Here now is the first region of the Forest of Misery, once the grand Kingdom of Aetheria. To the traveler's eye, the Greater woods is a vast and ancient forest of pines, oaks, birch, and maple trees. With thick undergrowth of bushes and ferns. The air is always cool, and somewhat moist, with mists floating about the ground.

There is also a thick canopy above, created by the many trees, all of which seem to close in on one wandering through the woods, as if to try to block out the sunlight. There are the sounds of birds, ravens and owls for the most part. Stags, brown and black bears, wolves, and other forest creatures are also abundent in the Forest.

As are other beings, preeminent among them are the Shadow or Ghost Elves, descendents of a clan of Dark Elves or Drow, that left their underdark home, and moved to this forest, and enslaved the Grey Elves that once lived in the woods. The two races breeded with each other, and over time became the Shadow Elves, who do not really care for outsiders.
Though however, when humans came to the land, centuries later, the two races coexisted fairly well, due to the fact of the existance of three other notable races.

There were also Orcs, Ogres, and Goblins, known as the beast races of Aetheria, who settled the woods, before even the Drow came. The Beast races fought both men and elves, and the two races joined against the Orcs, Ogres and Goblins that plagued the land. Ever since, despite many wars, the Beast races still dwell in the dark places of the Forest.

Other beings that wonder the Forest depths are the Dark Fae, cruel forest spirits with a great degree of powers and charms. They torment and toy with both the Humans and Elves of the woods, and at times the Beast races. Though Dark Fae rulers will also use the beast races for their own slave warriors. There are also Werewolves, WereRavens, and WereBears, though of the three Were races, the Werewolves are greatest. And the most hated, as they hunt Humans and Elves to make more of their kind or to feed on the two peoples.

Shadow Unicorns, Evil Treants, and other Forest beings, some quite dark round out the rest of any inhabitants. Large spiders are a nuisence, a hold over from the days of the Drow settlements.

As for any kind of settlements, there are some, mainly Human/Shadow elven communties, fortress like villages built of stone and tree, with walls, towers and gates. Armed guards patrol the walls and the lands surrounding these armed camps. This is all needed for protection from the Werewolves and the Beast Races, who on a regular basis attack.

However the Humans and Shadow Elves of these settlements are well trained from a young age on how to fight, by order of Khest.

Throughout the Greater Woods are several small rivers, creeks and brooks, some of which flow through canyons and gulleys. Villages nearest these waterways fish for trout and salmon. Wild boar, rabbit and venison, round out the diet of the Villagers.

Clothing tends to be of Earthen and Forest colors, mostly browns, blacks, greens and greys. Heavy woolen skirts are worn by both men and women, thick cotten or wool overcoats and linen or cotten shirts. Jewellry is rare, afforded by those of higher station. Men and women, Elven or Human are expected to marry young, according to one's race. Bethrothels are frequent among the rich and poor, and arranged by the parents of both families. Human and Elven families do marry to each other, such unions are not discouraged, and Half-Elven children are excepted by both sides.

Each settlement is ruled by a lord or lady from a prominent noble family, humans or elves rule, there is also a council of elders, comprised of the more higher up citizens of the town, who advise the lord or lady of the town. Of course each Lord or Lady is in turn ruled by a Prince or Princess, and each Prince or Princess rules a number of towns.

Above all of course is Khest, Fifth Monarch of Aetheria, who is King of all the land, to whom all awnser to.

As for the spiritual beliefs of the Elves and Humans, they worship their ancestors, the spirits of wood, water, earth and sky. Ancient forest gods, whose names have been forgotten. Though a large number of people worship the Elder Elemental Eye, an ancient god of the Four Elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water, who is seen as the Father of the various forest spirits and minor gods.

We move now from the Greater woods, to the Black Myre.

At the center of Aetheria, known as the Forest of Misery, does lie, the deep and said to be bottomless Lake of Tears. A large, cold fresh water lake, with a calm surface, though when a storm comes, the waters of the lake become wild, capable of tossing boats and capsizing them. The Lake is fed by the waterways of the Black Myre and underwater springs.

