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both the winds and currents are unpredictable, making the waters dangerous even for expert crews.
The eastern, southern, and most of the northern shores of the island rise steeply from the Southern
Courrain Ocean. These sheer cliffs and the local currents can pound ships with unwary crews to tinder.
Dark, forbidding forests stand atop the cliffs.
The western and part of the northern coasts are lined with narrow beaches of black sand. However,
reaching these beaches can be very dangerous. The waters are shallow and rife with reefs, making it
dangerous to bring even small boats close to the island. As the shore continues north, cliffs start to rise
about fifteen to twenty feet from the beaches.
Larger vessels can approach the island at only one well-known place. In the decades before the Second
Cataclysm, Illtide Bay emerged as a regular portage for the vessels under the command of the notorious
Gad Maccaby. He charted a safe course through the reefs, reportedly at the cost of two ships. His
raiders could anchor in a well-sheltered natural harbor and replenish their water supplies from the falls of
pure, sweet-tasting water that tumbled over the fifteen-foot cliff onto the beach.
Although Maccaby's grandson, Scarrel Maccaby, continues to plague shipping in the Blood Sea, he
does not make use of Claren Elian. When Malystryx, the great red dragon, seized control of the
Goodlund Peninsula in 3sc, she almost failed to notice the Ran-Eli.
Almost.
Upon transforming the Goodlund Peninsula into a volcanic wasteland, she turned to the islands off the
coast. She realized that the skilled killers on the island could be of use, and she set about to intimidate
them. After burning a swath across the island and destroying the entire population of a village, she
realized they would die rather than submit. She tried a different approach and sent an emissary to learn
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how she might earn their submission. The leader of the Masters of Rank, the Superior Master, said that
the Emissary would have to best him in combat. She did, and the people of Ran-Eil swore allegiance to
Malys. As a result, Scarrel does not want to draw too close to the shores controlled by the Red
Marauder.
The majority of Claren Elian is covered by lush green forests, and even though Malys demonstrated her
power by scorching the island's center, the hearty forests have already started to reclaim that land.
No obvious paths lead from the island's shores to its interior, and would-be explorers must cut their own
trails. This is slow going, with a party covering only one mile in an hour. Once away from the shore,
however, they start to encounter overgrown blocks of stone and toppled pillars here and there.
These signs of ancient civilization become more common as one moves northward. Finally, the forest
falls away to reveal the crystal ruins of a once glorious city, now overgrown and resembling a gigantic
garden. Pillared courtyards vie for attention with many tiered buildings that tower as high as sixty feet.
Friezes of serpents and flowers decorate everything. Ornate statues stand everywhere, representing
idealized dwarves, and many walls are carved with scenes of dwarves being served by human slaves. At
the heart of the city is a one-hundred-fifty-foot building. Slender crystal towers capture and focus the light
onto the center palace, which sparkles like a thousand stars.
Claren Elian enjoys a mild climate for most of the year, thanks to warm southern currents from the Blood
Sea. Summer lasts for nine months of the year, and winter is only a dulling of the ever-present heat.
Adventure Seed
Mysterious assassins are stalking Palin Majere and several of the students at the Academy of Sorcery.
Palin believes these are the same group of assassins who attempted to kill Goldmoon a few months prior.
Is there a connection? Is someone trying to stop the resurgence of magic in Ansalon? If so, who?
Heroes can become involved and find themselves targeted for assassination themselves. Eventually, they
find clues that lead them to Claren Elian. Here, the Superior Master directs them to the city of living
crystal, explaining that many of his people have fallen victim to the sorcerous control of an insane scion
who has recently reappeared within the city. He says that unless the heroes slay this evil being, the scion
will continue to force the Ran-Eli to destroy those working to unlock the foundations of Krynn's magic.
The heroes must brave a maze of fantastic creatures and living plants before coming face to face with
one of the most powerful magical beings the world has ever known.
Dragon's Graveyard
On the northeastern coast of Ansalon is a secret graveyard for the Good dragons. Dragons too sick or
too severely injured to reach the Dragon Isles come to this secluded area where they can enter the sea
and disappear. For centuries, adventurers who heard the legend of the Dragon's Graveyard have sought
for this place where dragon bones and treasure are piled higher than a kender's head.
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A History of the Dragon's Graveyard
Although the Dragon's Graveyard has been popularized through stories that are told and retold in
taverns, few people, save Ergothian bards and a handful of scholars, know the true origin of the tales.
Fewer still realize that the stories actually have basis in fact.
In one of the compilations of works credited to Quivalen Soth, a brief song tells the story of a silver
dragon who cried out to the gods for protection after the body of his mate was seized by humans and
used for food, clothes, and tools. Although Paladine seemed deaf to the dragon's fears, Habbakuk and
Branchala answered, creating a place to which dying metallic dragons could retreat and where their
physical forms would be protected from desecration by mortals. The gods combined their powers and
raised a tiny island from the sea, a few miles off the northern shore of Ansalon. Here, if a Good dragon
raised his or her voice in song, a grave would open. The dragon would lie down and when the might
creature expired, the earth would bury them body in a grave that no one would ever find.
For once, the legends are completely accurate. Although the island itself sank beneath the Turbidus
Ocean when the lands of Nordmaar rose from the depths during the Cataclysm, the Dragon's Graveyard
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