Bay of Vergil
The storied sea of undead
The Bay of Vergil, also known as the "sea of the dead", is a large bay that is part of the Golden Sea. It borders numerous nations of the Eastern Continent, including Al-Andalus, Harad, Magnos, and Romanorum.
Undead wander the Bay of Vergil in search of Shadow magic
The Bay of Vergil is a large body of salt water that interconnects with the larger Golden Sea that encompasses much of the Eastern Continent. Both in ancient times as well as today, the bay has been an important means of travel, trade, and fishing for the peoples of the Eastern Continent. Despite its current nature and history, it remains a thriving sea full of life and warm waters. At the center of the Bay of Vergil lays a small temperate island which was the "gem" of the Golden Sea. In the days of the Sun Bay (see below), it was known as the Isle of Rain, for both its frequent rains and abundant fresh water that made it a popular stopping point for maritime traffic in the bay. After Vergil's fall and it's renaming to the Bay of Vergil, the Isle of Rain is now known as the Tarnished Isle, which is thick with undead. Only the most intrepid or desperate travelers will stop to attempt to take on waters at the site where it is said that Prince Vergil's armada sunk into the sea.
In the earliest days of life on Arda, the elves would sail along the shoreline, seeking out new places for their tribes to travel and settle. Not knowing at the time that the Bay was connected to the Golden Sea, many elves called it the Sun Coast, likely for its numerous bright and warm shorelines. After discovering it was connected to the Golden Sea, it was simply called the Sun Bay. Following the events of the First Primordial War, the orcs and the duergar who could fled on primitive vessels to the lands that would be Harad today. During the Second Primordial War, numerous vessels carried the orcs across the Sun Bay to invade the lands of Romanorum and the lands that would now be Magnos.
The current nature of the Bay would have its start during the Last of the Primordial Wars. Following the arrival and the eventual peace forged by the deities of the Heavens and the Primordial Lords, the Shadow had little interest in standing by to watch. The Shadow fled with its followers south across the bay, conquering, converting, or putting much of the remaining residents of early Harad to the sword. The first test of the alliance of the Children of the Heavens and the Children of the Primordials would be put to the test, as numerous invasion attempts were made under the newly reforged Romanoran Empire to drive the Shadow and its worshipers from the lands of early Harad.
The most famous of these attempts was made by a confident and headstrong princeling of the Empire, known as Prince Vergil. A prodigy of magic and an accomplished wizard, he rallied the forces of Romanorum into a massive fleet he launched from the Romanoran town of Port Tiber. The attempts of the prince were well known by the Shadow, who used it's god-like power to call a great and powerful storm to wrack the invasion fleet of prince, shattering it with hurricane-force winds and black lightning. Knowing the storm was created by the Shadow, the prince did something both drastic and unexpected. Unknown to the Shadow, the prince was also a powerful necromancer. In the prince's rage and sorrow, he cursed his own men to undeath, unable to truly die until the Shadow is defeated.
From this point on, the Bay was now a tumultuous mass of broken ships and armored undead, who attack at the slightest tinge of Shadow magic. Over the next century, new attempts would be made to dislodge the Shadow, eventually forcing it to take its followers into extraplanar exile. Even so, the undead remained in the Bay, eventually giving it its new name, the Bay of Vergil, or to some, the "sea of the dead".
The undead do not attack those who have no trace of Shadow magic on them, treating them as though they are invisible. To Shadow worshipers, or those who carry items with Shadow magic, they are a serious threat. While most remain in the bay, it is not uncommon for one such undead to wash up on shore, especially after storms. While as stated they are harmless, most locals don't go to the beach alone. Such undead are called "the drowned" or "the lost". In larger towns, the local guard will kill and dispose of the wandering undead, and are known to the local populace as "drowners". In smaller towns, superstitious townsfolk will take long sticks, and attempt to prod them back into the water, lest they be cursed themselves.
While most locals of the Bay of Vergil today consider these undead as little more than nuisances, they are often quite a shock to those who haven't seen or heard of it before. In academic circles, the undead of the Bay are discussed frequently; as despite being hundreds of years old and immersed in salt water, many still remain, and numerous with flesh or some armor or weapons still intact. Magical scholars still don't understand why such undead have persisted so long, but some joking call long-lasting magic "spells as long as Vergil's", or "Vergil spells".
