K'Tharr

On the far western fringes of Imperial territory sits a colossal black yrddestone island. A violent, ever-present storm, its winds capable of tearing an airship to shreds, surrounds the island. Only during brief, unpredictable lulls in the tempest can a vessel safely navigate the turbulent skies and reach the few sheltered landing platforms. Compounding this, the stone of the island has a tendency to interfere with magitech navigation systems, easily disorienting unprepared pilots. Successful passage requires a combination of precise timing, luck, and an intuitive understanding of the sky-sea's capricious currents.   Deep within the island, tucked into a vast network of naturally formed caves, is the city of K'Tharr. The city was first home to a small colony of Kyrbald, from which the city gained its original name. K'Tharr was a minor god of the old Kyrbald, all but forgotten nowadays. The original inhabitants were wiped out during a skirmish with Imperial scouting vessels, after they refused to open their port for inspection. The scouting force was called away shortly after ensuring that no survivors remained, so they did not stumble across what the Kyrbald had died to protect.   The island was quickly forgotten, but over the years the occasional wayward vessel stumbled across the island, surviving the storm and wrecking upon its rocky exterior. The city was gradually rebuilt and claimed by the Empire, though they rarely visit the island in force.   Despite the fact that the island is weeks away from the nearest settlement and reaching the safety of K'Tharr port is rarely guaranteed, there are always those willing to pay for the trip. They all seek the same thing: a vast chamber at the very center of the island'.    

Locations of Note

The Heart of K'Tharr

In the depths of K'Tharr lies the Heart – a vast, awe-inspiring hall dotted with tall spires of pure white yrddestone, their surfaces smooth and cool to the touch. The origin of this white yrddestone is a mystery, its existence a unique anomaly in the world of Yrdde. The pillars emit a low, resonant hum, a subtle whisper that both soothes and unnerves, permeating the very air of the cavern.   The god K'Tharr has mostly been forgotten by the Kyrbald, though it is believed that he held sway over the world of dreams. So when the first Kyrbald stumbled across the vast chamber at the center of the island, the elders amongst them saw it as a divine message. When a living being touches one of the pillars with bare skin, a connection is forged. Vivid recollections of the individual’s past flood their mind. If another individual touches the same stone, they can experience these memories as well, creating a shared, immersive journey.   The first to touch these stones, mesmerized by the allure of reliving their pasts, became trapped within the pillars’ embrace. They neglected their physical needs, their bodies withering as their minds wandered through the corridors of memory, eventually succumbing to dehydration and starvation. The cavern was sealed, and only the most resolute of the Kyrbald were allowed to enter.   The current inhabitants of K'Tharr have created a streamlined system to safely allow pilgrims and tourists access for short periods of time, at a hefty fee of course. Despite the difficulty and danger of reaching the island, spots are reserved years in advance.   The Empire sends Arbiters to the city only in the most desperate of circumstances. They use the pillars as an interrogation tool, hoping to extract confessions from suspects resistant to conventional methods. However, the pillars reveal not an objective truth, but the individual’s perception of it. A deluded mind will see visions that confirm their own skewed beliefs, a liar who has convinced themselves of their innocence will relive a fabricated past, and a soul fractured by trauma might present a jumbled, unreliable narrative.    

"We brought the suspect, bound and gagged, into the cavern. The air, cool and still, hummed with a subtle energy, the pillars of white yrddestone glowing with an otherworldly luminescence. I placed his hand, then my own, upon the cool surface of the largest pillar, the one the locals call the “Heart of Memory.”   The world dissolved. I was elsewhere. Not in the cavern, not in my own body, but within his memories, his thoughts, his very soul. I saw his childhood – a desperate, hungry existence on the fringes of Aetheris, his hands quick, his wit sharper. I witnessed his first theft, the thrill of a stolen crowns, the taste of a full meal after days of starvation. I saw him join a crew of sky pirates, the camaraderie, the violence, the ever-present shadow of the Imperial Navy. I felt his grief as a lover was lost to a storm, his rage at a betrayal by a trusted ally.   And I saw the location of his cache – a hidden cave on a remote island, its entrance masked by an illusion spell, its depths filled with a treasure trove of Old-World artifacts.   But I saw more. I saw his fear of a creature, a being of shadow and consuming hunger that he believed was drawn to the artifacts, a darkness he both feared and, I suspect, worshiped in some twisted, desperate way.   The experience was… disorienting. To see through another's eyes, to feel their emotions, to understand the twisted logic that drives them… it's a potent and dangerous tool. The suspect, upon our return to reality, was broken. His eyes vacant, his body trembling. They say he will not recover, but we've collected enough information to locate the Emperor's lost artifacts." - Arbiter V, Supplemental Report, Case File #734