Sinking Isle

Among the islands of the Sea Barons, in the waters between Asperd Isle and Winetha, is a mysterious island, part of the Asperdi-Duxchan chain, that is sometimes there, sometimes not. The majority of the time it sleeps on the bottom of the Bay of Gates, but periodically it emerges from the depths, its twisted towers and strange, high-arched architecture thrusting just far enough to ensnare unwary ships. Other times it surfaces entirely, revealing its ruins to those foolish enough to enter them. The ruined buildings seem to have been created by a lost race predating the elves or Flan. Some believe that when the island sank, its inhabitants became the first of the sahuagin.

History

In 155 CY, when Aedorich was still a young man, he was sent by his father to the university of Rel Astra (the Sorcerer's Nexus), a center of magical learning. On the way there, Aedorich's ship was caught in a sudden squall and the ship's hull was torn open on one of the protruding spires of the infamous Sinking Isle. While the crew worked the pumps and struggled to patch the hole, Aedorich sketched the weirdly phosphorescent landscape. An hour after he began, a great wave lifted the vessel clear and the travelers continued to their destination. Aedorich vowed to return.

Years later, the now middle-aged Herzog Aedorich of North Province finally had the leisure to fulfill his earlier oath. By examining certain tomes of Suloise authorship and using the mystical arts he learned in Rel Astra, he was able to predict accurately (or, some believe, even control) the rising and falling of the mysterious Sinking Isle. There, Aedorich painstakingly cataloged panes of exotic stained glass, twisted artworks crafted by the sahuagin from lead and gold, and a Book of Vile Darkness protected from the water by a lead casket. He brought his discoveries to Rauxes, giving them as tribute to the Overking but hoping to study them further in his retirement. He was especially interested in the book.

This was not to be, because two years after his last expedition to the Sinking Isle, he and all hands aboard his ship died in a storm off the coast of North Province that even his powers were unable to quell. All known records and charts of the expeditions of House Atirr and the magical knowledge that Aedorich used to gain reliable access to the island were lost in the Turmoil Between Crowns, but it is believed that remaining scions of House Rax may still have the book, at least, in their possession.

Bibliography

• Moore, Roger E. "Greyhawk Mysterious Places." Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1999. Originally appeared in TSR's America Online folder as a second edition update to Greyhawk Adventures, later moved to its website. No longer live on the WotC website but available from the Wayback Machine: [1]

• Ward, James. Greyhawk Adventures. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1988.

  Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index

The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.

Topic	Type	Description	Product	Page/Card/Image
Sinking Isle, The	Geographical feature	Island,	Living Greyhawk Gazetteer	18, 148
Sinking Isle, The	Item	Island,	Greyhawk Adventures	3, 93, 95