History of the Excavations

How did Intermundia come into sub-reality? The lost continent was discovered by a process which can only be described or called "Mystic Archeology". The archeologic technique is unknown to modern science, but it is thought to have been first developed by a Neoplatonic Thaumaturge in the 6th century AD. Mr. Potter has been using the technique in order to recollect "legendary content deposited into my subconscious by an angelic being which dwells in a closely linked time-reality."
"I have had to re-enter intermundia several times to recover the texts. I must enter into a mystic anamnesis opened by dream-trance. Then I soul-journey as far as the forgotten library in the cave-ruins of the Ancient Rises of Nystol, the many-towered college of magian adepts which I first came upon in 1990-91. The desert journey was very dangerous. The recovery process and translation work are still underway, the corpus of scrolls and tomes found in the ruins is substantial.Here is a chronology of the known history and excavationsBackground: In the days when Arthur King of Britain reigned, a nether-gate was found by explorers beneath a small fortress island called Atherly. After sailing in an underground sea for two months, the Knights of Duke Ikonn re-enter the upper world and arrive at the shores of the Vastess Sea, near the grottos of Gorre, the continent intermundia.A short exploratory expedition inland is undertaken. Upon returning to the isle Atherly the Duke's knights are surprised and burned alive by a Red Dragon.Ikonn flees by ship back to the lost continent and is shipwrecked. His only clue to the identity of the beast is the name "Scorg".

1981: During high school math class I suddenly draw a lion-headed being with wings and seven horns. Infused knowledge identifies this creature as angelic, the guardian of dungeoneers. He reveals that his name is Ambrosius Ammouri, and that he has projected himself spiritually into my own time-reality, in order that I may record the epic of Duke Ikonn, which had begun two years previous, in 1979.

1982: In this year it is revealed to me how Duke Ikonn was found alive by intermundian buccaners. He participates in a bold campaign to sack the Underworld and lay hold of its great treasures. He is assailed by a gruesome tentacled creature and barely escapes with his life. He recieves the sword Oceanocing as his treasure, as well as ancient bronze plate mail of etheriality.

1982: In this year it is revealed how Duke Ikonn captured the fortress of the rebel prince Synostochs in the Dry Blood Sea and witnessed the diabolic prophecy of the son of the Nol-Ghost, the dark lord. He also consolidates his castles built over the sea-grottos of the Gorric Coast, thereby assuring naval supremacy of all the coasts of the Vastess Sea. Launching a bold attack in the foggy seaport he takes the galleon of the Pirate King as his own dragon-ship, the Valaria.

1983: Ikonn recieves visions of Ambrosius Ammouri, guardian of dungeoneers. He loses a hand in combat in the dome city. Later, he travels to the great northern forests to enter the order of Ammouri and uncovers the Black Book of Melancholy in the Arx Pegasorum. This work of intermundian history he gives to his personal scribe Thanato Excorpus for copying. This copy is uncovered by myself, some five hundred years later.1984: The gnome Cruthius Eleusinion guides the mage Elkomenon, the theif Godiun, and Ikonn into the underworld, hot on the trail of the elusive Red Dragon Scorg,(who once incinerated his companions).After several years of quest-combat for dungeoneers through places like "The Pyramid of The Scull" and "The Lost Dome City", Ikonn retires as King of Gorre.

1986: The first tract of Black Book of Melancholy is finally translated into readible Latin. The primordial history of the lost continent is partially revealed, especially the records of the first man who lived after the great deluge, Maceon.1985: Mantayl, a would-be hero, enters the underground of intermundia searching for the notorius "Black Book", a quest foolishly accepted from an evil minion "The Great Wall". Instead he discovers a ring of magic missle, which, having misused, accidently blows him up.

1989: Fragments of several Urguard warrior poems are found on pottery fragments which support the theory that the city state of Urguard was originally a colony of the Hellenic Sparta.

1990: The Geographic Charts of Vistonn and Cruthius are found rolled up in yanothic jars in Gohha.In the summer of that year the messianic poem "The Martyrdom" is found complete in the ash ruins of Authapis.

1991: "The discovery of the Basement Texts" in Nystol. Huge sections of poetry and history are unravelled. Including the mysterious accounts of Mercurius Yod, the heretic mythographer. A draft timeline of intermundian history is found in the Black Book.1992-93: Fragments of an unknown epic poem that describes various mythic beings are discovered. These strongly suggest that Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians colonized intermundia sometime in the Bronze Age.

1996: It is revealed how a hero of secret identity, only known as "The Blue Lemur", an over-bold dungeoneer, had infiltrated the labyrinths of Garmsir and slain a frost dragon.

2001: More of Mercurius Yod is discovered.2002: Huge portions of the Black Book of Melancholy are finally translated, clarifying some very important aspects of intermundian myth and history in The Fall of Nystol.The Oceanicon, an epic record of Duke Ikonn's first journey into the Underworld, is found perfectly preserved by ice in the crystal caves of Plathonis. Translation goes extremely slowly on account of Ikonn's script hand.

2003: The discovery of the Bladetongue Saga in the tombs of Imperial Anshan rocks the world of intermundian scholarship.Translation work is also very slow.

2005: Permission is granted by authorities in the Kalar to examine the sacred Library of Emperor Bamusk II. The Great Map of Aetholus is found, as well as two epillions (short epics) popular in his time, The Madness that came to Ptur and King Ikonn the Wormserver. In the case of the later, it seems that King Ikonn's fame had become so great that the Kalar Maurob had tried to claim him as an ancestor.

2015 The Epic "Never Leave Your Monastery" is found, in a monastery, of course.