The shattered remains of an ancient Neferati colony in the Ember Isles—a city that tried to harness volcanic power and paid the price. Now half-submerged in cooling lava, haunted by fire elementals, and guarded by secrets the Kingdoms of Fire would kill to control.
The Ember Isles
Firefell lies within the Ember Isles—a cluster of volcanic islands in the southwestern Western Isles. The entire region is shrouded in white mist (volcanic steam and magical fog) and glows with inner heat. The islands are geothermally active, with hot springs, lava flows, and vents scattered across every significant landmass.
The Fall
Five centuries ago—before the Tarkhon Empire, before the Severance, when the Neferati fire-bloods were still building their civilization—a colony was established in the Ember Isles. The Neferati called it Pyrathes, the Flame's Foundation.
The colony's purpose was ambitious: tap the volcanic power directly. Use the earth's fire to fuel magical workings on a scale never attempted. The Neferati believed they could draw energy from the molten core itself.
They succeeded.
Then they succeeded too well.
The vents they opened didn't just provide power—they destabilized the volcanic system. In a single catastrophic night, Pyrathes didn't burn. It fell. The ground beneath the city collapsed into the volcanic chambers below. Half the city dropped into magma; the other half slid down after it.
The survivors—there were survivors—fled to the Tarkhon mainland. They carried with them knowledge, artifacts, and a warning: some fires shouldn't be touched.
That warning became one of the founding principles of the Kingdoms of Fire. The eternal flames they maintain are controlled. What Pyrathes attempted was something else.
What Remains
Firefell today is a ruin spread across three zones:
The Upper Ruins
The portions that didn't fall completely. These structures cling to the edges of the massive caldera that swallowed the city's heart. Some buildings are intact; others are half-collapsed, their foundations ending in empty air over the lava lake below.
The upper ruins are accessible—dangerous, but accessible. Treasure hunters, scholars, and fools have explored them for centuries. Most of the valuable artifacts were stripped long ago. What remains is too heavy to move, too dangerous to touch, or hidden in places no one has found.
The Rim
The edge of the caldera itself. Here the heat is intense; the stone glows dull red in places. Vents release toxic fumes. The view down into the lava lake is spectacular and terrifying.
Fire elementals patrol the Rim. They weren't here before the Fall—they were created by it, or summoned by dying Neferati, or simply drawn to the concentrated elemental energy. They attack living things that approach too closely.
The Sunken City
Below the lava lake's surface—or partially visible through it—lie the ruins of central Pyrathes. The grand temple. The power conduits. The chambers where the Neferati conducted their most dangerous experiments.
No one has explored the Sunken City and returned. The heat is impossible. The fire elementals are denser there. And there are rumors of things worse than elementals—bound servants of the Neferati that still follow their final orders.
The Kingdoms of Fire Interest
The Kingdoms of Fire maintain a complicated relationship with Firefell.
Officially, they condemn Pyrathes's hubris. The Fall is a cautionary tale they teach to every child: this is what happens when fire-bloods reach too far.
Unofficially, they're terrified of what's down there.
Pyrathes was working on techniques the Kingdoms have never replicated. The power conduits, the binding chambers, the methods for drawing energy from volcanic cores—all of this knowledge was lost in the Fall. Or was it? The Sunken City might contain records, artifacts, or intact systems that could give whoever retrieves them enormous advantage.
The Kingdoms send occasional expeditions. Most don't return. The ones that do bring back fragments—partial records, damaged artifacts, pieces of a puzzle that might never be complete. Queen Khalira of Wadiyah has been particularly aggressive in funding these expeditions. Her rivals wonder what she's looking for.
Fire Elementals
Dozens of fire elementals inhabit Firefell, from minor sparks to beings of terrifying power. They're not organized—they simply exist here, drawn to the concentrated fire energy, maintaining whatever purposes they've developed over centuries.
The elementals are aggressive toward living intruders but seem to ignore each other. They patrol territories, guard specific locations, and occasionally engage in behaviors that might be ritual or might be incomprehensible elemental instinct.
The Ember Lord
Rumors persist of something ancient and powerful in the Sunken City—a fire elemental of immense size and intelligence, possibly bound there by dying Neferati mages. Whether this "Ember Lord" exists, and what it wants, no one knows.
Reaching Firefell
The Ember Isles are accessible from the southern Shattered Sea, though the volcanic activity makes navigation hazardous. The mist provides cover but also hides rocks and sudden shoals.
Landing on Firefell's island requires finding a safe harbor—the original port was destroyed in the Fall. Most expeditions anchor offshore and row in through the steam.
Approach Hazards:
- Volcanic venting can occur without warning
- The mist hides navigation hazards
- Fire elementals sometimes range to the shore
- Other expedition parties may not be friendly
What Might Be Found
- Neferati Artifacts: Fire-magic items of exceptional power, if they survived the Fall
- Lost Knowledge: Techniques for working with volcanic energy that the Kingdoms of Fire don't possess
- Bound Servants: Fire elementals or other entities still following ancient commands—potentially controllable, potentially deadly
- The Truth: What actually happened in those final moments? What were the Neferati really trying to do?
What Brings People Here
- Treasure: Neferati artifacts command enormous prices
- Knowledge: Scholars and mages seeking lost fire-magic techniques
- Kingdom Business: Agents of the Fire Kingdoms pursuing their rulers' agendas
- Revenge: The Neferati made enemies; some of those grudges are long-lived
- Desperation: People who need something badly enough to risk the Sunken City