest, the Orrukov Regime has had only four Tsars due to the long-lived nature of the duergar. The current Tsar is Ulrich Orrukov.

Those members of the royal family alive in 237 A.C. are:

* Tsar Ulrich Orrukov
	+ Prince Vaerald IV
	+ Prince Hakor II
	+ Princess Velika
* Grand General Vaslav II & Sabina Orrukov
	+ Sigrav Orrukov
	+ Ursola Orrukov
* Lady Zima Orrukov & Lord Kevnor
	+ Zorgen Orrukov
* Lady Mavra Orrukov
* Lady Lyeta & Lord Melor
	+ Hakor III
	+ Domna Orrukov
Durkheim

Durkheim is a city-state in the mountain ranges of the former Drow province of Zventhos, in western Noxerra. In the time since the War's end, the drow of Zventhos retreated from the surface to the various Queendoms of the Underdark - and their long-standing rivals the duergar rose up from the deep to stake their claim to the surface in their absence, establishing the state of Durkheim in the ruins of the Drow's terranean cities. Durkheim is now a surprisingly prosperous state ruled by the prestigious Orrukov Regime, headed by Tsar Ulrich Orrukov. While mostly an isolationist state, Durkheim is a major political power in the West, doing trade with Yarmouth, the Dawn Imperium, the slaver states of Sethulhmet, and even some of the communities in the dense wilderness of Golgotha. It is also home to one of the few major seaports in western Noxerra.
Myron Marro

Myron Marro was a Priest of Orcus. Born in Sethulhmet, he was enslaved at a young age and put to work in the mines of Jadus. In the mines, he uncovered an artifact of Orcus, with which he killed the overseers and his fellow slaves, raised them as undead, and escaped into the wasteland. At some point Marro made his way to the city-state of Ramsgate in the Hellmouth, where he rose in prominence in the Cult of Orcus there, however a schism within the Cult caused him to head east - taking with him a splinter faction to the city of Kethis, where the *Necros Arcanos* had been left behind as part of a plan that the main Cult had abandoned. Marro revived the plan, making a pact with the *Necros Arcanos* to become it's master, and worked to spread the necromantic plague that had beset the city out to the rest of the wasteland, building up his forces in the city and strengthening the ritual for several years in preparation. Marro's plans were undone when the keystone of the ritual, an imprisoned dhampir girl named Ingrid, was killed by the party. He subsequently accidentally killed himself in a battle with the party due to a demon-summoning spell gone wrong. Marro's spirit returned as part of the pact made with the *Necros Arcanos,* and he now serves as a spectral guide to it's new master, the dhampir alchemist Pandora.
Calleus Monger

> *The Blade of Calleus redirects here*
>
>

Calleus Monger was an incubus demon, better known as the spirit residing in the eponymous Blade of Calleus. At some point before the end of the War, Calleus's soul was captured and imprisoned in the blade by his brother. The blade traded hands through the years, eventually finding it's way in the possession of the King of Tribes, who used the blade's charismatic powers (derived from Calleus's own supernatural, demonic charm) to convince whole armies to serve him - making the sword a legend passed down through oral tradition to the Northern Tribes. The blade was entombed with the King in Kethis. When the King was raised as a wight to serve Marro and do battle with the party, he was defeated and the blade passed to Jorg-Hammer, before being given to Merric Mandrake who wielded it until the demon's destruction.

## Blade of Calleus

Calleus seemed to have some relationship to the alu-demon Mersanda, who had convinced Jorrick to send Jorg-Hammer to retrieve the sword, however upon reuniting with the alu-demon, Calleus rejected her in favor of a new master. After failing to convince the tribes to unite to battle the Forgeborn, Jorg-Hammer gave the sword to Merric Mandrake, who wielded it for a time.

