Now that we have taken a look at the towns populated by mundanes, it is only befitting that we pay respects to the areas on the Medenian map that do not have a great deal of mundane activity. As one may guess, these places are not considered hospitable for daily mundane life for one reason or another - but the mainly because the inhabitants within are much too dangerous.

Thanks to a great deal of research by Historian ObiWan(9), we know that Andor was originally a hive comprised solely of underground tunnels in which the ants lived. At this time, the ant society was segregated into several tribes lead by the fittest and most powerful ants. This primitive behavior succeeded in sustaining the ant race for a great amount of time. Eventually, however, a new form of life found his way into the tunnels. Referred to as simply as "the man with the dark light," it is not clear from ant folklore whether this form of life was a mundane or otherwise. The man with the dark light exposed the ants and their offspring to the Conix, thus making the insects more intelligent and physically gifted, and soon disappeared from Andor history afterwards.

While the ants suffered unwelcomed side effects from ingesting the Conix (such as the corruption of their larvae), their newly found intelligence meant that their way of life quickly changed. The ant tribes joined into a single unit and appointed the Andor Queen as leader. Then the ants set their goal: to dig into the very earth that surrounded them, in order to reach the world above the ground and learn why their larvae suffered. It is not clear how long the ants were digging, but Aislingkind discovered that the colony had breached the surface of the Noam Plains in Deoch 42(10).

The ants, fearful of invasion, attacked Aislings on sight and continue to do so today. Despite the ants' violence, Aislings were not deterred; they continued exploring the hive and over 150 large chambers were discovered. Along the way, Aislings acquired many items crafted by the ants, such as earrings and armors that were considered quite powerful before the discovery of the Water Dungeon and Lost Ruins. Fueled by the urge to gain even more power, Aislings slayed the first Andor Queen and King ants upon their arrival to the bottom most cavern. Luckily, the Andor society continues to thrive because there is no shortage of ants able to replace the deceased Queen and King.

With the establishment of the Hwarone military, the Hwaronian mundanes also decided to join in the desecration of the hive once it was discovered that Aislings were finding such treasures within. However, due to the fact that the Hwaronians have little use for any Andorian treasures Aislings have presented them with so far, I speculate that the mundanes may be searching for fragments of the Conix. Perhaps we should pray that the Conix fragments are never discovered...or in the event that they are found, that the Hwaronians learn from history and destroy them.

Aislings, ever excited to explore and discover, took only a few sparse Moons after the discovery of Andor to find themselves in the Desert Dunes (that is, the two locations were discovered in the same Deoch)(11). The location was probably considered one of the most dangerous locations of its time, considering its discovery resulted in many Aisling deaths; not only were Aislings forced to deal with the highly aggressive desert monsters, but they also had to contend with the sweltering desert heat that drained them of their life as time passed.

With the establishment of improved caravans soon after the discovery of Hwarone, Aislings no longer needed to brave the wild creatures or the scorching heat except to collect ginseng from cacti. That meant that the Desert Dunes returned to how it had been found: a deserted wasteland. Interestingly enough, however, are the landmarks that prove that a civilization once flourished in these barren lands. Dotting the expanse are gigantic scorpion statues carved from a white stone that does not appear to have originated in the Dunes. The same white stone also composes the structure of a giant pyramid found directly in the middle of the area. Upon inspection of the sands and the pyramid, no evidence was found that any intelligent life had ever existed except for five statues erected in the visage of Aislings. These statues still stand at the heart of the pyramid's maze. Intrigued, I sought out the Hwaronian mundanes during the ending Sun of Deoch 105.

