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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Isida Kep'Tukari" data-source="post: 1017663" data-attributes="member: 4441">QTales of the Forbidden LandsFor both Syrrian and Rokelsh:Wisdom of the Unwanted DesertThe Forbidden Lands spew forth monsters that seek only to devour the land around them.  The hidious humanoid creatures seem to be a thin skin over a body of watery ooze, with hard fists and filmy wings.  They can create more of themselves.  When you kill one, you must kill the seeds that are left behind.  Adding water to the seeds means creating more of the monsters.  It is fortuitous that the Unwanted Desert borders the Forbidden Lands, for the dryness that tests its people means the safety of the rest of Low'verok.Occasionally, those who go close to the cliff see great dragons made of translucent violet fire prowling the blasted plains below.  They rarely approach the cliffs, and have only been seen from a distance.Pregnant women who have nightmares in the Unwanted Desert have their offspring watched closely.  Sometimes those unlucky children seem to be born with a strange hunger for other people's minds.  They turn into besital monsters and desire only to attack other people, pierce their eyes and eat their minds.  These creatures, called "soul eaters" by the peoples of the Unwanted Desert, are particularly despised.  It is generally thought that the proximity of the Forbidden Lands can cause terrible dreams about its twisted and terrible origins; things that no mind can comprehend.  Because of this, talismans that protect one from bad dreams are extremely common amongst the people of the Unwanted Desert.For Syrrian onlyTales of the Forbidden ExplorersThere are a few very adventerous souls that have explored the very edges of the Forbidden Lands.  The most adventerous (and some say, most crazy) is a gnome named Quelp Yipp Braggort.  He actually climbed part-way down the shear cliff of the Forbidden Lands, which is the farthest anyone has gotten and been able to return to tell the tale.He said the land is blasted and scortched, though by looked through a spyglass, he has sworn to have seen trees in the distance.  By watching the horizon at night, he has seen bits of fire come raining down from the sky into the Forbidden Lands, accompanied by sounds of great explosions.  He is uncertain exactly what this means, but he theorizes that it is a weapon or battle spell.  This implies that there is some kind of intelligent life there, probably waging a war.Other people scoff at his tales, but for all of Quelp's bragging in other areas of his life, he speaks of this experience with utter sincereity and a complete lack of the flourishes he lavishes onto his other tales.  He says this tale needs no enhancement.Twice, Syrrian has met in his life people that claim to be from the Forbidden Lands.  One was a young man that at first glace appeared to be a fire genasi, with glowing skin, fire-bright hair, and violet eyes.  He was obviously unbalanced, and he claimed that the "Skyfire Lords" wanted his "earthfire" back.  He was clutching an elaborate rod of a silvery metal as he spoke, wringing it through his hands.  He wasn't able to answer Syrrian's questions very coherently, but he spoke of the "cities of the Skyfire Lords," the "memories of the dark ones," the "nightmares they give us if they leave, I know they're coming for me, the dreams are getting worse," and "fire from the sky, it all comes to that, I'll be returning to the fire, I'm going home."  Later that day, the man incinerated himself in the middle of the Well's End market square.  The local mage's guild declared it to be an improperly cast fireball detonated at the man's feet.  However, several witnesses claimed they saw something fall from the sky and strike the man to set him on fire.  The mage's guild dismissed that as nonsense.The other Syrrian met was in an enclave of runecasters at the northwestern fringe of the Firespine mountains.  The community, called the Stonecarved Brothers, was mostly dwarfs, humans, and earth genasi.  They carved runes on the rocks and tattooed and imprinted runes on their own bodies to improve their magical powers.  One man had particularly strange tattoos, some of which looked like a vauge suggestion of an alien face with three eyes.  Unlike most of the others, he was not a spellcaster, but a warrior with a scholastic bent.  He deflected most of Syrrian's questions, but gave him two pieces of information.  "The memories of those destroyed live on in me."  "Seek the sea of souls and there you will learn to carry another's heart with you."  The man gave his name only as Far-strider Starseeker.  He has thus far not returned any of Syrrian's letters for further information.</blockquote>

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