Cursed Battlefield

The Cursed Battlefield, lying in Central Giantstep, was once home to numerous wetlands, rocky gullies and vast plains of tall red grass. Although no written records of what occupied this land before it turned into a hellish landscape, oral myths and legends from Aquilea and Caprea talk about a race of Giants, not too different than those in the Valley of the Fallen Giants, making their home there.

In the aftermath of the catastrophic Battle of the Empires, the once-bountiful land was transformed into a lifeless wasteland. The once-verdant plains and abundant marshes are now choked with the stench of sulfuric gases, and the ground itself is a mix of treacherous mud and parched desert expanses. The unburied remnants of more than a dozen sentient races - including the now-extinct Giants, Humans, and Elves - litter the battlefield, their skeletal remains a stark reminder of the carnaged that occured there. Some of the corpses are still not decomposed, perhaps being kept in their state by unknown magical forces.

It is said that anyone who enters this cursed land is cursed to suffer an agonizing lonely end, as the toxic gases would surely suffocate anyone without proper protection. Truly, even after three millenia, very few have tried delving into this cursed wasteland, as the only thing of note to this place are the countless corpses dotting the landscape. Those that do are often vile necromancers, most recently the dreaded Zvdoruye of Mossovoy.

## Testimony about the Cursed Battlefield by a captured Zvdoruye at a Laurentian Stronghold

"*The Cursed Battlefield? Oh, it isn't what you damned Povida think. To enter this accursed place, it is to enter a world pulled right out of nightmares and horrors. Bleached bones, deadly gases and rustling armor are only a small part of it. The tormented souls of soldiers who perished in the battle are still restless and filled with anger and despair, reliving their gruesome deaths over and over again. They wander the field, their ethereal forms twisted and distorted by the agony they endured in life. The ghastly screams of slain commanders, the grinding of shattered siege engines, and the thunderous stomping of enormous Giants all play out before us as if it were happening for the very first time. Yet we offer these tortured souls a form of salvation, the closest thing they will ever know to peace. This is what you ungodly Povida are unable to grasp, in all your hubris and ignorance."*

The necromancer, when pressed with torture, also revealed some information about the infamous King Halstan, the necromancer who calls the Cursed Battlefied his home.

*"Halstan? This wretched worm, this disgusting Povida from Waldemaria, he's no true Zvdoruye. It was a mistake to admit him in our ranks, no outsider can be initiated in our craft. This is something the Pridvestniks learned the hard way. He betrayed us, and took refugee in his Castle underneath the battlefield. He names himself King, this cursed worm. I've seen him teleport above ground, making his way to the Bog Witch's Domain, or the Witch Elves' land, in search for more corpses to add to his army. Our scouts think he is constructing an immense monstrosity out of flesh and bone to use as giant sized living armor, but of course that is preposterous drivel. A Povida scum like Halstan could not have the expertise to replicate anything close to our Undead Giants."*

When asked about the famed Eye of Erelyn, the Necromancer erupted in maniacal laughter, before responding:

*"Halstan ran off with one of our artifacts. I'm sure you've heard of his deal with the Bog Witch. The Eye of Erelyn in exchange of free reign over the human populations in her domain. But not even a powerful demon such as her can use the Eye of Erelyn to manipulate and control the soul and the body the same way that we do."*

*Before any further attempts at exracting infromation from the necromancer were made, he use of a hidden poison needle under his sleeve, ending his life. Why he revealed as much as he did is unknown, but many crusaders and Zapalovach officials do not trust his words, consider them yet another attempt at misdirection from the Zvdoruye.*