Zephuros Mark

Category	Marvels
Continent	Brucrumus
Region	Tribe Steppes
Owner	none
Built	4 Lunar 8701 DE
Map	Morteban

The Zephuros Mark is a substantial depression near the apex of Morteban. This circular aperture measures 120 miles across and descends into the earth for half that distance. For numerous individuals on the surface and below, it constitutes impassable terrain. The denizens that make it their abode are entities capable of taking to the skies or traversing the region utilizing skyships or other supernatural flight.

The air currents and meteorological conditions within this unnatural cavity frequently differ from those outside its confines; it may be placid and sunny externally, yet an intense thunderstorm rages within the Zephuros Mark. The exceptional nature of the Zephuros Mark stems from its dual existence as both a constituent of the world Bal-Kriav and a component of Chaos. Should one plummet to the bottom, they would vanish from this realm, finding themselves tumbling into a turbulent stream of elemental air that traverses Chaos.

This marvel of the realm was created during the Creation War. In a battle at this very spot, the primordial lord Talos defeated the archangel Zephuros. Rather than surrender to his Primordial adversary, Zephuros activated a spell that ripped open a portal between Bal-Kriav and The Void. This rift into the void sucked everything in the area into it, obliterating Zephuros's already battered army and annihilating those under Talos. Although Zephuros's demise wiped out an entire primordial army, it failed to achieve its primary objective of killing Talos. This was because Talos had wisely shielded himself with the Teleport Trigger spell, which activated when he neared death, safely transporting him away from the tumultuous vortex of devastation where rocks and debris broke apart and pulverized everything drawn inward. As fate would have it, Talos gained the storm domain from Zephuros's downfall.

Zephuros Mark poses a formidable challenge for airborne creatures. This is due to the abundance of earth mote and debris scattered throughout the region, remnants of its tumultuous creation. Many of these buoyant formations are sizeable, supporting fields of vegetation and even verdant forests. Some are interconnected by vines and bridges, enabling passage between the floating islands. Those with bridges are situated in the deeper reaches, where the chasm's tunnels descend into the Underdark.

How Talos acquired a portion of Zephuros's divine power when the latter was transported away (via teleportation magic), and the fact that it was Zephuros who took his own life rather than being directly killed by Talos, has led some to speculate that the mechanisms governing the transference of divine power possess an overly rigid framework.

Hades, from his renowned work Ascendant - "Workings of Divine Power"