the Purple Rocks

A cluster of rocky islands far to the west in the Trackless Sea is named for the dark purple hue that they take on under stormy skies. The two largest islands among the Purple Rocks have one settlement apiece: the town of Vilkstead on the eastern island of Utheraal, and the slightly smaller town called Ulf of Thuger on the island of Trisk to the west. Each island also has its own king: Sea-King Frannis of Utheraal and Sea-King Krulk of Trisk.

The Northlanders of Utheraal and Trisk are under the sway of the kraken Slarkrethel. They show their devotion, among other ways, by tossing their newborn children into the sea. The islanders wear tattoos of krakens made with squid ink and build longships that boast kraken-shaped figureheads. They greet visitors with food and shelter, but don’t speak of Slarkrethel or the absence of children from their communities.

Visitors who try to investigate the mysteries of the Purple Rocks are asked to leave. Those who refuse to do so are captured and sacrificed to the sea.

We left on good terms, and it wasn’t until we were well away that we realized we all shared a strange apprehension. We had not seen much of women while we were on the island, which was to be expected from Northlanders. But we also neither saw nor heard any children or young men, and never once did we see any old men or women. This strange fact, and the Rocklanders’ weird custom of giving any human figure in their art the arms of their totem — a many-tentacled squid — makes me leery of a return.

-- Volo Geddarm