Should one go beneath the surface of the lake, it grows darker, murkier, with all sorts of aquatic plants, mud from below, and schools of fish, mainly trout and salmon. One can swear they see ruined boats and towns in the depths. And here in the blackened depths also linger tribes of freshwater Locathah, who rule the depths of the lake from their own strange underwater settlements.

Inspite of the dangers of the waters of the Lake of Tears, which gets its name from legends of how the Lake was formed, when the old Gods wept as Elves were being slaughtered by invasions of Orcs, Ogres and Goblin many ages ago, people do ply its waters. For the most part for travel to and from BlackMourn, for fishing, and those brave enough to look for some buried treasure in those waters.

Though for the most part the Locathah tribes leave the surface dwellers alone, there have been some abductions of Humans and Shadow Elves from time to time, especially on the New Moon. When it gets bad, Khest sends his undead troops into the waters of the Lake to take care of a Locathah village, those Locathah that are slain, are added to Khest's number of undead soldiers, as a reminder as to who is true master of the Lake.

And now we goto BlackMourn which is both the name of the King's Castle and the town which rests upon the Isles of Sorrow.

And here dear traveler, we come to the final stop of the journey into Aetheria, Kingdom of Shadows, The mighty Castle-Fortress of BlackMourn. This great castle of four, massive and rather tall square towers, each looming at a height of 200 feet, and an even taller, and more massive round central tower of 350 feet, all enclosed within walls some 180 feet high and 30 feet thick, is the home of his Majesty, Khest I, 5th King of Aetheria.

The great fortress was built some 700 years ago by Men and Dwarves, who settled the land, the First King, Roheris, Great Great GrandFather of Khest, had the Castle built with large stones of Grey-black granite, basalt and fine black marble, quarried from the far off mountains to the North.

The castle took some 60 years to complete, and had only one main gate, protected by large, thick, iron reinforced oak doors and two, heavy iron portculuses. Each tower top had built upon it a huge catapult, movable in a 180 degree arc, by a series of gears, pulleys and weights. Each great catapult could launch a large boulder some 500 yards. Being on a rocky island in the middle of a vast lake, made BlackMourn castle even more unassailable.

Each of the four square towers is like a large garrison with barracks, storerooms, messhalls, training rooms, armories and a smithy below. As well as having many an arrow slit for archers. The Main tower, also contains such areas, as well as the King's Chambers, a large study, and of course the Main Hall/Throne Room, which is on the Second Floor, set above the Grand Enterance hall.

The Enclosure wall of the castle contains on the inside a series of stairways and a large wooden framework of catwalks, to allow for ease of movement for castle forces against invaders. And crenalations are cut into the wall tops to allow archers to fire their deadly arrows with relative safety.

As for the ThroneRoom/Main Hall, which holds both the King's Court and serves as a great feasthall, is decorated with banners, tapestries, long wooden tables for feasts, suits of armor, weapons and shields. The crowning piece of the ThroneRoom/Main Hall is of course the Throne of the Four Dragons, which is carved all out of one massive block of Black marble, with grey veins.

This masterpiece of dwavren stonework, consists of a high-backed and wide, solid chair, with pointed triangular top, and dragon-shaped armrests. Flanking the chair piece are two, 13 feet tall, and very life-like statues of two Shadow dragons, grasping the throne with their clawed hands, looking downwards. The whole piece rests on a six feet high, round dais, with carved steps, in all some 30 feet across. The chair piece itself is nine feet high and four feet wide.

It is beneath this Throne piece, down a long, deep shaft, does lie the Castle Heart, the source of Khest's life and manifestation of his curse. The heart is infact a great black diamond, which is held above the floor of the room, or Heart Chamber, by a series of dark red, nearly black pulasating, veins of stone strange, stone-like tissue. These veins wrap arround the Black Diamond and seem to penetrate both into the diamond and the walls of the chamber.

The diamond pulses with a cold, deep puprle fire within it, and is deathly cold to the touch. Should Khest be weakend and the Heart destroyed by one of pure, good heart, then Khest is destroyed, forever. And also the Castle itself crumbles to dust and rubble, and the Forest realm fades into nothing.

Here now is the end of the road... brave soul.