- Treacherous
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- Soldier
- Lacrymosa
- Verachtlich
- Illaria
- Deceased
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HORIZON IS OVER!
The webpage remains up as a permanent archive of game material, mainly for the benefit of nostalgic players - although if you'd like to run a Horizon-inspired game for your friends, that's wonderful too. Horizon will be succeeded by Legacyin Trinity term of 2006.If you like you can look at the (sketchy, incomplete) GM notes as well.
The Treacherous Lands
Treacherous Nations | Strange Places and Weird Creatures
For hundreds of years, the Treacherous Lands had been an enigma to the True; a hideously distorted world unto themselves, concealed and thankfully closed off by the Gods since time immemorial. In the First and Second Ages, so it was said, the Emperor had built an entire second empire there, and had encouraged extensive human colonisation. In the Third Age, though, Imperial authorities increasingly reduced and controlled communication with the Treacherous Lands, until eventually they were closed off altogether. The Emperor's Gate was closed, and remained so for hundreds of years, while the True Lands gladly let the Treacherous fade from memory, out of sight and out of mind.As with so much else, this changed in the Year of Chaos. The City of Horizon, having taken custody of the Emperor's Gate after the Last War, succeeded in reopening it. Subtly at first, then with increasing publicity, expeditions were put together by the Mayoralty to explore and eventually to colonise the Treacherous Lands in the immediate vicinity of the Gate. Led by the chief pioneers of that age, Frost and the so-called "Lady" Blaze, these expeditions were successful. Not withstanding attacks by hostile natives of the Treacherous and the malice of the Emperor's Front, colonies were founded and have since come to prosper. Less reassuringly for the good citizens of Horizon, it became clear during the Year of Chaos that certain creatures of the Treacherous Lands were making the reverse journey, and making their homes in the True (for more on the Year of Chaos, see here).
In the past twenty years, the colonies in the Treacherous Lands have gone from strength to strength, adding to the rising tide of prospertity in Horizon both within and without the law. While legitimate access to the Treacherous Lands can be had via the Emperor's Gate, which is held by the Mayoralty, reliable rumour has it that the Dockyard Rats have their own methods of reaching the Treacherous Lands, thanks to their pact with the Sewer Nation of talking crocodiles, and there are rumours of still further routes. And a visit to the Treacherous has become an increasingly attractive prospect, for the curious, and for those seeking to check up on relatives and business interests. Exploration and colonisation have proceeded apace, driven by a ready supply of investors, and more areas of the Treacherous have been explored and mapped than were even known to exist before the Year of Chaos. A few new nations have sprung up, or been discovered, although for various reasons these are not likely to join the fraternity of the True Lands nations in the immediate future. Every man in the Horizon street knows a bit about these, as noted below. Also noted are a few of the tales, rumours, and messages received from pioneers and adventurers opening up new-found lands and discovering new creatures; as yet, these barely reliable sources are all the citizens of Horizon have to go on. But there is always funding available from the Faculty of Cartography, and numerous private investors, to go and find out more; exploration is a thriving industry in the Treacherous Lands.
