Nebligtode

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Nebligtode
[[Image:|350px]]
Culture Level
Ecology Full[1]
Climate & Terrain Temperate to cold seas; cold forests, marshes, hills, and plains.[1]
Year Formed 635 BC[2]
Population 4,000 (Approx.)[1]
Races (%) Human
Languages Grabenite
Religions
Government
Ruler(s) the Graben Family, on behalf of Meredoth
Darklord(s) Meredoth
Nationality Grabenite, Nebligtodite
Analog
Related Categories
Locations in Nebligtode
Transportation in Nebligtode
Inhabitants of Nebligtode
Former Inhabitants of Nebligtode
Flora of Nebligtode
Fauna of Nebligtode
Native Monsters of Nebligtode

Formed in 635 BC[2], Nebligtode was a domain consisting of a number of islands[3] floating in or reachable by the Sea of Sorrows and their surrounding waters. Graben Island, the most notable of the islands, along with Knammen Island and several smaller islets sat 75 miles away from the Lamordian coast.[4] The relatively bleak and barren island of Todstein lied 60 miles to the west of Graben.[3] In 750 BC, Nebligtode was ripped from the Sea of Sorrows, and its islands joined the Nocturnal Sea on the opposite side of the Core.[5]

For the most part, Graben Island surrounding it were nondescript prairies and rocky scrublands with a somewhat cold climate where severe weather was not too uncommon.[4] Despite the conditions, the diligent people of Nebligtode relied primarily on agriculture, chiefly sheep and goat farming but also cultivating cotton and various wheats in the prairies of the island. Weavers and other producers of textiles were also not uncommon.[6] Four small communities of note existed on Graben and the islands surrounding it, the largest of which was the Village of Graben (pop. only 1000).[4] Although the visit of strangers made the villagers slightly apprehensive[4], the Graben Family, the owners and rulers of Graben Island, were known to grant land to newcomers whom petitioned it.[7]

In contrast to the relatively livable Graben Island, Todstein was a freezing cold domain marked by artic winds even though it shared the same approximate latitude as Graben. To the Grabenites, this island was merely a realm of mausoleums they used to inter their dead. In secret, Todstein was the lair of the necromancer, Meredoth. Meredoth is both the darklord[3] and true ruler of Nebligtode, having murdered the Graben Family and reanimated them as subservient lebendtod undead shortly after the formation of the domain.[8] To Meredoth, all of the people in Graben (and ultimately all people whom draw breath) merely represent potential subjects for his necromantic research.[9]

History

"Before the Great Upheaval, intermittent sailors’ reports placed Graben Island (and Todstein) in the Sea of Sorrows, yet the Grabenites attest that the seas around their isle ended at the Mists until 750 BC. In fact, Nebligtode was once an Island of Terror, like Souragne. Reports it could be found “northwest of Lamordia” came from travelers who had unwittingly sailed into an undocumented mistway, which once linked Nebligtode to the Sea of Sorrows and could be traversed only during storms. As precise navigation has a lower priority than merely keeping afloat in such gales, and the overcast skies of Nebligtode hid their view of the stars during their sojourns, these travelers never realized they had left the Core." [10]

Inhabitants

Meredoth dwells on Todstein which is populated by his undead creations, chief among them being lebendtod (from the German term "lebende Tote" - "living dead"). In his original realm on Mystara, Meredoth was awarded a barony. However, as the obligations of rulership constantly interfered with his ruthless experiments, Meredoth concocted a plan to murder all the inhabitants and turn them all into undead servants that would go his bidding without ever disturbing him again. It was this transgression that saw him snatched by the Mists and granted stewardship of Nebligtode.

Chronology

  • 630 BC False History Ancestors of the Grabenite villagers arrive on Graben Island, as refugees fleeing the Óvinur Ódn (= "enemy storm") besetting the "North Wild" (March). Graben-town is founded (August). Settlers are initially led by clerics, with assemblies filling an advisory role.[12]
  • 643 BC Curious about Viggsen's repeated trespassing, Meredoth investigates Graben Island and its natives. Early reports of "Aegir's Jackdaw" circulate in response to the wizard's broom-mounted flights over the Island.[12]
  • 644 BC Last year of the Óndskapur's annual visits to Todstein.[12]

References