Ruins of Alemane
At one point, Alemane was one of the largest and most prosperous of the Mage
Academies of Shardar. It was the
second Academy to ever be created and it was set up by a woman called Marras in
the year 194. Potential students
from all across the land flocked to the Academy in the hope that they had some
talent and they could become Mages.
Marras
arranged matters so that not only Mages could be educated in Alemane, but anyone
could gain a basic education. This, of course, cost money and within a few months it was
realised that only Nobles and the luckiest or most skilled of merchants would be
able to afford this luxury. Marras
came to understand that this would be a very profitable scheme and before long,
the rich and powerful of Shardar were sending their sons, and on occasion their
daughters, to Alemane.
Marras was
growing in power, both in the Magical Arts and in political weight and Alemane
was growing with her. Before the end of the first year, a small town had sprung up
around the mansion house that was used as the Academy and more people were
arriving by the day. By the second
year, Year 196, Marras was the most powerful Mage in Shardar and, if she had
been allowed to continue, it is likely that she would have dominated all the
Magic in the land. But, she was not
allowed to continue!
The petty
squabbling of the Mages exploded into the Mage Wars in this year and Marras
prepared for the fight that was certain to come.
What she had not counted on was the paranoia of the Mages of Shardar and
their deviousness. Many of the
other Mages feared Marras and her power and they knew that individually, they
could not stand against her. So, for a very short time, they joined forces to stamp out
the greatest threat to them. Eight
out of every ten of the Mages of Shardar joined together and unleashed a hail of
Magical energy that not only destroyed Marras but obliterated her Academy and
the town that surrounded it as well.
As soon as
Marras was no longer a threat, the temporary alliance of the Mages broke up and
the Mage War developed into small fights and conflicts between individual Mages
once more. Never in the history of
Shardar have so many Mages worked together for one goal and never has there been
destruction in such a large scale.
In one
night, Alemane went from being a healthy, prosperous community to being a
nightmare jumble of broken stone and wood, strewn with the bodies of Mages,
peasants and Nobles alike. Most of
the Noble families of Shardar had lost children in this disaster and this
action, if nothing else, made Mages distrusted and hated by the powerful
families of Shardar for all time.
The town
was devastated with not a single building left standing.
The mansion of the Academy itself was raised to the ground, completely
covering any sign that there was ever an Academy there, and the rest of the town
was in nearly as bad a state. In
the last hundred years, Alemane has slowly crumbled into an even worse state of
decay and the sea that it was situated on the edge of has encroached and covered
much of the town.
Every year,
the ocean moves a few inches closer to Alemane and many destroyed buildings are
now waist deep in the salt water. At
high tide, certain buildings are completely covered and the water encroaches
even into the cellars of the destroyed mansion.
As with all places of Magic, there are rumours of great treasures being
left behind but any such treasures are likely to have either been destroyed by
the sea water or are covered in layers of silt that are many feet deep.
Occasionally,
fishing boats will drop anchor in the bay that lies off Alemane to fish the rich
grounds around the area, This is a very rare occurrence because although the sea is
full of fish around there, very few boats have much luck with their nets or
lines. This bad luck is viewed by
the superstitious fishermen as being a
sign of the evil of the Mages who used to dwell in Alemane but it is more likely
to do with the strong currents that run from the surface into the deeper waters
that lie off the bay.
There has
been talk of reclaiming Alemane from the ocean so that the people who died there
in the Mage Wars could have a decent burial, but nothing has ever been done
about it. Rumour has it that every
year, on the anniversary of the destruction of the town, the dead rise from
their uneasy resting places and walk again. They are said to howl in the night
for vengeance; for the death of all Mages in revenge for their deaths; and for
the destruction of every Academy that stands on Shardar.
There has
been no reliable sightings of this, but it is a well known fact that it is best
to avoid Alemane in the early spring. There
are few local inhabitants who will venture into the area at that time of year
but there is always some local guide who needs the money badly enough and it
willing to take any risk and break the taboo.
Alemane is claimed by no Lord or Baron and
indeed, the Noble families of Shardar would much rather forget that the
evil-fated place ever existed. The
powerful families have long memories and even the passing of a hundred years can
not lessen the insult that the Mages cast when the brought death to so many
children of the Noble Houses in Alemane.