Conlisle (Connel-isle)

It is in turning away that evil can rise.

Proverbs of the wise - 209

Conlisle lies in Orlos's southern hemisphere, just north of the permanent frosts of the southern pole. It is one of Orlos's smaller continents but has boasted a large quantity of unique life forms not found elsewhere on the planet. The continent has acted as a crossroads for most of it's existence. It is the stop between Tangearin and Novalter. It also contains the largest known entrance to the underworld.

For all of it's positives though, Conlisle is a continent steeped in death. Undead hordes raze the countryside and most of the continent is now uninhabitable. Although a few societies resist the outward spread of the dead they grow weaker with each generation, their very age becoming a weapon against them. Conlisle is a continent on the brink of collapse.

Brief History

After the pebble started rolling, no one stepped forward to halt it's progress. By the time the danger was realized it was too late.

Excerpt from The Road to Ruin
by Ervgone the Forlorn

The continent of Conlisle was originally colonized from Novalter. The first recorded colonization was in 736 AC, a pirate colony on the continents western shore. In the years that followed several other colonies and city states were set up on the continent, mostly on the coast but a couple in the interiors. Of these, the largest groups were the Lavorian State, the Landril State, and Elsandor.

Trade continued with Novalter, the new colonies being sub-states of the old kingdoms. This relationship between the colonies and their overlords eventually created discord. A group formed in the Landril State, the Awakened, protesting the colony status and demanding independence. The reaction was violent and bloody and the group was suppressed.

It is believed that this group was then used by another as a catalyst to begin the Deathfall. Too many things occurred in too short a time frame across too large of an area for the single group to be the cause.

First, a major sickness struct the north, spreading out of Death's Maw and crippling the surrounding cities. The dead were piled so high that the contagious mounds could be seen for miles. Second, the aspect of the Tree of Life , the Red Blossom, was sickened and slowly transformed into the Blooddrip. This rendered the southern part of the continent virtually uninhabitable. Third, the sea to the north of Conlisle grew dark in color and foul in smell. Ships went missing and reports began to filter in of the Black Scourge, a pirate of such ferocity that entire fleets fell to his command. Finally, the Awakened themselves rose up, raising armies of the dead from the plague to the north to fight against the occupiers. All of these events quickly evaded the control of the Awakened and what the occupiers could have individually handled overwhelmed them in the intensity and timing. The victory of the Awakened was short-lived though. As soon as the occupiers were driven to sea the undead turned on the revolutionaries, beginning the Deathfall in earnest. Hordes of undead began ravaging the continent killing all they encountered.

by Arimel using Midjourney

Nations tried to resist the hordes, culminating in the defeat of the Zantur at the Fields of the Hopeless. It was this defeat that finally resulted in the Golden Shields reacting. They overthrew the governor of Elsandor who had been trying to stay out of the war and forced the remaining states to unify. They drew a defense on the stair, holding back the undead hordes.

Within the undead hordes, several sentient undead formed their own city states that contested for power and dividing the hordes, allowing the defenders a reprieve.

Geographical locations and significant regions

The Grey

There are few areas where it is as clear that the living do not belong.

Arnold Knot, a member of
the defeated Landril army

They Grey is a vast desert on the eastern side of the continent. Although it was originally only a few dozen square kilometers in size, the rest kept well irrigated by the denizens of the Landril State, the desert has substantially grown since the dead armies have trodden through it. Life near it seems to just dwindle away, starving the toughest grass or shrub. Even the colors are bleached until the sand and sky almost take on a grey scale hue, particularly at sunrise and sunset. The night seems to resist relinquishing it's hold on this area than any other.

by Arimel using Midjourney

Death's Brew

And as the weeks went by the infection slowly spread until the entire lake was drowned in it's crimson hue.

Excerpt from Natural Disasters
by Lana Green

Death's Brew was originally Crystal Lake, located in the southeast of Conlisle. In 2267 AC the Red Blossom tree, a giant oak began to change and release a foul poison that spread through the land surrounding it. It was renamed to the Blooddrip. The lake slowly turned crimson under it's influence and those who drank from its waters were sent into a delirium from which few rose. Eventually the waters became so poisoned that a mere drop from its depths spelled death for the recipient, as well as, the countless life forms that had inhabited the lake.

by Arimel using Midjourney

Blight Waste

Fire was the last measure, turning once great forests into a sprawling mass of mud and slime. Out of the mess reach the skeletal hands of occasional, scorched tree trunks.

Excerpt from Natural Disasters
by Lana Green

The Blight Waste was once a forest covering much of south Conlisle. During the scourging of the dead, as a last ditch effort, the defenders set the forest alight to destroy the armies of zombies. The forest, being the dry season, caught and blazed with such intensity that most of the defenders were also consumed in the resulting inferno that reached all of the way to the Wall in the west.

