8.12

Zyrdicia stared at the map in front of her. It certainly looked like the dragon-shaped map of Aparans she had seen in Castle Blackpool. There were no kingdoms or cities marked on it, though. Instead, hundreds of intersecting, winding lines laced the continent's image. A description in elvish annotated each tunnel route.

In ancient times, the entire realm had been riddled with tunnels below the earth. An enormous population of dark elves once lived here. Zyrdicia leafed through the ancient documents Detlev gathered for her. Her heart raced as she read them. She understood immediately why the elfin Overlord had been so eager to find out whether it still existed.

Aparans had once been a source of arcanium, a semi-magical substance so rare that its existence now was almost mythical. The Lyrian elves lost touch with their Aparansian brethren after the last great Cataclysm shattered the material plane. When that happened, the only known supply of arcanium vanished.

Zyrdicia frowned. She had seen not the slightest trace of the substance anywhere. She definitely would have noticed if she had. If it still existed here, it was inconceivable that the realm would be so primitive and still trade in adulterated gold. By all rights, Aparans ought to be the wealthiest place in the material plane if it still possessed raw arcanium. She could only assume the elves had exhausted the land's supply of it long ago.

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