The Forest of Rock

> "The clouds of mist and sand would not go there, it seemed, as if the shadows that fell over the maze were too dark for even them to bear. Braziers, set upon towers of stone larger than ten men, flanked the great opening in the wall, empty and without flame, long dead and only memories of a long forgotten age." - *The Plight of Steel, Chapter 53*
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The Forest of Rock is a massive maze of stone in the Southern part of the kingdom of Nightfall. At its center is the elven Castle Myldrazus, which acted as the main fortress of Shyrrik Vaenoria, where he resided with his family, during the War of the First Age.

Constructed by the elves during the First Age of the earth, the Forest of Rock is a large maze of perfectly smooth stone walls. The maze acts as a unique form of defense around Castle Myldrazus, which deters any wanderers or armies from attempting to reach the fortress. A route through it has never been mapped by humans, though one does exist, carved into a large stone block in the small, elven town of Eltaor. In the Plight of Steel, Archeon Starmane and his party, in an effort to bring Adrian Starmane to the fortress, search for and find the map in the town, hidden beneath an ancient human altar to the Gods, which had been placed on top of the map when the town was captured during the war.

## Details

Within the Forest of Rock are eggs of the Drythkiri, placed there by Shyrrik Vaenoria. Throughout the course of the Second and Third ages, the eggs hatched, allowing the monsters inside to find their way out of the maze and into the Bygone Wastes of Nightfall. Shyrrik placed them as a last resort, knowing that the human forces were closing in on him and his wife.

> "Images were carved into the stone of the ground and into the walls: pictures of ancient battles and armies of silver men, a winged creature soaring above them and turning all to ash and dust. Adrian studied them, and saw one creature with long hair that ended near his waist, a helmet upon his head adorned with great wings of shimmering silver... In his hands was a blade, tall and thin, its handle like wrapped tree branches, silver and sparkling steel. From its tip came a beam, boring through metal and wood and even water, through flesh and stone, and through fire." - *The Plight of Steel, Chapter 53*
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This is a description of an etching carved into the floor of the Forest of Rock. It depicts Shyrrik Vaenoria wielding the mythical blade Evyndin during a battle. All along the floors of the maze are images like this one, carved there to act as waypoints. Only the elves, of course, can understand what these waypoints are meant to signify, as they provide clues as to how to traverse the maze.

The maze itself is made of tall walls of stone, all with a mirror-like finish that seems almost to glow green. When Adrian Starmane enters the maze in The Plight of Steel, he can see himself in the reflection of the wall, as well as in the floor. As the maze winds on, closer to Castle Myldrazus, the walls begin to wither, however, as bile from the Drythkiri eggs has eroded the stone.

In the center of the maze is a wide clearing, previously filled with planters and topiary, along with the Starlight Trees grown in the fields outside the Halls of Fayn. All of this died after Shyrrik Vaenoria's passing, and the clearing became desolate. A plateau in the center rises up above the walls, upon which sits Castle Myldrazus.

## History

After the elves developed advanced intelligence, Shyrrik Vaenoria, gifted with the title of Lord of Ashes, and now capable of controlling the elements, became king. He needed a fortress, and constructed Castle Myldrazus on the continent of Nightfall, which was previously unnamed, as the elves considered it just a part of Deyeron. It was after the humans came to Deyeron that Shyrrik had the Forest of Rock constructed around his fortress as a defensive measure. He called it *Ethylin*, which translates to The Defenses.

After Shyrrik Vaenoria's defeat, the human forces took Castle Myldrazus. Their hold on it was short-lived, however, as the Drythkiri eggs that Shyrrik had placed soon hatched, and the monsters slaughtered the humans, who were oblivious to their nature and how to kill them. Afterward, the castle and maze remained abandoned, until, according to stories, The Specter King inhabited the fortress for the remainder of the Second Age.