Everdeep: A Subterranean World of Wonders … and Nightmares

Deep beneath the Wildlands, far from the light of Eos’ never-setting sun, sprawled a vast labyrinth known as the Everdeep. This immense subterranean network of tunnels, caverns, and even villages and cities extended like veins beneath the continent, with its primary access points concentrated in the regions of T’ssara, Hauth, and Northern Vüdos. For millennia, the Everdeep remained an enigma—a place whispered of in songs and sagas, a realm of danger and hidden splendor.

Geography and Formation

The Everdeep was said to have been shaped by the tumultuous forces of the earth, its earliest tunnels carved by ancient underground rivers and molten flows. These primal forces left behind a variety of geological features: smooth, obsidian-like tunnels that glistened like black glass, jagged walls of limestone and granite, and chambers adorned with towering stalagmites and stalactites. The air was thick with moisture in some places, creating mirror-like pools, while in others, it was bone-dry and tinged with the metallic scent of iron.

The caverns glimmered with an array of crystals, each glowing faintly in hues of blue, green, and violet. These luminescent minerals—known as starshard crystals—provided the primary light source in the Everdeep, their bioluminescent glow fueled by unseen fungal spores. Some locations held veins of gold, silver, or a rare ore called moonsilver, which threaded the walls of the dim, luminescent caverns, drawing adventurers despite the perils.

The Cities of the Everdeep

Seearthest: The Molten Jewel

Beneath the fiery crown of Morgrun’s Mantle, the city of Seearthest once stood as a beacon of resilience and ingenuity. Built by the industrious Ashen and Earthen Jurell, the city was both a fortress and a masterpiece. The Ashen Jurell, impervious to intense heat, delved deep into the volcano’s molten heart, mining for gems and minerals found nowhere else. Meanwhile, the Earthen Jurell shaped the volcanic landscape itself, constructing pathways and monumental towers that glimmered with channels of molten lava. Their magnum opus was the Orinforge, an immense chamber centered on an eternal flame gifted by Ahkros, the Ides of Fire. It served as both a symbol of their connection to the divine and the lifeblood of the city’s forges and defenses.

The Fall of Seearthest

This golden age came to a catastrophic end when the Ingnar, malevolent creatures of fire and chaos, rose from the volcanic depths. Driven by hunger for destruction and the Orinforge’s divine flame, they overwhelmed the Jurell. The Ashen Jurell had fought valiantly in the molten tunnels, their natural resistance to heat rendering them formidable against the invaders. The Earthen Jurell raised monumental walls of stone in desperate attempts to fortify the city. Yet, the Ingnar’s sheer ferocity had proven too great. They overran the defenses, slaughtered the Jurell, and extinguished the once-thriving civilization in a single fiery onslaught.

With the Jurell vanquished, Seearthest became a hollow, smoldering shell of its former glory. For centuries, it remained abandoned, the molten pathways crumbling into treacherous ruins. Few had dared to venture into the remains, as the city pulsed with residual heat and whispered of restless spirits.

The Dark Lords of Fire

The volcanic winds shifted once again when dark lords of fire, exiled elemental beings with mastery over flame and ash, rediscovered Seearthest. Drawn by the dormant Orinforge, they claimed the city as their stronghold. Using forbidden rites, they reignited the divine flame, warping its holy essence into a tool of malevolence.

Under their rule, Seearthest was rebuilt into a citadel of despair and unyielding fire. The ruins were reshaped into jagged spires of obsidian, and rivers of lava were channeled into deadly traps and defenses. The Orinforge, once a symbol of creation, became a blazing altar of dark power, its flame feeding the dark lords’ growing dominion. From Seearthest, they commanded legions of fire-born creatures, their influence spreading across the Wildlands like a searing plague.

Seearthest in Legend

In its final days, Seearthest stood as one of the most treacherous places in the Wildlands. Its perilous terrain was guarded by sentient fire-wraiths, molten golems, and the Ingnar, who remained loyal to their dark masters. The very air within the city burned with oppressive heat, deterring even the bravest of adventurers. Yet, rumors persisted that remnants of the Jurell’s treasures, including artifacts of great power, lay hidden within the ruins. These whispers tempted treasure hunters and warriors alike, though few ever returned.

