Farynshire: County of Many Lands

I’ve worked as a Digger at Rookpot Museum for over twenty years – best job ever.

I started as an apprentice way back when, and did my training and learning in the Museum. I’ve been all over the county – from the mountains to the coast – and dug in forests, cities, islands, and even under the Lake of Doom.

I got my name from one of the digs. I found the largest collection of meckles ever (I framed the certificate from the Museum Director and put in on my living room wall). Meckles look like small, smooth polished stones, all different colours. They have been highly prized as jewellery by human and wolvern communities for centuries, and once their true origins were confirmed by Museum experts (and Trugarog the Dragonslayer), they were even more coveted. My horde now sits on permanent display in the Dragons in Farynshire exhibit in the Museum. Changed my life, did that horde, and my name. Nobody ever calls me Peter any more!

But this blog post is not about the meckles. It’s about my favourite place in Farynshire. Well, one of them. Definitely in my ever-changing top five.

The Axe Tomb is the only place where there is evidence that wolvern and seafolk interacted. We have always assumed they had minimal contact because wolvern live in the mountains (these days at any rate) and seafolk live in the ocean. The Axe Tomb challenges these assumptions (love it when that happens!).

It is located about twenty miles south of Riversouth, in a cliff in one of the least accessible coastal areas in Farynshire. Be prepared to trek over a mile of rough ground from the road to get to the cliff edge. The Tomb itself is carved into the cliff face itself (cool, right?). Also, take a rope and maybe some grappling hooks – these will make getting into, and out of, the only entrance to the cave: a hole in the roof, known as the hatch shaft.

The shaft is about ten feet from the cliff edge, and about ten feet straight down into the Tomb. Keep an eye out for it: there is no marker, and it’s often hidden by grass and flowers. The best times to visit are on a clear dawn, or a night with a full moon.

As you descend, the first thing you see is the beautiful mosaic floor. It’s worth hanging from the roof for a few minutes to take a good look. The mosaic is made up of jayds, saffyres, roobis, dymunds, and other precious jewels and stones from Wild Wolvern Mey. The image is of a wolvern female (according to experts) and a mermaid exchanging garlands of flowers, standing on a pile of broken axes (hence the name of the Tomb). The mosaic is completely intact, and the colours glow in the light that spills through the cave entrance.

The cave is completely dry. Everything is preserved as though it was built yesterday, and yet you can feel the many years that have passed. Researchers from Rookpot Museum have tried to date the Tomb, but it has proven tricky because everything is so pristine. I think what they would really like to do is ask the wolvern or seafolk themselves, to determine if this Tomb is known within their cultures or histories. For now, us humans can only guess, speculate and try and deduce. The latest theory is that the Tomb must be at least three hundred years old.

The casket itself sits upon a low dais at the back of the cave. It is slightly larger than a modern coffin, and it is made from grey rock that was transported from the Mountains, which can not have been easy. It is encrusted with thousands of shells and jewels, and each one has been carefully embedded or stuck stuck onto the stone. In the dawn or moon light the casket seems to glow with an unearthly light, and there are theories that the jewels and shells were arranged deliberately to produce this effect.

So who rests for eternity in this incredible place? Who lies in the ethereal and unique tomb? Who was the rich and intricate mosaic laid for? Is it a wolvern or a seafolken? It must be someone of great importance, because the whole Tomb is such a labour of love. Its location was chosen with care: overlooking the ocean, high in a cliff so that the sunrise floods the cave, and the moon rise fills it. It is difficult to get to, yet stone and jewels were transported from the Mountains, and shells brought from the ocean.

Maybe you won’t believe this, but the tomb is empty.

Diggers from Rookpot Museum have used x-ray equipment to investigate the casket using the least invasive method available. You can imagine the astonishment when the machine showed that the casket had no occupant!

Many Diggers (myself included), academics, researchers and obsessives have studied, catalogued and written about the marvels of the Axe Tomb. And each one of us has been left with more questions than answers. This has caused much frustration amongst my esteemed colleagues and peers, but the mystery makes me love the Tomb even more. I love the not knowing!

Who was the Tomb built for?

Were they from the wolvern and the seafolk?

Were they ever laid to rest there?

Why have the valuable artefacts not been looted?

To the last question: We know the Tomb has been visited by many individuals over the years (maybe centuries), and yet the resting place itself, the coffin, has remained undisturbed. Diggers and academics from Rookpot Museum have sent many expeditions, and never removed anything. In recent times the preservation of sites has become more important, but this was definitely not a concern for Diggers of yore (as the many wolvern and seafolk artefacts in the Museum’s Vaults can attest to). So why is nothing ever removed from the Tomb, by looters, souvenir hunters, academics, or anyone? Is it cursed? If it is, it is a very effective one!

I hope you can see why I love the Axe Tomb so much. It’s beautiful, unique and full of mystery! A Digger’s dream!