The Tome of Lore:  Table of Contents

Fogbough - The Forest of Mist

Fogbough refers to a large area of forest that stretches from the western banks of the River Trynd just southwest of the city of Trithik in Tysa to the base of the Felrundin foothills.

Long ago, as the Age of Araludon was dawning, a powerful sorcerer named Rhaknar, built a tower in the middle of the forest that served as a place of learning for aspiring spellcasters from across the realms.

Alas, though, for Rhaknar's thirst for power was unquenchable, and as he reached the limits of his own magical ability, he sought out new ways to increase his already formidable arcane might.

To this end, Rhaknar managed to secretly open a Shadow Path which allowed him passage between the world of Sryth and the nightmarish realm of the Neverness . His journeys to the Neverness brought him new knowledge and new, dark and terrible power. The endeavour, however, slowly drove him mad.

Rhaknar became distrustful of people (especially other mages), and he sought to protect the Shadow Path he had created, lest other mages discover and use his portal. He became increasingly reclusive, and abandoned his teachings, and forbade others to trespass in the forest in which his tower sat. As his madness grew, he used his newly acquired dark arts to construct a fiendish labyrinth that would keep his secret safe forever.

The Labyrinth was a complex maze, many levels deep, outfitted with fiendish traps and powerful guardians of the sorcerer's own design -- all to protect the Shadow Path that lay hidden in darkest of the maze's twisting depths.

In what was perhaps his final act of madness, Rhaknar used his sorcerous might to place a curse upon the forest, in an attempt to conceal his labyrinth, and the secret that lay within. The curse changed the very nature of the forest itself.

The trees became sickly and dark, and a thick blanket of fog descended upon the forest. It became an altogether unwholesome place, and was shunned by all but a few brave local hunstmen who still sought game on its borders.

Rhaknar eventually disappeared, and some say that he became forever lost in his own diabolical labyrinth, unable to escape the very wickedness his magic had created. Others say that a powerful evil entered Sryth through the Shadow Gate he had opened and consumed him.

Over a thousand years have passed since Rhaknar's disappearance, and because few will dare to venture into Fogbough, little is known about his tower or the labyrinth. Many a traveler has journeyed into Fogbough never to return. Others have returned with eerie tales about dark creatures lurking in the mist of the forest.

Many believe that those who have disappeared in Fogbough over the centuries now roam the cursed wood as the living dead.

Fogbough remains a place that is commonly avoided by all. Even the few bold huntsmen who once found an abundance of game just inside the forest's edge have abandoned the wood for friendlier hunting grounds.

The most direct way to get to the cursed forest is to cross the River Trynd southwest of Trithik. However, few boatmen are willing to brave the opposite shore of the river so close to the forest.