Arcadium

MAPS OF THE KNOWN WORLD

The Realm of Mystery

The Realm of Mystery can be found at the northern-most end of the known world of Arcadium. Truly intriguing, inside the Realm of Mystery, adventurers have discovered all manner of curious objects and inventions and even more mysterious characters. To the north of the Realm lies the seemingly endless Borealishai Sea, to its south, the Realm of Magic can be seen in the distance over the grim waters.

The most well-known of all locations in the Realm of Mystery to Adventurers is the Little Study. Except for the Archives, the affectionately named ‘Little Study‘ in the Realm of Mystery, which in truth is not that little but indeed has seen many studies, is one of Adventurers favourite places to explore. The Little Study has long been the gateway for Adventurers making their first forays into the Realm of Mystery and a meeting place for Adventurers with the Arcadium Locals. The Locals or Arkadites, of course, are the few natural inhabitants in the Realms of Arcadium. They are largely comprised of the descendants of past Adventurers; few would choose to live in so curious, but also so unpredictable, a place. Nearly all Locals reside only in the Realm of Mystery, which is by far the most predictable and stable of all the lands of Arcadium. The prevailing theory is that the forebears of the Locals were most likely stranded in the Realms when portals closed unexpectedly in the past, as they are apt to do.

The most sacred location to the Locals is the large lake in the north eastern part of the Realm of Mystery. The area surrounding the Great Lake is often shrouded in a deep fog that dissipates only as you reach the shoreline of the Great Lake, which had until recently concealed the location of this lake from the Order. Here on its banks, Adventurers and Locals speak of a profound and inexplicable silence – there is not even the lapping of gentle waves on this large lake. The Great Lake sits silent and still – what secrets it may contain have yet to be revealed.

The Realm of Mystery is perhaps the most similar to our own Realm of Earth and perhaps this is also why it is the most densely populated by the Locals. Beyond the Portal, one might even feel like you have just stepped into a different land here on Earth and indeed some of the more mysterious elements of Arcadium such as ‘elios’ – the unexplained magic of Arcadium – are very rarely apparent.

The Realm of Magic

Located between the Realms of Mystery and Fantasy lies the beloved Realm of Magic. Within the realm, Adventurers have divined uncertain futures and even less certain pasts, dabbled in alchemy creating magical elixirs and tonics and been perplexed by riddles & enchantments. Whilst most areas of the Realm of Magic have only transitory populations, some of the Locals that live here have discovered ways to harness ‘elios‘ – the unexplained magic of Arcadium – to some success. They perform small acts of magic by casting ‘spells’, which are more akin to wishes in their nature. That is to say, the spells used by magic users rely upon ‘wishing’ for certain things to occur. In the Realm of Magic these spells often occur as desired although are certainly more predictable with some individuals than others.

Among the most well-known landmarks in the realm are the Ruins of Kamahaloth, the enchanting Berthelien Forest, Mountains of Hundun, Sparkling Cave of Plenty, the Tower of Idrasil, Nuwa’s Whirlpool and the forever shrouded Isle of the Blessed. Last but not least is the Adventurer favourite, the Meeting Place, found at the intersection of the roads leading from the foot of the Mountains of Hundun towards the Berthelien Forest on the eastern cost and, to the west, the cliffs north of Nuwa’s Whirlpool and to Leaden Bay. By following the road north from Berthelien Forest, Adventurers can reach the Great Western Road, which travels through mountain ranges on the east and all the way across the Realm towards the western coast past Kamahaloth.

Adventurers should beware that the Tower of Idrasil can only be reached during certain times of day by a narrow rocky path which disappears beneath the dark waters with high tide. The crossing is not recommended at night.

The Realm of Fantasy

At the southern-most end of the known world of Arcadium, lies the fabled Realm of Fantasy. To the south of the Realm lies the Meridishai Sea, to its north, the Realm of Magic can be seen in the distance over the dark sea surrounding the Realm’s northern shores. Despite having the highest number of recorded Portals throughout the Order’s history, in truth, this is the least known Realm of Arcadium due to its particular peculiarities.

While portals to the Realm of Fantasy have been appearing spontaneously for centuries, very few reliable records exist in the Archives due to the Vedilalia Menasthai, otherwise known as the ‘Zany Affliction‘. The Zany Affliction affects all Adventurers that enter the Realm of Fantasy, which results in a particular set of symptoms upon their return through the Portals. First and foremost is that Adventurers become nearly entirely insensible for a period of time speaking only in gibberish. They also become afflicted with a kind of temporary confusion leading to exceedingly quirky behaviour and finally, a kind of amnesia settles in upon the Adventurers such that their adventures into the Realm of Fantasy come to them only as indistinct scenes of a dream.

Whilst it may sound scary, rest assured that it is not. The Zany Affliction has no lasting impacts on the Adventurers and has actually been used to great humorous affect over the years. The quirky behaviour of afflicted adventurers always errs on the side of good-hearted playfulness and does absolutely no harm to either the Adventurers or those that they interact with upon their return. We suspect that some strong form of ‘elios‘ – the unexplained magic of Arcadium – emanating from the Realm of Fantasy is the source of the affliction. Unlike the Realm of Magic, all attempts to harness ‘elios‘ in the Realm of Fantasy have been failures with the very same spells used in the Realm of Magic having very unpredictable results.

What little we do know of the Realm, as recorded in the Archives, is that it is abandoned. Whilst there is clear evidence of dwellings from the past, and some structures of some stately grace, all have long stood empty; abandoned by their inhabitants. Many of these structures are now being ‘reclaimed’ by the Amaranth Forest that seems to envelop most of the Realm from rocky shoreline to jagged cliff.

The Surrounding Seas of Arcadium

From the Borealishai to the Meridishai Sea, there are very few known accounts of travel between the known Realms of Fantasy, Magic and Mystery. What accounts there are of the waters speak of treacherous and mysterious developments and the Order has long had a policy of not entering the dark waters with travel restricted via the Portals available at our Chapters. Indeed, it would be a difficult endeavour to the enter the water for any Adventurer as most of the Realms have only very rocky shores and sheer cliff faces looking over the sea appearing like jagged edges; or torn pages of a book.

The possibility that there are even more unexplored Realms of Arcadium has not been ruled out by our Scriveners, although no Portals to such lands have yet been recorded.