Sarang Kido's report to the Scientific Counsil of the Arisen

31.05.2024

Honorable members of the Council!

In my report, I want to inform the Council about the latest events that occurred at the Jigran allod, about the current policy of the so-called “ruler of Sarnaut” and about my own conclusions and forecasts.

So, first of all, the respected Council needs to understand what the Jigran allod is. I assume that not everyone knows its true story, but even those who know it, I think, will not refuse to remember how it all began.

As is now known, after the Cataclysm, a Kanian garrison remained on this allod, which owned the fortresses of Dar Ulgorn in the center of the allod and Dar-Leanos in the north. In the south was the city of Sardrock, next to which lived the surviving Jun tribe. Among these Juns was born a man who, in the future, would be known as the Great Mage Firez.

The details of his biography are hidden from history, but we know that at some point he was able to become a powerful necromancer, entered into an agreement with Nezeb, and then brought the Xadaganians to Jigran. The Great Magician cut off Jigran from the rest of the world with the Seal of Secrets spell. A long war began between the Kanian garrison in the north and the Xadaganians in the south, and the Juns were enslaved by Firez.

The Necromancers' spells caused irreparable damage to the allod: the vegetation died, and the animals died out. Firez, with his magic, raised all the dead and put them, zombified, into his service. Meanwhile, the dying land was unable to grow a new crop, and the people of Kania had difficulty holding back the onslaught of the necromancer's armies.

Everything changed around the year 800. One of the Junes, a young man named Kir-a-Chit-La, managed to escape and ended up on the Suslanger allod. There, with the help of a girl named Kel, he followed a path similar to Ath-Zak's, traveling to other lands. In the end, he was able to return to Jigran, kill Firez, and rescue his fellow Junes.

However, the allod and its nature were irreparably damaged by the spells of the necromancers. People had no choice but to use the portal and leave. The Kanians went to Lightwood, the surviving Xadaganians went to Suslanger, and the traces of the Juns were lost...

The allod disappeared for 200 years. It was found much later, in our era. For some time, the elves of the House de Delice kept this discovery secret, but several years ago, at the Great Ball, it was decided to hand it over to the vampires and other undead from the army created that year. To this end, the ruins of the Dar Ulgorn fortress were rebuilt as a human city in the Old Era style.

Everything changed again with the arrival of Hirkalla, who decided to make this allod her capital. I assume that her decision was influenced by the need to keep the armies of the undead gathered by Prince Dakkar under control, and now there is no better place to find in Sarnaut than Jigran, imbued with dark power. Hirkalla announced that she would resurrect all the dead and, with the help of the Great Magicians, began to fulfill her intention.

Gradually, the city became filled with the ghosts of those who had once lived. Most of them were from among those Kanians and Xadaganians who lived in Sarnaut at the time of the split of the world into allods or a little earlier—after all, at that time there was the largest population in the world. Nowadays, they call themselves "Awakened".

Time has passed, and some of the ghosts began to turn alive; this was the effect of the spells used by Hirkalla and the Great Mages subordinate to her. The Council knows that such magic exists, and this method of resurrection is one of the Conclave's secrets. The bad thing about it is that it is extremely expensive; one such ritual is equivalent to several months of operation for the XAES. Therefore, the “global resurrection” is moving very slowly, and many of the ghosts are pissed off.

This is not the only problem with our new ruler. The Cathedral of Faith, the Church of Light, was also erected by the elves on Jigran. Before Irkalla arrived at the allod, it was occupied by followers of a certain Hiero. The “shield of faith” they created turned out to be impenetrable to the Darkness and thereby became a protection for all who challenged its power. Hiero has declared a “holy campaign” against the Goddess of Darkness, and it seems that many are ready to support him. In turn, Irkalla generously rewards her revived followers, who gradually join the ranks of her guard and army.

However, the situation of those who are not resurrected remains disastrous. To remain in the ghost state and maintain your etheric body, you need the energy of the Spark. The only way for a ghost to replenish this energy is to receive it from a donor. Because of it, trade in Spark energy flourished on Jigran. I would like to note that Sparkton Packs invented by us are used to catch Sparks.

In addition to this, there is one more problem: ancient creatures awakened by the magic of Hirkalla that have been sleeping on Jigran since the time of Firez. They hunt Sparks, which are their natural food. More and more dark creatures are moving towards the city. To protect the residents, Hirkalla moved an army to the city limits.

Rumors about a certain creature, the “Madman,” who lives in the catacombs under the city also cause anxiety. This creature is said to have been resurrected by Hirkalla herself and is her secret weapon to keep the Great Mages at bay. The Council is aware of some speculation regarding the identity of this entity. But I note that there is no basis for such rumors. Let me especially emphasize: no reason!

In order to minimize risks, Hirkalla protects parts of the allod with magical barriers, limiting passage there. Therefore, the area accessible to guests of the allod is the city of Dar-Ulgorn itself and its immediate surroundings.

Apart from the events at the Jigran allod, the rest of Sarnaut has now entered an era of relative calm. The conflicts have stopped, and everyone is afraid of Hirkalla and her army of the dead.

This concludes my report on what I managed to learn from the Jigran allod over the past time. I will monitor the situation and report any new developments to the Council in due course.

Important: Some special names and item names may differ from the in-game translation.