"To dig, or not to dig" - Lomiron's Dan'odel divagations about excavations - Kohlingen - First Edition
Nature of Archeology on basis of Events in Kholingen
Excavating into history, whether in musty libraries or cellars, may seem tedious, but it is nothing short of archaeology, the realm where random findings and information are pieced together to form a cohesive whole. Yet, it is often cloaked in textbook definitions that primarily focus on digging into the ground with a pickaxe until stumbling upon a bone, a fragment of an old sword, or perhaps a simple sketchbook from a forgotten artist. However, the arcane aspects intertwined with it can unexpectedly arise, even for those not specialized in the field, caught in the whirlwind of random events.
Thus, using my own experiences and that of the aforementioned Kohlingen, we will delve into the intriguing realm of the less common work of an archaeologist, which I undertake.
Let us commence with an exploration of Kohlingen itself and its history?what it once was and what it has become. Reflecting on this subject, I've drawn upon not only my own observations and excavations, which I'll detail in this book, but also insights gleaned from the records housed within the illustrious Soulhaven library. While many notable figures like Amadeo Pneuma or Alia Silveroak have described this place and its associated events in their observations, my aim is to present the perspective of an archaeologist?one who intimately interacts with history.
Although truthfully, the information contained there (in Soulhaven) is just the tip of the iceberg, it was enough to ignite the spark of discovery within me.
But let's return to the topic at hand.
Day 24, Month 6 (Kythorn), 182 AR
Lomiron Dan'odel
Kohlingen
Kohlingen - a kingdom that appeared on the maps of Arelith, in its northern part, about 180 years ago. In the book "The Fall of Benwick" as well as "Kohlingen: The Lost City," we can find information describing the splendor of this place, whose majesty flourished under the rule of Darius Tristam - the first Justiciar - then Duke, under whom the earls directly served - among whom the names Manfried and Montgomery are the most frequently mentioned in the books about Kohlingen. Although the authors suspect the existence of others, in my opinion, less significant for the history of this place.
The Triadic State - as this kingdom was colloquially referred to - extended its influence from the northern borders of the Broken Isles (a day's journey by ship north of Arelith) to the lands of Minmir itself, which, as indicated by the author of the book "Kohlingen: The Lost City," can only fuel the imagination about how vast the discussed City was, especially considering the fact that the (fallen) court of the aforementioned Count Manfried was located on the outskirts of Kohlingen, as well as how extensive the estate of the fallen earldom is. The latter is impressive by the fact that builders in distant times did not limit themselves to closed clusters and influences that we can observe in present times.
The role of the city of Kohlingen took on various natures during its time of reign, as changeable as society can be, but it can be generally stated and summarized that it was a bastion of light and a devoted foothold of the Triad - Torm, Tyr, and Ilmater, as can often be read in libraries and stories. Thus, this may indicate the purity of this place, and there is hardly anything to "pick on" here, but as we know, where stronger light falls, there arises a longer shadow. This shadow peeking out from behind the bright light led to the downfall of Kohlingen, but it was not the light that was the beginning, by no means, it was only a temptation, a desire - the point of someone's obsession. Why? Well, it did not come from this world. Therefore, the temptation as well as the interest - were greater.
Day 24, Month 6 (Kythorn), 182 AR
Lomiron Dan'odel
The machinations of evil and the beginning of the end
In historical books (here: "Fall of Benwick"), we can glean an outline of the events leading to the downfall of Kohlingen. However, the accounts mentioned in these records provide only superficial information about these events. I, dear reader, have touched upon places associated with this history and heard the screams of stones, the drums of the march of the dead, felt the fear of impending horror, seen through the eyes of soldiers uncovering secrets beneath the tower, and also witnessed the spark of hope in the hearts of the kingdom's inhabitants and defenders of Kohlingen.
Although it may be unconventional, I am compelled to begin the story from the end - from the expedition and join it with a handful of information found wherever I could, occasionally distracting attention lightly.
My first physical and tangible encounter with the Fallen Kingdom was like a blind shot. Specifically, a group of mercenaries - the Autumn Sword, under the leadership of Captain Vico Blake, planned an expedition to the city buried* beneath the ruins of the Border Tower to the west of the city of Guldorand, which is currently besieged by various groups of bandits and rogues - this place is colloquially known as the Thieves' Bridge. My instinct didn't allow me to delay too long, and I gathered my belongings, setting out with a group of brave warriors to this place from which I am currently writing this work.
You may ask, dear reader, "How," "where did the underground city come from?" Well, to understand the nature of this fact, we must delve into tales and chronicles from those times written down somewhere by chance. Into memoirs, letters, and even surprisingly - cookbooks, or inscriptions on walls scratched in hope that someone like me will decipher these last pleas, prayers, or observations.