Baron Montague
A major yet mysterious figure in the recent exploration of the Treacherous Lands has been the Baron Montague. Eighty years ago, Baron Hieronymous Caius Frederick de Montague was one of the great (if notorious) explorers of the age, an Imperial Army officer and noble whose adventures tested the very limits of the repressive Imperial authority's tolerance. Seventy years ago he had vanished completely, "disappeared" (so it was supposed) by the Emperor's secret police. Twenty years ago, he reappeared at the beginning of the Year of Chaos, looking not a day older than when he had disappeared, and apparently unaware of the year. He proceeded (not untypically) to have a variety of unlikely adventures - culminating with the assassination of the dread goddess Versinya - before marrying famous philanthropist Rosie del Orto. His grief on receiving the news that she had perished of Versinya Plague while he searched the Treacherous Lands for a cure is legendary in the colonies. He refused to return to the True Lands, and instead swore to wonder the Treacherous Lands for the rest of his life, living only for the exploration. Since that day eighteen years ago, he has not been seen by humans. But letters have been received by various means in New Horizon, directed to the Faculty of Cartography, containing maps, descriptions of areas of the Treacherous Lands, and typically florid accounts of the Baron's adventures. These have often been the first modern accounts of parts of the Treacherous Lands; suitable extracts are appended below. In recent years these dispatches have become less frequent, and almost seem to have stopped altogether. But no-one wants to say for sure that Baron Montague is truly dead.Treacherous Nations
The Horizon Colonies | Adhania | The UFS | Kessereth | The Fae Kingdom
The Horizon Colonies/New Horizon/Mirror Horizon
Whatever you call it, the place is the same. The Treacherous Lands have the same bizarre geography as the True, and when the first explorers arrived through the gate twenty years ago, they found the ruins of a great city, a kind of mirror-image of Horizon, at the base of the Wall. The city had the apperance of an Imperial city of the late Second Age, and surviving records in the Faculty of Cartography suggest that the Emperor had ruled over such a city. Whatever the case, colonies were set up in the shadows of the ruined city's boundary walls, at first largely agrarian and under the rule of Lady Blaze, who mysteriously disappeared immediately before the colonies were assaulted by predatory nomadic Kraelings. The colonies were saved by the intervention of the adventurer Frost, who persuaded the Kraelings to settle and live in peace with the colonists (indeed the Broken Sky tribe now seem to venerate Frost as a divine figure), and was soon made Governor. The colonies survived horrific acts of terrorism by the Emperor's Front (before that organisation crumbled) and the disapperance of Governor Frost at the end of the Year of Chaos to achieve prosperity. While some colonists spread out and settle ever more land, others are steadily rebuilding the ruined city, slowly changing the colony from a rural into an urban one. Although it has nothing like the size or wealth of Horizon, or even most of the large cities of the True Lands, it is still growing.Growth and industrialisation is nurtured in the city by the Grey Order. More public than formerly, the Order has succeeded in the colossal task of building a second Citadel of Steam, right here in the colonies, along with accompanying workshops and libraries that make a small town to themselves. The Order helps the Colony and its citizens with the installation and maintenance of various new devices (for a price); for example, a series of Grey Taxis have been installed to carry travellers and goods to and from the Wall. In New Horizon, the Grey Order is a much more visible power than anywhere in the True Lands except perhaps Irgar.
Indeed, there are those who claim that far too much power resides in the closely-guarded Citadel of Steam. The Colony is nominally ruled by a Governor, appointed by the Mayor of Horizon, and advised by a council of citizens selected by various processes, from popular acclaim to overt display of wealth and power. But the writ of the Mayor of Horizon runs thin on this side of the Wall, and the Grey Order own much of the technology the New Horizon runs on. Word is, their suggestions to the Governor are not lightly dismissed.
Unsurprisingly in a frontier community where life is perilous, the Church of the Intercessor is a major (though relatively quiet) power here. The priests do not seek power, but many of the Colony's influential citizens listen very closely to the priests, threatened daily as they are by Treacherous horrors. There seems to be some bad blood between the Church and the Grey Order at present; exactly why is hard to say, as the Church does not involve itself in petty power struggles for their own sake.
The really tempting thing about the Colony, for mobsters, is a combination of poor law enforcement and no established local operations; the Rats have some presence here, but apart from that it's all small-league local groups. And there is a booming drugs trade; so far this has mostly consisted of the Rats harvesting Vegdar-Dust from the Wall and receiving occasional shipments from the Fairies, but others' growers are starting to see the potential for working outside the reach of True Lands authorities.
In spite of all the advances made in the past twenty years, though, life is still perilous here; there haven't been any major Treacherous invasions since the Broken Sky tribe of Kraelings were pacified by Frost, but it is feared that it may only be a matter of time. There have been numerous smaller incursions, and a few shamanistic and cultist groups have arisen among desperate colonists. All those that have been discovered have been rooted out... so far...
The current Governor is Arlan Langlear, a former explorer with strong links to the Faculty of Cartography.
Rumours
The Sleeping Lord watches all. The Sleeping Lord knows all. One day he will awaken, and then you may be assured that while His elect are set on high, those who have neglected Him shall surely be destroyed. Join us. Join us...The dispute between the Grey Order and the Church has a very definite cause - the Church is secretly opposed to industrialisation, and is trying to stop it spreading in the "new" lands.
