In the heartlands of the Whispering Sea, nestled among the salt marshes, there is a stretch of land where the Void is leaking into the world: a black scar upon the landscape—a memory of magic seared into the earth.
From a distance, it looks like a hazy darkness, a fog bank over the landscape, but if one were to go closer, the area changes. In the blurred border between the sunlit marshes and the shadow-scarred lands, there is an enduring, sickly twilight. The sky fades, replaced by an endless blackness, deeper than any night of this world; dotted with a glimmer of faint stars, impossibly far away.
Going into the darkness, the area seems to defy the laws of this world: when viewed from the outside, it looks like it would take an hour—at most—to cross, but once inside, distances seem to mean nothing. There are rumours about travellers venturing inside, only to emerge miles upon miles away, but no one has yet confirmed it.
It is all too easy to get impossibly lost; any light brought into the Reach seems to diminish, hardly piercing the thick darkness. The air is chilled, still, and bone dry: there is no wind, no rain, no sign of any weather in the Reach.
Those with the ability to see in the dark will find a strange and alien landscape; once a thriving marshland, now dry and cold, blackness seeping into soil and withered plant life alike. Haunting structures seem to rupture from the ground: skeletal apparitions bearing a resemblance of otherworldly constructions, buildings, mazes; feverish fantasies of black bone and shadow skin stretched taut.
It is deadly silent, and pray that it will remain so...
The Dark Reach appeared in 1234, just as the Great Hunt for the corrupted mage Linkoln ended.
Few people were present as it appeared, but there are tales about how one of the mages hunting the monster opened a great rift in the sky, ending the monster that way, and the Reach is the result of that feat of magic. Others say it happened after, when the monster was already dead, and a terrible eruption of shadow magic created the area.
The area is comparable to a medium-sized village, about two miles across, but distances seem to warp when you step inside. Crossing it can take hours—if you are lucky enough to get out.
For those desperate enough, it could be a last-effort hiding spot.
- Mages who deal with shadows or darkness may find themselves either stronger or weaker inside.
- Mages with an affinity for light will—usually—find their powers greatly diminished.
- Those who have powers relating to other planes may find that the walls between worlds are very thin there.
- Some people report a sense of being watched, despite being alone.
- In some parts of the Reach, piles of bone shards and dust can be found.
- A few daring souls have reported the sound of a heartbeat coming from somewhere in the dark...
(WC --)