For those who sought Seearthest, it was not merely a city—it was a crucible of fire and death, where the line between courage and folly was burned away.

Lamoura: The Shadowed Splendor

In stark contrast to the industrious Seearthest, Lamoura was a city steeped in shadow and secrecy. Carved into the walls of a colossal, pitch-black chasm, Lamoura was the domain of the Haxan Valcromin, a reclusive and cunning race with pale, translucent skin and eyes adapted to the darkness.

Lamoura was a maze of narrow alleys and towering spires, each illuminated by the dim glow of bloodvine lanterns, a carnivorous plant unique to the Everdeep. The city was known for its elaborate artistry, from murals crafted of shimmering crystals to sculptures carved from obsidian and bones. It was also a place of intrigue, where assassins, scholars of forbidden knowledge, and traders in exotic poisons thrived. At the chasm’s bottom, a great lake of black water shimmered faintly, said to be home to ancient, slumbering beasts.

Deep Warrens

The Deep Warrens, the deepest region of the Everdeep, is a realm of unbearable heat and molten caverns, where the legendary city of Seerathest stands amidst rivers of fire. Home to the Inganars, beings forged from flame and magma, it harbors secrets older than time, including Blacksteel and Heartstones—rare treasures of immense power. The path to this infernal domain is fraught with peril, with fire-gas vents, chasms, and creatures like Ash Crawlers and Emberwraiths lurking in the darkness. Myths speak of the Lost Expedition, a doomed group seeking Seerathest’s secrets, and the slumbering Pyrespawns, ancient fire-behemoths feared even by the Inganars. The Deep Warrens remain a place of legend, where fire has a will of its own, and the brave or the foolish risk all to uncover its mysteries.

Flora of the Everdeep

The Everdeep’s vegetation was as strange as its geography. Pale Ghostcap mushrooms, some growing taller than a man, lined the walls of damp caverns, their faint blue glow creating an eerie ambiance. Shivermoss, a silver-green plant, clung to rock faces and emitted a faint frost, cooling the air around it. Bloodvine, a parasitic plant, hung from ceilings like living snares, its red tendrils capturing and digesting small animals for sustenance.

The most remarkable flora was the Crysphora, a crystalline plant that grew only in the deepest chambers. Its translucent stems and leaves shimmered with colors that shifted based on the ambient magic, and it was believed to be a gift from the Ides Pantheon to the denizens of the Everdeep.

Beasts of the Everdeep

The Everdeep was teeming with creatures adapted to its darkness. Dark serpents, black-scaled and massive, slithered silently through tunnels, their venom capable of paralyzing prey instantly. Giant Red Widow spiders, the size of horses, spun vast webs in the high ceilings of caverns, their bites both lethal and corrosive.

Venomous giant centipedes patrolled the tunnel floors, their segmented bodies clicking ominously as they moved. Swarms of shadow gnats, tiny but aggressive insects, often attacked in unison, overwhelming their prey. Even stranger were the stone mimic beetles, whose rock-like shells made them nearly indistinguishable from their surroundings until they attacked.

Shadow Gates to Mophedus

Among the greatest mysteries of the Everdeep were the rumors of portals leading to Mophedus, the dark underworld and echo plane to Eos. Known as “Shadow Gates”, these portals, often found in the deepest and most treacherous parts of the Everdeep, shimmered with an oily, black light and exuded an aura of cold and dread.

Legends claimed that Mophedus was a realm where time and space warped, and where the spirits of the dead wandered alongside terrifying entities. Many who sought these portals believed they could uncover forbidden knowledge or commune with lost souls, but few ever returned, their fates whispered of in cautionary tales.

Legacy and Danger

The Everdeep was a place of contrast—where beauty met terror and ancient secrets lay buried. Its caverns and cities bore the marks of countless generations, each carving their story into its walls. Yet, for all its splendor, the Everdeep was a place where life hung by a thread, and where the brave and the foolish alike could find their destiny—or their doom.