The dispute between the Grey Order and the Church has a very definite cause - the Order in the Treacherous Lands has been corrupted by shamen of one of the Powers, and the Church is trying to collect enough information to confront them publicly.
The Puzzle Pool is an artifact from the Imperial city - three runes carved onto the bottom of a shallow pool of brine. Interpreting the runes properly will enable you to find fame and fortune.
Frost ain't dead. He's still out there... somewhere.
Something awful happened to the old Imperial city.. something the government and the Grey Order are conspiring to keep from the modern colonists.
Adhania, Home of the Ghouls
Civilised by the Empire in the First Age, it was soon found by the modern colonists that the Ghouls still maintain a civilised nation not far from the Wall. On human maps it is named Adhania, a corruption of the Ghoul word. Since the fall of the Empire in the Treacherous Lands, the Ghouls have been starved of trade and beset on all sides by horrors; their civilisation is hence a sorry and backward affair by the standards of True Lands nations. The Ghouls live in relative poverty in heavily fortified settlements. In spite of this, and to the amusement of several True Lands radicals, they have one of the more democratic systems of government and one of the more open societies in the world. This is certainly alarming to the Ghouls who lead the rather conformist community in Horizon; interchange between the two has remained minimal.The Ghouls of Adhania travel to New Horizon and the UFS, where they perform much the same functions as the Ghoul community does in Horizon. Full and friendly relations have been prevented by the discovery that the Ghouls of Adhania, along with practising shamanism, do not condemn cultism. The idea is abominable to human society; although only the Soldier and Arikel have significant followings, and the Ghouls have agreed not to send cultists into human lands, there is still a massive barrier of distrust to human dealings with Adhanian Ghouls. Merchants are reluctant to trade with them, and mercenaries will not fight at their side, so that the state of their nation does not seem immediately likely to change. The Church of the Intercessor, while it does not condemn their nation or people as a whole, speaks vigorously against their use of God-sponsored magic and their more prominent cult leaders. The Ghouls, for their part, would welcome further contact, but are not willing (or able) to root cultism out of their society for the present.
Each of the townships of Adhania is governed by an elected council and a Mayor. The country as a whole is (loosely) governed by a meeting of the mayors or their representatives, which happens at each of the townships in turn.
Rumours
The Ghoul homeland needs help to drive the cultists from its midst.The Ghoul homeland needs aid against the monsters that assail it from the surrounding lands.
There's lucrative trade to be done with the Ghouls, if you've got the stomach for it.
The United Freedom State (UFS)
Ten years ago, a group of colonists from New Horizon who had moved deep into the Treacherous Lands abruptly appointed one of their leaders a President, then declared themselves independent not only from New Horizon and Horizon, but also from any nation of the True Lands. Their avowed purpose was to start up a new and more democratic society away from the dead hands of the True Lands governments, or the growing scourge of industrialisation and the "sinister cabals" that control it (the Merchants' Arm and the Grey Order weren't mentioned by name, but it was fairly clear who was being discussed). Initial scouting missions by the Mayorality of Horizon indicated that that rebel colonists were surprisingly well armed, so no invasion was carried out to bring them to heel. Nor has one been, so far...The UFS is more democratic than any True Lands nation, and maintains its deeply eccentric policy of eschewing most industrialisation (in the form of steam or Grey technology). However, the government of this frontier state is small and rather weak; it has been accused by the Governor of New Horizon of providing a haven where criminals freely assault the Horizon colonies or at least hide beyond the reach of True Lands justice. There is a lot of truth to these accusations. Meanwhile the UFS remains almost irrationally hostile to New Horizon and Horizon itself. Relations with other True Lands nations are as yet not really existent; some hostility with Irgar is expected, but the anti-industry stance of the UFS seems to match the current thinking of the Caliph of Jurica surprisingly well.
The other big attraction of the UFS is that it has rapidly become a centre for sorcerous learning and alchemical experimentation. The Treacherous Lands provide ample material and space to practice, and the laws are mostly lax on the subject. As a result, living as a sorcerer or alchemist is easy, and several are choosing to take the risk of moving here from the True Lands.