As one can read in the works of Alia Silveroak from 96 AR, the city "vanished into the depths of the sea" between 2 and 3 AR - which would align with the date of the city's downfall, although what was the reason for this? Or why would someone go to such lengths? We learn about this by reading chronicles written by the same author in the entry "K&CoH, 1, The Lost Realm of Kohlingen," and it is related to the defense of the city, or rather its heart - the Celestial Light. But let's take it step by step.
Day 24, Month 6 (Kythorn), 182 AR
Lomiron Dan'odel
I. Expedition - Tunnel under Skeryn's Seat - Border Tower. - His
To reach the destination, we were forced to traverse through crystalline caves hidden deep within the collective underground known on Arelith as the Deep Wells - I won't dwell on them - You can read about their nature in books written by many observers and researchers of this place. However, it is important to note that they must have existed long before the emergence of Kohlingen, and that the ancient builders and inhabitants of the Border Tower - known and referred to in those times as - Skeryn's Seat, dug their way to this place, as mentioned in my findings, particularly in the scattered notebooks within the structure.
Did they (Deep Wells) have any influence on the events surrounding the sinking of the city? Not particularly. I rather think that their discovery was entirely accidental, but I could not overlook this fact, especially considering that thanks to these tunnels, we are now able to reach the forgotten city in present times.
Day 24, Month 6 (Kythorn), 182 AR
Lomiron Dan'odel
II. Interlude - Lost notes from the tower of Skeryn's Seat and a
The first discovery - a journal, which I labeled as "Memories from Watch" for purpose of merely a loose categorization to avoid losing myself in the collected information.
From the moldy pages, I could decipher only a part of what happened in those days, dating back to a period before the appearance of horror and the "unknown enemy" without specifying a specific date. Apart from such facts as the author's daily observations, I come across a mention of excavations carried out under the tower, probably to enlarge the storage area, and the discovery of a tunnel - the same one we traversed on our way to the city ruins, as mentioned in the paragraph about the expedition.
Another significant piece of information and discovery is a letter that I delicately pulled out from under a stack of damp sacks, confirming my suspicions about the construction of cellars beneath the tower. I marked it as a letter to "Dame Sandreil," authored by Sir Wytherham Gorshaad. It reads, "I took receipt of the letter of your intent to dig alow Skeryn's Seat for your cellars." However, an astounding fact is that during the construction of the cellars, a certain soldier - Jarlson, whose tombstone we can find in the city ruins (likely a quartermaster), stumbled upon a hidden tunnel but asked the author of the journal not to mention it to anyone for the time being.
The third discovery is a report - labeled by me as "Tower Report" - belonging to the brigadier of the group, Tert Glendwyn, in which he mentions the expedition to the unknown place beneath the tower's cellars (the Deep Wells known today). Steps were then taken to explore the area, whether out of coincidence or sheer curiosity - I do not have such information.
Tert Glendwyn writes, "I took a torch and three fine men to nose around." They encountered an incredible creature, describing it as: "... A weird beast of many a limb." However, this does not unequivocally indicate the nature of the creature - undead, dragon, humanoid - but emphasizes its behavior and reaction to light. It was wild and aberrant, reacting with aggression and hiding in darkness. He also mentions in his report the stunning appearance of the place, describing it as: "I was transfixed by the weird of the ceiling of this cave could not exist so high, for Skeryn's Seat was surely not far above us." This would correspond to the tunnel leading deeper into the caves, through which we moved with the Autumn's Sword mercenaries.
From the notes found on the other side - that is, upon arrival at the site of the lost city, presumably Kohlingen - I inferred that a certain Senfratahast and Tarothar, as well as Duke Tristam himself, were informed about the mysterious tunnel beneath Skeryn's Seat tower. The author of the journal was ordered to conceal the passage to the tunnel under the tower of Skeryn's Seat, thus hiding the truth about the place from the entire court, described in these words: "The Lord Justicar has listened too oft to Wytherham, and bids me in turn to conceal this discovery from court- from dukes and earls. From Manfried." Hence, we can already suspect that suspicions may have arisen in the kingdom of Kohlingen about the dark intentions of Earl Manfried.
However, the above information is only a prelude to speculation about why Kohlingen fell or disappeared overnight and what role the tunnel beneath Skeryn's Seat tower (Border Tower) plays in all this. Let us now move to the actual ruins.
Day 24, Month 6 (Kythorn), 182 AR
Lomiron Dan'odel
III. Arrival at the Scene.
My initial feelings upon setting foot in this place were not pleasant; a sense of sadness, heavy longing was truly strong. In the first moments, I felt a sense of loss of something precious. Healthy judgment was overshadowed, and for several hours, I couldn't muster more than a few words. I lived in this place, felt how its aura permeated me and not just me. Abandoned, decaying homesteads, rotting orchards, the chilling cold, heavy somber sky, neglected cemetery - all frozen in time. They were the only witnesses to the events of this place, silent witnesses, reaching out towards us.
