Adamas Cor
The Brilliant Heart
The Brilliant Heart
West of the Walled City, Excelsa, in the Chlorae Ocean, lay a chain of islands of little attention. They carry no amazing creatures, nor do they trumpet any champions or proud achievements in the ways of magic or science. They are in a word: simple. Yet here, in these quiet islands, is the site of a major mystery to Araevis.
Sailors speak of a jagged tower made of glass that pierces the sky like a spear, and how any who wander in search of it never return. Many a swashbuckler, or honest skipper, have lost men to the sight of this tower. They claim that it glows with all the warmth of the sun, and promises of redemption beyond the word mortal kin know. Still, not all are incited by this construct and so the story spreads.
Through investigation officials of Excelsa have verified that the tower physically moves from island to island, remaining in the same chain for unknown reasons. They have also discovered the criteria for those who wander in - guilty souls. Or, more concretely, souls who harbor intense hidden desires of greed, murder, lust, and other sinful tastes. This has popularized the use of exile for criminals on these islands where the tower appears, though this is reserved for the most heinous of convicts and repeat offenders. Surprisingly, or perhaps humorously, this punishment is favored by the criminals who believe they getting off light. It has, similarly, made Adamas Cor a hot spot for the spiritual who wish to test their purity, as well as would-be thieves or treasure-hunters looking to make a name of themselves.
One man, however, a man long since thought mad and now dead, recounted his own escape from the horrors of Adamas Cor - a truly hellish prison for all who have sinned. A place that was more alive and had nightmarish beasts that the Vis should never have allowed to exist.
He told of the nightmares he fled from, and of the twisting paths the crystalline interior seemed to make with walls and ceiling like that of a polished mirror. He babbled about killing himself, and about killing others, all for the sake of redemption. But before he could so much as describe the monsters that dwelled within Adamas Cor, the madman was found dead.
So Adamas Cor gained a new name alongside it from these fanciful tales of a madman: The Diamond Prison. A place for sinners, criminals, and the foolhardy alike. A place of mystery to plunder, live out exile, or pilgrimage.