The Poison Rapture

The Poison Rapture is both the name of a dramatic catastrophe which broke out on the north east coast of Klokken Isle in the year 3251 APC during the Time of Terrors and the name of the affected region.   The Poison Rapture was the result of the extremely ill judged efforts of a mage from Vrandakan, called Lyramil Pontass, who created a portal into a dangerous realm of the Discontinuum likely somewhere deep within the Fever Dream. His intent may have been one of benign exploration but the consequences of his foolish actions were real and fatal, in the first instance to the mage himself.   On the warm summer evening of the 23rd of Glim, 3251 APC at the nineteenth bell, a halluconogenic toxin began to spread through the air of a coastal region in the north of Klokken Isle, emanating from a newly opened portal to a dark jungle dimension. The contamination of the air, rivers, sea and soil, induced vivid, euphoric visions followed by unrelenting agony and a slow, creeping death for anyone who breathed affected air or drank affected water.   The local population experienced profound hallucinations in which they believed they were ascending to a god-like state, hence the name "Rapture." People collapsed in awe, seeing visions of gods, loved ones, and paradise. But these visions quickly turned to horrific apparitions, and their euphoric state shifted to panic and despair as their bodies succumbed to the toxins. Survivors went mad, haunted by terrifying visions and it was only after a great expedition was sent from Vrandakan equipped with special breathing apparatus and protective clothing that the portal was eventually destroyed a full week later.   Today, the area surrounding the portal is deemed cursed and abandoned, rendering three once-prosperous villages empty, silent ruins. The Poison Rapture left a swath of fertile land corrupted by alien spores and the once-thriving rural communities uninhabitable. The area is now a sinister, fecund wasteland where only the most daring (or reckless) mages attempt to harvest rare, toxin-infused flora, from the mutant hybrids that grow there. These are prized on the black market for certain unusual and powerful spells and potions.