Caranduin-City in the Sands

Few today are bold enough to visit the once great city of Caranduin. The Forsaken Lands that surround it are perilous enough by day, and by night even the most powerful fear to venture across it. Close to the city, the desert heat plays tricks on the eyes; you go in the direc- tion you believe the city lies, only to see it where you just were. If you are lucky, you will reach the city before nightfall, and you will be greeted by the eerie sight of a pristine city that is thou- sands of years old, but so new looking that you swear you can almost see the citizens who once called the place home.

The first settlement on the site is believed to be the village of Anduin, a prosperous village on the old east-west trade road. The village was dominated by a large temple where pilgrims came from throughout the kingdom to worship. One day, traders came to Anduin only to find it abandoned. They entered the temple, but were overcome by a powerful feeling of dread that sent them running for their lives. No one ever returned to Anduin, but the area was too fertile to remain empty for long. In time, a new village sprang up in the same area called Seringale. Trade was heavier at that time than it was in the days of Anduin, and Seringale soon grew to a small city. To protect the trade road, the High King ordered the construction of a series of five mighty fortresses. The fifth and smallest was built outside of Seringale and named Caer Anduin for the village that showed on some of the old maps. Seringale became associated in people's mind with the fortress, and eventually the city became known as Caranduin.

What caused the disaster that turned the once thriving city into a ghost-ridden ruin is unknown, but theories abound. Some say the an- cient evil that wiped out Anduin returned, made even stronger by the greater number of lives that it took. Some believe that a powerful necromancer made a pact with a dark power to trade the lives of the city for unholy power. What is known is that one night, the streets were overrun with foul demons and reavers, draining the life of anyone they touched and turning them into wraiths. A few lucky ones managed to escape the city, but many lives were lost that night. Those who entered the city later found that the streets were overrun with crea- tures of darkness, waiting for the unwary. Indeed, the aura of death over the city was so powerful, that the once fertile land began to change into a wasteland. Year by year the blight grew, until it turned most of the western lands into a desert, even swallowing the Elven kingdom of Alfensham and reducing the forest around it to burned out stumps.

Today, Caranduin lies glistening in the hot desert sun, waiting for those who have the courage to brave the Blasted Lands and unlock its mysteries.

A Map of Caranduin

North Gate

---------------I--------------- I I I I I I I--------------I--------------I I --I-- I West GateI------------I I------------IEastern Gate I Park --I-- I I--------------I--------------I I I I I I I ---------------I--------------- South Gate