Fort Bones

Halflings on dinosaurs approaching Fort Bones.
Fort Bones
Basic Information
Location	Karrnath
Built	903 YK, rebuilt 990 YK
Destroyed	990 YK
Notableoccupants	400

Fort Bones is a military installation in Karrnath guarding the border with the Talenta Plains. Established in 903 YK during the Last War, the fort houses the Company of the Skull, and is run by the Captain of Bones. In 990 YK, Valenar forces razed the fort, but it was subsequently rebuilt, with the skeletons of Karrnath's enemies incorporated into the walls.

There are no light sources anywhere in the fort, and all the undead rely on their darkvision.

History

Standing in the Odakyr region of Karrnath, it was formerly a keep and the seat of governance of Gyrnar Shult, a priest of the Blood of Vol. When the Last War broke out in the year 894 YK, it was seized by a Karrnathi warlord named Kaina ir'Durna, who sought to fortify it for use as a garrison against Cyre. Gyrnar warned her about the power of Mabar and the necessity of certain rites he performed within the keep, but Kaina, a devout worshiper of Dol Arrah, did not heed him. This would be catastrophic, for the keep was a manifest zone of Mabar, and when Mabar unexpectedly came into a coterminous phase, its dark energy emanated from the keep. All over Odarkyr, it drained life from the land, causing crops to fail, animals to sicken, and a terrible famine to break out.

Later, after Kaius I turned to the Blood of Vol, Gyrnar was appointed as commander of his former keep, which had recently been refortified. Vowing that the bones of every Karrn who had fallen would serve as a wall to protect those still alive, Gyrnar renamed it Fort Bones. (Actual bones would not be included in the fort's walls until decades later.) Thereafter, Gyrnar focused on improving the use of necromancy in warfare.

Owing to Odakyr now being thick with Mabar's power, many great priests and necromancers flocked to Gyrnar's side—including Malevanor, high priest of the Crimson Monastery in Atur, who stayed with Gyrnar for almost three weeks. This collaboration led to the perfecting of what were called the Odakyr Rites, which are used in the creation of the Karrnathi undead. Although such undead would primarily be produced in Atur, the Mabar manifest zone meant Fort Bones stayed a key center for undead development and the training of bone knights.

Throughout the War, Fort Bones withstood many sieges but was never taken. This was until the Long Night of 990 YK, when the elves of Valenar assaulted the keep, using their best wizards and druids to cause storms and earthquakes that brought down the walls. They overran and pillaged the place, stealing even the bones of Gyrnar Shult. Reinforcements from Fort Zombie came too late—Fort Bones was ruined.

The new commander, a fearsome captain named Alinda Dorn, vowed to rebuild its walls with the bones of her enemies. She made good on this threat too, incorporating human and elf bones into the mortar and pale-hued stone. These moaned faintly at the approach of enemies.

Appendix

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Further Reading

• Fort Bones