Ibat Valley Lake

Nestled among the dry and rigid peaks of the central Wyrmington mountains, there is a great lake which is almost circular. This territory, called the Ibat Valley Lake, was once part of the desert flats but was struck by a meteor long in the age of pre-history, before humans first inhabited the world. Its waters are pristine and one can see almost to the bottom. At its deepest point, the lake goes down a mile and a half. After the age of development, starting in 1645, the folk of Wyrmington became increasingly facinated in the world around them. Their first interest was communicating with whoever lived on the faraway second disc they sometimes glimpsed on especially clear days. Their second order of buisness was discovering the origins the strange Ibat Lake. It had some strange properties indeed. You see, meteor impacts are not all that rare in Wyrmington, but a huge majority of them strike the surface of Ibat Lake. The top scientists of the Qes University Department of Geographical Research (QUDGR) wanted to find out what was causing this.

QUDGR Sub 1

Due to the lack of very large bodies of water in the mainly desert and mountain earth of Wyrmington, the government had not developed any type of submarine at this point. The people of Wyrmington had intstead conquered the sky, constructing great flying ships and castles. The use of balloons to propel aircraft was revolutionary, and there would need to be another breakthrough in order to travel so deep in the oposite direction. A prototype was created and tested after a year of research. It was a sort of metal tube with windows and a central control system using rudders. It was tested in a much smaller pond in Qes and was extremely successful. After some finetuning, the submarine was ready to travel beneath the surface. They set up a research station at the lake's edge and sent some researchers down to the bottom in order to investigate the lake's strange property. It was a long way down and the sub decended using air bags which they slowly deflated. Nearing the bottom, the researchers were shocked to find life. What they found even deeper, however, was much more interesting.

The Discovery

Tall branches of seaweed reached from the murky depths and colorful fish darted away as the sub decended. Myself and my fellow scientists watched the scene, mesmerized. Soon we caught sight of the rocky bottom. From somewhere deep below, we heard a pulsing energy. Then we saw it.
-A researcher aboard the the QUDGR Sub 1

At the lake's floor was a thing unlike any citizen of Wyrmington, or Midvillage for that matter, had ever seen. They found a glowing, rocky substance. It glowed a neon green color. The sub was able to take a sample and return to the suface before it ran out of air and the material was put into testing. It appeared to be a very tough stone and gave headaches to anyone who worked on it for too long. After long and strenuous testing, it was decided that the material was otherworldly. That night, a meteor struck the research facility and the scientist came to the conclusion that the meteors were drawn to this material, like a sort of magnet. The sample was eventually returned to the lake, as it was deemed too dangerous. The lake remains a common tourist attraction, though there are signs warning of common meteor impacts near it.

Alternative Name(s)

The Bowl

Type

Crater / Crater Lake / Caldera