The Zento
Legend has it that the crater was formed when the Rammstella worm, desperate to escape the wrath of the sun burrowed into the ground leaving behind a perfectly round lake surrounded by a high wall. This wall has kept the inside of the Zento hidden for millennia. Many attempted to climb the sheer sides only to abandon their goal at the last minute without peeking over the lip. None could say why only that they knew it was unwise to continue. It was like a voice whispered in their ear and told them to turn around. If any ignored the voice and carried on they never returned to share what they saw.
The Zento is a crater two miles across and surrounded by a high wall four hundred yards high. Unless you are a bird or choose to ignore the voice the only way in is through a temple complex cut into the rock at the southern edge. Visitors to the Zento must ascend a steep stone staircase and pass beneath an ornate facade carved into the rock. Once inside it is almost possible to imagine that you have been transported to one of the fine temples in Nesher or the hall of a Sondaran noble for the interior is intricate and of the finest craftsmanship. Columns etched with secret glyphs soar into the dark expanse holding enormous marble slabs aloft with such grace and ease to make them look weightless. Most visitors are awed into silence at this point but The King's Temple is but the first of many marvels.
To the right of The King's Temple, and staying inside the crater wall, is the Royal Crypt of Falon'mor, a cavern so vast that not even a priest of Dromae could fill it with light. Those brave enough to climb the stairs can peer into tombs that line the left wall, over forty, each with a collection of sarcophagi and assorted treasures but it is the darkness on the right that draws the eye. Lamplight flickers over regal forms and glittering slabs of script seemingly floating in the void.
It was a sergeant with the imperial regiment sent to aid the priests that discovered the jewel of the chamber. Bored with the duty the sergeant took themselves off to poke around and found a small room with a dusty machine, being the sort to twist knobs and pull levers the sergeant did just that. Excited shouts drew him back into the chamber where he discovered that a series of lamps set into the wall had sprung to life banishing the shadows and sending a warm light into every corner. The exposed wall of the cavern was lined with several hundred statues, all extremely detailed and standing on marble plinths jutting from the rock. The explorers immediately assumed they were elves but were soon surprised to learn that they were Marsh Elves.
It took the scholars among the group a while to uncover the identity of the esteemed multitude but they soon attached them to The Citadel of Min Falon, an ancient fortress that stands abandoned on the edge of The Thousand Lakes region.
If one follows the stairs to its end they will come out on top of the wall to stand before the Temple of the bear, so-called for the numerous bears carved into the pillars and the altar in the middle. The temple is open to the elements and is believed to have been used for sacrifices, possibly of bears but a priest pointed out that leading a tame bear all the way up the stairs would be difficult, let alone one with a mind of its own.
The temple has a clear view of the crater. Flooded by millennia of rainfall (the water has a high salt content due to minerals in the rock) the interior has turned into a blue sea with an island floating close to the southern edge, this is the Holy Isle and the site of ancient pilgrimages. Scattered around the edge are a dozen grand buildings believed to be pleasure palaces where the nobles of Min Falon would retreat to enjoy the beauty of the crater. Towers erupt from the rocks with seemingly sinister intent but the scholars are yet to discern their purpose.
All of this exploration came at a high cost. The people that created the temples and built the palaces vanished almost a millennia before The Sondaran Empire was created and it was another eight hundred and seventy before a way to enter safely was discovered. It wasn't a locked door that barred the way but a Small God that lived in the temple drawn by all the magical ether that had gradually gathered within the Zento that prevented anyone from entering. Those that withstood the psychic onslaught and made it up the steps were immediately consumed by the hungry jackel god. Their bones littered the steps and served as a warning to others. Many tried but all were eaten that is until the priests of Dromae learned how to disrupt the flow of Magic and used their knowledge to push the small god from the chamber and back into the crater. Seven men and women died in the attempt, five soldiers from the 'Pilgrims', the imperial regiment sent to aid in the endeavour, and two of the priests. Their bodies are buried in The soldiers necropolis that fills the space in front of The King's Temple.
Despite the risk The Sondaran Empire is eager to reopen the Zento, not just for its archaeological treasures or the healing properties of its waters but for the sheer quantity of magical ether that has accumulated over the millennia. Nowhere else in the empire comes close to the power of the Zento and only two other known locations in Nostvary have a greater supply of Magic, Heaven's Spire in The Dwarven Kingdom, and Gorphin's Mount, the volcano that gives The Dragon Eyrie their power.
Despite a peace that has lasted several generations the empire still sees The Dragon Eyrie as its greatest threat. Every citizen knows the story of how the imperial regiments marched across the sands to face the dragons, and every family knows someone that never came back. Many in the imperial government believe that if they had dragons of their own the Eyrie would be forced to think again before attacking but dragons only grow in places of great Magic such as a volcano or inside the ziggurats of the Jurati. With the opening up of the Zento, the empire has a chance to hatch their own dragons but to do so they must make peace with the small gods that claim the waters.
The Zento is a crater two miles across and surrounded by a high wall four hundred yards high. Unless you are a bird or choose to ignore the voice the only way in is through a temple complex cut into the rock at the southern edge. Visitors to the Zento must ascend a steep stone staircase and pass beneath an ornate facade carved into the rock. Once inside it is almost possible to imagine that you have been transported to one of the fine temples in Nesher or the hall of a Sondaran noble for the interior is intricate and of the finest craftsmanship. Columns etched with secret glyphs soar into the dark expanse holding enormous marble slabs aloft with such grace and ease to make them look weightless. Most visitors are awed into silence at this point but The King's Temple is but the first of many marvels.
