Luclin
Luclin is a realm of exiles. From the loyalist refugees of the Combine Empire and their pursuers, the Inquisitors, to the evil Shissar and the luckless kerrans, known as the Vah'Shir, all of the major races that inhabit the lost moon of Luclin were cast out or voluntarily fled Norrath.
They found a world that was a strange wonderland, one side sunk in eternal shadow, the other in constant sunlight. Beneath the surface of the world were vast caverns where strange plants and bizarre creatures throve. The surface of Luclin was a place of mountains, deserts, oceans, and plains. Over the generations, these exiles (and those born of them) came to think of Luclin as home, and when adventurers from the kingdoms of Norrath once more began to arrive, the established peoples of Luclin were well removed from the races that had given them birth.
The Goddess Luclin
Luclin gets its name from its creator, the Goddess of Shadows. For untold ages, Luclin dwelt in the darkness of Norrath, watching as the other gods fought and squabbled over the land and its inhabitants. At last, she could stand no more, and left the world altogether, moving to the world's ringed moon. From the security of the moon's dark side, the goddess allowed Veeshan’s seeds of life to germinate, and then nurtured the creatures that crept forth. All the while, Luclin watched over Norrath as the gods continued to squabble. As they descended into open warfare, Luclin yet lurked in shadow. She remained neutral in the great conflict between Tunare and Innoruuk, bewildered by their foolishness. The creatures that grew from the seeds of Veeshan spread across the once-lifeless moon. Luclin herself created other life forms as well, the first and most powerful being the Akheva, those immortal four-armed creatures who even today remain her most loyal subjects. Elsewhere, other species grew and thrived. The insectoid shik'nar built their hive complexes, galorians carved out tribal territories in the moon’s rugged wilderness lands, and the tegi spread across the entire orb, dividing themselves into numerous independent tribes. Beneath the surface, great burrower beasts carved labyrinthine tunnels among which fungal fiends and tentacled thought horrors thrived. Though it seemed a bleak and distant world to those who watched it from Norrath, Luclin was a place of life and vitality. And then, after countless years of isolation, Luclin was once again visited by outsiders.The Shissar
The rise of the Shissar snake-people on Norrath did not escape the observant goddess's notice. As their empire grew more powerful, the Shissar became increasingly arrogant, eventually convinced that their power rivaled that of the gods themselves. At last the gods punished the Shissar for their hubris, sending a deadly green mist that caused the snake-folk to sicken and die. The Shissar faced destruction, but a handful of survivors found a way to escape from Norrath, fleeing to Luclin's moon. Their empire had been destroyed, and the few snake-people who remained were a fearful, superstitious, and paranoid lot. Luclin thought long about their fate, but at length she allowed them to stay in the region now known as the Grey. Back on Norrath, most believed that the Shissar were gone forever, driven to extinction by the vengeance of the gods. The Iksar, who had been enslaved by the wicked snake-people, rejoiced and soon became one of the foremost races of Norrath. Memory of the Shissar faded until they became little more than creatures of myth. No one knew that the Shissar still lurked in their refuge on the moon of Luclin, still served by the descendants of their Iksar slaves. The surviving Shissar began construction of a new temple and covered the vicinity of their new home with a vast dome of magical force, drawing all the air from the region save immediately around the temple itself so that the Greenmist would have no means of reaching them. Now safe, the Shissar began to settle into their new home. But all was not well for the snake-folk, for the wizard Vyz'dra began plotting to seize power. The writings of the renowned Shissar wizard T'sharnell speak of the snake-folk's curse and their flight to the moon. T'sharnell did, indeed, sacrifice himself to trap Vyz'dra, but even today the Shissar continue to fear him and his minions. Meanwhile, the mysterious new race that plagued the snake-folk proved to be the humanoid monsters known as thought horrors. Children of Luclin herself, the horrors dwelled in the lightless abyss known as the Deep and eventually made their way into the halls of the Ssraeshza Temple. Fearful of the Shissars' power, these creatures resented the intrusion of the snake-people and, soon after T'sharnell's sacrifice, began to move against the Shissar in large numbers. Little is known of the conflict between the thought horrors and the snake-people, but it is a contest apparently still going on in the tunnels beneath the Grey and in the adjacent caverns of the Deep. At first, the thought horrors' mentally enslaved creatures assaulted the Temple. The height of the assault came when a horde of burrowing worms emerged into the mines near the lower levels, accompanied by an army of murderous thought horrors. The Shissar and their slaves met the enemy in the narrow tunnels and pushed them back, though the cost was great. As a result, and given the ever-present threat of the Greenmist, the Shissar have been cautious about venturing beyond their airless homeland, but the war with the thought horrors has convinced Emperor Ssraeshza that they cannot remain isolated forever. An especially cruel and power-hungry race, the Shissar have begun once more to contemplate founding a new empire in which they can rule unchallenged. Perhaps the Humans and Vah'Shir will make worthy slaves to help build this great new empire, but so far the Shissar have contented themselves to planning and dreaming of a return to greatness. The opening of the gates and the subsequent arrival of adventurers from Norrath has made the Shissars' position even more precarious, for now they fear that they may once more come to the gods' notice, and that divine vengeance may be redoubled upon them.The Coming of the Combine