When the party met Esther, Calleus sensed the blood relation he shared with her, being her uncle, and implored her to wield him. However, the soul within the blade was instead traded for that of Jorg-Hammer's after the tribal's death at the hands of Aloysius O'Dare. The gnoll seer Vixandria, at the insisting of Merric, casted Calleus's soul out of the sword during the resurrection ritual, returning the blade to it's original form of an empty, rusted husk. Much of Calleus's history and motives thus remain a mystery.
Ysuvara

Ysuvara is the sea-elf Captain at Arms of the Stronghold's guard. She is effectively second-in-command of the community, answering directly to Celtiar. Like many of the elves within Sel-Duarmia, she is stern and aloof, but an experienced warrior. Also, like most of the Stronghold, she has a past with the cult of the Drowned before helping to carve out a home in the ruined fortress.

During the party's time on Krakengärd Ysuvara proved to be an effective ally, serving with the party as a guide when they went to negotiate with the Mariners - who were also in possession of a ring of apparent importance to Celtiar - who was perturbed by Ysuvara's insistence on joining the party in this endeavor, fearing for her safety - leading them to (rightly) suspect that the two shared a secret, intimate relationship. She returned to the Stronghold after dealing with the Mariners - later reuniting with the party during their final assault on the Drowned.

Before this final battle, Ysuvara confided in the party, confirming that she and Celtiar were indeed privately betrothed (if not already married), and that it was she who had originally turned him away from his role of High Trident so many years ago. She suggested that Jorg-Hammer in turn appeal to Ragnar's remaining sense of love as she did towards Celtiar in order to turn him away from Cthar-R'yatha's influence - but in the end, the young tribal was forced to kill his father in the battle.

In the aftermath of the final assault, Ysuvara retired back to Sel-Duarmia with Celtiar - finally and peacefully together.
Drith

Drith was a hobgoblin member of the Mariners, and seemingly the leader of the mutiny that festered against Captain Z'yarthox as a result of the Captain's own scheming against the dragon Thaedraxus. Not much is known about Drith, but Z'yarthox considered him to be a fool in over his head, though he appears to have turned many of the Mariners against the wereshark nonetheless. He was intent on avenging the apparent slaughter of Thaedraxus, and intended to take full control of the Mariners by making his own deal with Sythaneryx, the drowning devil that is the source of the *Blood Diamond's* power to traverse magical weather. This ritual however was disrupted by Drith's own incompetence, and by the arrival of Z'yarthox and members of the party - as well as the tengu Kzzartha. The group managed to secure the ship from Drith's loyalists and bind the devil, while Drith himself attempted to escape the *Blood Diamond* in the chaos. He was stopped however by Pezzack, who managed to magically paralyze the hobgoblin and push him out into the sea where he drowned.
Osric Stoneward

Osric Stoneward is a dwarven merchant from Dreadmont. He is a descendant of Osmand Stoneward, the Knight of Iron. In the years since the War's end, the Stoneward family fell into relative obscurity outside of the Knight's legend. Osric lived a simple life travelling the trade routes of the wasteland, with only vague knowledge of his family's intricate history. Some time prior to the Forgeborn Threat, Osric was captured by Trask and his slaver band. He was captured around the same time as Merric Mandrake, however instead of selling him off to the Blood Dogs as Trask did with the other slaves in that party, Osric was delivered to Scourge in Mordenheim. Scourge used Osric's body and blood as a proxy Blood Rune to activate and the power the Forge until he could locate the actual Rune. Osric remained a prisoner of the Forgeborn for the duration of the threat, until he was rescued by the party during the Battle of Mordenheim. In the aftermath of the battle, Osric returned to his life as a merchant.
Emissary of Stormhold

The Emissary of Stormhold is a mysterious figure that appeared to the Party during their excursion the underdark of Zventhos. Manifesting in a flurry of smoke, lightning and a flock of bats, the Emissary appeared to be a creature of some sort of vampiric connection. With little explanation, he merely presented an invitation to a ball held at a "Castle Stormhold," to the party. The invitation bore no date or time for the event. His purpose fulfilled, the Emissary disappeared as quickly and mysteriously as he arrived, his true nature and purpose unknown.
Xaal-Tuogurrath

