Deep in the southern sea, where the winds grew dormant, laid the forgotten land of Pomria. A tear drop shaped isle, massive in size but home to a relatively small country named for the land it was the sole inhabitant of. The land was unremarkable, with it's broad northern end composed of marshy lowlands stretching between a series of natural harbors. Most of Pomria's cities laid along the coast, with the heavily forested southern half of the continent left mostly untouched. The rest of the world, for the most part, ignored Pomria. It stood as the only stop in a mostly untraveled swath of sea, picking up commerce and trade in small bouts whenever the trade routes crossing it came into popularity. Only a handful of explorers and scouts ever came to the land, most were turned away by the melancholy of its fog covered fields and largely empty forests. Whenever they came, they always left empty handed: Nothing to report but the continued growth of a nation few people had ever heard of. One such expedition was not as fortunately uneventful as the others. From the deck of a ship, the party witnessed a cataclysm along a sparsely populated length of shore in northwestern Pomria.
A brilliant light burned away the fields and forests all at once, leaving nothing but cinders and smoke as the light died with the land. The clouds were singed out of the sky, leaving nothing but a pure field of blue and a monolith of eddying, swirling gray that denied the sun. As the acrid plume of burned life drifted up towards the heavens and dissipated it left behind a slender, bleached-bone white pillar that stretched into the sky, with no end in sight. From its base sprang a dense, fog blanketed jungle which crept across the ashen waste surrounding the column. By the time the scouts that had first laid eyes upon the spectacle from the sea ventured upriver to the site, the barrier jungle had grown beyond the bounds of the initial devastation, turning aside the terrain to replace the world with labyrinthine wilderness. Over the next few days, cities and towns vacated to flee the growing forest, and it was only when the growth had consumed what could have passed for a small country that it began to slow. The afflicted land of Pomria, considered by many barely more than an overgrown island, became a legend in the brief time it took word to travel overseas. Few believed the ridiculous tale of the blighted country, of the tower, but soon the first intrepid expeditions sent had come home to tell that the rumors were true. They brought with them samples of the bizarre flora and fauna that thrived within the new world. Academics, collectors, and merchants all turned their heads to the mysteries being pulled from the jungle, and the governments came hot on their heels as the empires of the world vied for the authority to research and exploit the gargantuan black market for artifacts of what came to be known as Bauchan Forest. Then followed the tales of vile abominations lurking within the forest, an expedition which disappeared without a trace inside the wilderness, and the attacks on villages in the area. The wildlife that seemed to spawn around the tower became known for its aggressiveness, but what worried foreigner and Pomrian alike were the creatures no one knew about. Many vague but similar accounts of monsters that hunted any who dared enter the woods made their way around. Pomria reacted first, forming the Containment Corps of Pomria, allegedly under the supervision and training of several foreign powers, a military agency devoted to combating the spread of the forest and protecting the surrounding lands from whatever terrors laid within, with what little power sword and spear gave against a forest. No story was enough to keep the curious away, however. People succumbed to the allure of the unknown, and possibility.
The hired hands of collectors, the scientists, the traders, the soldiers, the explorers, the vagrants and the desperate flocked to Pomria. They sought everything. Knowledge, power, wealth and more were all rumored to be laying in wait for anyone with the luck and the talent to snatch it up. Anything was possibly out there in the jungle because no one yet knew anything about it. Pomria had dispatched what military the secluded nation had in an effort to contain the spread of the bizarre woodland, never to explore it. One point, occupying a natural harbor and sitting along the only river running into the forest, became a rendezvous for the people coming to see the tower. As the only permanent settlement among the garrisons ringing the forest, it was referred to mainly as the perimeter city. Part military outpost used by the Containment Corps, part resting place used by explorers and travelers, and part market for those supplying the expeditions and selling off the materials and knowledge extracted from the jungle, Perimeter City became the gateway to Bauchan Forest. Everyone had their own use for the forest, some differing dream they chased, but common among any faction at Perimeter was the desire to reach the tower first. The massive structure that dominated the horizon, the indicator of the forest's epicenter. No one had gotten close enough to even identify the material it was made of, much less its actual size, and as with the forest itself rumors of its purpose ran wild. The token of a god, a free wish, treasures to make a king blush, perhaps nothing at all, there were as many explanations as people making way for Pomria to be among the first to face the jungle.
