#irkhangr

To summarize, the magic of the Elderspeak is based on the Crux, which in turn is based on the Spear of Keys, and the Forbidden Chamber. Vaelim's Ritual Chambers and the Spire of Eyes tap into these powers in order to use them.

IRKHANGR Irkhangr is a small island northeast of the Southern Continent’s Polar Island. Regularly abandoned, it used to be the home of several wealthy Progenitor hermits. Afterwards, other races would visit the island every few hundred years, settle in the large Progenitor castles, then they too would die or abandon the island. Over time, the Progenitor castles fell into ruin and were rebuilt and expanded, until each remote castle became less a singular castle and more an immense labyrinthine complex. Why did people settle and abandon Irkhangr so often? The island is uniquely full of magic, and not merely Undoing magic, but also powerful magic let loose from a Lost World. The potential of this magic is generally the main draw to the island, though its near-constant storms are known to crash ships upon its shores. As for why people leave, that much is extremely clear– Irkhangr is rivalled in monster density and deadliness only by the Wild Continent itself. Very little of the island’s “wild magic” is understood, but several things are known. The two most well-known magical phenomena are the Purging (which happens once every few centuries and scours most of the island’s dark creatures) and the Shadowgates (wild Lost World magic that randomly forms portals across the island). The four, naturally occurring towers (Lunar, Eldritch, Sunstone, and Magic) are known to be epicentres of strange activity such as the Shadowgates, and they form arrays of strange happenings across the island. At the centre of them is the “fifth tower,” the mountain known as the Elderspeak and the utterly dark spire on top of it known as the Crux. The mountain and its surroundings seem to be unusually free of strange doings, but in reality, the magic there is much stronger, much subtler, and much stranger than anywhere else. The castle-labyrinth Vaelim, greatest of the old castles, burrows into the Elderspeak in its deepest, furthest reaches, and it is (mistakenly) believed that it often serves as a gate for the strangest magics to enter Irkhangr. Of additional note is the fact that Shadowgates forming near the Crux sometimes lead to the Lost World that spawns them, and the rumors that there is something lurking under Elderspeak that cannot be touched by normal directions and geometry. The other location of specific note is Blackwood and the Festering Caves. Blackwood is one of the four major forests of Irkhangr (though most of the island is wooded, the four forests are particularly dense areas often full of spruce). The Caves are a large and complex labyrinth housing some of the most abhorrent creatures of Irkhangr. Giant intelligent spiders reside there (and in Blackwood), as do some of the Lost World vampires which inhabit the island, and deeper still, one can find minor Starspawn and their spawn in turn. Being as far south as it is, Irkhangr is often cold. Winter and summer are not especially different- in summer, it is slightly warmer, more humid and the deciduous trees are leafed, and in winter everything is icy and darker than usual. Year round, however, it receives both the outer edge of the Polar Winds and storms coming south from the Wild Continent. The ambient magic may also contribute to its often-stormy nature as well. The Cult of the Moon has been a staple of Irkhangr for millenia, centred at their church-castle northeast of the Crux. While they are largely harmless, they command a lot of arcane artifacts from the island and they ruthlessly oppose anything that they perceive as hindering their mission of eventually “waking the Moon”. Furthermore, their rituals do largely seem to work- from bringing death to summoning monsters, the magic of the Lost World seems to confirm their beliefs, which include a wide range of dark creatures serving under a central pantheon of incredibly powerful beings, headed by the sleeping moon queen. The Cult of the Moon is one of the few permanent fixtures of the island, having survived hundreds of purges and trimming down the wilderness during the abandoned years of the island. Last but not least, here follows a list of the most notable creatures of Irkhangr and any explanation if necessary. ---Cultists ---Spiders ---Oids (beasts which usually resemble whatever race is dominant on the island at a given time) ---Cultist Summons of various features and abilities ---Lost World vampires (from the Lost World. They form tribes in caves and castles, and feed on sapience to fuel their own. They don’t have any particular weakness, and have a good few strengths.) ---Minor Starspawn (while these are less insanity-inducing than their brethren in the Mouth and the Polar Valley, they are still dangerous monsters one wouldn't want to cross, and have slightly twisted the wildlife.) ---Thaumoforms (Bits of certain materials tangled in a naturally occurring knot of magic, which gains sentience. They are subclassified based on their material- common ones being Blood, Bone, Flesh, Darkness, Fire, Water, Stone, Wood, and more have been known to appear less commonly.) ---Wolves ---Deer (but with adaptations to help them fight) ---Shadow Tigers (A largely neutral species, but very easy to miss in their dark woods.) ---Lake Krakens (Dwell on the bottoms of large lakes and usually just capture fish, but pose a threat to boats and swimmers when too near the surface or too large.) ---Large, long-limbed, cave-dwelling, venomous centipedes Overall, Irkhangr is an awful place, but certainly an interesting one.