> [!success] Integrated > Created [[Region - The Cradle]] and [[Hook - The Cradle]] on 2026-02-08 **LOCATION - Gryth - Q'Shar - The Cradle** **THE CRADLE** Cradle represents the ultimate enigma in the world of Gryth, an island whose commitment to isolationism surpasses even the protected borders of High Vel’Nora. While other nations were driven to secluded states by the rapid expansion of global trade routes and the pressures of globalisation, none have managed to maintain the total silence that defines this mysterious land. It has repelled practically every attempt at contact for over a thousand years, resulting in a complete absence of historical records, cultural understanding, or even a local name. The moniker "The Cradle" was merely an appellation given by passing pirates a millennium ago, who witnessed strands of effervescent light rising from the heart of the island into the night sky and found it evocative of some celestial nursery. Before it's hiding away, the island was of no significance, being counted amongst the Callista islands and archipelagos as unfit for most inhabitants and ruled by flora and fauna. ​The only fragment of knowledge regarding the island’s interior was bought at a horrific price by the rogue and powerful famous high sorcerer Visid Khair of Lenasia. In a reckless attempt to bypass the psychic barriers that all magic users knew to be impenetrable, he performed a scrying ritual that pushed his mind to its absolute limits. After falling catatonic, he momentarily regained consciousness during the attempt, managing to utter three strained words to his scribe servant: "A… Golden… Throne", before his brain and organs liquified and his eyes were incinerated in a burst of chaotic red flame. His story was repeated amongst arcane institutions, becoming his most defining story, and spurring on magical laws around scrying magic use. This remains the solitary, haunting clue to the aesthetics and power residing within the island's borders. ​The Cradle does not rely solely on its intense magical wards, though they are arguably the most formidable in the world; unlike Glaszar, Ludland, or High Vel’Nora, the island also employs a violent physical response to intruders. A strict exclusion zone of 30km is enforced by lethal means. When a party of pirate warlocks once managed to breach the initial magical wards, their sister crew watched from a distance as a ray of golden light descended like crashing thunder, enveloping the horizon in a golden ethereal flame. Accompanied by a cry resembling a screaming banshee, the explosion utterly obliterated the vessel and everyone on board in an instant. Consequently, The Cradle remains a total mystery to all beyond its shores; whether peasant, illuminated knowledge seeker, or all-powerful king, none have laid eyes on the island’s secrets and lived to tell the tale. ![[0_1_1.jpeg]] ![[0_3_3.jpeg]] ![[0_3_2.jpeg]]