The Lands of Harimor

[torilen]

Okay - here's how I guess I'll work things, if this is okay with everyone:
Any ideas I want to bounce off everyone, I'll post under the "new idea" thread.
You know I've been working on something new - for the east side of the World Edge Mountains. Actual
information for this, I'll be posting here.
As you can see, the 'human' lands are known fondly as the collective Lands of Harimor.
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Okay, so that's really all I've gotten so far. I do have the intro to the first quest pack, however, which
will follow.
Enjoy.

Many ages ago, the Powers of Chaos swept through the Lands of Harimor. The followers of Chaos rose up out of every walk of life, and Goblins, Orcs, and other terrible creatures poured out of the World Edge Mountains to the west. Evil, terrible magic corrupted everything it touched. After years of being chased, harried, and beaten, the people of Harimor lost hope, and Chaos began to enslave those who had
survived the past onslaught.
The Dwarves living deep within the mountains, along with the Elves, who were hiding within their forest kingdoms, had not given up hope, however, and had managed to keep Chaos from entering their realms. The dwarves and elves were able to work together to form one last alliance to fight against Chaos. The dwarves began to carve out huge cities within their mountain kingdoms, while the elves snuck into village after village, helping the enslaved people of Harimor find refuge from their Chaos-filled masters. Once the great Castle Cities were completed, the elves led the refugees to the mountains, and the dwarves hid them within the cities, placing guards and outposts without, so as to keep them safe for all time.
For many years, life within the Castle Cities was good. The peoples of Harimor were grateful for their freedom, their safety, and had renewed hope for life. Among some, though, reality slowly began to set in: They were, in effect, trapped under thousands upon thousands of tons of stone and earth, perhaps with no chance to ever see the light of the sun or stars again. Small neighborhoods started to band together, forming groups of rebels who decided they had had enough - they wanted out. Fights would break out in the streets, and eventually the rebels managed to force open the gates of the cities. The dwarves guards were unable to fight both the forces of Chaos and the rebels, and so the outposts fell and Chaos once again had access to the peoples of Harimor. Those who still desired the peace and safety and freedom of the Castle Cities asked the dwarves and elves for help once again. Tunnels had long since been constructed between many different cities; the dwarves and elves led the peoples of Harimor deeper into the mountains, to new Castle Cities, to newer portions of the cities, while closing off the older part to leave the rebels to the fate that they brought upon themselves.
The elves, for their part, began to enchant large groups of rooms to look like outdoor areas, filled with open fields, bushes, and forests of trees draped in ivy and other plant life. The enchantments were so complete that the ceilings of the rooms were enchanted to look like the sky - some rooms had daytime enchantments, some had nighttime enchantments. This seemed to help the people of Harimor, allowing them to feel a little more at home within their stone prisons. Since then, there have been clear divisions among the survivors of Chaos' takeover of Harimor - those who wished to stay safe beneath the mountains, and those who felt people should not live underneath the earth like animals.
Now, however, the Powers of Chaos are beginning to gain a foothold within the Castle Cities. The rebels are beginning to turn to Chaos for power and riches, allowing the false promises of freedom to sway their hearts. The rebels have begun to hunt down the peoples of Harimor, dragging them out of their beds in the night and turning them over to the new masters, hoping that by giving them slaves, they will earn their own freedom in return...

[drathe]

Sounds pretty exciting. It would be great to eventually have Quests to free the overworld lands of Harimor as well as the underground cities.

[torilen]

I came across some old heroquest materials from quite a few years ago just three days ago. I looked through it and
found the beginning of a quest pack that looked really good. I've taken that and redone it.
I think I'll use this as my introduction to the Lands of Harimor, instead. SO...this intro will be for the first
quest book - The Chaos Well - to be used in the Lands of Harimor series (the lands on the east side of the
World Edge Mountains).
The intro first seen in this thread will be the second, I suppose. Really - it won't matter which order
some of the others are done. They will be individual Castle Cities, each with their own issues.

Enjoy:

Ages ago, when the lands of Humans, Dwarves, and Elves were being settled and kingdoms were being raised one castle and tower at a time, the Powers of Chaos were weak in the world. The Void of the World had held them since time began, being banished there by the Creators of the Worlds so their new creations would remain uncorrupted and pure for as long as possible. Ancient wizards were able to make contact with those banished Gods of Chaos, however, and wrote of their findings within legendary Dark Tomes, along with the many rites and rituals they went through to make that contact.
It seems that some of those Dark Tomes have been uncovered, one of which speaks of the Chaos Well. This desecrated place of unspeakable evil was created by those ancient wizards as an easy access to reach the Gods of Chaos. Those wizards would gather around the Well and wait for guidance and instruction from their dark lords, eager to please their masters by conquering the lands around them and spreading the religion of chaos throughout the world. It was through the power of the Well that the forces of Chaos were able to overtake the Lands of Harimor, a land that lies to the east, on the eastern side of the World Edge Mountains.
These lands were once beautiful, powerful, and prosperous. Their kings were good and kind; their merchants were fair and wise; their priests were faithful. Slowly, as the Gods of Chaos guided their followers through the Well, the Lands of Harimor began to fall. One by one, leaders became corrupted by Chaos. One by one, kingdoms fell and the peoples of Harimor began to lose hope. Eventually, they simply gave up their fight and allowed themselves to become enslaved. As time passed, since the Powers of Chaos had already taken the Lands of Harimor, since the people had given up and had since become what appeared to be willing slaves, the followers of Chaos forgot about the Chaos Well. As time passed, all memory of the Well had faded.
This is, at least, what the Dark Tomes state happened. It has never been proven true, the existence of the Chaos Well. There are some dark wizards, though, who have recently begun searching for it once again. It seems that a special rite has been discovered, one that could bring forth the Gods of Chaos through the Well and into this world. Needless to say, this could well mean the end of this world. The Chaos Well must be found, as well as a means of destroying it once and for all…

[drathe]

Can't believe I missed that last post. It sounds awesome! Last paragraph uses the word 'well' far too much, even though it's using different meanings.

[DragonHead]

Really nice.