Xaal-Tuogurrath is a deep one seer and mystic, gifted with the power of the Sight, currently residing in Sel-Duarmia on the island of Krakengärd. As a deep one, Xaal is a native of the island, a descendant of the original deep ones who lived in the depths below the island. His past is mostly unknown, but like many of those with the Sight, Xaal-Tuogurrath is physically blind, if not spiritually and psychically. At some point he came to serve Celtiar and the people of the Stronghold, working for several years with a newfound apprentice and fellow seer, Arkin-Hook, to study the magic surrounding the island.
Penrose Asylum

Penrose Asylum is an abandoned and allegedly haunted ruin in Yarmouth. Built on the eastern coast, it sits in the midst of a now-ruinous city. According to local legend, the asylum was built by Baron Isaac Penrose some time before the War. Penrose had fallen in love with and impregnated a peasant woman, and had her confined to the asylum to hide her and the child away and keep them safe. The story goes that he favored the woman and the bastard child she carried more than his trueborn heirs, and had his family fortune buried somewhere within the asylum as well. Thus, the asylum in the present day has a reputation as a haunted hot spot for treasure hunters seeking this lost fortune - yet few, if any, have returned from scouring the ruin and it is largely avoided due to it's dark and foreboding history.
Sister Mary

Marbury

Sister Mary was a Priestess of the Church of the Lost Dawn, and a community leader in the village of Marbury. Originally a wandering missionary, she and her mission partner, Sister Cierra, settled in Marbury, creating a spiritual foothold in the small, isolated farming village. During the Forgeborn Threat, many of the villagers were enslaved, the fields surrounding the village salted, and what few crops that were harvested extorted by the Forgeborn. In desperation, Sister Mary abandoned her faith in Pelor and started a cult to Urgathoa. Under Sister Mary's leadership, the village turned to ritualistic cannibalism, capturing and consuming travelers as well as each other according to a lottery system designed by Sister Mary based on instruction she had received from Urgathoa. Sister Mary's plot was uncovered when the party visited Marbury on their way to the Broken Isle - during which time the Red Claw also invaded the village, slaughtering many of the townsfolk. Sister Mary was killed by the Red Claw's leader, Urzo-Thaal, during the skirmish, putting an end to the priestess and her cult.
Theodora Seward

Queen Theodora was the eleventh ruler of Valtoria from the Royal House of Seward. The second daughter of King Martin Seward, Theodora became heir apparent when her old sister, the Crown Princess Jessica, was assassinated, kickstarting the Reckoning era and plunging Solerra into turmoil. When Martin was killed during the Reckoning War, Theodora ascended to the throne and saw the war through to it's end, continuing to rule into the Holding era.

Despite being the middle child of Martin's line, Theodora proved to be a skillful and dedicated ruler, both in wartime and peacetime. Indeed, after the war Valtoria had a cultural renaissance under Theodora's rule, with many of the nation's most famous writers and artists coming to fame, with Theodora herself being a patron to various theatres and bardic companies, even commissioning some historical plays and compositions. Such notable creators included the likes of Wulf Hartigan and Maximillian Rutherford. This culture boom, along with her successful navigation through the end of the Reckoning War gave Theodora the reputation as the last great ruler of the Seward dynasty.

Theodora herself died with no heirs nor even a husband, having never married - ensuring that the children of Princess Beatrice, her sister, would inherit the throne. She was succeeded by her nephew, King Sefton I.
Tharuuk the Hungering

Tharuuk the Hungering was one of the principle leaders of the Southron Hordes - an orcish warlord of the nomadic orc tribes of the southern deserts and badlands that would later be named the region of Morninguard. Tharuuk's tribes had long been a thorn in the side of the Cathyrion Empire - barbarian raiders who had proved surprisingly resilient at resisting imperial expansion. When the Shattered War broke out between the various vassal kingdoms of the Empire, representatives of Yarmouth parlayed with the orc tribes for their aid in facing down the imperial remnant that composed the Cathyrion Imperium, as well as the elves of the Larethian Crusade - who were forced into marching south by the Imperium into southron territory.

Tharuuk proved to be a great ally to the Hordes, becoming famous for his savagery in battle as well as his surprisingly keen battle tactics. He became known as "the Hungering" for his general bloodlust as well as rumors of literally devouring men in battle. Tharuuk was also a great friend and eventual host to Count Evon Dagar, teaching the man orcish and later naming him an honorary tribesman after the war.