The UFS acknowledges President Harold Hareford as its leader. Hareford was an influential and well-off farmer before the breakaway, but rumour has it that he was involved with the HPLF in Horizon in his youth.
"I found the whole country in uproar. It seemed that a veritable army of Kraeling miscreants was amassing at the borders. The threat was very much the death and devourment of every man, woman and child unable to abandon their homes with sufficient alacrity. Never one to ignore the pleas of innocents, however many gambling debts may be hanging over me, I offered my services..."[snip, in which the Baron challenges the champion of the invading Kraelings to a duel. He persuades the rather naive Kraelings that his horse is part of his own "battle form", and soundly thrashes the champion. The Kraelings leave, disheartened.]
"...at the ceremony that night, President Hareford himself congratulated me, informing me that the Senate had unanimously voted to award me the Congessional Medal of Honour. Unfortunately I was to lose the medal itself later that very night at a hand of Canasta..."
- Baron Montague, Dispatches from the Treacherous Lands, 4012 HR.
Rumours
Sooner or later, war with New Horizon (and maybe Horizon itself) has to come. There was simply too much bad faith caused by the breakaway.The breakaway wasn't spontaneous; it was the result of a long campaign of politiking by some person or people intent on hurting Horizon or New Horizon.
The Mayorality of Horizon is very interested in putting together a covert operation to find out which, if any, escaped malefactors are hiding out here, and return them to the True Lands.
A woman named Gabrielle Rostovan is a power in the senate.
If you want to get away from True Lands justice, come here. The place is paradise for underworld types, give or take the odd invasion of monsters.
The President and the Senate always need this or that monster killing or dangerous fugitive brought to justice. There's plenty of opportunity here for the person with the right skills.
The Valley of Kessereth/The Kraelings
Newly arrived in Horizon, the Kraelings are an ancient race on this side of the Wall. Apparently human and with a degree of civilization, they are nonetheless feared and hated by many colonists. For the most part they live in nomadic bands, driving their herds wherever they travel, and hunting local livestock. Problems arise with their habit of regarding other intelligent races as "livestock"; since they can shapeshift into seven foot monstrosities of fur and fang, they have caused huge problems for human settlers, to say nothing of generations of persecution of the Ghouls in Adhania. Over the last twenty years, a few tribes have been persuaded or forced to recognise the boundaries of human lands and act peacably there or stay away; the first example of this was the Broken Sky tribe, who have settled and live in comparative peace with the Horizon colonists. Other tribes have been all but exterminated in wars with the humans, but plenty more remain that are still willing to regard human settlers as food and/or enemies.Seven years ago, a report from Baron Montague seemed to confirm what various Kraeling tribesmen had been darkly muttering for years; in the last couple of years, pioneers have begun to document and try to map what the Baron found. At the limits of current human exploration, in a place marked on maps from the Second Age as the Valley of Kessereth, Kraelings have settled as farmers; and more, have built a great city. The few reports that have returned to civilization portray this city as ruled over with an iron fist by a brutally xenophobic priesthood who practice Land and Fire shamanism. All the signs are that the priests are hostile to human settlement and mankind in general; more frightening still are reports that in addition to shamanism they honour great statues of the Emperor with the reverence normally shown by cultists to their idols. The reasons for this are not known, but it seems that the Kraeling nation in Kessereth will soon be a major threat to the human colonies.
"...and as I crested the hill, my worst suspicions were confirmed; an entire city, built to the hideous plans of an alien mind, lay spread out before me. Its streets pulsed with milling throngs of the shapeshifting horrors, ebbing and flowing from the base of the great ziggurat they had erected at the very hub of the city. Horrid chants of praise to their dread masters could be heard, even at this distance. So absorbed was my attention that I failed to notice the approach of the patrol..."[snip, in which the Baron escapes the Kraeling city in a series of adventures involving a conversation with a demented priest, a battle with an improbable number of temple guards, and a beautiful lady Kraeling with idiosyncratic bedroom practices.]
"...leaving me to be thrown into the river along, of course, with the rest of the contents of the laundry bag..."
- Baron Montague, Dispatches from the Treacherous Lands, 4013 HR.
Rumours
The Kraeling city has an impressive collection of Treacherous Lands monsters chained up and semi-tame.Hmmmm... bet those Kraelings know a fair bit about the Treacherous Lands, if you could just get their nutty priests to let them talk.
