NGS: TO ICY GRAVES

[esotericas 2674]

FROM THE NGS

A FIRST FORAY INTO
THE AZURIAN WILDERNESS

 

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THE FROZEN SCENE.

 

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W R I T T E N  B Y
M A N O N  Y V A I N E
V O N  D I S T R U G E R E

 

P U B L I S H E D  B Y  T H E
N O R T H E R N  G E O G R A P H I C A L  S O C I E T Y

 

O N  T H E
9 T H  O F  S U N ’ S  S M I L E ,  2 0 5 1

 

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“Before us stretched an endless span of grey sea, the scattered pockmarks of icebergs upon it, and looming above this flat unmoving surface, great spears of frozen seawater reached toward the heavens as if wrested from the waves themselves. Trapped in these spires and swells of ice were the ruins of myriad sailing vessels, their crews and cargo long-departed.”

 

𖥠

 

“My compatriots and I, fortified against the cold and geared for mountain-climbing, advanced across the bobbing icebergs toward the ships. The scene that unfolded before us was unlike anything we had ever seen, the frozen image of a long-forgotten battle preserved perfectly in ice.”

– Excerpts from the diary of the President.

 

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In the far northeast of our new home of Azuras lays a forgotten naval disaster, an army of ships stuck forever in the thick of a chaotic fight against an unknown enemy. In the interest of studying the many mysteries of this new continent, the scholars of the NGS took to the snow and ice in search of answers to the many questions to be found in this scene. I myself was accompanied by Dr. A. Banikan as historical consultant, Ser Aviel Helfgott as protection, Kato Oro as field artist, and Archmage Arthur as magical support. Our journey began on the westernmost edge of the scene, which I had initially spotted while hunting for Athin in the Norlandic hinterlands. 

 

THE JOURNEY NORTHWARD.

 

Six three-masted vessels were strewn about the frozen cliffs and surrounding iceberg field as if thrown about by some great force, and a few were trapped within glaciers at impossible angles, which would have required a nigh-instantaneous freezing of the ice that held them. Though some of the surrounding glaciers were certainly naturally eroded, our historians agreed that the ice that trapped the ships was no doubt magical in origin, so sharp and fierce were the spikes, and so defined was the curve of a wave frozen mid-crest. Our scholars were however unable to determine the precise origin or function of these vessels. The one ship we were able to explore in full depth lacked any sort of crest or insignia, and we could find no trace of either cargo or cannon on board, nor in the surrounding waters. Dr. Banikan did suggest that these ships were of more modern make, however, proposing a general date of between the 18th and 20th centuries, perhaps originating from an early Petrine or Empire offshoot. 

 

“AND SO DEFINED WAS THE CURVE OF A WAVE FROZEN MID-CREST.” 

 

No sign at all remains of those who once crewed these ships, and our scholars were simply left to wonder at what might have caused their imprisonment in the first place. Considering the proposed magical origin, Archmage Arthur suggested either an Ice-Dragon or an Aengudaemonic force as being capable of such tremendous scale of magic. We also discussed the possibility of a storm, but concluded this was unlikely, given the remarkable preservation of the ships. Almost all of them were entirely preserved in full, undamaged except for expected decay caused by prolonged exposure to moisture. 

 

THE FLAGSHIP. 

 

Our journey over ice and snow took us eastward through the scene, where we spotted a seventh ship set high atop a glacier, its anchor hanging down above the ocean. It was balanced carefully atop a stony arch, its blood-red flag still flying in the icy winds. We concluded, in the words of Dr. Banikan: This one would tell us what we needed to know. The climb up the cliff was arduous, fierce winds battering us and deathly cold sea waiting below, but the scene when we reached the top was equally desolate. Like the others, this ship was stripped of all crests, insignias, and cargo, no bunks were below its decks. Whether these were stripped by later looters, or whether whatever caused this tragedy removed any hope of identification, we may never know, but one thing is certain: this ship was left here as a message. A warning to any who might consider enraging this great force, to think again.

 

AN UNFINISHED TALE.

 

With no bodies to bury, and no more threads to pull, our scholars soon retreated from the preserved memorial, minds heavy with new questions. What power could cause such devastation? Who were its frozen victims? And, most importantly,

 

WOULD IT RETURN?

 

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Her Ladyship, DAME MANON YVAINE VON DISTRUGERE,
AUTHOR & EXPEDITION LEADER 

Dame of Arts, Lady of Deguise,
Baroness of Guise and Distrugestadt,
President of the Northern Geographical Society

 

P U B L I S H E D  U N D E R  

T H E  A U T H O R I T Y  O F  T H E  

N G S

“ A D  T E R R A S  N O V A S ”

THE VIEWS AND INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THIS DOCUMENT ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF ITS AUTHOR(S).

THE NORTHERN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY CONTENTS.

 

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