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Geography
The Bay of Vergil is a large body of salt water that interconnects with the larger Golden Sea that encompasses much of the Eastern Continent. Both in ancient times as well as today, the bay has been an important means of travel, trade, and fishing for the peoples of the Eastern Continent. Despite its current nature and history, it remains a thriving sea full of life and warm waters. At the center of the Bay of Vergil lays a small temperate island which was the "gem" of the Golden Sea. In the days of the Sun Bay (see below), it was known as the Isle of Rain, for both its frequent rains and abundant fresh water that made it a popular stopping point for maritime traffic in the bay. After Vergil's fall and it's renaming to the Bay of Vergil, the Isle of Rain is now known as the Tarnished Isle, which is thick with undead. Only the most intrepid or desperate travelers will stop to attempt to take on waters at the site where it is said that Prince Vergil's armada sunk into the sea.
History
In the earliest days of life on Arda, the elves would sail along the shoreline, seeking out new places for their tribes to travel and settle. Not knowing at the time that the Bay was connected to the Golden Sea, many elves called it the Sun Coast, likely for its numerous bright and warm shorelines. After discovering it was connected to the Golden Sea, it was simply called the Sun Bay. Following the events of the First Primordial War, the orcs and the duergar who could fled on primitive vessels to the lands that would be Harad today. During the Second Primordial War, numerous vessels carried the orcs across the Sun Bay to invade the lands of Romanorum and the lands that would now be Magnos.
The current nature of the Bay would have its start during the Last of the Primordial Wars. Following the arrival and the eventual peace forged by the deities of the Heavens and the Primordial Lords, the Shadow had little interest in standing by to watch. The Shadow fled with its followers south across the bay, conquering, converting, or putting much of the remaining residents of early Harad to the sword. The first test of the alliance of the Children of the Heavens and the Children of the Primordials would be put to the test, as numerous invasion attempts were made under the newly reforged Romanoran Empire to drive the Shadow and its worshipers from the lands of early Harad.
The most famous of these attempts was made by a confident and headstrong princeling of the Empire, known as Prince Vergil. A prodigy of magic and an accomplished wizard, he rallied the forces of Romanorum into a massive fleet he launched from the Romanoran town of Port Tiber. The attempts of the prince were well known by the Shadow, who used it's god-like power to call a great and powerful storm to wrack the invasion fleet of prince, shattering it with hurricane-force winds and black lightning. Knowing the storm was created by the Shadow, the prince did something both drastic and unexpected. Unknown to the Shadow, the prince was also a powerful necromancer. In the prince's rage and sorrow, he cursed his own men to undeath, unable to truly die until the Shadow is defeated.
From this point on, the Bay was now a tumultuous mass of broken ships and armored undead, who attack at the slightest tinge of Shadow magic. Over the next century, new attempts would be made to dislodge the Shadow, eventually forcing it to take its followers into extraplanar exile. Even so, the undead remained in the Bay, eventually giving it its new name, the Bay of Vergil, or to some, the "sea of the dead".
The undead do not attack those who have no trace of Shadow magic on them, treating them as though they are invisible. To Shadow worshipers, or those who carry items with Shadow magic, they are a serious threat. While most remain in the bay, it is not uncommon for one such undead to wash up on shore, especially after storms. While as stated they are harmless, most locals don't go to the beach alone. Such undead are called "the drowned" or "the lost". In larger towns, the local guard will kill and dispose of the wandering undead, and are known to the local populace as "drowners". In smaller towns, superstitious townsfolk will take long sticks, and attempt to prod them back into the water, lest they be cursed themselves.
While most locals of the Bay of Vergil today consider these undead as little more than nuisances, they are often quite a shock to those who haven't seen or heard of it before. In academic circles, the undead of the Bay are discussed frequently; as despite being hundreds of years old and immersed in salt water, many still remain, and numerous with flesh or some armor or weapons still intact. Magical scholars still don't understand why such undead have persisted so long, but some joking call long-lasting magic "spells as long as Vergil's", or "Vergil spells".
See Also
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