SUNKEN ALPHATIAN MAINLAND
Location: Bottom of the Alphatian Sea, where the continent of Alphatia used to be but submerged. AS
Area: Approx. 1,839,000 sq. mi. (4,763,010 sq. km.); the continent has been deformed in some places during the sinking, so its exact submerged size is only an estimate.
Population: None; unknown number of undead and sea denizens.
Language: None.
Coinage: None.
Taxes: None.
Government Type: None, claimed by the Alphatian Empire.
Industries: Lost artifacts, lost lore.
Important Figures: None.
Flora and Fauna: Some sea creatures venture in or near the sunken continent, and some probably inhabit it. Undead abound. Remnants of surface flora and fauna are decaying, and are gradually replaced by their sea counterparts: algae, fish, squids, aquatic beholders.
Further Reading: Previous almanacs.
Description by Myloptarq.
Alphatia, the lost treasure. The core of the most glorious empire, the centre of civilisation, now rests below the waves, shattered by the dark magics of the Glantrians. For the second time in the history of the glorious Alphatian Empire, the acts of the Followers of Fire have led to the dreadful destruction of our homeland. Without hesitation, the evil wizards that are our loathed brothers unleashed their most powerful spell upon our land, cracking it asunder, and without remorse slew millions. Were it not for the merciful Immortals that protect Alphatia, who strove to restore Alphatia in the Hollow World, and destroy the Glantrians' demoniac weapon, their misdeed would have remain unsanctioned, and in their arrogance certainly they would have destroyed the rest of the world as well. Anyway, now the remnants of beloved Alphatia lie at the bottom of the sea, albeit its highest peaks jut out as desolate reminders of past glory.
The Land
I expected to see Alphatia again, with its majestic cities stretching for miles, its lonely towers soaring toward the surface, and its many forests, plains, hills, and other landscapes alternating delightfully. But Alphatia, like its wizards, feeds on air, while water-like fire-is but a source of corruption that slowly poisons it. The deep water prevents the sun from reaching deep, and visibility is severely limited-a blessing, actually, for the blight is so widespread that seeing more than one bit of it at a time would surely have been unbearable.
The majestic cities are in ruin, as are the soaring towers, toppled by the earthquakes that shook the land during the agonising process of the sinking, or by the infiltration of sea water into the packed earth upon which buildings rested. Only a few structures remain standing, built directly upon solid rock, until erosion and strong currents do their work and bring them down as well.
Gone too are the forests and fields, meadows and beaches, vineyards and orchards, woods and swamps. Rivers and lakes have swelled until they engulfed everything and everyone, forming the New Alphatian Sea that covers the now sunken continent. Everything is in tatters, lifeless mementos of the wanton annihilation of the magnificent empire by its despised foes, incapable they were of achieving greatness.
The People
No one is left in sunken Alphatia; everybody has either died, moved away, or was transported to the Hollow World by the Immortals. It is possible that some wizards remained in safe places when the continent sunk, but due to the yearly failure of magic they must be protected from the sea by mundane means. Such pockets of air might exist, and indeed there are bubbles of air rising to surface, but I have seen no living Alphatian hidden or trapped in them during my explorations.
Although the continent is devoid of the living, undead abound. Our once fair continent is infested with bands of roving undead, horrible creatures that most certainly feed upon the numerous dead. The ruined streets of once majestic cities are writhing with malevolent undead. I certainly would have liked to blast some of them, but they were just too numerous. I have two contradicting theories concerning their origin: either they were raised from the dead by the entropic magics the Glantrians unleashed upon Alphatia, in which case their frenzy is temporary and they will soon wither from lack of living flesh to feed upon (most of them, anyway-unfortunately, some varieties of undead don't need flesh or blood for sustenance, and will continue to haunt Alphatia), or they are brave Alphatians who died violently by the hand of the Glantrians and were not raised by the benevolent Immortals, and returned from the dead to hunt the evil Glantrians that were the cause for this unwholesome slaughtering, their souls not at peace until their task is finished and their murderers are punished for their dark deed.
Recent History
Alphatia stood proud and glorious at the centre of the civilised world, until it was suddenly hit by the dark magic of our foes, the Glantrians, who, despite our warnings against their using dark and forbidden magic, grew so desperate in the face of our righteous might that they ignored our warnings and unleashed all the power of their sorcery, gained through dark pacts with entropic forces, upon our mainland. The first blast razed our imperial capital at Sundsvall, the City Built by Magic, largest city in the world and uncontested centre of knowledge, instantly slaying hundreds of thousands, including our a large part of our elite, and our beloved empress. The second blast followed shortly, and it struck the entirety of Alphatia, cracking the land, which then sank beneath the sea.
Though a replica of Alphatia has been created in the Hollow World, the original continent still lies under the sea on the surface world. Many are eager to plunder the fabled continent of its riches. Some treasure-seekers are after gold and jewels, or even works of art, but the greatest of all riches are magical in nature, as many magical items, swept by the sea but kept whole by the magics that were infused into them, can be picked by the dozens. These Alphatian treasures should not be left to be pillaged by greedy barbarians, though, but be returned to their rightful owners or their heirs. Because Alphatia was such an advanced civilisation compared to its puny neighbours, many also seek to wrestle knowledge beyond their grasp out of books and other scrolls they shamelessly pilfer from our sunken universities and libraries.
Don't Miss / Do Miss
As I have visited the sunken continent, I can tell you: there is nothing
there that you shouldn't miss.
Everything is devastated.
Alphatia is now in the Hollow World, and that is where you should go
instead. I am, however, curious about
the new cities they are building on the sunken continent.