Crystalfen Caverns
Deep beneath the Bladeshimmer Shoreline is a sprawling network of natural caverns and rivers that
predate the Age of Arcanum. These tunnels reach
even below the ocean, and have roots in early colonization by denizens of the Realms Beyond.
An ancient society of psychically powerful aboleths and other aberrations sprung up from a door between worlds and conquered this subterranean web, drove their slaves to construct Salar, the Unseeable City, and slowly pressed upward toward the surface. Their plot was unintentionally ended when the final battle of the Calamity sent powerful waves of magical force throughout Exandria, causing much of the underground caverns to collapse and the aboleth civilization to fall under rock and rubble. Fragments of the City Which Eyes Cannot See still remain, however, with surviving terrors slowly rebuilding from the dust within their once- great capital.
The ruins of this sprawling city are now known as the Crystalfen Caverns. These caves are home to scattered veins of azuremite, a gorgeous blue crystal that formed from millennia of psychic energies existing near element deposits. Curious explorers who discovered the veins found that, when mined and refined into a fine dust, the azuremite powder is a strong mind-altering agent and induces temporary visions and other psychic phenomena.
While a number of small, isolated entrances to this labyrinth of tunnels have been discovered and adventuring parties have attempted to chart the mines, the caverns are so vast and deep that either they gave up for fear of becoming lost, or they were assailed by the terrible denizens of the caverns, never to return. Most who now brave the caverns are foolish treasure hunters or criminals seeking to mine more azure- mite to sell on the black market.
An ancient society of psychically powerful aboleths and other aberrations sprung up from a door between worlds and conquered this subterranean web, drove their slaves to construct Salar, the Unseeable City, and slowly pressed upward toward the surface. Their plot was unintentionally ended when the final battle of the Calamity sent powerful waves of magical force throughout Exandria, causing much of the underground caverns to collapse and the aboleth civilization to fall under rock and rubble. Fragments of the City Which Eyes Cannot See still remain, however, with surviving terrors slowly rebuilding from the dust within their once- great capital.
The ruins of this sprawling city are now known as the Crystalfen Caverns. These caves are home to scattered veins of azuremite, a gorgeous blue crystal that formed from millennia of psychic energies existing near element deposits. Curious explorers who discovered the veins found that, when mined and refined into a fine dust, the azuremite powder is a strong mind-altering agent and induces temporary visions and other psychic phenomena.
While a number of small, isolated entrances to this labyrinth of tunnels have been discovered and adventuring parties have attempted to chart the mines, the caverns are so vast and deep that either they gave up for fear of becoming lost, or they were assailed by the terrible denizens of the caverns, never to return. Most who now brave the caverns are foolish treasure hunters or criminals seeking to mine more azure- mite to sell on the black market.
The Sisters Grast
Mythic tales of a pair of ancient hags swirl through learned circles within Emon , typically to frighten Lyceum students off of wandering forbidden vaults at night. Some folk, however, take these whispers seriously. A number of explorers and treasure seekers wandering the subterranean ruins of Crystalfen have encountered one, or both, of these wretched witches, returning with tales of fright, dark dealings, and unholy pacts.
In reality, these creatures are elven scholars who stumbled upon the Ruins of Salar long, long ago. Their discovery and research of the profoundly magical location twisted their minds and bodies, infused them with power, extended their lives, and granted a glimmer of knowledge of some immense, unknowable purpose to the lost city. They’ve become obsessed with the mysteries of the ruins. The elder, Trysta, remains below to continue to excavate and study, while her sister Forscythia travels back and forth from Emon under the veil of a half-dozen illusions to acquire goods and gold in exchange for her unsettlingly insightful fortune-telling. Anyone who seeks the sisters with ill intent is rarely seen again, but those who stumble upon them often find themselves temporarily in service to them, a pact made out of fear and self-preservation.
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