Recommended Levels: 10–18
West of Blackhat lies a land that should not exist.
Known as The Obsidian Sepulchre, this vast wasteland stretches for miles across black volcanic plains, rivers of slow-moving lava, shattered mountains, and fields of razor-sharp obsidian. The ground is warm beneath every step, poisonous ash drifts constantly through the air, and the sky is permanently stained crimson by smoke rising from countless volcanic fissures.
Nothing grows here.
No birds sing.
Even monsters avoid much of the region.
The people of Blackhat believe the Sepulchre was created thousands of years ago during The Ashfall Cataclysm, when a terrible battle between the First Civilization and the First Darkness scorched the land beyond repair. The battle shattered mountains, opened rivers of magma, and buried entire cities beneath molten stone.
Today, the Witch Mother forbids all but her most trusted followers from entering the Sepulchre.
Not because it belongs to her.
Because she fears what still sleeps beneath it.
Within the southeastern edge of the Sepulchre lies a smaller region known as The Scorched Veins.
Here, glowing rivers of lava branch across the landscape like burning arteries beneath cracked obsidian. Steam hisses from deep fissures, and black volcanic glass towers rise from the earth like broken spears.
The air shimmers with unbearable heat, and strange whispers seem to drift through the smoke, though no living soul can be seen.
Ancient ruins occasionally emerge from beneath cooling lava, only to disappear again as the land slowly shifts.
It is here that one of Eyr's oldest monuments still stands.
At the heart of the Scorched Veins towers the colossal statue known as The Obsidian Crone.
Standing nearly one hundred feet tall, it dominates the wasteland like a silent guardian from another age.
Carved from polished obsidian streaked with volcanic glass, the monument depicts a hunched old witch with long tangled hair, bony fingers stretched outward, and a cruel smile permanently carved into her weathered face.
Its empty eyes glow faintly with deep crimson light, as though fire still burns within the stone itself.
During the night, thin streams of lava flow through ancient cracks in the statue, making it appear as though molten blood courses beneath its surface.
No one knows who carved it.
No tool marks have ever been found.
Many scholars believe it was not carved at all.
It simply emerged from the earth.
According to forgotten Deep Elf texts, the Obsidian Crone is far older than the Four Sisters.
Some believe she was the first witch ever to walk Eyr.
Others insist she was one of the architects of the First Civilization.
The oldest stories tell something even stranger.
They claim she was never alive.
She was a spirit born from the world's first volcano, teaching early civilizations both the gifts and the dangers of magic.
Whether she was protector, tyrant, or something far older has been lost to time.
Once every generation, during a lunar eclipse, the statue's eyes blaze with brilliant scarlet fire.
Those who stand before the Crone during this event experience powerful visions.
Some witness the birth of Eyr.
Others see the fall of forgotten kingdoms.
A few return speaking languages no one has heard for thousands of years.
Many never return at all.
Despite the unforgiving landscape, powerful beings dwell within the Scorched Veins:
Fire Giants
Salamanders
Magma Mephits
Fire Elementals
Hell Hounds
Magma Trolls
Ash Drakes
Obsidian Golems
Lava Serpents
Phoenixes (extremely rare)
Even the Witch Mother's undead patrols avoid approaching the Obsidian Crone after sunset.
Beneath the statue lies The Ember Vault, a vast underground temple built by the First Civilization around a volcanic heart deep beneath the mountains.
The temple contains The Forge of Ashes, where the First Civilization forged weapons capable of harming beings from beyond the mortal world.
Among its forgotten relics rests a single unfinished artifact.
A massive obsidian crown.
Ancient inscriptions identify it only as:
The Crown of the First Witch.
No one knows whether it was ever meant to be worn.
The Witch Mother has searched for the Ember Vault for decades.
Nyx believes it contains forgotten magical knowledge.
The Deep Elves believe it should remain buried forever.
Father Lucien of the Ashen Covenant fears something else entirely.
For hidden within the deepest chamber of the Ember Vault is a prophecy carved into black stone:
"When the Crone opens her eyes...
When fire remembers its first name...
The mountain shall surrender its dead.
And the oldest witch shall speak once more."
Whether the Obsidian Crone is merely a statue or something waiting to awaken remains one of the greatest mysteries in all of Eyr.