The UFS and New Horizon are each looking for ways to divert the Kraeling city's attention to the other.
The Fae and Their Kingdom
Fairies, Fae, the Little People, the Fair Folk. Plenty of legends exist about the magic beings that supposedly maintain a kingdom somewhere out in the Treacherous Lands. Lots of those legends concern them coming out of the Treacherous Lands and causing all kinds of mischief to honest god-hating folk. It seems you can't go into a tavern at the edge of town without hearing a bunch of country bumpkins swapping stories about the so-called fairies they've seen. Still, some people who think they've had bad experiences can get very angry over the issue. You haven't seen humanity 'till you've seen some bucolic community burning an out-of-towner for "looking a bit fairy".Historically the Fae have been a race of tricksters with peculiar magical abilities that have remained mysterious to and aloof from True folks. It's always been clear that they've got their own ways 'round the Wall into the True Lands, but what those are was somewhat mysterious.
In the Year of Chaos, it looked as though the Fae were going to become more everyday visitors, with the opening of the Emperor's Gate, the appearance of several Fae in Horizon, their entry into the drugs trade (providing so-called Fairy Dust and Blue Wine to traders in Horizon), and eventually the appearance of a Fae Ambassador, Jenner Breese, from the Queen of the Fae to the Mayor of Horizon. However, those with an ear to the ground reported that relations were almostly uniformly bad between Horizon and the Queen, with stories of shouting matches between Ambassador Breese and Colonel Zero being reported even in the most unsensationalistic newspapers. The numbers of Fae visitations to the True Lands began to decline, until there were even less than prior to the Year of Chaos. And then, in 4002 HR, Jenner Breese abruptly left Horizon, without (apparently) explaining himself to the Mayoralty, and was not seen again. Communications from the Kingdom of the Fae all but ceased.
In the intervening years, Treacherous Lands explorers have confirmed that there is some sort of the Fae realm that has... sort of physical borders, on that side of the Wall. You can't see the borders 'till you've crossed them, but they're there; there's a border near the UFS, for example. They also don't join up in any geographically consistent way, which has the Faculty of Cartography scratching their heads. Furthermore, the few explorers who have penetrated the Kingdom have returned completely contradictory reports. Some speak of an eerily beautiful paradise, such as that described by users of Fairy Dust and by ancient legends, presided over by a wise and beautiful Queen. Others, however, report that the Kingdom is a dark and hostile place, stained with blood and the smoke of pyres, in which the inhabitants are either cruel and violent or at the least utterly inhuman, and are ruled by a Queen vengeful and fell. This dual nature doesn't match with descriptions of the Kingdom in old legends, though the nature and cause of the change (if indeed there really has been a change) remains mysterious. In any case, Fae occasionally still venture out of the Kingdom to negotiate (for example) drug deals.
"... all my friends were willing, or perhaps able, to tell me was this: that something had gone wrong, gone badly wrong, at the Summer Palace. I asked them if it was likely that the Queen (who had shown gratitude for my services in the past), was likely to need any help. They just shook their heads, and said that I wouldn't understand; when I asked who was currently Prime Minister, my host waxed wroth, and it became clear that I had committed a ghastly faux pas..."
- Baron Montague, Dispatches from the Treacherous Lands, 4008 HR.
Rumours
Whole books of spells exist that can tell you how to summon and bind a fairy to be your servant. I'll bet they've got copies up at the university.The Queen of the Fairies is beautiful and terrible. They say she takes a different mortal man as a lover every night and murders him in the morning.
The Queen of the Fairies is beautiful and peverted. They say she takes the same mortal man as a lover every night and murders him in the morning.
The Queen of the Fairies is sad because her love has left her and will never return.
The Queen's children have driven her mad. That's the problem the Fae have.
If you think bad thoughts and don't eat your vegetables, the fairies can get into your dreams. Then they'll take you away and no one will ever see you again.
There are paths from the Kingdom of the Fae into the True Lands. They are marked by a standing stone, or a barrow, or by a perfectly circular pond. You could use the paths as a way into the Treacherous Lands, if you really wanted to.
