C e r e b r u m

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On the northeastern coast of Sahuld Isle is a city-sized ruin, the last Borilliskin capital. From 12 Lunar 999 to 1131 it served as the seat of power for the Borillisk Empire. They came here with the end of the Hedrac War. In accordance with the Hedrac Treaty they had to make the decision, move or become a Khazarkar vassal state. This came with Khazarkar security and word that Borilliskin refugees would not be harassed as they passed through lands under Khazarkar control (c.f. Domination Wars). The decision to flee their homeland is sometimes spun that instead of becoming a vassal state they took the more honorable path and left. The truth is that like other empires of Gulimbor, they were fleeing a magical cataclysm (996 - 1203) brought on by the warmongering Khazarkars and their power-mad Conclave masters. Whichever you believe, the foundation for Cerebrum was laid out several years before the thronging mass of refugees arrived.

Borillisk and the other so-called Rogue States, including the Khazarkars, knew they were doomed. They went into civilization-preservation mode, planning on how to move their people beyond a land being torn by the Gulimbor Cataclysm.

Borillisk split in two, about half her population went west into Azrik, joining one of the land's minotaur empires, while the other half went north across the sea to Sahuld. The decision to settle on this island is still a mystery. Sahuld's history was well-known, a sanctuary to keep the undead of the nearby island at bay, yet near enough to Necrocrypt's main island Gathrot that no sane mind would risk planting a civilization here.

- Ermikel the Balance, from the Borillisk Archive - "Borillisk on Sahuld"

In 1131, news spread of a virulent plague affecting Cerebrum and the other Sahuld settlements. The Kal-Oni Empire, centered on the coasts of Hells Womb and comprised mostly of Tragarans that escaped Gulimbor in the Great Exodus (998 - 1017), sent ships south to blockade the island. Their decision not to help was one of revenge for the Hedrac Treaty forged between Borillisk and the Khazarkars with the end of the Hedrac War. To many Tragarans, Borillisk turned their backs on their own kind. Over the next couple months, very few people escape the plague. Most of the city's population fell to a disease that was nearly incurable, with even highly skilled healers having trouble curing it. In the end, there were not enough of them for the number of sick and dying.

During the Black Tide War (1465 - 1504), this place was used to raise undead for the armies of the Black Tide of Thasmudyan. As a result, few skeletons still remain. The place is still haunted though, many ghosts roam the ruins, all seeking revenge on the Kal-Oni for not allowing them to leave during the epidemic. They will never be able to sate this fury with Kal-Oni Empire now long gone. In the Black Tide War, dozens of these ghosts were tricked into believing that Kal-Oneans existed by association, meaning revenge could be exacted on their descendants now citizens of other empires.