Koskatep
by Francesco DefferrariThe mountain of bones, in traladaran, is a strange shaped hills on the upper course of Achelos river, filled with high stones that look like bones in the light of the moon. The name changed its meaning over time but the original azcan one was very similar, Koskatepetl, the gem of the mountains, a bustling mining city before the GroF.. In the dephts under the city there was a shrine sacred to Ixion, protected by priests who, according to local lore, were not human and guarded an ancient, dangerous secret. When technology and rationalism started to prevail all over the world, and in Koskatepetl too, the ruling council tried to force the priests of Ixion to reveal their secret, and the priest sealed the entrance of the shrine with a terrible earthquake.
After the disaster the city was abandoned and became infested with many kinds of monsters, but much later was chosen in taymoran times to house a temple of Nyx that soon enough attracted pilgrims and colonists, but not too many, because its true purpose had to remain secret. The goddess of the Night found amusing and fitting that her temple was built over a place once sacred to the Lord of the Light, and she chose the city to hide a very powerful artifact, a constellation map whose purpose was to slowly absorb magical power and bring eternal night to the world.
In taymoran the city was named Kosmoteiros, signs of the universe. But when the fight between followers of Nyx and Thanatos was at its height a powerful army in service of the Dark Lord conquered the city with the ultimate goal of stealing the artifact, so the priests of Nyx destroyed the temple, opening a chasm to the dephts of the earth. The struggle for the artifact would have continued, but the destruction of Taymora destroyed also any memory of the city and its secret. The Tal people of the area and later the traldars too considered the place cursed and never went to live there...
But obviously Nyx and Thanatos have not forgotten, and neither has Ixion. Many times during the centuries the three immortals have sent priests and adventurers to Koskatep, to retrieve the artifact or to avoid that the others could have it or, in the case of Ixion, to protect his ancient secrets.
The situation has changed in 998 AC, when the Sons of Night estabilished their main fraternity among the ruins... they retrieved the artifact at least but they haven't found a way to use it, yet. If they are followers of Nyx who are planning a revenge that has awaited centuries, what they'll do? Is Thanatos trying to infiltrate or corrupt them? Will Ixion unleash the ancient secrets hidden in the dephts to stop them?