Charn is a ruined city in the desert of Ashera.
The Ruins of Charn
History[]
Charn was the capital of the empire of the dark elves that existed in the northern desert lands before the rise of Thrane. It was ruled by a dynasty of godkings descended from Prometheus Yazid, and even established the colony of Shadak in the other world. During the Gael's rebellion, the city of Charn did not fall until the sand elf Gael eradicated the dark elves by making an agreement with an imprisoned genie. When they entered the city the rebels used Samon's five adamantine keys to seal the undead godking in the passages beneath the city where he kept his imprisoned jinn (though without the keys he had no way to access them). Through some dark power the godking began to animate the corpses buried in the tombs, creating undead servants and soldiers to guard the passages.
Description[]
The broken outer walls of Charn are still visible, though most of the city has been buried under the dunes. Here and there stone roofs poke up out of the sand and rubble. The three colossal pyramids constructed as tombs for the nobles of the Yazid, Ryzin and Villoria families still remain. However Charn is not utterly empty of life - it was once a great oasis, and flora such as sedge and cacti are still able to survive here. There are passages beneath the crumbling pillars of the temple of the godkings, as well as beneath a broken statue with its top half completely missing. The passages beneath were protected with five adamantine locks (now opened). The chambers beyond contain shelves of skulls, a library detailing the history of Charn and the godkings, a strange altar, and the mummified corpses of many da
rk elves. The chambers were constructed to prevent grave robbers from plundering the treasures of the tombs - and there are powerful wards which prevent the use of teleportation. Mosaics in the passages below depict images such as a dark elf dressed in gold shaking hands with a figure made of smoke, battles between dark elves and sand elves, grave robbers being struck down with fire, and the slaves of dead godkings being buried alive with their masters. However Charn is not utterly empty of life.
The Temple of the Godkings
In the Campaign[]
Vantis and Lannus unsealed and entered the passages beneath Charn, fighting their way past traps and monsters until they finally defeated Khreeshan and discovered three imprisoned jinn - Farzaan, Imaan and a third genie not yet released. They also discovered a huge hoard of gold and jewels - though there was too much to carry. After they had left two travellers named Bruto and Old Bill came across the hoard, loaded their wagon with the treasure and rode away. Later the Thranish wizard Vedansh investigated the ruins.
