A Popular History of the Broken Lands

Warning: This page concerns archaic world setting information from the I.C.E. Age of GemStone III. It is not canon in contemporary GemStone IV, nor is it canonical for Shadow World as the details may be specific to GemStone III. It is only historical context for certain very old parts of the game and these things should not be mixed.

This is a creative work set in the world of Elanthia, attributed to its original author(s). It does not necessarily represent the official lore of GemStone IV.

Title: A Popular History of the Broken Lands

Author: Kygar

The Broken Land

The Sages gathered in the hills of a small island to the far north to face a new threat. They had, for some time, suspected that their fellow Sage, Uthex Kathiasas, had gone quite mad and succumbed to the dark power of the Unlife. Responding to increasingly frequent reports of strange happenings, powerful and mysterious hooded figures, and fell beasts, the Sages now prepared for the worst.

Kulfair took a moment to glance around. "Such a lovely, tranquil place this is. But then I guess that is the nature of their power, to find us in the weakness of our pleasures and loves, and pervert our own best intentions."

"Down. It's below ground, there in a cavern at the base of that small mountain. We will probably find the cavern entrance somewhere around that lake."

* * * * * * *

They came to face the corrupt Uthex in the Great Hall of his hidden keep. Uthex called forth the fruit of his efforts to do battle with the Sages, and while they were engaged with these powerful perverted beings, Uthex made his escape.

The Sages soon defeated the hooded figures that had come to Uthex' aid, but noted the absence of the powerful Mage. A detailed search of the keep revealed the secret passage that Uthex had used to make good his escape.

* * * * * * *

They met him for the final battle on a huge barren plain. Uthex' power was great, and the Sages were hard pressed to defeat both him and the minions he had called forth. Sage Kulfair summoned all of the power he had and called down a rain of meteors to smite the evil Uthex.

* * * * * * *

With the plains laid waste, and as many records that could be recovered removed from the keep, the Sages left the evil place one last time. Powerful wards were laid upon the gate so that only the powerful could ever return.

From the Records of the Man'Ta Pn'Tairken
Library of Biblia, 6521 Second Era

From the Records of the Broken Lands

Man'Ta Pn'Tairken translates literally to The Home of Broken Lore. In the year 6521 of the Second Era, during the early years of the Wars of Dominion, Sage Uthex Kathiasas was among the greatest researchers and theorists of the time. His research into what he called "a new source of power" was soon twisted and perverted into perilous forms by the subtle influence of the forces of the Unlife.

Uthex Kathiasas had used his powerful influence to gain control over a small and remote natural gate leading to another plane of existence. It was in that place that the Sage conducted secret experiments designed to provide his new power with physical form that could serve the needs of the Sages in their struggle against the Unlife.

Few records of the battle against Uthex Kathiasas and his minions have survived the ages, but it is generally accepted that the Sages easily gained access to his secret workshop. Uthex Kathiasas was destroyed during the ensuing battle, and while the Sages were not able to completely destroy his experiments, they removed what records and equipment that they could, and sealed the gate leading to that location with Runes of Warding.

A small monastery was established at the sight of the gate in order to provide additional protection and to maintain a watch on the gate. Records of the exact location of the monastery and the gate have been lost or destroyed in ages past.

(A monastery dedicated to Sheru and a shrine of Marlu can be found within the Broken Lands. Currently there is no relation between Uthex Kathiasas and these locations; I do not believe that any link will ever be discovered. They seem to all belong to different time periods. - Silvean Rashere)

Contributor's note:

Taken from the House Chesylcha library, c.1999. Missing text has been re-inserted from the original by the player of Xorus. These are the lines that include the date on the Shadow World timeline. Originally written by GM Kygar and released in 1993, included in the Tomes of Kulthea as backstory for The Broken Lands, along with The Temple of Darkness Poem and the modified Iruaric glossary. This story is the background material that is necessary to solve the puzzle to reach the Jagged Plain in the Broken Lands. The deeper meanings of this story are studied in depth in Research:The Broken Lands.