The lost Combine Empire, first and greatest Human nation, survives on the moon of Luclin, though it is a mere shadow of its ancient self. Luclin herself prevented the Empire's return and drove the geomancer Grieg to madness. The conflict between the Combine Loyalists and their Inquisitor foes amuses the Maiden of Shadows, and she is reluctant to allow either faction to leave lest they rob her of her entertainment. Combine historian Aliane Rainmist, an Elven druid of Tunare, tells the tragic tale of the Combine's collapse and its survivors' flight to Luclin in "The Fall of Grieg." The Inquisitors were not the only enemy faced by the beleaguered Loyalists. Enemies assailed the followers of Tsaph Katta both from within and from without. The city's most persistent foes were undead creatures known as Vampires. The first Vampires encountered by the Loyalists were clad in the garb of Shadow Haven merchants, apparently infected and transformed into undead by other Vampires. Soon, the Loyalists discovered that the Tenebrous Mountains were infested with the creatures, an alliance of Vampires known as the Coterie of Eternal Night. The struggle between the two factions began immediately and continues to this day. Though they did not attack in great numbers, a handful of Vampires once entered the city through subterranean passages, or perhaps under the cover of invisibility, infecting innocent citizens and recruiting them as murderous minions. Today, some areas of Katta Castellum are especially perilous, for the lack of sunlight allows these horrific creatures to move and act with virtual impunity. Within Katta Castellum's own walls, threats to the security of the refugees continue to fester. Some chafe at the rule of the Concilium Universus — the council that leads the city in Tsaph Katta's stead — and call for change. Others see dark conspiracies in the city's many shadows. Some have even gone so far as to claim that Tsaph Katta himself has returned as an undead creature, transformed by the Vampires, and now ruling the city as an immortal monster. The emergence of such factions and the continued predations of the Vampires amount to unsettling evidence that the Loyalists' society is beginning to falter. As their foes grow bolder and their own people nurse more and more substantial doubts, the future seems less and less certain. The recent arrival of outsiders — adventurers and explorers from Norrath — has fired the Loyalists with new hope, however. With the gates to their homeland once more open, some have begun to openly speak of a return, a reconquista in which the Combine Empire takes back its old lands and returns them to enlightened rule. Many Loyalists are more pragmatic, however, soberly pointing out that the [Combine's halcyon days are gone forever. They are Luclinites now, these individuals say, and though the new travel routes have improved life for those on both sides of the gates, it is best that they remain on this strange world that has become their home.The Inquisitors
The Loyalists' oldest foes, Seru's Inquisitors, are the last remnants of the rebels who once tried to conquer the Combine Empire but who instead destroyed it. Seru, the traitor who tried to murder his lord and thus brought about the Combine's utter collapse, still lives in the depths of his keep, the Arx Seru, within the city of Sanctus Seru, from which he rules with an iron hand. Blind to the terrible tragedy he caused, Seru became obsessed with pursuing and finally defeating the Loyalists. When they escaped to Luclin's moon, the warlord's anger was terrible — it is said that in his initial rage he killed at least four slaves and injured countless others. At a time when he should have been consolidating his gains and establishing his control over the Combine Empire, Seru instead bade his followers find out how Katta and his people had escaped. As subject peoples rose up and plundered the far corners of the fallen Empire, Seru obsessively pursued his research until at last he discovered what had happened. As quickly as possible, Seru gathered up his armies and had his wizards cast their own version of Grieg's transportation spell. As the world fell into blood and chaos behind him, Seru led his people in pursuit of his hated enemies. After negotiations with the wary Shadow Haven folk, the Inquisitors were at last allowed to venture to the surface. There, they discovered that Katta's Loyalists had fled into the Tenebrous Mountains and were engaged in building a great citadel. Weary, out of supplies, and to their own horror trapped on Luclin, Seru and his army reluctantly realized that they could not defeat Katta. Not yet, anyway. Immediately, the Inquisitors began construction of their own great city, which their leader arrogantly named Sanctus Seru. A model of geometric precision and flawless architecture, the city reflected its master's cunning, mathematically precise mind. Stone was brought from the neighboring Dawnshroud Peaks, despite skirmishes with