While less politically motivated than the other horde leaders, Tharuuk the Hungering was an instrumental figure of the Shattered Kingdoms era, and one of the few whose legacy remained intact after the fact, retiring comfortably in his homeland and eventually aiding Dagar in forming the Morninguard Republic.
Hestia

Hestia is the elven wife of Dirk MacPherson and co-proprietor of the Headsman's Rest in Dreadmont's Witching District. It is unknown when the two met and married, but their marriage was a subject of controversy and a conflict of interest for the Blood Hunters, who refused to accept her husband into their ranks because they distrusted Hestia, being an elf. The two relocated to the Witching District, where they comfortably established the Headsman's Rest, which they now own and operate quite successfully.
Sleipnir

Sleipnir was the horse of Jorg-Hammer. A loyal mount raised within the Havsbladen tribe, Sleipnir was a regular companion of the party during their adventures in Kethis and during the Forgeborn Threat.

Before the Battle of Mordenheim, Jorg-Hammer was forced to abandon Sleipnir to take one of the Forgeborn's sky-skiffs to the city of Mordenheim. Pandora would later find the horse in the wastes, and take him to Shorestead, where she mysteriously disappeared. When the remaining party themselves arrived in Shorestead, Jorg-Hammer negotiated with Captain Rolph Timberton to allow the horse to accompany them on their expedition west, in pursuit of the remaining Apotheon Artifacts.

Unfortunately, the *Favored Lady* was shipwrecked and attacked in one of the magical storms of Krakengard, the ship destroyed by the island's kraken guardian. Sleipnir was lost in the attack - along with Merric and the goat Tanngrisnir. While Tanngrisnir was later found to have been "rescued" by the Drowned, Sleipnir never resurfaced and is presumed to have been killed or drowned in the storm.
Shaatha Zalharad

Shaatha Zalharad was, with her half-brother and husband Vhadem, a ruler of the seventh Sovereignty of Jadus, and then the eighth, as sole Sovereign after his death. Shaatha was the daughter of Suada and his daughter-wife Saadia. Shaatha suffered heavily from the physical and mental defects brought about by this inbreeding, developing paler skin that would be carried down to her son, Hajara, and developing pale white hair as well. She was allegedly a disturbed woman who experienced hallucinations and visions, and spent long periods of time in solitude. Still, Shaatha was as beautiful as her mother, Saadia - often considered one of the most beautiful of the Zalharad line. She had a famously good relationship with her half-brother and husband, Vhadem, with the two seeming to genuinely love each other. Sadly, Vhadem was assassinated only eight years into their join-reign by a bastard daughter of Saadia's seeking retribution for her mother's death at the hands of Nazira years earlier. Rumors abounded that Shaatha had spurned the assassin on herself in revenge for their shared mother's death, but they were never confirmed and Shaatha openly mourned her husband. Shaatha became sole Sovereign after Vhadem's death, serving for another ten years before her own death, when the throne passed to her and Vhadem's son, Hajara.
Hogarth

##### *"It's too late to save me...promise me, you'll try to save...him." -* Hogarth's final words to Jorg-Hammer.

Hogarth was the de-facto leader of the township of Nightport, on the island of Krakengärd. Formerly a Havsbladen Shipmaster, he was the first mate of the Westward Wolf, serving under it's captain Ragnar the Bold.

A close friend of Ragnar and his family, Hogarth was one of the Shipmaster's most loyal supporters in his bid to sail west to find a new land for the Havsbladen to conquer. When Stranrir approved the expedition, Hogarth sailed alongside Ragnar and a fleet of other ships. The voyage was ill-fated however when the fleet was caught in a magical storm that shipwrecked them on Krakengärd. Ragnar and several others were killed during the storm, so Hogarth and the survivors - finding no way off the island - began constructing the village that would become Nightport.

