Keepers of the Bastion

Near the town of Osra in the southern reaches of Perlane there stands and old, weathered, monument of stone. Built just off the grey beaches of Agasts Bay the Bastion stands, half submerged in the cold grey waters of the bay. Atop the sheer grey building an eternal flame burns serving as a light to guide ships safely to port and to guide seekers of knowledge to its hallowed halls. The Bastion is a cold, dreary, disparate place, a solemn tower awash in seafoam and driftwood. Home to the Keepers the Bastion serves as a place of learning, training, and enlightenment as well as a home for many that choose to study there.

Built in the year 568 of the Age of Strife the structure is almost two thousand years old and has remained mostly unaltered in its years of service. The structure was built under the guidance of a man called Edward Miento, also known as Edward the Seer. Edward was the son of a Baron in Perlane who had always had a deep love of books and an insatiable lust for knowledge. When it came time for Edward to take his father's position he used his family's fortune to commission the construction of the Bastion then upon its completion abdicated the title to his younger sister and left to live in his new construction. While the building was made livable within a few short years it took another eighty-one to complete, finishing two years after Edward’s death. Many have theorized why the building took so long to complete with theories ranging from compounding addions requested by Edward, the additions of hidden passages, ways and underground vaults, poor working conditions, strange deaths, and a curse. By the time of its completion a small town had formed around the new construction helping to sustain the workers and new students. However, in the present day the Bastion stands alone.

The Bastion was built in what is now known as Agasts Bay. When it was initially constructed the Bastion was built upon an island in the bay well above the surrounding water level. At the time the area was populated with a few minor fishing villages and towns built upon the bluffs surrounding the bay. After the Bastion was built and during its construction, a small town was built upon the island. This town was known as Guldhad and although its main draw was the Bastion it did well for itself on its own and quickly became a popular port for southern Havenite traders. Even during this early era of development the Bastion was beginning to gain a sour reputation amongst the locals. Rumors of people disappearing, ungodly experiments within the dark walls of the tower, and stories of Keepers who joined the Bastion never to be heard from again began to emerge. All of these rumors could not hold a candle to the tragedy that was about to take place.

During the dusk of 28th of Long Night in the 712th Year of the Age of Strife a monstrous wave swept into the shallow bay and began to wash over the town of Guldhad. By this time the town had grown to a respectable size housing thousands of citizens and foreign traders. The first wave hit claimed many lives dragging people down into the cold depths of the bay. However, the waves continued one after another slowly flooding the whole island and swallowing up the beaches ashore. As the waters claimed Guldhad its citizens pleaded with the Bastion to allow them entry to the tower, which itself was well above the waves. However, the doors to the tower remained shut. By the end of the night Guldhad, the island, and half a dozen fishing villages were deep beneath the waters of the new bay. The Bastion remained suspiciously above water level, even its lowest occupied levels safe from the new higher tide. Historians are unsure if the island sunk or the waters rose, in either case the bay’s tide rose by almost thirty feet and has remained as such ever since. The news of the Drowning of Guldhad spread fast across Exdora and lands beyond. In light of the tragedy and the lack of casualties and their blatant disregard for the civilians of Guldhad the Bastion and the Keepers gained a sinister reputation. Some just denounced them for their lack of involvement which could have saved thousands other spin far more sinister tales, claiming the Bastion caused the Drowning, or at the very least knew it was coming.

Regardless of the cause of the Drowning or the Bastions involvement in it now the grey tower stands alone in the bay, beneath the waves a reef of old sunken buildings surrounds it, some peaking above the surface when the tide is low. When the bays waters raised they meet some of the bluffs surrounding it and turn one keep town into a new port. This town flourished with its new position and grew to become Cladshore. A new hub for southern trade and supplies for the Bastion those seeking to visit the forlorn town can catch a ferry port and travel across the sunken ruins of the bay in a quest for the towers knowledge.