Fortunately, I was not alone there. A group of hunters, warriors, and mages, along with Tald Halley himself - a distinguished historian and member of the Autumn Sword - were nearby, helping me unravel the mysteries of this place. Thanks to their probing questions, mostly thrown into the crowd, I had no chance of falling into boredom or lethargy induced by this place.
Among the findings, apart from the city itself, of course, which immediately caught our group's attention, the forefront was the cemetery - an empty settlement of memories, and nearby, a journal or rather a sketchbook of a child. The contents of it... The images, in my opinion, pointed to events that I wouldn't attribute to the conflicts that took place here, but rather to the last days of existence in this stronghold.
Day 24, Month 6 (Kythorn), 182 AR
Lomiron Dan'odel
IV. Summarize of gathered information - reflection on the facts
From the bits of information I've managed to gather, I am certain that this place is nothing other than the Lost City of Kohlingen, and we stand in a historic location. However, the question arises: why here? Why underground? Or perhaps the path through the tunnels is merely a portal connecting Arelith with the city of Kohlingen, submerged underwater long ago? Yet, above us, we have the sky, not water. Thus, we have more questions than answers.
With the help of notes found, shedding light on the entire event of the city's disappearance, there are mentions of horror that gripped the outskirts of Kohlingen and among the troops and commanders. Reading them, I felt the same fear of the unknown that filled the hearts of peoplef rom that era. Whether they were descriptions from the tower's chronicles - Skeryn's Seat, the Soulhaven Library, or from the fallen city itself, each individually and all at once described a moment of uncertainty, awaiting impending doom. With this unsettling prelude, I would like to begin another paragraph in this exhaustive work.
The information found briefly mentions or roughly describes the feelings on the eve of the impending battle when the enemy revealed its face, but we are able to outline the events. And so, we return to the records from the border tower, where upon encountering the quartermaster's journal, I could find an entry about increasing transports to Kohlingen of "dangerous spell components." Mentions also indicate that within just a few days, the garrison at the tower doubled. The last entry in this journal referred to the tower being left to its fate - "Kohlingen will send neither aid nor word any longer beyond its immediate borders." Following this trail further, I return to the journal "Memories from Watch," the last sentences of which point to a fierce struggle under the tower and the accompanying fear, followed by the garrison's collapse and retreat into the underground, which had been dug long before the battle and hidden from Manfried.
Thus, the tragic fate of the city was also shared by the tower, now standing as a monument to those events. But what about Kohlingen itself?
Day 24, Month 6 (Kythorn), 182 AR
Lomiron Dan'odel
IV. Fates After Summarizing the Information
The fate of the northern part of the island was influenced by none other than Count Manfried, who succumbed to the temptations of black magic, seeking to extinguish the light of Kohlingen, likely corrupting it and gaining its power by opening a rift to a plane of negative energy, unleashing waves of blood and nightmare across the material plane while becoming an unstoppable force.
He conducted a ritual through which he sacrificed the surrounding lands along with the inhabitants to some dark entity in order to achieve the aforementioned goal.
The author in his chronicles - "History and Geography of Arelith" - suspects that Manfried succumbed to the temptation of the dark rider - a messenger of the Twisted Rune, a cabalistic cult, who appeared in the lands of Minmir and who brought with him an ancient and dark text containing instructions for conducting a vile ritual, (here my speculation - immortality) or even achieving divinity considering the scale with which Manfried sought to obtain unimaginable power by possessing the power of the Celestial Light of Kohlingen.
But what connection does this have to the disappearance of the city? History unfolds a wide spectrum of this tragedy before us. As the author writes in his chronicle, the Twisted Rune found a way to corrupt the celestial light, and thus, with Manfried or using him as a tool, they led armies of undead to Kohlingen. The mages of the city, unwilling to allow the tragedy to unfold, took final and, as it turned out, tragic steps. The ritual shattered the earth, tearing Kohlingen away from the mainland and simultaneously submerging the entire city - in the author's words, "We don't know if the mages expected that." "Kohlingen was lost but The Light saved and Manfried deprived his prize."
Day 24, Month 6 (Kythorn), 182 AR
Lomiron Dan'odel
Postludium
Concluding my musings on Kohlingen, I hope that the events presented by me and the experiences described have brought you closer to the exhaustive work of an archaeologist and prompted reflection on its value. If you feel that I may have overlooked many events in my book, I encourage you to explore the sources from which I drew my vision.
I'm glad you took the time to read the first edition, and I hope that the information contained therein will serve as inspiration for many more scholarly works.
Day 24, Month 6 (Kythorn), 182 AR
Lomiron Dan'odel