Forgotten Shore

Fanart by T9

**Forgotten Shore** is a harrowing, but beautiful place. The somber grey sky and the black earth created a perfect backdrop for the vibrant crimson sea of twisting coral blades. Here and there, strange landmarks broke the dullness of the landscape.

It would have been as large as a continent back on Earth. It is one of the unique regions in the Dream Realm, located north of the Hollow Mountains.

## Locations

* Ashen Barrow
* Bone Ridge
* Crater
* Crimson Spire
* Dark City
* Labyrinth

### Ashen Barrow

* A tall hill capable of becoming a real island once the water rose in the night. Its shape is of a colossal barrow. It was covered in gray sand left behind by dead coral. This hill resembled a mountain of ash that was crowned by a giant tree.
* On the other side of the crater, opposite the Dark City.
* It's where the Soul Tree stands.

### Bone Ridge

* A towering landmark that sharply contrasted against the crimson coral and the grey sky. It was made of the skeletal remains of a colossal sea monster that lay on an enormous mound of chaotically growing coral, with its arching spine protruding especially high above the ground.

### Crater

Beyond the western edge of the Ashen Barrow, the slope of this side of the island was much steeper. At the spot where it was supposed to end, the familiar sight of the flat wasteland was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the ground continued to slope downward at a less drastic, but still considerably sharp angle.

It continued far into the distance that the whole island appeared to be standing on the edge of a colossal depression in the earth, one that stretched as far as the eye could see. With its edges slightly curved, it resembled a giant crater left behind by an unimaginable impact.

The crater's diameter could only be calculated in hundreds of kilometers. The roots of the Soul Tree, which could be seen protruding from the soil far below, seemed like tiny blades of grass in comparison to the sheer size of the abyssal chasm's wall.

### Crimson Spire

Main article: Crimson Spire
* Located at the center of the Labyrinth and Forgotten Shore itself.
* At the base of the colossal crimson spire, seven severed heads were guarding seven locks.
* The Gateway is inside the Crimson Spire, guarded by a *Fallen Terror*.

### Dark City

Main article: Dark City
* Located to the east. The city was perched on the edge of a cyclopean crater.
* The Bright Castle is located inside the Dark City.

### Labyrinth

* The area that flowed from Crimson Spire.
* The labyrinth was vast and multi-layered. The paths between coral pillars were sometimes broad, sometimes narrow. They twisted and turned without any logic, often leading to dead ends or even back to where they started. More than that, some paths entered inside the "coral" mounds, turning into dark tunnels.
* Traveling to the Labyrinth has nothing else but corals and a cursed sea. Above, there are swarms of dreadful flying abominations hiding in the clouds.
* The crimson "coral" all around the Labyrinth was not an actual coral. It's what they called based on some resemblance for simplicity. The actual nature of the strange material remained a mystery. The Crimson Spire is the source of this.
* It is speculated that the Labyrinth is actually part of a colossal living creature, a giant maw with which the Crimson Terror absorbed the soul essence of every creature that bled on the coral before it died.

## Map

**View Map**

*Click here to view the Map from Forgotten Shore*

## The Lore

Show/Hide spoilers

Further down the underground mine of Hollow Mountains, the wall carvings were discovered, preserved in pristine condition. At first, the carvings were strictly decorative and mostly senseless, shaped into beautiful patterns of lines and simple images, but they slowly changed.

It depicted the story of the civilization of Forgotten Shore before it was consumed by the curse of all-consuming darkness and the origin of the terrible disaster that had destroyed the land and turned it into a hellish nightmare. The ancient engravings ended with a celebration. The forces of good had vanquished the curse of darkness and brought a new era of light and prosperity to the inhabitants of the ancient city.

**Forgotten Shore** was initially a *beautiful land bathed in sunlight*. Lush forests, glistening rivers, and fields of flowers surrounded human cities built of stone. The beautiful land rested under the sky that was full of stars. Suddenly, one of them fell to the ground, causing a wave of destruction to wash over the human cities.