hostile galorian tribes and predatory rock hoppers. Food was harvested from the caverns below, and soon the Inquisitors learned how to cultivate mushrooms and other indigenous fungi. Farms in the Dawnshroud Peaks also produced food for the city. The Inquisition's influence spread into the neighboring wilderness, soon renamed Marus Seru. This blasted wasteland became a place of exile for those who had failed to serve the Inquisitors, but who were not deemed worthy of execution. These pitiful creatures, eventually known as Recusos, formed a rough and violent culture in Marus Seru, where they dwell to this day, fighting with the hardy creatures who share the wasteland with them and attacking outsiders or stealing what they can to survive. The Inquisitors are strong. In their own region they are virtually unchallenged. But their strength also lies in isolation, for their hated foes, the Loyalists, are on the other side of the moon — across a distance that not even Seru's fearsome power can easily cause his people to bridge.Shadow Haven
In between the two major Human cities of Luclin lies the hidden complex called Shadow Haven. Extending far beneath the moon's rocky surface, this place is populated by the descendants of those Loyalists who stayed behind when the rest went on to found Katta Castellum. As well, it is home to those Inquisitors who wished to research the secrets of the Nexus, the mysterious black orb that appeared to have drawn the humans to this location on the moon. The days after the exodus from Norrath were harsh for the people of Shadow Haven. Starting from the natural caverns beneath the moon, they began to expand outward, hollowing out new corridors and chambers. Initially, they were aided by the geomancer Grieg, who had chosen to stay in Shadow Haven rather than live with the derision of the Loyalists, who blamed his faulty calculations for their apparent entombment in the caverns. After several disastrous mistakes by the wizard, however, the Trade Families — those wealthy merchants who had become Haven's rulers— ordered him to leave. The people carried on their excavations and, perhaps not surprisingly, fatalities and accidents indeed decreased substantially after the geomancer's departure. The Haveners eventually expanded into the neighboring Paludal Cavern complex, discovering the great groves of edible fungi there, as well as the dangerous creatures that dwelt therein. Harvesting foodstuffs was made hazardous by hostile tegi, predatory fungal fiends, and the Recondite bandits, dissatisfied Haveners who sought to carve out their own society free of the Trade Families' oppressive regime. Shadow Haven forces also ventured into the Fungus Grove, where they encountered the shik'nar insect creatures and the grove's own band of renegades — outcasts from sun revenant people who called themselves the Shadel bandits. Despite these challenges, routes to both the Fungus Grove and the Paludal Caverns had to remain open, for the food obtained in these places keeps Shadow Haven alive. A neutral state comfortably nestled between the Inquisitors and the Loyalists, Shadow Haven welcomed and traded freely with both sides and with anyone else who wished to approach them. In some ways, Shadow Haven reflected many values of the old Combine Empire, allowing anyone to live and trade freely within its boundaries, regardless of race, religion, or outlook, as long as they obeyed the city's laws. Under the rule of the Houses Fordel, Midst, Nota'Dal, and Earthcrafter (those referred to collectively as the Trade Families), the city became a center for trade and diplomacy. After a time the city prospered, troubled only by occasional incursions of hostile shik'nar or fungus fiends from outlying caverns. Research into the Nexus and its mysterious magical qualities continued. In time, the Inquisitors who had stayed behind joined Shadow Haven society, forsaking Seru's rigid, joyless rule. For their part, the Inquisitors chose not to make an issue of the researchers' actions, for Shadow Haven was becoming vital to Sanctus Seru's economy, and not even Seru wished to antagonize the powerful Trade Families. The Nexus itself proved difficult to research. The Nexus' emanations could be qualified or quantified, and were clearly powerful, but the black orb itself proved impervious to any such examination. It had helped to transport both the Loyalists and the Inquisitors to the moon, but now stubbornly refused to yield up its secrets or — to the researchers' even greater consternation — to be reactivated to allow any further transportation either to or from Norrath. Some researchers speculate that the Nexus' inactivity was due to the moon's location relative to Norrath, and that once the distance between the two worlds decreased again, free transit would once more be possible. Others postulated that the original exodus was possible only because of the sheer amount of raw magical energy needed to travel to the moon, and that such magical power, for some unknown reason, could no longer be summoned on Luclin. Still others claimed that Luclin herself had closed the gate, preventing any more interlopers from entering her home world. In the end, the answer appeared to be a combination of all three theories. The moon was still far from Norrath when the celebrated Al'Kabor made the momentous discovery that led to the reopening of the lunar gates, but the wizard and his assistants were able to summon up considerable magical energy, utilizing the power of the ancient wizard spires. This combination of forces created a situation that had not existed for