the Blind Fortress (Cuth)

Here's some art and background for Elyden, made from some art I commissioned specifically for the region.
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the Island of Irkalla                                                             

A protectorate of around 5,200 square-miles off the south western coast of Cuth, the Blind Fortress is linked to the mainland by an isthmus of land almost 100-miles long, around which is the sea of Erra. 

     Historically, it was known as Irkalla, after the children of the Demiurge Nergaal, and features heavily in many passages of the Mythologia Elyden. At the time it was an island, only some 7-miles  off the south western coast of Cuth, though the lowering of Elyden’s seas was it joined with the mainland in around 3300 RM. Originally this link was only seasonal, though today it is permanent, and merchants  maintain a road that connects the two, allowing the trading of goods and knowledge across the isthmus. 

     The island was tied to the myth of the Demiurge Nergaal, as well as his children, and there remains much mystique around it and its inhabitants.  

     Known for its expansive caverns, the island was shunned by most in antiquity, though some ancient explorers did venture into the caverns, which stretched deep beneath the sea-level, and were flooded. After further probing, large chambers with ancient stalactites and rock pillars were found, bearing testament to an age when the caves existed above the water line – something that difficult to imagine today, even excluding the receding sea-levels of Elyden.

     Large caverns with hewn walls contained calcified monoliths on which were carved lithographs bearing record of the irkalla that once dwelt there. Despite these records, the island bore no other signs of previous habitation; no ruins or remains of any kind exist there that are older than the Fifth Age.

    The first signs of modern history began in around 90 RM when humans from mainland Karkauth settled the island, beginning construction of a mighty fortress atop its highest peak soon after.

the Blind Fortress                                                              

Following the first settlers arriving on the island of Irkalla in around 90 RM, construction was started on a stone fortress that commanded a mighty view of the entire island and the seas surrounding it. This would, over the coming centuries, become the only significant settlement on the island, save for a small harbour that served as a link to the mainland. 

     The people of Irkalla, who otherwise had no link with the Demiurge Nergaal, are thought to have unearthed the subaquatic ruins at this time, influencing their culture, in the same way that the discovery of the so-called Hand of Nergaal would go on to influence Karkauth, and later the nation of Cuth that arose in its place.  

     Parts of the island that were better suited to farming or herding were ignored, and the people concentrated on expanding the citadel, which, over the years, had become the centre of a large settlement.

     The citadel itself became a living structure, continuously renovated and expanded upon, and restored in accordance with the most up-to date military theory with regards to fortifications.

     Contact with the people of Karkauth was kept to a minimum and little trade existed between the disparate people, and if anyone at the time knew that the people of Irkalla were descended from the Karkauthi, no-one spoke of it. For their part, the Karkauthi distructed the island and its inhabitants, and were glad for their insular nature.

     Over the centuries the citadel of Irkalla, which by around 1120 RM had come to be known as the Blind Fortress, continued to grow and as the art of war evolved so to did it. By around 1500 RM it had been near completely rebuilt in response to modern warfare and the introduction of cannons. It was reshaped into a great stat fort, with multiple tiers and no blind spots, with every possible facet guarded by great cannons.

     And so did the fortress continue to grow, until it became a monolithic edifice of seven different tiers, each guarded by a heavy walls and ravelins. Behind each tier were hundreds of buildings, and thousands of people called it home. The lowest tiers were made up of simple dwellings and essential daily businesses and industries, with larger businesses and warehouses located in the middle levels, and government and religious structures on the top.

     Despite the size of the fortress, the population of the island without its walls remained relatively small and rural, with terraced farms covering the north-facing slopes of the mountains, and few coastal settlements. Indeed, the island is thought to have been left deserted at least three times in its history but either disease of predation by Suori chorsairs, most notably in 1404 RM, where the entire populace outside of the citadel was wiped-out or taken east as slaves. the fortress itself has never been taken.

     Following this the people of the Blind Fortress became ever-more insular and contact with the mainland lessened, but continued attacks by pirates and slaves forced the Blind fortress to seek aid. After a period of regrowth that saw a few generations born without having to fend off such large-scale attacks, an agreement was made with Cuth, where the Blind Fortress became a protectorate of the mainland. Part of the agreement was that Irkalla maintain its religious practices, which are unknown to outsiders. In return for protection, Irkalla would share its food and natural resources with the mainland.

     Today the city of the Blind Fortress is a healthy metropolis, who more than a quarter of a million people call home. Its fortifications now consist of seven tiers, each interconnected with hewn stone staircases and labyrinthine streets designed to confuse attackers. Each level has multiple ravelins, casemates and counterguards, and it is guarded at all times, albeit by a skeleton force. The maintenance and upgrading of the fortifications are an important part of culture in Irkalla, and it is a grave offence to deface their walls. A cadre of military engineers is employed to design additions and renovations, which are voted upon by the government.

Dark Rituals                                 

Little is known to outsiders about the culture of the people of the Blind Fortress, least of all their religion. Cuth has two different sects of the same church – the Cult of Nergaal, and the Adherents of Keng – which differ on minutiae that are largely insignificant to outsiders.

     In both cases, the sects practice a form of willing human sacrifice in temples deep underground, something which is seen in their culture as a great honour and brings favour upon the families of those who do so. Diseases are seen as a test and are typically allowed to run their course, either resulting in the death of the individual, or their natural recovery. These are difficult concepts for outsiders to understand, yet there is a degree of understanding.

     What is said to take place deep within the concrete temples of the Blind Fortress is far worse than even what takes place in the Cuthi rituals. This is where conjecture trumps reasoned knowledge, and far-fetched stories of massed blood sacrificed, ancient Scion-worship, and a subterranean sun-cult that abhors the light of day dominate. Some claim that the blind fortress was built to protect something, perhaps something buried deep beneath the surface. Some mythologists place the final resting place of the Demiurge Nergaal, Bringer of Sun and Rot, on the ancient isle of Irkalla, and that the island was named after the race of mortals that guard his languid body. 

     There is in fact little truth to these rumours and for the most part they are the wonderings of outsiders with little vested interest but what morbid curiosity exists in the heartland of the empire. Yet, disparate scholars have come up with convergent theories that some claim to be too similar or connected to be anything other than truth. 

     The insular nature of those who dwell within the Blind Fortress means that it is unlikely that the truth will ever be discovered, and there are those who believe it best that such truths remain hidden entirely. 

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