The Realm of Nocturne

For the first part of this section I have used an account by Gordan Erlias, the great-grandfather of Alderman Justus Erlias, and a geographer of some note up until his death.
The rest of this section comes from the introduction to my own book, 'The Realm of Nocturne - A Pocket Handbook' (Available from all good merchants, price 10 hexa).

The Surroundings of Nocturne

The River Nox flows at the foot of the Black Mountains which mark the border of Nocturne. The River flows through the centre of Outpost, where its only crossing point is also located. It is by this means that goods pass from Nocturne. The bridge, known as The Cross, was built on the ruins of another bridge which looked to have been in place long before the founding of Outpost.

Beyond The Cross lies The Long Road, a broad avenue along which criminals who have been sentenced to exile are compelled. From Outpost, the road winds up into the foothills of the Black Mountains, all the way to the entrance of Nocturne.

Entry Into Nocturne

The entrance into Nocturne is by way of a great rift in the base of the Black Mountains. It is guarded at this end by two great stone towers, manned by the Black Watch. This small group of warriors and Elementalists are sworn to guard the night realm for eternity. None enter or leave Nocturne without their say.

The rift digs deep into the mountains, like a great stab into their very centre, a huge chasm which shuts out the light. The deeper the visitor travels, the darker it becomes, as the lips of the chasm lean into each other more and more, until no light at all passes through them. At this point, the chasm comes out into the open, but there are no stars to guide the traveller, no sun to light him and warm him, nor a moon to keep him company.

Blackalt

Blackalt is a substance found almost exclusively in Nocturne. It has certain 'interesting' properties - it is rare and beautiful, a hard black rock with purple veins in it, this alone making it highly sought after. Skilled craftsmen are also able to refine the rock into a similarly beautiful and unusual metal, which is likewise hard and glossy black with an iridescent purple sheen.
Blackalt forms the basis of Nocturne's currency (hexa and bits). It is also easier to enchant objects which are made out of blackalt, (although all but impossible to consecrate them,) and even unenchanted ones seem to wear less and, in the case of weapons, to cut more cleanly. However, on the downside blackalt is rumoured to have some interesting effects on the human psyche - those who are around large amounts of the material for long periods of time are said to become obsessed with it and will often go to extraordinary lengths to get more.
[ For more information on the powers of blackalt, take a look here. ]

Within the Realm of Nocturne

The realm of Nocturne is mostly unexplored. The entrance to Nocturne emerges at the base of a huge rock face which stretches up into the sky, and for at least fifty miles in either direction to the north and south of the great rift. The realm itself has been properly explored in a radius of only about thirty miles from this entrance.

Nocturne's soil is largely made up of igneous and metamorphic rocks, and these seem to promote rich mineral deposits. Gems and diamonds are relatively common finds, but most important are the rich blackalt seams which are constantly being uncovered. This is the primary reason for the continued exploration of Nocturne, and the basis for Outpost's thriving economy.

Among other primary resources within the realm are a surprising number of plantlike life forms. Now, Dr. Mestopholes described the reliance of the plants which populate the light realms on the Elements of Light, Earth, Air and Water. It is my theory that the plants which inhabit Nocturne rely on the same Elements but, due to the scarcity of Light, instead rely on the Element of Shadow. This is borne out by several experiments, which I have detailed in my paper in 'Elemental Review' issue 271, volume 456. Recently, however, there has come to light new evidence suggesting that there may in fact be some plants which rely on the Element of Fire as a source of nutrition, although this has yet to be confirmed. The main part of the indigenous plant life seems to be temperate woodland, with some land cleared for farming.

Recently, a few interesting discoveries have been made. Corban Naresse of the Outpost Scout's Guild led an expedition to the west ten years ago, discovering a large river flowing through the realm. The source of this river is yet to be found, although a town has already sprung up on the far side of it after a rich seam of blackalt was uncovered on a subsequent expedition. The discovery of this river had been noted in a journal by one of the very first explorers in Nocturne, going by the name of Bannor. He also noted the existence of a great gorge, known as Ferric's Gorge after it was first sighted by his second in command. However, no other explorer has delved so deep into the unknown realms of Nocturne as Bannor and returned.