The Sunken Isles of Teyrote

Area Map

Description

Teyrote is a continent half sunken by the sea and slowly sinking further. Located in the eastern hemisphere, it has been largely uninhabited by any organized nation for the better part of a thousand years. While no nations still exist here, there are many other things that live in the ruined lands.

The sunken continent, once a sprawling and vibrant land now lies fractured and broken—a haunting echo of its former grandeur. The ancient war that tore it asunder unleashed arcane forces so devastating that the land itself shattered, sinking beneath the waves and leaving behind a scarred, desolate landscape.

Ten smaller islands encircle a vast central landmass, each a jagged fragment of the once-great continent. Massive crystalline spires jut from the earth, their surfaces blackened and cracked, still pulsing faintly with residual magic. The air is thick with a heavy, oppressive energy—an arcane fallout that lingers even centuries after the cataclysm. The landscape is twisted and unnatural, where gravity itself seems fickle, and shattered earth floats in defiance of nature.

The central island, known as The Shattered Crown, is a sprawling wasteland of ash and obsidian plains, punctuated by the remnants of towering citadels now half-sunken and leaning precariously over dark, mirror-like lakes. At the heart of the island lies the Cradle of Oblivion, a massive, yawning chasm where reality itself seems distorted—a tear between the material world and the spectral echoes of the "other" world. It is said that the spirits of those who fell during the great war still wander here, caught in an endless loop of their final moments.

The smaller islands, each uniquely marred by the calamity, are bound to the central landmass by shifting, ephemeral bridges of ethereal energy that appear and vanish with the waxing and waning of magic. These islands bear the scars of intense battles—glassy plains where firestorms once raged, forests frozen in crystalline stasis, and ruins swallowed by thorny, venomous vines.

Time itself seems fractured here. Day and night do not follow natural rhythms, instead shifting unpredictably as remnants of the arcane cataclysm distort the passage of time. The locals—those who dare to remain—speak of hearing distant, mournful songs carried on the wind, as if the land itself remembers the agony of its destruction.

Teyrote is roughly analogous to mediaeval Ireland.

Notable Places

Islands

The "continent" consists now of only a handful of shattered islands.

• 🏞️Glimmerfen
  • A sprawling marshland where the water glows with bioluminescent algae, giving off an eerie, spectral glow. Fey spirits drift through the fog, their mournful wails echoing across the water, as flickering lights dance atop the reeds.
• 🏞️Ash Roost
  • A bleak, wind-swept plateau where ash dunes shift like restless ghosts. Great stone perches, once homes to majestic winged guardians, now lie abandoned and broken, their enchantments shattered.
• 🏞️Cinderheart
  • A land of smoldering ash and volcanic craters, where molten rivers carve paths through the blackened ground. Fire elementals and ash wraiths wander the cracked plains, remnants of an ancient siege that burned for decades.
• 🏞️Gravewake Atoll
  • A cluster of sharp, coral-like rock formations jutting from shallow waters. The island itself is a mass grave, where skeletal remains cling to the rocks as if trying to crawl free. The souls of the fallen linger, whispering to those who pass.
• 🏞️Ironshard Reach
  • A metallic, crystalline landscape, where giant, razor-sharp shards of iron sprout from the earth at unnatural angles. Strange magnetic anomalies cause weapons and armor to resonate, and remnants of enchanted siege engines lie scattered and rusted.
• 🏞️The Shattered Crown
  • A sprawling wasteland of ash and obsidian plains, punctuated by the remnants of towering citadels now half-sunken and leaning precariously over dark, mirror-like lakes.
  • The ⛰️Cradle of Oblivion, lies within the heart of the island.
  • The city of 🏢Driftmourne lies on the south western coast.
• 🏞️The Anvil
  • A craggy, iron-rich island pockmarked with half-melted ruins and towering basalt columns. Lightning frequently strikes the tallest spires, and the ground hums with residual magnetic energy from powerful war machines long destroyed.
• 🏞️Bleakwood
  • A dense, petrified forest where the trees have turned to stone, frozen in a state of decay. Shadowy creatures flit between trunks that groan like living things, and the ground is riddled with cracks that glow with pale blue light.
• 🏞️Warsend
  • A desolate island where hundreds of stone cairns dot the landscape, each marking the resting place of a fallen hero or champion. The air hums with a solemn, reverent energy, and ethereal banners wave despite the lack of wind.

• 🏞️Veilwatch
  • An island dominated by the cracked remnants of a colossal fortress made from white stone, now scorched and weathered. The walls are etched with battle scars, and ghostly knights still march in solemn patrols along the crumbling ramparts.

