Before the war between Arkhos and Atma Henom was a place a beauty, a natural wonder of cascading water and green, vibrant life.
That memory does little to dispell the horrors of what Henom was to become.
After their conquest of Arkhos, the Atman Empire annexed the lands and began to use them as a place of refuse, a land to take that which was unwanted and exile those too troublesome to be officially dealt with. Henom had a special use reserved for it, a special hell to which it was destined to become.
The wizards of Atma often operated with little to no moral code, their experiments often yeilding undesirable, but uncorrectable, results. In many cases these experiments were carried out on the poor in need of money or those with too little knowledge of the true danger involved. Other times wizards would experiment on themselves with... unforseen... results. The results of these experiments - half insane, diseased, or deformed - were exiled to Henom, a place that, officially, was a hospital whose purpose was to care for and treat these unfortunates. Unofficially, however, it was just a place to keep the horrible truth a secret.
In -211 AA a member of the Circle Of Nine named Ryael, the master of necromancy, experienced a revelation of morality. Seeking to aid the peoples of Henom, many if which were there by his own hand, he journied to Arkhos and attempted to change their fate for the better with his powerful magics. Something went wrong, however, and the entire valley was destroyed in a blast of radiance.
Very few know the truth of what happened that day. The valley was not destroyed but accidentally transfered to the Plane Of Life in a burst of magical power. There it would become known in myth and legend of the Temple Of Light, a place of immortality where Ryael would continue to work to help those who suffered, often unjustly, at the hands of irresponsible wizards. |
