The Scarnathi

We remember the trees that bled light, the skies that wept gold, and the screams of a kingdom unmade. We are not lost—we are scattered starlight.”

— — Traditional Scarnathi saying

Before the Great Devastation, Narethyl was a flourishing kingdom nestled deep in the verdant north, within what is now known as the The Scarlands.

Renowned for it's shining cities of white marble, it's singing forests and deep connection with aether magic., Narethyl was a beacon of culture, arcane knowledge, and mystic harmony.

When the Devastation struck, Narethyl was at its heart. The land buckled and cracked. Forests howled. Rivers boiled with mana, and the cities - alive and sentient - either turned against their citizens or perished screaming in Aetherfire. Survivors were few. Those who escaped were displaced by both physical and magical trauma, and forever altered by the event.

Now known collectively as the Scarnathi - from “Scarn,” an old Narethyl word for “shard” or “fragment” - these displaced peoples were scattered across C’Naelia. They are not a unified culture anymore, but rather a patchwork of memory, adapted into many lands while fiercely guarding the old songs, rituals, and relics of their home.

Their tragedy is so great that many kingdoms view them with pity, reverence, or fear, depending on how close the refugees came to the corrupted wild magic.

Despite their separation, Scarnathi tend to retain several unifying characteristics:

• Memory Trees – Every Scarnathi family or enclave attempts to plant or graft a “Memory Tree,” grown from a preserved seed or shard of their homeland. These trees are sacred, believed to carry the dreams of the lost kingdom. Their bark absorbs memories from those who touch them.
• Veil-Weaving – Scarnathi weavers create enchanted veils and garments threaded with encoded memories and protective charms. The tradition is a direct survival from Narethyl's magical loom-halls and serves both fashion and function (e.g. hiding from corrupted magic).
• Songscars – Scarnathi ritual singers pass down history not only through lyrics but through harmonic magic. Singing certain laments causes visible shimmering marks -“scars” - to appear on their skin, glowing briefly before fading. The most powerful bards and songstresses are covered in these shifting, ephemeral patterns.
• Tri-Light Festivals – Three times a year, the diaspora communities light tri-coloured lanterns (blue for mourning, gold for hope, and violet for memory) and send them aloft. The skies are said to look like the final sunrise before Narethyl fell.

The Scarnathi diaspora carries with it both sorrow and strange resilience. They are the remnants of a kingdom that dreamed too brightly, and though scattered, they carry fragments of that light.

Their art, music, and memory magic have shaped the cultures they touch, and some whisper that one day—when the Scar is healed or breached—the Scarnathi may return. But whether they return to rebuild or to avenge… no one yet knows.