Over the course of the thirteen years since the Havsbladen fleet shipwrecked, Hogarth managed to turn Nightport into a welcoming and prosperous town that many castaways have called home. While courageous in his own right, Hogarth was above all a cautious and compassionate man, who keeps the best interests of the people of Nightport at heart. Averse to conflict, Hogarth was still all too willing to stand up against those who would do his community - and family - harm.

He proved this in his final act when he and a raiding party from Nightport moved to rescue the party from a convoy of Drowned led by the High Trident, who had taken the Tempest Armillary from the party. While the raiders managed to reclaim the Armillary, they were accosted by the island's kraken guardian, who restrained Hogarth. He was slain by the Trident, who revealed his true identity as Ragnar to his old friend.

Mortally wounded, Hogarth pleaded with Jorg-Hammer to try and save Ragnar, despite his transgressions against him and their tribe. He was then mourned by his compatriot Shaw, and given a traditional Havsbladen Shipmaster's burial at sea.
Voth'zgan

Voth'zgan was a drider slave-priest of Baz-Morun, in the underdark of Zventhos. A servant and prisoner of Jaxza the Devout, Voth'zgan was implied to have undergone his mutation into a drider for some great failure or affront towards Jaxza, who kept him imprisoned in a pit below a ritualistic arena within the great temple. There, Voth'zgan served as a sort of sacred executioner as an act of penance, wielding a powerful rifle and unholy halberd in battle against the prisoners and slaves executed in the pit - fed to the beast at it's bottom. In a letter, the Priestess mentions being in rare agreement with Jaxza that the beast deserved the fate that was bestowed upon him.

Voth'zgan was set upon the party and the Orrukov expedition led by Jurza Setrov during their venture through the Hallowed Passage. Despite several attempts to force the demented creature to surrender, his fear of disappointing his mistress overrode whatever fear he felt towards the party - and Voth'zgan was eventually slain by the party, despite being a slippery foe - his master key that would allow the group to proceed deeper into the passage taken from his corpse before it fell into the maw of the beast below.
Yarmouth

Yarmouth is a region in western Noxerra. Before the war, it was an agrarian nation ruled by various nobles - Barons - and a Kaiser that served as a central figurehead, with Kaiser Warner Baerstrom ruling at the time of the War. Made up of vast swathes of farmland, it was largely considered the breadbasket of the Sol Empire. In the time since the war's end, it has become a mostly ruinous landscape with a small collective of loosely-connected cities still ruled by individual Barons. While somewhat more organized in its governance than the rest of the wasteland, Yarmouth is still dangerous territory and crawling with supernatural and mortal horrors along the unprotected roads and wilderness between civilizations.
Sol

Flag of the Sol Kingdom, with a variant of the holy symbol of Correlon (featuring a rose representing the Royal Family) cresting over a night sky with crossed elven curved blades

### Location

Northwest Noxerra

Sol was a high elven kingdom in the far northwest of Noxerra. Founded out of the capital of the Cathyrion Empire after the Shattered War by the leaders of the Larethian Crusade, it came to be ruled by a tyrannical monarchy, headed by a High Queen prior to the Sol Rebellion, led by the Mage-Emperor.

Upon the Queen's defeat at the hands of the Emperor and his Knights, using the power of an Apotheon Shard, the kingdom of Sol became the seat of power for the Sol Empire. Despite it's technically equal status with the other eight provinces of the Empire, the elves of Sol developed a sense of racial superiority and purity that spread out to the rest of the Empire - which in conjunction with the Mage-Emperor's increasing madness led to the dissolving of the Empire and it's ultimate collapse during the War of the Nine Knights. In the aftermath of the Collapse, the entire region of Sol seemed to largely break apart and vanish in it's entirety. It now exists only as a legend, with the nation's capital now a mythological location called "the Lost City of Sol."
Vadia Orrukov

Tsarina Vadia Orrukov (nee Worokin) was the late wife of Tsar Ulrich of the Orrukov Regime of Durkheim. A member of the noble duergar House Worokin, Ulrich entered into a political marriage with Vadia while he was still a Prince. Although the marriage was an arranged one, the two had true and genuine affection for another, and the couple had three children together - Vaerald IV, Hakor, and Velika. Unfortunately, the Tsarina mysteriously died in 221 A.C. Her cause of death officially was a strange and powerful fever, but rumors abounded that she was poisoned - either by the Tsar's ill-reputed court mage, Worstvold the Black, a jealous and ambitious Grand General Vaslav II, or perhaps even the cadet branch of the Orrukovs led by Lady Lyeta as vengeance for the couple's perceived "theft" of the name of Hakor for their second son.