When people approached the center of the crater left behind by the falling star, a naked human figure was standing at the bottom of the crater, wreathed in light. The inhabitants of the stone cities were surrounding the **radiant figure**, dressed in archaic garments and armor. The figure seemed beautiful and pure, as though untouched by the imperfections of the mundane world. On the figure's face, three eyes were burning with pure, incandescent light. Two were just like that of a human, with the third one situated above the other ones, right in the middle of the creature's forehead.

For some unknown reason, the humans attacked the figure. The figure's chest was pierced by the spear of the tallest human among the inhabitants. What flowed from the terrible wound, however, was not blood, but an endless flood of pure darkness. The darkness devoured the humans gathered around the fatally wounded creature and spread. Soon, it devoured the crater left by the fallen star and then, devoured the entire world. It was the **curse of all-consuming darkness**.

As the darkness spread across the world, it reached the skies. The stars were either devoured by it or fell down, turning the sky into a terrible, lightless abyss, the starless void. The sun never rose above the cursed land again, leaving humans trembling in the cold. Soon, horrifying creatures came from the darkness to devour them. The best and the brightest of the ancient civilization took arms to defend their cities, and for a while, they were able to resist the tide of monsters.

Seven heroes came together from different parts of the dark land and under their protection and guidance, the people living in the darkness migrated from their half-destroyed cities to the shore of the vast crater. There, they built a new home for themselves, surrounded by a mighty wall that no monster could scale or breach.

Then they finished the mighty wall and the city was prospering amidst the darkness. The seven heroes stood at some distance from it, surrounding an inconceivably tall tower. It loomed above them, connecting heaven and earth like the axis of the world. Despite its cyclopean height, the tower was still unfinished. It was the Crimson Spire, only it was not crimson yet, as there were no growths of cursed coral covering its walls.

Soon the tower was complete, and on top of it, a new sun was burning bright, bathing the land and the celebrating people in the light once again. The darkness was gone.

On the Library Ruins, there is a mosaic in an almost pristine condition. Depicted on the mural was a long series of images, spiraling from the edges of the mosaic to its center like a long scroll. On them, the history of the land consumed by darkness was shown, ending with the coming of a new dawn.

As the curse subdued the world under the veil of everlasting darkness and terrible creatures, it started to attack the human settlements, one after another, mighty champions began to appear to battle them. But no matter how strong, brave, and valiant those champions were, none of them was able to resist for long. Especially not when their own allies started turning into monsters. It was impossible to face the terrifying foes hiding in the darkness when no one was there to cover your back — or even worse, if those you trusted the most to do so, were the ones delivering a deadly blow instead. But still, humanity persisted. Months passed, then years. And eventually, a new generation grew up in this horrible world.

This new generation grew up surrounded by nothing but darkness and horror and was forged by it into a far more fearsome force than their parents had ever been. The people adapted to match this dark reality. Eventually, seven of them rose above the rest, each leading their faction in the constant battle against the encroaching doom. Even though they never saw the light that they swear to bring back, all they knew of it were the tales their elders had told them, tales of a time when people never turned into nightmares, and the beautiful stars shone even in the darkest of nights.

There was a **knight** in an intricate plate armor forged of white metal, with a stalwart blade grasped firmly in his hands. A **graceful priestess** in a light flowing robe, her delicate hands shining with gentle light. A **mighty hunter** in an archaic cuirass leaning on a beautiful bronze spear. A **masterful builder** holding a mason's hammer in his calloused hands. A **regal lord** with a humble crown resting on his head, a single gem decorating its simple design. A **subtle and merciless slayer** with a ghostly stiletto hidden cunningly behind her back. And a **stranger** from a misty land who wore a stone-like armor and never showed his face, with a heavy round shield resting at his feet.

The warriors led by the **seven heroes** were truly a fearsome force. Forged and tempered by the relentless malice of their dark world and the unassailable will of their leaders, they drowned the Forgotten Shore in the blood of the cursed creatures. Eventually, the surviving humans migrated to the shore of the colossal impact crater and built an impregnable wall around their new city.

