Erelaan

The Vanishing City

In the mid 10th century Gavyn Croydan commissioned Volkmont architects to build a passageway into the valley and construct the keep of Erelaan. By 1280 a vibrant town lay in the shadows of the northern ridge of the valley, upon the immense lake to the south, called Dulce. Erelaan was a bustling city by the 13th century and a primary resource for timber, stone and wild game in Avandell. The city contributed to the ascendancy of House Croydan and by the time of the Ascension Wars Erelaan was legendary for its power and beauty.

The Shadowvale Transmigration

Erelaan became the final stronghold of House Croydan during the Wars of the Malign Ascension after the fall of their ancestral home, Peladun. Bertram Croydan, lord of Erelaan, received word from his scouts that the armies of houses Tasel, Cordwain and Hrothgar were merging and marching south towards him and would be at the city walls in seven days. He knew of the destruction of House Mortimas and his own family and so gathered his magi, clerics and lords together to counsel him. At this council, the magi heeded the word of the sorcerer Akhul Talionis, who suggested an ancient, hazardous spell he had researched during his apprenticeship in Ulmeth: The Shadowvale Transmigration. If successful, the spell would enshroud the city in shadow and remove it from the plane of being, out of the passage of normal time. The risk would be to the life and limb of the incantators and any volunteer, and it would also required a vessel to contain the counter-spell and volunteers to remain behind to transport the vessel. After much debate they arrived at a general consensus and made preparations to begin the ceremony, a five-day affair.

When the armies aligned with Tasel arrived, they were stunned to find the city empty and in disrepair. The clerics and magi attached to House Tasel warned of a dark magic present and whatever scouts he sent into the city never returned. The main body of Tasel's army fell back to Peladun and he left a detachment to build a camp and continue to investigate Erelaan. Months passed in Peladun without a word from the fort and Tasel sent out scouts; they returned to report the entire detachment missing—the encampment had been swallowed by the forest. From that moment on the road to Erelaan was closed and travel in and out of the north road to Stout Weald was forbidden.