Dreadrock

Overview

Art by Tithi Luadhong

Dreadrock was an ancient kingdom that vanished from Anash'col overnight approximately one thousand years ago. Its disappearance was so sudden and complete that its name faded from common knowledge within a few generations. What remains is a mountain of the same name, a throne room carved into its rock, and an army of soldiers frozen in stasis beneath it waiting for the return of their rulers.

The story of Dreadrock is inseparable from the story of its last rulers: King Hadrian and Queen Sera, practitioners of temporal magic, and the witch Pythea who destroyed them.

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History

Hadrian and Sera ruled Dreadrock as cruel and powerful monarchs. They were practitioners of temporal magic, a rare and devastating school of spellcraft which they used as a weapon against their enemies. Their methods were brutal. They would sever limbs, rewind time, and repeat the process until their victims broke. They kept slaves. They ruled through fear.

Hadrian was the Chosen of Aeon, the god of time, following the death of a previous Chosen named Emric. Emric perished after being manipulated by his wife and by Aeon himself. Hadrian inherited the role and with it, a fragment of divine power.

Both Hadrian and Sera were students of temporal magic and deeply ambitious. When Sera fell gravely ill and conventional methods failed, they turned to the Lonely Tower’s witch, Pythea, who promised them immortality. She delivered on her promise in the worst possible way. Using shadow magic, she bound both of them to their own wedding rings, trapping their souls inside the metal.

The kingdom vanished overnight. Sera was separated from Hadrian immediately. Her ring was taken by one of Pythea's demons into the Dark Below, where she remained unworn and lost for a thousand years until a greedy dwarven king took her. Hadrian passed from wearer to wearer across the centuries, scheming and waiting.

The Rings

The rings of Dreadrock are the most significant relics of the vanished kingdom. They serve as the designators of succession. Any who wears Hadrian or Sera’s ring will be recognized by Dreadrock's stasis army as their rightful rulers, and all within the kingdom will obey the ringbearer. 

The rings can only be destroyed in the forge beneath the Lonely Tower where they were made. Presently, Hadrian is worn by Borea’s King-Consort Agyrios, while Sera is worn by Queen Anastasia. Both rings bide their time and await a future opportunity to restore their kingdom. They support their wearers by providing predictions of the future. The rings can see across Anash’col and deliver accurate information about the current timeline.

The Throne of Stone

Deep beneath Dreadrock Mountain, carved into the living rock, is the throne room of the old kingdom. A throne of stone sits at its center. In an adjacent chamber lies the frozen army.

"In Dreadrock Mountain's tombs of stone 

Resides a King once bright and fair 

Alone upon his throne of stone 

A crown upon his skull of bone

His mortal soul he stowed away 

To hide it from the light of day 

He bound it to a golden ring 

And thus became the undead King."

— An old song about Dreadrock whose writer has been forgotten