Whatever the case, Tsarina Vadia's death has had a lasting impact on the city-state, with many noticing an increased hardness and grim determination in Ulrich's rule thereafter. It has been suggested by many citizens of Durkheim - as well as those outside of the city - that Vadia was the only person Ulrich ever truly loved or cared about, and he has never fully recovered from her death.
Vhaeraun

The Shadow Lord

The Son of Lloth

The Free Thief

Corellon's Shame

Vhaeraun is one of the drow gods belonging to the Dark Seldarine, the pantheon of deities for the dark elf collective of Zventhos. A rebellious trickster god, Vhaeraun was a patron to thieves, assassins, shadow magic, assaults on the surface world, and perhaps most notably the patron of males in drow society. Along with his sister Eilistraee (who he shared a father in Corellon with), worship of Vhaeraun was scarce among the Queendoms of Zventhos given his rebellious spheres of influence and creeds practiced by his worshipers. Still, he had some dedicated sects of drow men and slaves who attempted revolts or moved high enough in society to affect changes. Worship among the populace increased under the rule of the Sol Empire, when Queen Zyara set about making reforms throughout the Queendoms. Still, he remained a chief rival to Lloth in the mythos, being a master of raw cunning, secrets, and underhanded methods of subterfuge and stealth. It is thus that he was a great patron to assassins and thieves - and remains so to those who still know of him.

Depicted as a roguish, red-haired drow in a mask, Vhaeraun along with Eilistraee were among the most human of the Dark Seldarine, and thus those whose influence spread the most beyond the underdark - with some thieves in the modern wasteland still praying to him today. However, Vhaeraun's followers preached the typical line of drow superiority and the domination of the surface-world, and were some of the prime instigators of Zventhos's increasing aggression during the War.
Jeremy

Jeremy is a ratfolk Mariner. A close friend to the catfolk Tommen, the two were among the last loyalists to Z'yarthox left during Drith's mutiny following the slaying of Thaedraxus. The two were imprisoned in the *Blood Diamond's* brig but later rescued by Z'yarthox, Pezzack, Esther, Kzzartha, Glover, and Kysora. Tommen and Jeremy joined the party and their allies in binding the escaped Drowning Devil Sythaneryx. Jeremy survived the battle, but his friend Tommen did not. In the battle's aftermath, despite his staunch loyalty to the captain, Jeremy was narrowly persuaded by Glover and the party to support the overthrowing of Z'yarthox as captain when it became known that Sythaneryx had inadvertently been bound to Kzzartha instead of the wereshark.
Zventhos

Zventhos was the name given to the collective of Drow Queendoms that occupied the mountain ranges that are now home to the city-state of Durkheim. Unique among the provinces of the Sol Empire, Zventhos was not a singular nation in the same sense as Valtoria, Mordenheim, or Yarmouth - but effectively a series of monarchies that jointly accepted a place in the Empire, and ruled under the same banner - after an uprising by Zyara the Knight of Pain forced the hands of the drow Queens to submit to this union.

The Queendoms occupied several cities built from the Underdark and reaching up out of the mountains, but towards the end of the War - many of these cities fell into ruin and the Drow population of Zventhos retreated back into the Underdark, pursued by it's rivals in the war. The fate of the Queendoms of Zventhos as a whole are still unknown to this day, but they have not resurfaced since the Collapse - having been replaced in the modern era by the duergar Orrukov Regime that now occupy the city-state of Durkheim.

