Sunday, February 24, 2013

The Southern Jungles


The jungles of the southern continent stretch for thousands of square miles.  Many refer to this region as a sea of jade.  The jungle is a  miasma of scattered tribes, ancient ruins, and internecine strife.  An empire of degenerate sorcerers once ruled this region.  Their reign, however, was undone by the corruption engendered by their wicked magics.

Most sorcerers do their utmost to mitigate the corruption inherent in the casting of spells.  The sorcerers of the southern jungles embraced this curruption and allowed it to warm and twist their bodies and minds.  All of them eventually forfeit their humanity as they delved deeply into their sorcerous arts.
 
It is rumored that many of the odd, horrific beasts which wander through the depths of the jungle were once the very sorcerers who ruled this land.  Instead, they haunt ruins of their abandoned cities like ghosts.  It is also rumored that many villagers worship these monstrosities as beast-gods, and routinely sacrifice fellow villagers to appease the appetites of these terrifying creatures.

Monday, February 11, 2013

The Cult of Sheol the Strangler

Hrulvir, like most fantasy cities, is infested with cults, secret societies, crime syndicates, you name it.  One of the many cults that is rumored to exist is called The Cult of Sheol the Strangler.  Its adherents may not refer to themselves as a cult.  No one knows anything about this secretive religion.  In addition to murmurings of sacrifice, all manner of profane rights, the cult is rumored to possess an effigy that hearkens back to time-before-time.  The statue, fashioned from pure gold, is said to portray a massive serpent with moon-shaped eyes, woven around a dying sun.  The sun, it is said, has been fashioned from gem of the blackest hue.  If the statue exists, it is probably worth more than a small kingdom.  This rumor has inspired countless fools to venture into the sordid depth's of Hrulvir's sewers.  Few - if any, ever return.   I am obvious drawing heavily upon the original Conan the Barbarian film for inspiration.  Here's a picture of the leader and his two underlings.