Chapter 42: The Undead Gathering
The Umbral Depths was a vast world hidden deep beneath the earth, larger than the Nine Kingdoms of the continent combined. Sunlight never reached the Depths; only the pale glow of luminescent moss and crystal veins brought light to the endless night.
And yet the harsh realm teemed with life.
Beings rarely seen on the surface, like the drow, deep gnomes, gray dwarves, and mycelids were well adapted to this unique environment.
But none of them thrived in it like the undead.
The undead needed neither air nor food, and were immune to most toxins.They could reign unchallenged in lands where even the hardiest subterranean races could not endure.
In one region of the Umbral Depths was a lake of pure mercury, vast and gleaming.
The surface mirrored the faint light of nearby minerals and glittered like a field of stars.
Yet that beauty hid a deadly truth: its vapors were fatally toxic to almost every living creature. Only the undead could exist there safely, building a castle along the shore and mining the precious ore beneath.
And within the magnificent castle, a pale undead queen sat poring over her ledgers. Her skin was smooth and bloodless, her eyes and lips a deep crimson. She was Black Rose, the wealthy matriarch of the Elegiac Society.