stranger!Venore is no longer what it once was. Believe me, there's nowhere left a man may feel safe.
Word goes round of a canker spreading not far from here. A cult, drawing its disciples from every corner of the land, growing greater by the day. You know the sort, these zealots. Think otherwise than they do, and they'll blind you with holy light till you either obey or lose your eyes for good.
I've heard tell that these madmen were once led by a dubious prophet, till something went grievously awry.
I've also heard tell of cruel new creatures besides, said to have come with the fall. Something that lives, that kills, that spreads, yet nothing we'd ever name alive. No thought. No mind.
A storm is gathering, and not a few would say that we are entering a time of great consequence.
It seems we've become the very center of the world, my friend.
But where danger lurks, gold is seldom far behind, and you've not the look of one who came here for the fresh air.
The fine folk, those in the robes, with their clever faces, have of late taken to sending men like you. "Only recover a small sample," they say, as though you were off to gather berries in the woods. What they'll not tell you: many set out before you. Never did I see a single one return.
They all want it, this stuff. Each one claims he alone knows what may be done with it. And each would slit your throat just to hold the next shard in his hands.
Walk a little farther toward the mountain and you'll grasp my meaning. There, where the sky itself bears a wound. They say the moon bled, and a piece of it now lies here in the muck with us.
And sometimes, when the sea lies still, something glints upon the horizon. Far out, above the water. Like a palace of pure light. A few bold souls sail out to look upon it. Some return changed, speaking of naught but their new god, with that gleam in their eyes that freezes the blood.
I tell you this not to warn you; none heed an old man anyhow. I tell you only so you'll not complain, later, that no one gave you fair warning.
So, stranger. The choice is yours. You may turn back and forget you ever heard of this place.
Or you may go out there and claim your piece of the sky.
Upcoming next: Some more information about the dangers and the treasures that await you.
| Content Teaser 2/3 | Feature Teaser 1/2 |