Ebon Bedrock

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The Ebon Bedrock is an enormous slab of rock that was blown into this world during the age of gods and primordials. It was once part of the world Regulus.

In 4261 DE, part of Regulus was tore from it and hurled into a swirling maelstrom. This maelstrom was a rift, one used for dismantling worlds, and a creation of one of the most powerful and dangerous of all primordials, the Master of Tides. This being of pure chaos sought to tear apart the worlds, returning everything to Chaos. He had begun to tear apart Regulus and throw pieces of it into a rift. The stuff he threw in went randomly about the systems until it fell into some world. One of the pieces ended up in a coastal area of Bal-Kriav.

We considered returning the alien matter to Regulus, but some voted against the measure. They say it may serve as a foundation for Negative Entropy, keeping the tendrils of Chaos at bay.

- Arcana, from a Scroll of Dawn - "Destroyer of Worlds"

When the Tragarans came to Hells Womb, they built a fishing village just south of a what was then a hill. From a distance, the hill was normal appearing. On closer inspection, it was found that all the grass, and other same species plant-life, were of uniform size. As the village grew, the population expanded to and up the hill. The builders found it hard to construct things here because anything not built to perfection, like if one side of a building is slightly higher than the other, or a doorway is not like a neighbors, then it would start to suffer stress and sometimes collapse. Over many years, the buildings and shacks of the area grew. Most of these were condemned structures. Many believed the hill to be inhabited by a crazy spirit that did not want interlopers to build atop its home. As a result of the hill's nature and its dilapidated structures, the hill became a haven for the poor and miscreants.

Over the years, the seers at Nuciregmas recorded much about the hill. When the Council of Nine came to power, they used this knowledge to formulate a plan. They cleaned the area up, sending in police forces to kick out the population and earth elementals to clear the area of debris. Nuciregmas was the only structure spared. The reason for this is that many of the Council of Nine had either spent a lot of time in this place or were members of one or more of its little societies.

Work was begun on leveling the top of what many called the "mysterious hill". This was done with the aid of the Syndic's great magic and powerful elementals. The excavation revealed an eerie pitch black stone under the hill. The workers began calling this stone "Ebon Bedrock", a name that stuck. It came to be the foundation for the Palace of Nine. The material excavated from the hill has been used in columns, pillars, and others areas of the great metropolis around it. It is rumored these fragments are vessels of great magical power.

In 1312, a few Syndics led by Tome, used some of the excess excavation material to create three devices that allow inter-system travel between the worlds Bal-Kriav and Oerth. These devices are the Prisms of Worlds.

Today, it is well-known that prolonged exposure to the Ebon Bedrock will change a creature's alignment to lawful. All of the Syndics, the lich leaders of the Council of Nine, are lawfully aligned. Some were not so before they started work on the hill and neither were all of those that came long after the Palace of Nine was erected. Those with a deep knowledge of undead, especially about liches, say that the Syndics are not normal liches and that Ebon Bedrock somehow changes them or keeps the lid on the negative energy coursing through them. Some sociologists correlate the stability and laws of the Council and of Paradomea with the presence of the Ebon Bedrock.

The Ebon Bedrock was once part of Mechanus, giving it a Focus of Negative Entropy.

Focus Effect