Unfortunately, every Hwaronian was stumped when bombarded with questions about the pyramid. Exasperated, I slouched against a cherry blossom tree in the Blossom Garden. Just as I began drifting into a comfortable sleep, I heard a soft rustling and bolted upright. I turned my head and was almost not able to contain my gasp when I saw where the sound had originated: there, against the backdrop of the beautiful blossoms, stood a fiery-haired grimlock. The creature came only two steps closer and reached toward me with its pointed fingers. It turned its outreached hand over, slowly, as if it was very concerned that I see what it was holding. Soon, the grimlock carefully placed the contents of its palm onto the dirt, turned, and scampered into the safety of the forest. I burst to my feet and scrambled for the item: a yellowed piece of parchment, folded many times into a small square.

 I unfolded the square to reveal a page of symbols - presumably the Veltain grimlocks' written language - with scribbled translations aside them. The following is what I managed to make out: 

"lads once plenful water so pure
until he arrivd with powr great
dark flue into food
into hom , into we
now hom gone
we gone , we chang"

After reading what I could, I felt sick to my stomach. Why did the worker grimlock have the note? Who had written the message, and who tried to translate the grimlock language to Aisling tongue? Was it possible that the Desert Dunes was once the site of more than just rocks and sand? Had the man with the dark light also invaded these peoples' home, thus leading them to their destruction? Only more research will tell, though the positioning of the sand whirlpools indicates that there may be some truth involved in all this - don't rivers also have a tendency to wind?

While Hwaronian mundanes attempted to harvest the Mines' treasures Deochs before Aislings ventured into the Alsaids region, they were met with little success. Aislings were invited to begin mining alongside the mundanes in Deoch 57(12). When Aislings first visited the Mines, they were met with heavy resistance, as well. The Veltain grimlocks launched a heavy assault against the invaders, ensuring that their exploration was slowed. However, once Aislings began to thin the grimlocks' unruly numbers, complete scouring of the tunnels was afoot.

Aislings soon found that the Veltain Mines were comprised of four main areas. First, of course, Aislings found the gigantic doorway leading into the foyer; the foyer appeared to have been chiseled directly from the stone at the foot of the Alsaids Volcano. Attached to this foyer were three smaller, more compact tunnels in which the Veltain grimlocks worked and lived. Due to the magical barriers over the second and third doorways, those tunnels were not readily available for exploration, so Aislings poured into the first tunnel to study the grimlock society. Due to the grimlocks' aggression, it was difficult to determine when or where the grimlocks had originated or if they wished to form partnerships. As a result, Aislings simply plowed through the grimlock forces, taking their possessions and raiding the Mines of their ore.

Eventually, Aislings reached the end of the first tunnel and dropped through a hole into the chamber below. The tunnel had truly ended, as the chamber was only a single room; this was when Aislings were forced to fight Gan, the "shovel boy." Having his chamber invaded, Gan begrudgingly attacked Aislings, snarling through warped teeth and swinging his weapon in grimlock style. Aislings, seeing that Gan was quite obviously a mundane child, tried their best to repel Gan's attacks and speak to him. However, the boy did not seem to understand their tongue. Furthermore, his dirty skin and beady eyes signaled that the boy may had spent most of his life in the tunnels. Perhaps the mundane boy was found and was being raised by the grimlocks... so Aislings did not kill Gan, but defended themselves; this lead to Gan's weakening. With the last of his strength, Gan teleported Aislings back to the Veltain Mines foyer, where it was discovered that the barrier to the second tunnel had been weakened. It was determined at that moment that Gan was undoubtedly attempting to protect the tunnels.

Inside the second tunnel, a new set of grimlocks were discovered - their stark purple hair signaled that they were an entire new species. The same cycle in which Aislings explored the tunnels, exterminated the grimlocks, and found a new chamber was repeated. However, this time, Aislings found Morg. It is also not clear where Morg originated, though Aislings predicted that the creature erupted from beneath the very earth to protect the mines. Its fiery breath and rock-encased body may be evidence to prove this theory true. When Morg was finally defeated, the last tunnel was revealed - along with even more new species of grimlocks and the Veltain Queen. The Queen grimlock proved to be a fearsome adversary as she used her grimlock magic to summon fiery puffs of steam from the ground. Aislings have yet to fully defeat her; when she becomes weak, Aislings are sent back to the Mines foyer and the process begins anew. 