The three capitol cities of the Queendoms included:

* Byzaria, ruled by Queen Syntress of House Yzar'ani
* Volazyrris, ruled by Queen Vizt'strada of House Volanys
* Rahzad Nul, ruled by Queen Yezura of House Nulyra, then usurped by Queen Zyara
Tanngrisnir

Tanngrisnir is a goat that was raised in the Havsbladen Tribe as a sacred animal companion to Jorg-Hammer. The goat holds a great deal of spiritual significance in the Havsbladen and for Jorg-Hammer because he allegedly possesses The Sight, a powerful form of divination. Tanngrisnir was gifted to Jorg-Hammer by Ysilda 5 years after the disappearance and presumed death of the boy's father, Ragnar the Bold. Having raised the goat since it was a kid, the animal is intensely loyal to Jorg-Hammer (as well as the Party) and the tribal often consults him for advice and direction using the Sight.

## Adventures

When the Party arrived on the island of Krakengärd, Tanngrisnir was lost during the storm, and at some point was captured by the Drowned. Deep-Speaker Morn later confronted the party, revealing that the goat had somehow escaped, though Morn managed to pluck out one of the goat's eyes, which was taken from her body by Jorg-Hammer. Tanngrisnir was reunited with the Party whilst they were en route to face the Brine Dragon, Thaedraxus, stumbling alone on the road.
Tash Zalharad

Tash Zalharad was the third Sovereign of Jadus, succeeding his older sister Jezebel, who he usurped for the throne along with his younger sister-wife, Zahara. He was the only son of Jarod, born of Jarod's second sister-wife. Tash's coup was an event of great contention in Jadus at the time, with many Jezebel loyalists opposing his succession due to the underhanded tactics he had employed. Many also were disgusted by his openly incestuous marriage to his sister. Others however supported the libertine freedoms endorsed by Tash and Zahara's rule among the upper classes, and the further development of the Jade Mine saw an influx in wealth to the city at the time. Tash and Zahara also worked to establish the tradition of equal rule between the married Sovereigns, further reinforcing some degree of gender equality in the post-war landscape that Jezebel had already set a precedent for (though such egalitarianism did not trickle down to the slave class, which saw continued abuse under Tash and Zahara's rule).

Tash mysteriously died only three years into his rule. The following year, Zahara gave birth to Saadia Zalharad, who was openly acknowledged to be the product not of Tash - but of Zahara and her own son, Suada. This led many to suspect that Tash was poisoned by Zahara before he could learn this truth. Most historians within Sethulhmet consider Tash to have not truly been a Sovereign, and that his rule was stolen by Zahara. Although known for his brash and colorful flair and showmanship among the people, in many circles Tash is disparagingly called the "*Pawn Prince*," given that he was seemingly swept aside to make way for the rest of the dynasty by his sister-wife. Tash and Zahara had two children, Nazira and Suada.
Knight of Kings

The Sol Empire

The Knight of Kings was a male high elven member of the Mage-Emperor's Knights of Nine - later called the Betrayed. Hailing from the elven Kingdom of Sol, the Knight of Kings was the oldest and most loyal friend to the Emperor, having abandoned their shared kingdom together to seek aid during the Sol Rebellion. The Mage-Emperor's slow descent into madness during the later years of the Sol Empire forced the Knight to lead the Betrayed in their own rebellion against his former friend. Despite his efforts, the Knight failed to stop the ensuing civil War of the Nine Knights after the Emperor's deposition. Given the complete disappearance of Sol after the War, the Knight of King's final fate and that of his Apotheon Artifact are unknown.
The Collapse

**The Collapse** was the apocalyptic event that marked the end of the War of the Nine Knights and the transition from Solerra from the New Imperial age into a time of utter darkness, despair, and ruin that redefined the realm into a wasteland that the survivors renamed ***Noxerra*** - the setting of Dead Evil.

Wasteland scholars are still unsure as to what the Collapse actually was; it has occasionally been described as a sort of massive, dark magical blast that emanated across the entire plane. Few are alive that remember it, but some clues remain as to it's nature. Most generally agree that the Collapse was an extremely powerful magical event that outright corrupted Noxerra's natural magical properties - leaving mages open to corruption, and creating a general stigma around arcane and even religious use of magic in many cultures. It's been suggested as well that the Collapse was the result of the Betrayed using their Apotheon Artifacts in battle against one another - the clash of these godlike powers eventually culminating in the singular event that seemed to destroy the various civilizations that made up the Sol Empire.

