The Dark Mire

The Dark Mire is a place of bleak, gray-black waters and trees. The plants seem to be dead everywhere but continuing to spread and drip out of them an ooze. This un-life of the flora and fauna is the result of the Crown's evil presence tainting the land. The Dark Mire is filled with creatures whose hunger and chaotic nature have been enhanced and the souls of all those who perish in the Mire are trapped in the murky waters as shades, unable to enter the Underworld or leave the Mire because of the power of the Crown. The waters themselves are diseased and poisonous, a black oily stain on everything it touches. Occasionally, the rare pixie or sprite flies into the area, not believing that they could fall prey to it, only to find themselves eaten by the hungry maws and snapping jaws of the creature that lay below the seemingly shallow waters. This surprising depth is a trick of nature that the Crown can exude and you'll quickly find yourself drowning if you fall in.   The trees are barren and the branches form claw-like shapes that reach out for travelers to drag them into their roots where they can devour them slowly over time. Navigation through the swamp is extremely difficult because the horrid landscape looks so similar from every angle, and Nylea did not want anyone unworthy to find the Crown.   The Crown itself is hidden within the center of the Mire inside a grotesque mound of decaying remains, sickly blackened earth, which is topped by a pitch-black tree. An opening in the tree's face looks like a screaming mouth and black sludge constantly drips out of it. The entire swamp smells of death and decay and the smell stays with any travelers who dare enter it for a few days. As if the death and disease weren't enough, anyone who enters the Mire is affected by a loss of direction and survival skills. They easily become lost, their own hunger, thirst, and exhaustion picking up much quicker than normal.   The ghosts of the lost often torment new travelers as well. Hungry beings of nothing who only understand the desire to consume and driven mad by it. They want to eat the souls of the living in thinking it will help them regain their own mortal form. Of course, this isn't true and they only serve to make more of their own kind by killing those who enter the swamp.   There is no edible food or water here for a mortal and the air itself is thick and foul. The longer one stays in the swamp the more dangerous it becomes. But as a cruel trick, the favorite of Uro, there are tempting pools of water within strangely appealing deep red flowers. Anyone who looks at them for too long or too intensely will want to eat them. The water acts as a potion of poison and the red flower acts as combo dust of deliciousness and a temporary intelligence sap.

Weather Changes

At random times the weather in the Mire abruptly changes. The sky can open up and rain down acid, the ground can shake and open up more and more pools of horrid water, the air can become incredibly cold, below freezing even as the ground and trees remain thawed, and in reverse, the air can become so hot and dry even as the marsh stands the same that it scorches those in the Mire. These changes occur without warning and force travelers to be on their toes or fall victim to the harsh environment.

Removing the Crown

if the Crown of Uro were ever to be removed and disconnected from the land of the Mire, it would slowly return to the way it was before it was stored there. Swampy and a bit dark to be sure, but nowhere near as horrid and deadly as it is now. Removing the Crown is quite the task, however. First one must travel through the Mire and then into the huge tree itself and defeat the guardian keeping the Crown in place.    Guarding the Crown is a dracolich, Thoraxis, forgotten by time and trapped within the tree with no means of escape. It was an ally of Uro's and he even helped the creature to reach its dracolich status. As such, it is bound to the Crown and must be defeated if it is to be taken. Nylea could not break this bond, and under instructions from Klothys did not have the gods come together to break it. Klothys had foreseen the Twilight as she and her brother with the help of the gods defeated the Titans and knew that this dracolich would help to keep the Crown from falling into the wrong hands and would prove a worthy challenge of anyone seeking it for the Twilight. For if the heroes could not defeat the dracolich, then what chance would they have against the gods themselves?