Darvis Kur

Darvis Kur, more commonly referred to as "The Sunken City" was once the capital of Viabuedon, where the true elven royals ruled. The city was besieged during the dragon war, and has since fallen into ruin and decay.

History

Once the capital city of Viabuedon, Darvis Kur sat at the heart of the country, deep in an ancient forest. At the time, Viabuedon was once a purely elven nation, and its borders were much blurrier, back before many of the continent’s current nations existed. Rather than an elected ruler like modern Viabudon, the elves of Darvis Kur were ruled by a royal family of unique blood.

Mithril Lineage

The royal family of Darvis Kur descended from a unique variant of elves known as Mithral elves, or Star Elves. Long ago, after the beginning of the Fey-Giant war, the Star elves disappeared from the mortal plane to a hidden realm they created, the demi-plane realm of Sildëyuir, which existed between the mortal plane and the Feywild. However, despite their elusiveness and tendency to separate themselves from the rest of civilization, there were occasional instances of Star elves mingling with other elves, producing mixed children. The last known elves carrying mithral blood were considered higher than others, and revered as royalty. This created a monarchy that established the civilization of Viabuedon.

Besieged

During the height of the dragon war, the Chromatic Pentarchy* spread themselves around the continent, each establishing their own lair and following. The black wyrm, Xisveth, coveted the city of Darvis Kur for its defensibility and location within a fey forest. Despite their allure, those same factors would make taking the city difficult, but Xisveth’s bottomless greed was only outmatched by his cunning, and he possessed unusually high arcane ability for a dragon. The elves of Darvis Kur, and the city around them, drew their magical power from the moon, and Xisveth devised a special ritual that, for a short time, would encase the city and surrounding forest in darkness, blacking out the moon and robbing the elves of their greatest defense. On the fateful night of the blood moon, Xisveth put his plan into action. As the great shroud enveloped the sky above Darvis Kur, the elves felt their own life force being swallowed up as the moon disappeared from view, and Xisveth struck from the cover of darkness. Leaving the outer walls and towers, he razed the inner city to the ground, disintegrating the people with his acid breath.

Decay

Without the moon to nourish it, the influence of the feywild retreated from the forest, and soon the entire wood devolved into a muggy swamp, and before dawn’s soft first touches graced the city, Darvis Kur had almost entirely sunk into the ground. The royals had mysteriously disappeared during the attack, despite being under heavy guard, and a new family among the surviving nobles rose up to shepherd the wandering citizens. They took the surviving elves and migrated south, establishing a new capital in the port town of Nunas, far from the swamp.

Lair of the Black Wyrm

Once the elves had been rooted out, Xisveth established his lair beneath the surface of the swamp, tunneling out huge caverns, hollowing out sunken buildings, and essentially reconstructing the city beneath the mud. From a distance, one can still see the ruined tips of the once towering city, not completely swallowed by the swamp, but none tread any closer, fearing the wrath of the great beast that lurks below. Some daring treasure hunters who ventured into the city report a vast stash of ancient, unorthodox weaponry, and a horrid abomination guarding it. Some believe that Xisveth was a talented mage, and transformed one of his former adversaries into a monster, leaving it to guard what was left of the city on the surface.

Legend of the Dragon's Vault

Over the years, rumors surrounding the disappearance of Xisveth the Black began to swirl. A powerful dragon such as he must have had a hoard worth many fortunes. Coupled with the treasury of the old elven kingdom, it was an irresistible lure for treasure seekers. After the first expeditions into Darvis Kur, reports of an indestructible vault door with five inlaid slots hit the public, and the legend of the dragon coins became common knowledge after the first was found. The legend said that when all five coins were assembled and pushed into the door, they would form a key to open the vault. However, no hunter was ever able to find more than the one coin, and over time naysayers and cynics rejected the legend, claiming it was a fake designed to waste the time of the simple-minded, and the legend slowly faded into myth.

*The five eldest chromatic dragons, who reigned over their brethren during the dragon war

Date of Setting

114 AC