Before the tides claimed it, before the coral choked the spires, Eurhodine was a city of shimmering obsidian and echoing magic. It was a nexus, a place where the veil between realities thinned, and whispers of forgotten gods and the currents of the Abyss flowed freely. The Eurhodines were not simply people; they were resonators, attuned to the deep rhythms of the world, capable of manipulating the very fabric of existence – a gift and a curse, for within that power lay the seeds of their eventual downfall.
The Eurhodines’ power stemmed from a unique symbiotic relationship with the ‘Heartstone’, a colossal, pulsating crystal buried deep beneath the city. This Heartstone wasn’t merely a source of energy; it was a living record of every event, every emotion, every thought that had ever touched the city. The Eurhodines learned to draw upon this resonance, layering their own will onto the Heartstone, creating intricate patterns of influence that could heal, protect, or even unravel reality. However, this constant layering, this incessant amplification of emotion, created a feedback loop. Negative emotions – fear, anger, despair – became exponentially magnified, twisting the Heartstone's resonance into something dangerous, something hungry.
“The Heartstone does not judge; it merely reflects. And when it reflects the darkness within us, it becomes a mirror of oblivion.” – Elder Lyra, Last of the Resonators
The following are excerpts from the salvaged ‘Chronicles of the Ruin’, painstakingly transcribed by the nomadic ‘Deepwatch’ tribe, who stumbled upon the partially submerged remains of Eurhodine centuries after the cataclysm.
“The pulse of the Heartstone is erratic. The crimson tide – it’s not merely a phenomenon of the ocean; it’s… a symptom. The citizens are gripped with a pervasive dread, an inability to distinguish between genuine threat and phantom anxieties. The murals in the Obsidian District are shifting, depicting scenes of unimaginable horror, even though the events they represent are long gone. We’ve attempted to sever the connection, but the Heartstone resists, drawing us in with promises of power, of understanding… it whispers of a ‘perfect harmony’ – a horrifying delusion.”
“The ‘Lost’ – those who vanished without trace – they aren’t dead, not entirely. They’ve become echoes, fragments of themselves trapped within the Heartstone’s resonance. They appear as fleeting glimpses, distorted reflections of their former selves, driven by an insatiable hunger. I saw Lyra herself, a young woman brimming with hope, consumed by a vortex of bitterness and regret. It was… unbearable. We tried to contain it, but it spread like a stain, infecting the minds of the remaining citizens. The Obsidian Walls themselves seem to weep with their despair.”
Fragments of the city, preserved in pockets of temporal distortion, offer glimpses into the Eurhodines’ advanced technology and unsettling practices.
A sliver of the Heartstone, radiating a faint, unsettling warmth. It still retains a vestige of the city’s resonance, capable of inducing vivid hallucinations and overwhelming emotional responses. Prolonged exposure is said to irrevocably alter one’s perception of reality. Recovered from the Temple of Echoes.
A complex device constructed from polished obsidian and pulsating crystal. It was used to weave patterns of resonance, manipulating the flow of energy within the city. Its operation is beyond our current understanding, but the residual energy still causes intense headaches and disorientation. Found within the Archives of the Deep.
A fragmented reconstruction of the events leading to Eurhodine’s demise, based on recovered data and Deepwatch accounts.
Initial signs of instability within the Heartstone. Growing anxieties among the citizens, attributed to increased exposure to the Abyss’s currents.
Estimated Time: Approximately 37 years before the CataclysmThe Heartstone’s resonance spirals out of control. The city is plunged into a state of perpetual chaos, plagued by phantom storms, illusory creatures, and widespread madness. The Deepwatch initiate a desperate attempt to sever the connection, resulting in the deaths of countless citizens.
Estimated Time: Approximately 12 years before the CataclysmThe Heartstone explodes in a wave of raw resonance, obliterating Eurhodine and unleashing a torrent of chaotic energy into the surrounding region. The city is swallowed by the ocean, leaving behind only fragmented echoes of its former glory.
Estimated Time: The End of Cycle 162