Acadia¶
"Some scholars argue that the Acadian Hollow is in its own class due simply to its size and power which dwarfs that of all other known Class 5s." — a Sancturi treatise on the Hollows (S146)
Acadia is an island of the Broken Sea, once "a thriving, high population nation" ruled by the wizards of the Acadian Order, destroyed when a sanctioned experiment tore open the barrier between the Fae and the Material (S358). In the Fourth Age it is a wilderness of Fae abominations with a planelocked prison off its coast; in the Fifth Age it is the Acadian Hollow, "the largest known hollow", which "completely encompasses the island of Acadia and has even spread across the sea" (S146). The Fourth Age Marshford party sailed there to free the imprisoned wizard Tserrerak; the Fifth Age Sancturi party teleported there in search of the Acadian Sister Library.
History¶
The Acadian Order "was born from a splinter from Nexa-Vinian order, which was a splinter from the original Council of Wizards" (S358). When Vinias and Nexagar fell out over the role of mages, Vinias holding that wizards "were meant to rule" and Nexagar that they "were meant to serve and protect", the schism "created the Acadian splinter (led by Nexagar)." The Acadians "fled the conflict and established an outpost on a remote island that flourished", and in time became "the de facto police force for hunting down rogue mages and providing magical support to the kingdoms" (S358). The Nexa-Vinian War tells the wider story.
The island's own records survive in fragments: the Rolls of Acadian Justice & Punishment of 1388, the Annals of Arcane Remediation, and the trial of the High Wizard Tserrerak for necromantic experimentation, the murder of "15,678 people of necromantic blight" and the Necromantic Blight of 1387, which sickened more than 200,000 (S358). He was imprisoned for three hundred years. Acadia was ruled by eight; Tserrerak was "1 of 8" (S358).
Gap
The years 1387 and 1388 are given in an unnamed Acadian reckoning. No source converts them to SM or any other calendar.
The Fae Conjunction¶
"A sanctioned experiment to create a Fae Conjunction went wrong. While attempting to amplify their powers by drawing on a more direct connection with the Fae, instead they created a great tear, breaking down the barriers between the Fae and Material planes" (S358). The Fae are "elemental energy + intelligence", and "accustomed to absolute control and domination." "The Fae Conjunction led to the destruction of Acadia and the creation of many Fae-based abominations and monstrosities." The Fourth Age page covers the event's place in that age (Fourth Age).
The Hollow¶
In the Fifth Age reckoning, "In 493 SM a scavenging expedition led by a group of adventurers/mercenaries returns from Acadia with tales of horrors and loss. Scholars believe based on the accounts of the survivors that this is the first recorded discovery of a Hollow" (S326). The Sancturi ruled Acadia out as a province in the late 590s SM "due to Hollows and security issues", and in 675 SM the Keepers of Abaddon "launch a crusade against the Acadian Hollow. By 679 SM they abandon it with only 20% of their number" (S326). An older note has the Knights of the Broken Star disgraced by "their defeat and subsequent retreat from Acadia" (S132). Why the Hollow grew so great is hinted by the Heartstone notes: "The essence of Arcantus is still in Acadia. Asmodeus is also looking for Arcantus's pieces which is why the overwhelming assault on Acadia (where 2 of his Ascendants lived)" (S142). See Hollows and the Mithis Heartstone.
The island in the Fourth Age¶
"Acadia is covered in Fae abominations and monstrosities which have twisted natural forms" (S358). Four factions are named:
- Verdant Assimilators, wood fae that "assimilate biomass to fuel verdant growth"; they have made humans into "Mulch-hewers", who "violently disassemble non-plant life for mulch", and "Architects", who plan the growth.
- Crystalline Concord, crystal fae that petrify matter; "Motion and change are the enemy." Their assimilated humans are "Warders", crystalline skeleton foot-soldiers, and "Purifiers", who petrify by touch.
- Pyric Renewal, fire and air fae of "the cycle of renewal through destruction": Flame Harvesters prune what has reached maturity, and Ash-Storms break down ageing stone and metal with lightning.
- The Netherworm, "a massive entity born of the failed Fae Conjunction", shiny black, a quarter-mile long and thirty metres wide, that consumes Fae, Mithis and Ethereal energy alike and "leaves in its wake a ravine of grey, inert dust." It is "an anathema to almost all other fae factions on Acadia, but seems an unstoppable force", and is drawn to spellcasting. Verdant flak, petrifying rays, ash-storms and the magic-unsettling "Deadash" left by the worm make the island deadly to fly over (S358).
Serrarak's Tower, Tserrerak's seat, is a ruin on a volcanic rock that the worm has mostly eaten; it is described on the Broken Sea page. The Marshford party, flying six eagles at twenty miles an hour, came to the island by way of Kyzall (S358).
Darkhold¶
The Acadian prison is "Planelocked", "about 500 miles to the south" of the party's road in Arnyr and "off the coast of Acadia" (S359). Darkhold is an octagonal basalt tower 150 feet tall, ringed by obelisks of petrification and feeblemind. An Arcanaloth is its warden, an iron golem its main guard, and goblins its caretakers; of these Nelluk, with a burnt left arm, said "Master hurts us. free to starve and die", and freed the party once they had fought the guardians (S359). The scholar Tobias Lucent of Dueneport is the Marshford notes' authority on Darkhold.
The island in the Fifth Age¶
The Sancturi party reached Acadia through the Acadian Portal, one of twelve portal anchors: "Ruined City, Red skies, Yellow Clouds. White Stone. Lots of towers, some fallen. Littered with bones", with "Hellspawn, Asmodean Hollow, Fields of Sulfuras" (S192). Three cities are noted, one "quite close to the library", a coastal city with "library island 1 mile off the coast" (S192). The Acadian City is "built in a small flooded caldera. Library built in the center. Ruins. Acadian architecture is Roman" (S198). The City of Utarum, of waterfalls, is "guarded by a horde of Demons", and the Tower of Dhudarin holds a portal to the library (S201).
The Acadian Sister Library¶
Friar Corbin, Abbot of Arcantus rescued from crucifixion in Brusau, was "Wizard in charge of library" and carried a Temporal Key "to unlock libraries position in Time. Library is in ruins in present time" (S190). Its halls are catalogued by subject: historical, biology, alchemy, industry ("Rare Mineral Extracts from Granite", a book on granite mineral extracts by Nyx), and arcane doors (S201). The library "has THE asmodean trap!" (S201): the party's teleport was interfered with by a demon and scattered them miles apart across hills, a dried riverbed and a flat plain, with twelve vrocks and some 250 demons converging and "100 pts of hollowing per minute" (S201).
In Play¶
Two campaigns have come to Acadia. The Marshford Campaign stormed Darkhold and released Tserrerak, who repaid them with Amulets of Fungal Protection and a Staff of Power and the offer to become his vassals (S359, S362). The Sancturi Campaign fought its way to the Sister Library with dwarven infantry of the Darkwalker Clan, Arcantus priests and the mercenaries of the Doomguard (S201). An early planning note rated destroying the Acadian Hollow a high-level arc that "will involve destroying other lesser Hollows first in order to gain the experience required", its Hollowlord having "created a unique method of expanding his Hollow" (S202).
Gap
No source names Acadia's position in the sea beyond "500 miles to the south" of the Marshford party's road in Arnyr, nor the island's size, nor the Hollowlord of the Acadian Hollow.