BNN: An Introduction to Ilshenar - Part II
March 16, 2001
Recovery
The remaining people slowly recovered. From the remaining masses a leader emerged. Strong and confident, Ilshen took to organizing the people and restoring order. Ilshen began the rebuilding of civilization when she was only twenty-two years old. Little is stated about her other than her undying devotion to make sure all was put right in the world. We hope to find more writings about this young woman who started the rebuilding of the world.
The people gathered in the northeast area of the world and established a city on a mountainside calling it Montor. Long ago in Sosaria another town of the same name had existed in, ironically, the lands ruled by Lord British himself. At first I thought the name was just a reuse of a familiar town but you can translate the name to mean “Mountain Passion”. The later seems to ring true. In other texts it is listed as Mont-Or. The later name would befit a new city with people who survived such a catastrophe. This new city took about 40 years to complete. It was, by all accounts, a paradise of city and mountain with waterfalls that cut between buildings and the mountainside. In the years that followed Ilshen and a council of scholars set up laws and government and peace reigned.
Then twenty years after its completion Montor was destroyed. We still are missing pieces of all that transpired but it seems the mountain Montor was built on had a volcanic eruption. The city’s present state would back that up fully. It would also appear that the people knew it was going to happen and evacuated.
Rebirth and Separation
From the single city of Montor came several sects of people. This division was already well in progress before the city was to meet its doom. Even though the city was doomed some stayed. They moved down the mountainside and camped in tents and wagons waiting until the eruptions would stop so that they might return.
To the west the mountains had been breached with a road. A keep was built as a halfway point and as a fortress to keep out what ever lay beyond. The northwest section of this world is a huge forest that melds into jungle as it heads south. In the center of this area is Terort Skitas, the Temple of Knowledge. Much of the information we have about Ilshenar is from books or scrolls found here. It appears this place was being built long before the city would fall. It resembles what Montor must have looked like before it met its doom. As people fled Montor some came here. They called themselves the Anskitas. That loosely translates into Awakening Knowledge. It was a place for study and reflection. Judging by the description of the mostly empty bookshelves one would guess this great library might have rivaled our own Lycaeum.
More people than just the Anskitas came west. The remaining people were not suited for days of study and contemplation. Another scroll described these people as “…stoic and strong. Seeking the Balance of all things.” They headed south. In the south they found a race of lizard men that were less than friendly. The southwestern landscape watches jungle fade into swamp. At the most southern point is the home of the lizard men that would plague these people on a regular basis. This may explain the city they built. Looking more like a fortress, and rivaling Trinsic as walled cities go, it is a sight to behold. They called it Mistas. To the west of the city are two towers that mark the entrance ways to what appears to be a huge underground keep. All the information we have would indicate that these were just and honorable people.
Other people left Montor and headed south. We have yet to be able to explain some of the things we have found here. There is a city that sits on the water in the southeast section of the world. These people are still a bit of an enigma. They do not use the secondary language at all. They call their city Lakeshire, while the Anskitas refer to it as Mireg, translating to Water-Home. The people in Mistas refer to the people there as “lacking will”. All in all it is very confusing. Mayhap as we find more information we can sort it all out.
All around this area it would seem strange magicks are at work. In the center of the lake found here is a citadel. No one has yet entered to investigate but a passage found in a book in Terort Skitas describes those that built it.
- “Est ven lem vas mani”
Translates:
- “The ones seeking higher life”
One can only imagine what that might mean.
To the north of Lakeshire is another oddity. A small village built into huge trees And inhabited by what some have called Pixies. I find it hard to believe in such foolishness. The southern expanse also holds mystery. There you find large cairn stones that seem to mark boundaries. One party reported seeing strange figures in the woods here. To the west of the town is a ruined forge. It looks as if it was used to forge iron mined from a cave just next to the location. It is now overrun with vermin. Finally the last note on this area would be a large fortress built into the side of a mountain. No one has dared venture inside for the outside is piled high with skulls and bones. One passage in another of the Anskitas books speaks of this place.
- “korp ku-nte reg de por-ilem-mani-lemi”
Translates:
- “death within the home of she that takes life”
I fear for those who would be the first to explore this place.