To the right of The King's Temple, and staying inside the crater wall, is the Royal Crypt of Falon'mor, a cavern so vast that not even a priest of Dromae could fill it with light. Those brave enough to climb the stairs can peer into tombs that line the left wall, over forty, each with a collection of sarcophagi and assorted treasures but it is the darkness on the right that draws the eye. Lamplight flickers over regal forms and glittering slabs of script seemingly floating in the void.
It was a sergeant with the imperial regiment sent to aid the priests that discovered the jewel of the chamber. Bored with the duty the sergeant took themselves off to poke around and found a small room with a dusty machine, being the sort to twist knobs and pull levers the sergeant did just that. Excited shouts drew him back into the chamber where he discovered that a series of lamps set into the wall had sprung to life banishing the shadows and sending a warm light into every corner. The exposed wall of the cavern was lined with several hundred statues, all extremely detailed and standing on marble plinths jutting from the rock. The explorers immediately assumed they were elves but were soon surprised to learn that they were Marsh Elves.
It took the scholars among the group a while to uncover the identity of the esteemed multitude but they soon attached them to The Citadel of Min Falon, an ancient fortress that stands abandoned on the edge of The Thousand Lakes region.
At first it was believed that the forms were elven since they had distinctive pointed ears. The first eyes to look upon the statues for millennia and a half were mostly Human but there was one elf among the priestly delegation, a Faran priestess. When she looked upon the ancient faces she knew straight away that they were not of her race. The features were too bold and despite the statues being several yards high, the scale implied they were smaller. Ancestors of the Marsh Elves, known as the Niklin, lined the walls, and their skeletons rested in the stone coffins. It soon became apparent that the civilisation that had built the temples and towers of the Zentos belonged to the Marsh Elves and not the humans or high elves as had long been believed.
When the news reached the imperial court it was immediately repressed at the request of the elven ministers. The high elves had long claimed that the marsh elves were a descendent of theirs and that anything to do with the smaller race was their business only. The fact that they rely upon Marsh Elf slaves to supply their homeland with labour was not lost on anyone in the court.
Exploration of the Zento continued while news of the controversial discovery was sent to Nesher.
If one follows the stairs to its end they will come out on top of the wall to stand before the Temple of the bear, so-called for the numerous bears carved into the pillars and the altar in the middle. The temple is open to the elements and is believed to have been used for sacrifices, possibly of bears but a priest pointed out that leading a tame bear all the way up the stairs would be difficult, let alone one with a mind of its own.
The temple has a clear view of the crater. Flooded by millennia of rainfall (the water has a high salt content due to minerals in the rock) the interior has turned into a blue sea with an island floating close to the southern edge, this is the Holy Isle and the site of ancient pilgrimages. Scattered around the edge are a dozen grand buildings believed to be pleasure palaces where the nobles of Min Falon would retreat to enjoy the beauty of the crater. Towers erupt from the rocks with seemingly sinister intent but the scholars are yet to discern their purpose.
All of this exploration came at a high cost. The people that created the temples and built the palaces vanished almost a millennia before The Sondaran Empire was created and it was another eight hundred and seventy before a way to enter safely was discovered. It wasn't a locked door that barred the way but a Small God that lived in the temple drawn by all the magical ether that had gradually gathered within the Zento that prevented anyone from entering. Those that withstood the psychic onslaught and made it up the steps were immediately consumed by the hungry jackel god. Their bones littered the steps and served as a warning to others. Many tried but all were eaten that is until the priests of Dromae learned how to disrupt the flow of Magic and used their knowledge to push the small god from the chamber and back into the crater. Seven men and women died in the attempt, five soldiers from the 'Pilgrims', the imperial regiment sent to aid in the endeavour, and two of the priests. Their bodies are buried in The soldiers necropolis that fills the space in front of The King's Temple.
Despite the risk The Sondaran Empire is eager to reopen the Zento, not just for its archaeological treasures or the healing properties of its waters but for the sheer quantity of magical ether that has accumulated over the millennia. Nowhere else in the empire comes close to the power of the Zento and only two other known locations in Nostvary have a greater supply of Magic, Heaven's Spire in The Dwarven Kingdom, and Gorphin's Mount, the volcano that gives The Dragon Eyrie their power.
Despite a peace that has lasted several generations the empire still sees The Dragon Eyrie as its greatest threat. Every citizen knows the story of how the imperial regiments marched across the sands to face the dragons, and every family knows someone that never came back. Many in the imperial government believe that if they had dragons of their own the Eyrie would be forced to think again before attacking but dragons only grow in places of great Magic such as a volcano or inside the ziggurats of the Jurati. With the opening up of the Zento, the empire has a chance to hatch their own dragons but to do so they must make peace with the small gods that claim the waters.
History
-2100 The Niklin are the first to venture into the crater and to exploit the Magic gathered within. At first, they simply bathed in The glowing sea and enjoyed the rejuvenating properties of the magically infused waters but later they learned to manipulate the ether and use it to create the elements.
-600 The Niklin underwent a societal collapse seemingly over night. All trace of them vanished and only a few remember they ever existed.
881 A team from The Grand Unified Temple arrived to open the temple of the King's.
894 A boat was capsized by a dragon and three members of the team were exposed to dangerous amounts of ether; a soldier, a priest of Dromae, and a priestess of LIandra. They all underwent extreme changes. A soldier and a priest of Dromae turned violent and fled into the crater while a the priestess vanished into The soldier's necropolis where a lush garden sprang to life among the parched stones. It is impossible to step into the crater without one of the two priests launching an attack. For nine years the scholars have only been able to reach the shield, a protected location from where they can observe the lake.
Maps
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Zento
Type
Crater / Crater Lake / Caldera
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