🌋Naul's Fury

Mt. Naul and the Decimation of Errat

Named after Naul, the god of death, the soul of Naul was believed to reside within the heart of the great mountain of his namesake. The clouds enshrouding its peak were tinted with gold, and the glimmer could be seen across the Pixelosian Plains even in the deepest of twilight. The flora was abundant and the fauna in the region flourished. Pilgrimage to the great mountain was an integral part of adolescent upbringing across the plane of Pixelos. Naul was also ironically the god of prosperity (the connection is explained in other ancient manuscripts). All who visited the mountain were filled with hope, and the streams which flowed from the mountain provided riches which seemed almost beyond possibility.

Seeking bounty and fortune, droves of hopeful merchants set up colonies along the base of the mountain. Very quickly the camps banded together and the bustling city-state of Errat was founded as a pillar of commerce. Its immense coffers legitimized the kingdom's reputation as a beacon of stability and prosperity. The local economy grew, and tales of the great kingdom spread. Legends matured to become common knowledge, and over generations, the citizens of Errat forgot their humble origins and hummed the song of hubris. They had forgotten from whence their blessings came, and pilgrimages and offerings honoring the God of the Mountain dwindled. The ire of Naul swelled, but the fields continued to yield and the rivers flowed, so the citizens of Errat became complacent. The tales of Naul eventually faded and the Naulean rituals, which were once central to Erratian culture, were lost.

In what would become the end of the Fourth Age, the Golden King declared himself a god, claiming victory over the forces of nature, and even claimed his divinity protected him from death. He declared that the great fortune of Errat was destined from the beginning of time; for an heir was to be born and his son was to be welcomed into a kingdom of gold.

On the night of the child's birth, the whole kingdom was in celebration. The king had promised a new age of Erratian prosperity, even surpassing the current decadence and luster. The Golden King promised his kingdom that before the newborn baby was to become a man, the kingdom of Errat would enjoy dominion over the entire plane, unified under one golden banner. While the people celebrated, the swelling activity in the underbelly of the mountain surged and surpassed the threshold. The molten core became overheated, melting the shackles constraining Naul, and the furious god was freed from bondage. Prosperity can not be perpetually obtained without sacrifice, and Naul had been brooding in furious abandonment. Naul's head tilted back and a horrid screamed emerged towards the night sky.

The mountain bursted under immense, unsustainable pressure sending fiery death down towards the unsuspecting city below. Mortar filled the sky and a deluge of purification rained down. Few had listened to the warnings of the oracle and sought refuge, and devastation ran amok as the streets were stained with ash. Citizens ransacked their neighbors and fled with what they could. Those closest to the city center were unable to escape, and they perished, most without any knowledge of their impending doom.

In desperation, in their darkest hour, the remaining survivors turned to their scriptures and dusted off their histories and ledgers. Though rapidly dwindling, they grasped to whatever hope they had. But alas, they were too late. Naul’s wrath had been invoked and retribution was overdue.

The city-state faced a harsh errata; it was effectively wiped from the world. All that remains now is a petrified ruin and the fading tales of Naul’s wrath. Efforts have been made to resurrect the crumbled visage of the once glorious city, but those who remain have found life to be harsh, and the arid land impossible to cultivate. Naul had shown the fury of the forsaken, and humbled the hubristic. Never to be forgotten again, the few who heeded to oracles’ apocalyptic warnings spread into the nearby mountains, embracing the beauty of life in the wild. The emblem of Naul’s fury was branded on the hearts of the disciples of Chaos.