Fossil (Realm)

One of the Realms where memorable events happened during the Everway campaign. I'll try to remember to blog about them sometime.

Fossil (Realm)

2,000 years ago, this Realm dominated the southern continent of its Sphere, a great empire that held all the villages in thrall. Then, about 1,200 years ago some unknown cataclysm occurred, causing every man, woman and child in the Capitol to die within a year. The borders of the realm retreated quickly, withdrawing till all that was left was an empty plain with a fossilized ghost town in its center. The southern villages became independent, then grew into Bamboo City. The dead realm of Fossil became little more than folklore. But apparently, the ancient King of Fossil was stronger even then death, and nearly 100 years ago, he awoke.

Usurper Force: The Hourglass
Normal: Fading Into Folklore
Inverted: Sudden Reverses

People: For almost a century, the people of Fossil have been returning from the lands of the dead. The better embalmed, the better mummified and preserved they were, the sooner they awoke. Perhaps 1 in every 200 to 300 have come back, the rest remain entombed, unawakened or lost to a millennia of grave-robbings.

The Press of Years: For the commoner of Fossil, existence is a pale shadow of what it once was. They walk eroded streets, live in ruined homes, and engage in some gray parody of their former lives. Most are little better than soulless undead automata, puttering about futilely, trying to reenact a millennia-old daily grind. But the better preserved the body in death, the greater the spark of life they brought back with them from the lands beyond.

Economy: Quiet skeletal farmers work the dusty weed-ridden fields with flail and scythe. Mummified artisans in ornate dressings market the greatest of their grave-adornments, now lacking the creative spark to innovate. Carefully de-organed and enchanted priests preach a dead religion with a fervor that not even death could chill. But precious little is exported from Fossil, and rarer yet is the import, for the dead seek only to reclaim that which they have lost, and surround themselves only with the treasures that were interred with them.

Military: Once, long ago, the Realm that became known as Fossil had a mighty army, a great legion that conquered the Sphere and did even venture through gates. The mighty legionnaires in full regalia were an amazing sight to behold, the myths do tell us. Now, they must be even more fearsome, if not quite so glamorous, as they no doubt are a column of dry bones marching in armor.

Ecology: The land is mostly dead, only tangled thorny weeds survive on the dusty plains. Wild bamboo forests dot the southern borders, but in the north the stalks are petrified and ancient, merely a nest for weeds and tiny gaunt rodents. Some green can be found where farmers have returned to some state of life, but where the land is untended it nears desert conditions.

Rose: The local rose is rarely spotted, its low-growing vines look nearly identical to a common thorn-weed that grows in fits across the plains. The dusty orange blooms last but a day or two, then shrivel on the vine and preserve their dry and dusty form. It takes months for the plant to produce a precious new flower to replace the one that dried out.

Incontrovertible & Caution: The ancient Pharaoh Incontrovertible the First was a wise and powerful man, with great wisdom and potent magic. His wife Caution was equally as powerful, but by some accounts mad, and by others wickedly selfish or dangerously lustful. Her life is but a myth now, remembered in bedtime stories only. Some say she brought about her peoples destruction, others say she was simply the vain first victim of whatever calamity struck the Realm. She has not awoke, though her husband did nearly 100 years ago.
You personally have met Incontrovertible, he helped drive the Dragon away from Moon’s Trial a few years ago.

Gates & Bordering Realms: The easiest passages are South to Bamboo City or north by bridge. The ancient empire had many gates, it is said, but none are currently known to be in public use.