In the years following the burning the ground was trodden into mud and never fully recovered. Although sparse patches of trees have now managed to gain a hold most of the area remains a stagnant marsh and ash covered grassland waste.

by Arimel using Midjourney

The Bloat and the Fields of the Hopeless

The Battle of Zantur Plain was on the 411th day of the campaign. The armies arrayed themselves on the plain, set to repelled the undead hordes. It was here that our foe finally showed his face. A human of normal appearance, a tattoo of a black fist on his chest, stepped out of the hordes as they advanced. As he neared the army the soldiers lost all discipline. Their minds melted and foul dark fluids oozed out of them. The soldiers broke formation and were completely routed. Those that could not escape to the west through themselves into the Zantur Bay. Of the thousands of soldiers that had formed on the plains, only seven escaped and their minds were never the same.

Investigative report of Captain Darl

The Fields of the Hopeless is a vast battlefield that was the decisive defeat for the living races in their attempt to beat back the undead hordes. The ground was heavily soaked in the blood of the defenders and the once fertile farmland has never supported vegetation since the battle. The rusted remains of armor and weapons can still be seen, slowly being covered by the bog and mud.

The Bloat was the bay into which the defending army threw themselves to escape the undead. The base of the bay is covered in bones and, even years after the battle, occasional bodies float to the surface and the water has a constant red tint. Few ships that venture into the bay have ever returned and the sailors speak of giant scaled monsters rising from the muddy waters.

by Arimel using Midjourney

Mount Dread

... and when Andronoloth fell from the sky, the evil grew round where he lie. His mountain home forever forlorn, a hub of dead to which he returned. The ...

Extract from Nightfall
Bard unknown

Mount Dread was originally the home of the silver dragon Andronoloth. He fell in an epic battle of sorcery near the start of the Deathfall. After his dead his corpse was returned to life. The once generous and noble dragon though was gone, replaced by an undead tyrant. Andronoloth's converted his old palace into a dread mountain. The mere sight of it struck fear into those who saw it. The mountain was burnt, charring the rock and stone and the outlying villages killed and the bodies enslaved. The entire area is in ruins.

by Arimel using Midjourney

Maw of Death

And death was not content with his own realm. He fashioned a doorway, a giant dark welt on the overrealm, from which he could wander and steal the children to his depths.

Ending to Ernoff's fifth night story

The Maw of Death is an enormous entrance into the underrealm. The cave entrance covers nearly a 200ft wide span and towers over 500ft high, reaching nearly a fourth of the way up the mountain in which it is set. The cave's passage, although straight to start, descends shortly into a massive central chamber from which a maze of smaller passages extend. Although originally occupied by more peaceable rock gnomes, a disease spread through the settlement in the years just before the Deathfall that spread into the over cities, decimating their populations. Stories now talk about the ghosts of the sickened that haunt the entrance and claim the souls of travelers.

by Arimel using Midjourney

The Wall

The Wall was the only hope for the army after the defeat at the Fields of the Hopeless. The cliff face, stretching across the continent, has only one easy access point that could be used to halt the advance. If the stairs hold, the whole continent will not be lost.

Investigative report of Captain Darl

The wall is a cliff face stretching north to south across the continent, separating the lowlands to the east and the highlands to the west. Along most of its length it is nearly a 20ft vertical face, with some areas being taller. There is a single major entrance over the Wall, the Stair. The Stair was built by the Lavorians and is a defended ramp, nearly 30ft wide and built of sturdy stone. After Deathfall, the Golden Shield took control of the ramp to secure passage from the east.

by Arimel using Midjourney

Elsandor

Elsandor, the city of gold, the shield of the weak, the jewel of the west, the magnificence of the humble, the pride of the humble, treasure of the poor, ...

Beginning of the titles
referring to Elsandor

Elsandor is the heart of the Golden State. A giant city sprawling across the bottom of the valley, at its center is the Golden Temple and Palace. The palace was the residence of the governor before he was overthrown by the Golden Shields. The Golden Temple is the primary place of worship for Mantar in the city, housing both the clergy and the Golden Shield military order. The golden domes on the temple reflect the light of the sun across the surrounding mountains.

by Arimel using Midjourney

Maps

• 

  Conlisle

  The continent of Conlisle lies in Orlos's southern hemisphere. Drawn in 3300 AC by the intrepid cartographer Arimel, this map details the extent of land controlled by the Golden Shield as the sun set on the continent.

Type

Continent

Location under

Orlos

by Arimel using Midjourney

The Blooddrip