Panalmier

Settlement Type: Ruins(City)

Terraine: Forest

Population: 36

Description:

About a hundred miles east of the Zabe Mountains lies the Ruins of Panalmier. Sixteen years ago, Panalmier was a thriving metropolis of over 19,000 people.  It was a center of trade and culture, arts and learning, one of the jeweled cities of the Kingdom of Anesina.

But, one day, calamity befell this proud city. Panalmier was well known for its College of Wizardry, which often worked under special dispensation from the crown, to expand the knowledge and uses of magic.  The college had been working with zabeum, and it is believed that one of their experiments went horribly wrong, resulting in an arcane explosion that decimated most of the city.  Anyone who could, fled the city, seeking shelter in the neighboring communities or futher away.

The death toll from the destruction of Panalmier was number in the thousands.

Because of the destruction of Panalmier, the crown tightened the restrictions on magical experimentation, and formally declared all zabeum to belong to the monarchy and, thus, the government of Anesina.

Today, Panalmier remains abandoned. The forest has begun to slowly overtake the ruins, and travelers do not linger within the confines of the city's shattered walls.  There are reports that animals and plants within the city have undergone strange and bizarre mutations, which has prevented anyone from permanently returning to the city.

At present, the only residents of the city are a small group of government researchers, academic wizards and their military escort.  The Ruins of Panalmier were officially quarantined,twelve years ago, and anyone caught in the city, without permission from the crown, faced arrest, imprisonment and interrogation.  

Because of the dangers presented by the magical fallout, the researchers and military do not remain in the city for longer than one to two weeks at a time, and then must undergo special decontamination rituals to remove the toxic magical residue.

Some foreign powers have secretly sent agents into the ruins to gather intelligence, but many of these individuals have not returned. Their fate remains unknown, but the most likely explanation for their disappearance is that they fell prey to one of the ruin's magically mutated creatures.

Residents in the areas around the Ruins have learned to lock their houses up tight after sundown, as there have been reports of strange creatures emerging from the Ruins, to hunt.  The military has increased their presence in the area, but many local communities have started their own militias, feeling that the crown does not truly understand, or care, about their concerns.

In all honesty, the region has become a hotbed of political unrest, which could explode into open rebellion against the crown, if there was any sort of serious incident.