To create the **artificial sun**, the seven heroes sacrificed tens of thousands of people. Then, as the last sacrifice, the seven heroes turned their weapons on themselves, thrusting them into their hearts. As the rivers of blood flowed to the Spire, seven streams of glowing crimson light moved above them and entered it from seven directions. These streams represented the soul essence of numerous humans who had been sacrificed to create the artificial sun. In the center of the Spire, a lone human figure was drawn, convulsing in harrowing agony as the raging storm of soul energy entered her body. The conflux of all that power, the *sacrificial vessel* meant to be its **conduit**. The *anchor of the sun*. The crimson light entered her body, then a pure and white light shot out from her screaming mouth and eyes upward. It rose to the height of the Spire, where a new sun was being born. Frightened by its light, the darkness retreated underground, where it was locked behind seven seals that were left behind by the heroes as their last deed.

After the heroes perished, everything was fine for a while. But after a few decades or even hundreds of years, the light of the sun began to dim. So the people of the Dark City had to make a new sacrifice. The second time, only seven people had been killed to renew the power of the Spire. But then it happened again, and seven was not enough. So they sacrificed fourteen. And when it happened again, they sacrificed a few dozen. Eventually, hundreds of people were slaughtered every year to keep the sun burning. At some point in this vicious cycle, the Vessel that had been imprisoned in the Spire and served as the anchor for the bloodthirsty sun was corrupted. Due to the fact that the seven heroes and their people had terribly mighty souls, their descendants, who didn't have to grow up in utter darkness and fight terrible monsters to live through the day, did not.

The *nameless goddess* of the Dark City became the **Crimson Terror** of the Forgotten Shore. All that pain, all that rage, all that blood exploded from the Spire and infected the very land itself, growing into an endless labyrinth of the strange crimson coral. The seven seals came undone, releasing that darkness that had been imprisoned underground for hundreds of years.

## Shard Memories

Main article: Shard Memories

**Shard Memories** are unique to **Forgotten Shore**. They contained the keys to seal the cursed sea.

## Soul Conduit

The Crimson Spire is a giant soul machine. It was created to collect soul essence and funnel it into the artificial sun. However, it can't function without one small, but crucial gear. A *human* to serve as the fulcrum of all that power, the *conduit* for all those souls, the vessel.

The *artificial sun* does not just illuminate the vicinity of the Crimson Spire. It illuminates the whole of the *Forgotten Shore*. Its light reaches everywhere. When the ancient curse was banished and locked underground, the sun was finally liberated from its shackles. That's why its light suddenly changed, turning into the annihilating white radiance that wiped out most of the living creatures on the Forgotten Shore. All that death and countless souls were guided into the *Spire* by the *Labyrinth*, like a colossal hecatomb, to fuel the evolution of the Crimson Terror.

## See Also

* Siege of the Crimson Spire
* Dreamer Army
* Shadows and Light

## Theme Song

**View Theme Song**

*Click here to view the theme song for Forgotten Shore*

## References

1. ↑ Chapter 232 Before the Storm
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Chapter 178 Lost Expedition
3. ↑ Chapter 244 Death Zone
4. ↑ Chapter 61 Sea of Ash
5. ↑ Chapter 73 The Circle of Death
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Chapter 60 Bone Ridge
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Chapter 76 The Abyss
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Chapter 150 Hunting Party
9. ↑ Chapter 44 Cassie's Dream
10. ↑ Chapter 149 Dark Diver
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Chapter 127 Abandon All Hope
12. ↑ Chapter 31 Low Tide
13. ↑ Chapter 283 Final Piece of the Puzzle
14. ↑ Chapter 248 Those Who Survived
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7 Chapter 249 Curse of Darkness
16. ↑ Chapter 250 Defiant Oath
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 Chapter 281 Seven Heroes
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Chapter 282 Sacrifice
19. ↑ Chapter 283 Final Piece of the Puzzle
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Chapter 343 Soul Conduit