The Grave Town of Aklun

"Darkness in the Sunlit Vale..."

Aklun was a prosperous, if small, farming town in the Sunlit Vale, just north of Telent. That is, until the Sundering. Though the town didn't feel the effects of the cataclysm directly, it was events that followed shortly after that spelled its doom. The "scourge" of the Blood Mages (the precursors to the Lentokki) was driven out of Hariel Majour during a time known as "The Scouring." Though intended by the crown to be non-violent, many interactions between the blood mages and those who would displace them ended in violence. The story of Aklun is a particularly sad and bloody one.
As the blood mages headed south, barely one step ahead of their pursuers, a large group of them came across Aklun. They immediately swept in and took over, holding the population of the town hostage. Here, they mad their last stand against Knights of Rocha sent to root them out. The Baron of Rocha at the time, Navac the first, ordered his knights to destroy the mages if they could not be routed. This led to a violent altercation that lasted merely two days, but resulted in the complete and total destruction of all life within the town. Nearly one thousand innocents died in the battle, along with the blood mages themselves, and many of the "Ruby Knights" of Rocha.
However, what makes the place as fearful as it is tragic has to do with the blood magic employed during the battle. Powerful necromantic spells raised both the long dead and the recently fallen, in an attempt to match the overpowering forces of Rocha. The magic seeped into the very soil, turning even the crops against the living. Thorns grew, wood erupted in spontaneous fire, the land turned against all who tread upon it.
This was well over a thousand years ago. And ever since, Aklun has been considered by most to be haunted. Nothing can grow in its blasted soil, and those who venture into its territory do not often return. It's said the death and blood magic still lies beneath the dirt, waiting to claim new servants of darkness.
Some call Aklun a miniature Lentokk, as both share the same blasted landscape. The people of Telent in particular have a great aversion to Aklun, and Telenti children are often warned of its evils through bedtime stories.

Architecture

Mostly single story farm houses, made of wood with thatched roofs.

Geography

Just north of Telent in the Sunlit Vale. It is mostly open fields, however overrun from disuse.

RUINED SETTLEMENT
One thousand two hundred years ago...

Alternative Name(s)

The Cursed Farm

Type

Town

Population

None today. Previously 1,000.

Location under

Hariel Majour

Owner/Ruler

The Kingdom of Wyeth