Heinvart’s Electric Menagerie
The world of Kul De’Has is built upon the ruins of the previous age. A lot was lost. Or so it was believed. As the legends of the World That Was spread throughout the lands, many went searching through the ruins in hopes of finding the treasures of the age. The Echo did a thorough job of wiping out traces of the past. Any useful bit of anything was scavenged long ago.
Legend has it that that a group of gnomes would not accept this as the answer. Their leader, Heinvart Colmguild, a noted cartographer and treasure hunter of his day, scoured the world searching for clues of the past. His hunt brought him all over the world. Searching ruins and libraries. Chasing dead end after dead end. For over a century his hunt continued. Throughout this, the group of followers changed, but Heinvart remained. Ever vigil. Slowly, discouragement ravaged the group. The party became smaller and smaller, until only Heinvart remained. People thought he was crazy to continue his hunt. But he payed them no mind. Until one day…. he vanished. Many say he died. But some believe he finally found what he was looking for. Every once in a while, someone will find one of Heinvart’s maps, or a clue he unintentionally left behind, and they will have themselves a treasure hunt. Nothing is ever found though and has now been chocked up as a fool’s errand.
The truth is that Heinvart found a cave that led to previously undiscovered ruins. Although toppled and broken, he found buildings that had been covered with centuries of debris and detritus. Buried by the winds and sands during The Echo of Annihilation. Then, when Feowyn and her druids regrew the world, the ruins were lost to the world. Until Heinvart uncovered it. He kept his find a secret and brought his family and friends to his discovery. Over time, the clever Gnomes excavated the tunnels and caves, cleaning and clearing out debris. The underground buildings became towns. The Gnomes found old transit tunnels that led to roads. These roads would eventually find their way top side, but they indicated where the next find would be. Search Parties would be sent, now armed with the knowledge of what to look for. Other pockets of the past would be uncovered and kept secret. Although current technology and resources would limit the effectiveness of their findings, it did provide a vast knowledge base and sources for reverse engineering. Using the network of buried buildings and tunnels, an underground world was built utilizing the corpse of the previous infrastructure. The Gnomes continue to conduct research into what they find. Bringing new tech into the world that occasionally leaks out, but mostly kept to themselves. All the while, keeping The Vivid Underground (as it has also been called in legend) a secret from the outside world.
This is not a city, per se. rather a series of townships controlled by “Bosses”. Usually heads of family that work a managerial role in the township. These Bosses all belong to a board made up of the Bosses of each township. They make decisions that affect the entire Vivid Underground.