ages — the opening of free transport between Norrath and the moon of Luclin. The first arrival of outsiders came unexpectedly, when Al'Kabor and his fellow wizards emerged from the Nexus and entered the Bazaar region of Shadow Haven. Their arrival caused a sensation, and within hours the entire community was abuzz with the news. The way to Norrath was once more open, and a flood of adventurers, travelers, and explorers was certain to come. And come it did, much to the delight of the Trade Families. Vital to human society on Luclin, Shadow Haven now became a critical crossroads between two worlds. Platinum, gold, and silver flowed freely, as visitors of a dozen races came and went with relative freedom. Happily, the Trade Families watched their riches accumulate, and the cunning people of Shadow Haven happily offered to trade even more openly with the newcomers. This is how Shadow Haven remains today, as travel to and from Luclin becomes more and more frequent. No one knows how long this situation will last, and those researchers who still probe the secrets of the Nexus cannot guarantee that the gates will not close as unexpectedly as they opened. For the time being, however, Shadow Haven is content to be a critical waypoint on the road to adventure on Luclin.The Fall of the Akheva
The first and greatest of the goddess Luclin's creations were the giant four-armed immortals called the Akheva. Guardians of the moon, their powers were unchallenged by any other lunar race and they ruled a vast section of the moon's dark side, in the region today known as the Maiden's Eye. There, they built a mighty citadel called Ka Vethan. For ages, they remained the most powerful force on the moon of Luclin, served by numerous other races (most notably the Centi clan of the tegi, who crafted many of the Akhevans' greatest weapons). Yet eventually the Akheva's great culture fell, as so many do, because of greed and violence. The Akhevan high priestess, Akelha'ra, created a twin from her own blood and shadow. This twin, called Atenha'Ra, was to aid in the administration of Akhevan affairs. However, in the end all she brought was destruction. In those days, the Akheva spoke a language called the Fleshless Tongue. While outsiders might learn to understand a handful of words, this language in its entirety is utterly incomprehensible to ordinary mortals. Yet many Akheva at that time chose to communicate directly with mortals in their own languages. Atenha'Ra, devoted to the service of Luclin and utterly convinced of Akhevan superiority, demanded that the practice be stopped and that Akheva speak only the Fleshless Tongue. Akelha'ra resisted, and the Akheva began to split into rival factions. Though to outsiders this might have seemed a trivial cause for conflict, to the Akheva it was a matter of deadly seriousness, and in time the rivalry between the followers of the two priestesses exploded into open warfare. The factions fought viciously, the members of each claiming that they were the true servants of the goddess. The conflict raged for many years, and many Akheva perished. At long last, the priestess Atenha'Ra prayed to Luclin and summoned a great storm to destroy her rivals. She got far more than she bargained for — the resulting tempest blasted the region and scoured it of life. Akelha'ra and many of her faction perished in the cataclysm, but in the end the war had no real victor, for both sides were devastated. As the storm subsided, Atenha'Ra led herpeople from the place, now called the Maiden's Scar, and founded the citadel of Vex Thal. Those still loyal to Akelha'ra's cause remained behind in the Maiden's Scar, inhabiting the ruins of their old temple. The rivalry between the two factions continues today, but neither has the numbers or the will to march on the other. Just the same, the rival strongholds — the Akheva Ruins and the deadly citadel of Vex Thal — remain two of the most dangerous places on the moon of Luclin.Rediscovery
After countless years of isolation, a permanent route between Norrath and Luclin's moon was discovered by the great wizard Al'Kabor. The wizard spires of Norrath were converted to transportation devices, and ordinary adventurers began to visit the distant moon in great numbers. Luclin's tolerance, already tested by repeated incursions, had reached its breaking point, but she saw no immediate way to get the interlopers to leave her moon without enraging the other gods and finally ending her years of isolation. Though enraged by the presence of new strangers, Luclin waits patiently, knowing that eventually the moon will move away from Norrath, possibly closing the gates and preventing further travel between the worlds. If (or when) this happens, though, thousands are sure to be stranded on Luclin's moon, and the goddess is none too happy at the prospect. The steady flow of outsiders shows no sign of abatement, however, and the numerous factions of the moon — foremost among them the Inquisitors, the Loyalists, the Shissar, the Vah'Shir, and the Akheva — have reacted differently. Some wish only to be left alone, while others see in the visitors the opportunity for greater power, wealth, or knowledge. For their part, the Norrathian visitors have quite enthusiastically taken sides in the various conflicts of the moon, potentially unbalancing long-standing struggles and bringing the threat of chaos to Luclin's once-tranquil abode. For her part, the goddess watches and waits, but one day she will act against the interlopers.
Type
Planetoid / Moon
Included Locations
Owner/Ruler
Inhabiting Species
Related Myths
Comments