• 🏞️Glitterdeep
  • A partially submerged island, its buildings half-drowned and covered in luminescent algae. The remnants of a grand palace are visible just beneath the surface, and spectral apparitions of courtiers still dance in ghostly reverie.

Other Places

Teyrote is a dangerous, haunted land with few habited places, including:

• ⛰️The Cradle of Oblivion, a chasm
  • At the heart of the island lies the Cradle of Oblivion, a massive, yawning chasm where reality itself seems distorted—a tear between the material world and the spectral echoes of the Feywild and Shadowfell. It is said that the spirits of those who fell during the great war still wander here, caught in an endless loop of their final moments.
• 🏢The City of Driftmourne, a sunless city
  • The city, known bitterly by its inhbitants as Driftmourne, is a sprawling patchwork of makeshift huts, sagging tents, and crumbling remnants of ancient structures. The ground is a mire of mud and shattered cobblestones, where stagnant pools reflect the dim, cloud-choked sky. Rotting wooden walkways connect clusters of shacks built from scavenged ship parts, rusted metal, and worn canvas tarps.
  • Perpetual rain drips from sagging awnings and seeps into every crevice, leaving the air thick with the smell of mildew and decay. Dark, winding alleys weave between the shanties, and the narrow, crooked streets seem to shift as buildings collapse and new ones are erected from the debris. Lanterns burn low with sputtering, rain-choked flames, casting sickly yellow light that barely pierces the gloom.
  • Driftmourne’s denizens speak in hushed, fearful tones of the inland territories. Only the truly desperate or mad dare to venture beyond the city’s outskirts, for the cursed heart of the island holds secrets too terrible to bear—and no one who ventures forth returns unchanged.
• 🏛️The Swindler's Luck, a sky-tavern
  • Located at sky-anchor, 5,000 feet above the Giledus ocean, a thousand miles west of the island of 🏞️Ash Roost
  • Alna, an ex-privateer, is the proprietor
  • Tibor Zyste, a merchant, runs a black-market out of the tavern.

Rumours and Legends

Most of what is "known" about Teyrote is shrouded in myths and legends.

• In commonly known history, ~3,000 years ago [~600 PR] years ago during an event known as The Fall of the Kingdom of Emerald, the continent of Teyrote was destroyed in a titanic war, sinking most of it to the ocean floor.
• Teyrote was once home to The Kingdom of Emerald, an enigmatic and isolationist nation ruled by Tiandra the Summer Queen.
• Our heroes were told by 🚹Jaabir al-Hamidi that legends say Teyrote was the home of the ⚔️Servents of Eternal Night.
• Rumour: Merchants from 🏢Coltara established a mining operation on 🏞️Ironshard Reachh, seeking arcane-infused ore, but they unwittingly awakened a malevolent force. The earth rejected them, collapsing the camp and leaving the cursed mine abandoned and feared.
• Rumour: A cursed relic from the Kingdom of Emerald, the Emerald Throne, is rumoured to rest deep in the sunken ruins. Anyone who dares sit upon it is said to be plagued with vivid dreams of their own demise, slowly driving them mad.
• Rumour: Sailors whisper of the Veiled Tide—a magical current summoned by celestial alignments, said to lead to Teyrote’s submerged capital. None who followed it have returned.
• Rumour: Beneath the waves, Teyrote’s ancient library is said to remain preserved in magical stasis, holding forgotten magics and fey lore for the bold to uncover.
• Rumour: Some believe Teyrote fell not by war but by betrayal—an envious archfey unleashed a curse that tore the Kingdom of Emerald apart, sinking the land.
• Rumour: Expeditions to Teyrote were disrupted by shadowy entities known as "The Unseen Watchers"—ethereal figures thought to be fey souls or ancient guardians. Explorers who ventured too deep reported eerie sensations, fleeting glimpses, and sudden disappearances, but the beings remain unconfirmed.
• Rumour: 🗺️Keshtine engineers built submersible ships to explore 🏞️Glitterdeep’s submerged ruins, but crews reported magnetic disturbances, eerie voices, and glowing eyes. Survivors spoke of unnatural pressure and currents, as if the island itself resisted their advance.

Other Notes

• 🚹ChoTaan Gathakanathi has a connection with 🗺️Teyrote, having spent time there with 🚹Thallia Oakwind.
• Our heroes were told by the ghost of 🚹Hadra Wrenchworth that approximately 500 years ago, the dwarven clan Ganden Baraz (“The Promise to Find”) set out from 🗺️Lozandar to Teyrote to recover 💎The Brynduraz from the ⚔️Servents of Eternal Night

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