Fairies may be fun-loving but they're religious, too. They hate the gods, just the same as us.
It's war in the Kingdom of the Fae. The forces loyal to the Queen are up against something else - something new and awful.
It's revolution in the Kingdom of the Fae. The forces loyal to the Kingdom's principles are up against the bloodthirsty madness of the Queen.
The hostility between Colonel Zero and the Fae ambassador was tied up with the Prime Emergency somehow.
Strange Places and Weird Creatures
Dragons
Two distinct types of creature are known by this name. First there are the large, snake-like monstrosities that infest parts of the Treacherous Lands, breath fire, and are generally horribly dangerous to the colonists. It generally takes several armed men to take one down, although fortunately they're no brighter than the snakes they look like.The other kind are the gargantuan reptiles with wings and intelligence on a par with human beings. These things are capable of communication, but based on the few conversations that have been reported they are colossally arrogant, utterly ignorant, entirely egocentric, and regard everything else that lives as potential food. They are apparently rare and don't communicate much with each other but it is speculated that even today, one of them could level a fair proportion of New Horizon before it could be taken down.
One of the latter kind is currently the major barrier to the settlement of the Tumblelands; see below.
"... so there, it seemed, the beast had me at its mercy. 'So, little human,' it bellowed, 'shall I kill you then eat you, or eat you then kill you?' And roared with laughter at its own wit. But while it did so, a plan formed in my mind..."[snip, in which the Baron uses 50' of rope, several dead sheep, some climbing tools, paint, and fast talking to trick the dragon into biting its own tail.]
"...and while it howled forth its pain, I made good my escape."
- Baron Montague, Dispatches from the Treacherous Lands, 4009 HR.
Spirits and the Infested
Beyond the Wall the will of the Powers takes on tangible form, and that form is the spirits. Essentially, a spirit is a shard of a Power that's taken on sentience - to some degree. They are incorporeal, but have some degree of power over anything related to their power. Also, although they're nominally intelligent, they tend to be monomaniacal in pursuit of their parent Power's agenda.But the worst aspect of the spirits is that they seem to have some strange affinity with intelligent life. They are capable, with difficulty, of merging with humans or animals - this is rare, but horrific. Worse, though, is the fact that a newly dead corpse is capable of acting as a vessel for a spirit - the infestation of cadavers is vastly more common than that of live humans. The result is the Infested - beings that look somewhat humanoid but have alien mindsets and are often inimical to intelligent life. Corpses that have been burnt or consumed by Ghouls (or other scavengers) cannot be possessed in this way.
Spirits do occassionally arise in the True Lands, but they are much rarer and less powerful.
Rumours persist of spirits of the Divine arising in the form of ghosts of strong-willed humans (or otherwise) who have died. Such ghosts have yet to be fully documented, but appear widely in folklore; whether such creatures would be limited to the Treacherous Lands or not is unknown.
Tamathin's Wood
Partially a place and partially a thing. It took settlers several years and any number of deaths to realise that this seemingly normal forest is in fact a single, vaguely sentient, carnivorous organism. Although it looks like a bunch of trees on which various birds and insects live, it will come alive and tear apart anything with a decent amount of meat on it that comes close; the birds and insects are its various symbiotes and parasites. To their great discomfort, colonists have noticed that the wood slowly grows and moves around. In recent years, it has been following the trail of food, and now directly borders on the Horizon colonies. The Wood is already a barrier to expansion, and will soon be directly threatening the colonists.
"It was then I realised that my fastest escape from the dread wyrm would take me directly through the notorious Wood. There being no remedy for the situation, I pointed my faithful steed towards the lowest patch of underbrush, and spurred him forwards..."[snip, in which the Baron has his horse eaten out from under him, but uses a mixture of his own concoction to keep the beast going until he is through the wood.]
- Baron Montague, Dispatches from the Treacherous Lands, 4010 HR.