Aislings continue their raids of the Veltain Mines today, constantly in search of Veltain Ores. It is uncertain whether the Mines will someday be picked clean, or whether the grimlock species will be defeated completely...but hopefully Aislings will be able to reconcile their differences and make peace with the grimlocks before the creatures are exterminated. 

The Noam mundanes were whispering about the Water Dungeon long before Aislings discovered the temple in Deoch 69(13). The mundanes do not currently recollect how long ago the temple was erected,  but they do share how they believe the Water Spirit came to be.

The common belief is that a young husband and wife from many generations before today's mundanes were unable to conceive a child. The couple established their home closely to the Earth Spirit and prayed fervently every day, hoping that the spirit's good graces would bestow them the child they longed for so greatly. After many Deochs of reverence, the Earth Spirit indeed granted the couple with their highly sought after gift. However, the child was not born by normal means; it is said that the baby girl was found nestled in a basket woven from the very roots of trees found in the Noam Plains. The child's gossamer hair is said to have flowed longer than any infant's and spilled over the rim of her basket, shimmering in the sunlight that beamed down upon her.

The couple and their child lived happily for several Deochs before it was noticed that the child did not grow as rapidly as normal mundanes did. In fact, despite the fact that her parents had grown gray and wrinkled, the child had barely learned to walk. A few Deochs later, the child saw the death of the her beloved mother. Some Deochs after that, her father also passed. By this time, it is said that the girl had the visage of a very young girl but the intelligence of a mundane of many Deochs. Stricken by the loss of her parents, the girl wept solemnly against the cool stone of the Earth Spirit shrine at nighttime. The Earth Spirit, being a kind entity, is said to have illuminated the night sky with humming energy and spoken to the girl. The Earth Spirit took pity on her and explained that she had been created for more than the purpose of bringing the mundanes happiness; she had been born to save an entire race.

The girl despaired; she asked the Earth Spirit why they would allow her to learn of love for the people and creatures around her if she were only meant to serve a higher purpose. It is said that the Earth Spirit had only one more profound statement as they enveloped the girl with their energy, lifting her from the rich soil of the Noam Plains: "because we wanted you to know the goodness that lies in the heart of all of our creations." With that, the girl was taken away in a ball of energy and carried southwest, never to be seen in Noam again. The Noam inhabitants cannot recall how much time has passed since that fateful night.

After fully exploring Hwarone and the Veltain Mines, Aislings moved their journey into the sea. Roughly twelve Deochs of sailing and fishing later, the submerged Water Dungeon was discovered. Aislings equipped their Breath Rings and dove into the crystalline waters, parting the golden sand and revealing the entranceway to the abandoned temple. The tentative explorers were awestruck when they passed through that magical barrier and removed their rings; inside, intricate fountains gushed into sparkling pools. Smooth, stone pillars with magically bobbing heads marked the entranceway, and finally, the Water Spirit was discovered.

There is evidence to suggest the Water Spirit that Aislings are familiar with is the girl of Noam legends. For example, the Water Spirit has the visage of a young girl, despite the fact that she is engulfed in powerful energies that keep her suspended in air. This occurrence is much different than what is found with the other spirits, who appear as giant fonts of pure energy. Furthermore, the Water Spirit speaks to Aislings while being aware that individual Aislings refer to themselves as "I." While the spirit begins to refer to herself as "we," as the other spirits do, she quickly corrects herself. Perhaps the passage of time with her spirit powers has ensured that she is losing touch with the mind that once was considered mundane.

Further curiosities are plentiful. From speaking with the Water Spirit, Aislings quickly discovered that it was the spirits (presumably the Earth and Water Spirits) who erected the Water Dungeon. The Water Spirit continues to explain that the Dungeon was erected to imprison all of the most evil creatures from the sea; perhaps the spirits had foreseen that Aislings would be endangered by these creatures while exploring Medenia's seas. As if this fact had not been surprising enough, the Water Spirit also mentioned that she has a twin sister who sacrificed herself to trap a Sea Elemental Creant deep within the Dungeon. Aislings currently quest to free the Water Spirit's sister from the clutches of the Sea Elemental Creant, but so far, have been unsuccessful at doing so. The Creant is becoming weaker with every assault, however, so perhaps one day Aislingkind shall see the sisters reunited once more.