This is sort of an oddball mix-match of ideas that I felt would make for some fun RP scenarios.
A brilliant light burned away the fields and forests all at once, leaving nothing but cinders and smoke as the light died with the land. The clouds were singed out of the sky, leaving nothing but a pure field of blue and a monolith of eddying, swirling gray that denied the sun. As the acrid plume of burned life drifted up towards the heavens and dissipated it left behind a slender, bleached-bone white pillar that stretched into the sky, with no end in sight. From its base sprang a dense, fog blanketed jungle which crept across the ashen waste surrounding the column. By the time the scouts that had first laid eyes upon the spectacle from the sea ventured upriver to the site, the barrier jungle had grown beyond the bounds of the initial devastation, turning aside the terrain to replace the world with labyrinthine wilderness. Over the next few days, cities and towns vacated to flee the growing forest, and it was only when the growth had consumed what could have passed for a small country that it began to slow. The afflicted land of Pomria, considered by many barely more than an overgrown island, became a legend in the brief time it took word to travel overseas. Few believed the ridiculous tale of the blighted country, of the tower, but soon the first intrepid expeditions sent had come home to tell that the rumors were true. They brought with them samples of the bizarre flora and fauna that thrived within the new world. Academics, collectors, and merchants all turned their heads to the mysteries being pulled from the jungle, and the governments came hot on their heels as the empires of the world vied for the authority to research and exploit the gargantuan black market for artifacts of what came to be known as Bauchan Forest. Then followed the tales of vile abominations lurking within the forest, an expedition which disappeared without a trace inside the wilderness, and the attacks on villages in the area. The wildlife that seemed to spawn around the tower became known for its aggressiveness, but what worried foreigner and Pomrian alike were the creatures no one knew about. Many vague but similar accounts of monsters that hunted any who dared enter the woods made their way around. Pomria reacted first, forming the Containment Corps of Pomria, allegedly under the supervision and training of several foreign powers, a military agency devoted to combating the spread of the forest and protecting the surrounding lands from whatever terrors laid within, with what little power sword and spear gave against a forest. No story was enough to keep the curious away, however. People succumbed to the allure of the unknown, and possibility.
The hired hands of collectors, the scientists, the traders, the soldiers, the explorers, the vagrants and the desperate flocked to Pomria. They sought everything. Knowledge, power, wealth and more were all rumored to be laying in wait for anyone with the luck and the talent to snatch it up. Anything was possibly out there in the jungle because no one yet knew anything about it. Pomria had dispatched what military the secluded nation had in an effort to contain the spread of the bizarre woodland, never to explore it. One point, occupying a natural harbor and sitting along the only river running into the forest, became a rendezvous for the people coming to see the tower. As the only permanent settlement among the garrisons ringing the forest, it was referred to mainly as the perimeter city. Part military outpost used by the Containment Corps, part resting place used by explorers and travelers, and part market for those supplying the expeditions and selling off the materials and knowledge extracted from the jungle, Perimeter City became the gateway to Bauchan Forest. Everyone had their own use for the forest, some differing dream they chased, but common among any faction at Perimeter was the desire to reach the tower first. The massive structure that dominated the horizon, the indicator of the forest's epicenter. No one had gotten close enough to even identify the material it was made of, much less its actual size, and as with the forest itself rumors of its purpose ran wild. The token of a god, a free wish, treasures to make a king blush, perhaps nothing at all, there were as many explanations as people making way for Pomria to be among the first to face the jungle.
This is sort of an oddball mix-match of ideas that I felt would make for some fun RP scenarios.
