The Nine Circles

The Nine Circles is a chain of volcanoes that surround a predominantly large one. It is the home of the lavaborn dragons and rumored to be the location of Rohana, yet there are worse that are rumored to be there. Anyone who enters the vicinity of the Nine Circles will begin to feel their mind start warping, as if changing and morphing to something evil and wrong. It is very minute at first. At the outskirts, you will feel a headache, minor senses of pain, and slight monetary desire. Within the center, you will feel hatred, murderous, treacherous, and the overwhelming desire to watch the world burn around you, to see it turn into what you are standing upon. It leaves the moment you exit the Nine Circles, but many have never come back from venturing deep within. Despite this curse, there are those that live around it, such as the Drakonspyre empire. They have grown a sense of immunity to the 'curse' that roams the lands, yet even they cannot venture to close to the center.

Many locals speak of a tale that the lands were once a peaceful valley range, with the center of the Nine Circles being a peaceful, silent volcano. Yet, one day, a storm that ravaged the lands and almost wiped out the world cascaded upon it, and at its height; the earth began shaking below them, cracking and swelling. One morning, the villagers awoke to a deafening explosion, and ash falling everywhere. The land ruptured, and most who survived fled. It is said that a being of pure evil resides within the volcano, and is the reason why such chaos was brought to the land. They refer to this being as 'The Wrathful God', and some direct cattle or other sacrifices toward the center of the volcano as tribute, never to be seen again by their owners.

The World of Aethius • The Multiverse of Aethier