Before we move on, it may be necessary to mention that the creatures locked away in the Water Dungeon act strangely. There is a distinct hierarchy in which subordinates follow the orders from higher ranking creatures, and so forth. The Sea Elemental Creant, who acts as a general of sorts, rallies the lower ranks. Additionally, Aislings have been known to hear the creatures murmur curious sections of phrases; "for the Eight-Legged Prince," "lost at sea," and "distant shore" are the most notable. Was something valuable taken from these creatures? Did the struggle to keep the item of worth corrupt them? Perhaps Aislings will discover the answer these questions with more research.

After the discovery of the Water Dungeon, Aislings spent a great deal of time skimming the coasts of the Medenian continent for more underwater treasures. However, they were distracted when their ships began running aground a few clicks west of the Water temple. Eventually, Aislings banded together to explore the bundle of small islands here, and thus the Lost Ruins were discovered in Deoch 83(14). 

The first explorers ventured inland and first discovered a camp where only three mundanes lived. The mundanes were strange from what Aislings had experienced previously, as the mundanes did not hail from any particular nation or social group; there was an old man who seemed highly interested in the ruins, and a lorekeeper who sought information about rare fauna that may have been inhabiting the area. There was also a cow farmer, who had already established a small herd on the outskirts of the area and was readily available to recruit Aislings to protect his bovine. Upon talking to all of these mundanes, Aislings quickly learned that something was amiss on the island.

Soon, Aislings fought their way through the local band of assassins, vanquished oversized versions of of creatures they had seen before, and recorded that there were three separate ruins sites on the island. There were two underground paths with stone tablets that told the history of the ruins, as well. Aislings shared this information with old man Nairn, and with a small amount of additional research, found that the Lost Ruins were once a site of worship. Nairn also helped Aislings surmise that the giant creatures that protected the ruins were not indigenous to the area; they had been summoned by the ruins to protect the area's hidden secrets.  Aislings were not deterred. With the help of Nairn's magic spell, they set off to the deepest set of ruins and performed an ancient ritual that had been found amongst the stone tablets found prior. Inside the portal that sucked them in, Aislings fought the Dung Lord, which did its best to prevent Aislings from reaching the innermost sanctum. But the Dung Lord, a fearsome creature of times long past, fell quickly to the powerful Aislings. The explorers reached the final unexplored area, the true "Lost Ruins," and blanched when they saw their final foe: Law.

The Aislings that found Law were frightened for their lives because the mundane's reputation preceded him; he had first appeared on Oren Island around Deoch 30 and spent time as the Burgess there(15). Around that time, the mundane began to act strangely and publicly displayed his disgust for Aislings. Law continued his rampage by murdering Cedric, the former mundane Burgess of Mileth(16,17). Appalled by the Oren mundane's actions, Aislings went to war against him and his army of Dark Aislings in Deoch 34(18). When he and his Dark Aislings were defeated, Law escaped to Medenia, where he was never seen again until Aislings defeated the Dung Lord. When Aislings arrived in the Lost Ruins, Law gloated that they would soon join Cedric in the afterlife - a comment that he must have regretted as Aislings cut him down.

Law fell for good in Deoch 83, but Aislings were not finished visiting the Lost Ruins. They still return to the ruins to gather precious equipment, such as Fire Serpent Boots and Monarch Rings. Aislings are still investigating the appearance of giant creatures in the ruins, as well; perhaps further research in the matter will solve how the demons in Asilon were able to venture into our realm.



This concludes the compiling and research I have done over Medenian history. I will end with just a few statements on Medenia's possible future.