In addition to the more corruptive nature of Noxerra's magic - the Collapse also had an effect on a cosmic level - with Noxerra's sun becoming dimmer and more waning, creating a near-permanent overcast sky and dark nights. The seasons also seemed to go on for longer than average, lasting nearly twice as long as they used to - and being harsher in their climates. It has been theorized as well that many of the realm's gods were even affected by the event - with the likes of Pelor for instance having shown little influence in the mortal world. By contrast, the Hellmouth and it's host of demons and devils has only gotten stronger in number and power - with the relics of Demon Lords and other dark gods holding greater power and sway over those who seek them out.

Additionally, and curiously, the elven kingdom of Sol - the seat of the Empire's power - disappeared completely following the Collapse; a massive landmass north of Valtoria - the region and it's capital have now faded into legend as the *"Lost City of Sol."*  Because many of the elves were concentrated there at the time, elves - once the most powerful of the races - are now an incredibly rare race in Noxerra, and are often looked upon with suspicion and scorn.

Whatever the Collapse was, it is a defining moment in Noxerra's history - and also the benchmark for the world's new timeline, with the time before the collapse known as B.C. and the time afterwards as A.C. (After the Collapse).
Lloth

The Dark Mother

Queen of the Demonweb Pits

Weaver of Chaos

Mother of Lusts

Lloth (spelled Lolth by those speaking the common tongue) is the spider goddess and head of the divine pantheon, the Dark Seldarine, for the drow people. Worship of her was mostly concentrated in the Zventhos collective of Queendoms within the underdark. Since the end of the War of the Nine Knights when most of the drow retreated back into the depths of the earth, public worship of Lloth has strongly declined outside of a few clandestine dark mages and worshipers who still call on her aid.

In the drow and elven mythologies, Lloth was known first as *Araushnee*, an elven goddess and the bride of the elven creator god Corellon Larethian. She betrayed and rebelled against him however, corrupted into a demonic entity, and driven into exile to be worshipped by the dark elves, along with her children by Corellon - Vhaeraun and Eilistraee, who came to rebel against their mother despite joining her as gods worshiped by the drow. In her exile, Lloth conquered a layer of the Abyss - the Demonweb Pits - and became one of the few Demon Lords to be considered a true god. Among the pantheon, only her grandsom Selvetarm is truly loyal to the Spider Queen, with the Dark Seldarine warring amongst themselves as often as they do against their true elven rivals.

As a goddess Lloth is the patron of chaos, assassins, and ultimate darkness and evil. She was a great enemy of her former husband and other elves - with whom the drow of the Queendoms would repeatedly war for centuries before being united with them under the flag of the Sol Empire. Yet this peace could not last, with the War ensuring that the bitter hatred between the elven sects would remain ever present.
Urgathoa

Urgathoa is a dark goddess of gluttony, disease, undead, and indulgences of physical excess. A minor deity - she has found a foothold in the post-War wasteland as a patron deity to the truly desperate and despicable, being commonly worshiped by wayward cannibal clans, raider gangs, and wandering necromancers. While she has no organized clergy save for a few scattered cults - her worshipers are greatly feared by those that encounter them. She is considered by some to be a chief rival to the equally indulgent - but more tasteful - elven goddess Calistria, though this rivalry is of no great concern to many parties given the clandestine nature of the 40 Lashes. Urgathoa is commonly depicted a beautiful woman whose lower half is in a constant state of decay, wielding a great scythe.

Most recently, a cult of Urgathoa took root in the farming town of Marbury in Eastern Noxerra. Extorted and tortured by the Forgeborn, the villagers of Marbury went without food for months before the local priestesses of the Church of the Lost Dawn abandoned their faith in Pelor and turned to Urgathoa to feed the town. In their desperate devotion, the townsfolk took to cannibalizing their own as well as visitors to the town in ritual sacrifices to the dark goddess. These rituals continued until the townsfolk were slaughtered by the party, with aid from the gnoll warband called the Red Claw.