The Tumblelands
A region of broken and arid hills, the farming prospects for this area are poor. It's interesting for two reasons. First, it's within reach of both the Horizon Colonies and of the UFS. Second, recent prospectors and the remains of Imperial-era mines testify to the vast mineral wealth in the area. However, it has yet to be settled. This is partially because various (as yet untamed) Kraeling tribes wonder freely over it, venting their aggression and hunger on any humans that they come across. Worse though, a dragon makes its home here, and has forcefully made its opinions clear on any settlement in its home. What arrangements the Kraelings have are unknown. Should these obstacles be removed, it seems likely there would be a scrabble for wealth between the Horizon colonies and the UFS.New Vegdarbarra
"... although referred to as 'new', it is generally thought that both Vegdarbarras are part of the same ancient land, divided in times long gone by the Wall of the Gods. Although the locals are at first unfriendly, they can prove quite playful on further acquaintance. Further they are less given to hard liquor than the inhabitants of 'old'..."As recorded in the Second Age travelogue of Arthur Cheeley, New Vegdarbarra - the region of the Treacherous Lands immediately neighbouring the Wall - is very similar to the True Lands version; just as cold, isolated, and desolate. In time, it may come to be settled; for the moment, the colonists of the Treacherous Lands prefer to pursue less demanding goals. The region is of some interest for two reasons. The first is that this is the primary habitat of the gorilla-like creatures from which the drug Battle Alpha is harvested; although it has yet to be exploited, the region could be a goldmine of narcotics related to the creatures. The second is that explorers have been surprised - and assaulted - in the depths of the New Vegdarbarran forests by things that look very much like primitive humans. Both Ghouls and Kraelings deny knowledge of any intelligent race in the forests. The possibility of either an entirely new race or a long lost tribe of humans is interesting to the academics of the Imperial university; and if they are acquainted with the flora, fauna, geography and narcotics possibilites of the region, they will be of more than academic interest.
- Arthur Cheely, A Journey in His Imperial Majesty's New Domains."Cheeley's account turned out to be a masterpiece of cheerful understatement. The 'playful' nature of the simian creatures that roam the forests consists in large part of trying to separate gentlemen of good birth from the arms and legs from which they were born. They are, at least, easily distracted, and have a keen interest in all things novel. Within a very few hours, I had channelled the natural battle-rage of some of the group into a rudimentary game of 'dodgeball'..."
- Baron Montague, Dispatches from the Treacherous Lands, 4005 HR.
The Broken Sky
"It is my opinion that mine are the first human eyes to behold this land. Certainly, if others have done so in the past, they have had no chance to tell the tale of this place that defies reason. From a distance, it appears that the land is forever covered in a deep layer of cloud. Upon arrival, the truth is apparent: the sky is a second land, as thickly forested and filled with fire-belching mountains as that on which I walked. The clouds float between the two lands, and the rain mingles with ash blown on the wind from the distant mountains in the sky..."
- Baron Montague, Dispatches from the Treacherous Lands, 4014 HR.
The Sea of Harmony
"At last, I arrived by the shores of the sea. But a sea such as I had never seen, with great islands of flame and stone drifting on strange currents, and the breaking waves chiming melodies of melancholy beauty as they fell upon the shore. Looking out over the tides of water and flame, I thought I saw stable islands in the dim distance. And at the limits of my failing sight, a great tower that stood upon one; no accident of nature, but something built by humanoid hands. If fortune favours me, I shall look upon the tower more closely..."
- Baron Montague, Dispatches from the Treacherous Lands, 4016 HR. (This is the final dispatch received from the Baron.)
Shadows' Keeping
"Captain of Scouts (2nd class) Valentine Jones. Report. Today the expedition arrived where it should not have been. There is no point of reference because everything, trees everything mud everything sky everything, is interchangeably sectioned. There is no defensible position because you cannot defend yourself. There is no point to walking because the real roads are not the ones beneath your feet."Captain Jones, Valentine of Scouts, report (2nd class). Now the men are dead or dying. I myself am near to death. Their hungry eyes are devouring me, all accusing glances, and they're not the only ones, oh no. I look up to see the stars but this isn't any order I ordered.
"Valentine Captain, Jones you 2nd class scum, report this. Wretched this your mad is place not, 'you', for. Emperor tell. Desperate, moving, grant them still. Please. Never.
"Report at (2nd class) last, Captain of Valentine Scout. Jones there is no hope now. We are given over to the shadows' keeping. Walls and Walls about; there is no way out. No way out."
- Graffitti on the Wall. Provenance unknown.