Chapter 11 - Earth, Smoke and Fire

At the end of the 6th year of Destruction Myaasia had seen war and death aplenty. Gods had fallen and others arisen, unlife walked the land and chaos was everywhere.

Meanwhile, on the island of Derimir peace had already returned. The imperial invaders had been driven out by the Alliance of the peoples of Derimir: Men, drow, dwarves and halflings. The victory had not been without great cost: The once great city of Cerea lay in ruins, the Arcane Academy had been lost among the outer planes and most of the island’s north was still teeming with unlife. In the town of Vesper, people were beginning to lead the normal lives they were used to though.

But we would be reminded that the Period of Destruction was not over yet, for there was to come an event that would affect all of Myaasia and it would culminate here on Derimir.

For longer than anyone alive can remember a powerful outsider by the name of Dhuron had made his home in the caverns beneath the volcano of Derimir. I have talked at length with Lady Thenthen about his history and as far as we know he had been summoned to Myaasia by an Uruk-hai sorcerer during the Elf-Orc-Wars at the end of the first era to slay a powerful elven prince. He was supposed to return to his home plane after the deed was finished, but through some twist of fate, the elven prince was transformed into the Shadow King before Dhuron could reach him.

As the elf was not destroyed so Dhuron remained bound to Myaasia, unable to return home for over two millennia, all the time seeking for a way to fulfil his task.

What follows is no direct account but a series of conjectures by Lady Thenthen and Master Sage Smallgrake, for there were no mortal witnesses to the events.

Finally, with the power of magic reaching its peak at the end of the Period of Destruction, Dhuron managed to locate the being that he had once been summoned to kill, which was now existing as a powerful shadow in the catacombs beneath ruined Vermol.

Opening a portal between his lair and Vermol, Dhuron confronted his prey and after a long battle that shook both Vermol and Derimir, managed to defeat him and absorb his Essaence.

So violent was the battle that the energies leaked through the portal and the resulting earthquakes caused the volcano of Derimir to erupt. Plumes of smoke were thrown into the skies and streams of lava were oozing from the crater.

Though the settling smoke painted the land black for several days, the people of Vermol managed to divert most of the lava flows away from Vesper and the Greenwoods using powerful magics. The devastation northwest and north of the volcano was extensive though.

The underground cities of Gohem and Greiburg were hit even harder, both by the earthquake and the eruption. For several months there was no contact at all, for most known entrances had been sealed shut by the earthquake and the lava, and though a few new entrances had also been laid open, it was not easy to find a way to Greiburg.

When a small group led by the dwarven cleric Tobur Bloodbeard and the fighter Gimlin Ironfin finally managed to make contact, they found the cities mostly destroyed. Tobur and Gimlin decided to stay in Greiburg to aid the reconstruction effort.

As both the human and the dwarven communities had many problems in the times following the Period of Destruction, contacts since then have been sparse though friendly. Nothing much is known about the state of affairs in Gohem.

Dhuron was able to return to his home plane after defeating his nemesis. This event released all the extra power held by Dhuron, as he could not take it with him. There is no clear indication what happened with the power, but rumours persist of one of the lieutenants of the Shadow King absorbing a lot of it and becoming very powerful, other rumours indicate that a mysterious drow woman dressed in black was the recipient of the power.