Underfoot: Unfolding the Lore - The Foundation [EverQuest]

[RSS FEED]

The fifth installment of Underfoot's "Unfolding the Lore" series is out and centers in on the Foundation:

The Foundation

The Foundation is where mountains are "born." In the early days, Brell created stone giants known as the Genari and charged them with raising mountains all over the multiverse. But his personal interest in this form of sometimes destructive creation waned, and now the Genari do their endless, tireless work with little help from their creator... not that they complain.

The Cavern of Clay, a cave located off of the Foundation, is one of the deepest locations of the Underfoot. It is here that the Clay of Cosgrove is found. It wells up from the ground and is scooped out by workers to be used as needed by Brell himself. The clay was meant to be taken on a cycle, but has been over-mined and is beginning to run low. It is not only the minions of Brell that are taking the clay; the Cliknar have dug a tunnel into the rear of the Cavern of Clay and have been taking the clay for themselves as well.

The Clay of Cosgrove was in the Underfoot even before Brell. It is the only material in this realm that is not his of his making. It is the clay of creation and defies all powers of the gods other than in its use as a device for creation.

The walls and ceiling of the Foundation are covered by a variety of phosphorescent fungus in varying colors, creating a bright environment that almost seems to be open air. Within this environment the servitors of Brell grow food similar to what might be found in Norrath, as the bioluminescence creates enough light to grow by.

Recently the drive to raise mountains has been greatly diminished, so others of Brell's realm have taken to using the area at the Genari's feet for their own needs. Farms sprang up to feed the local populace.

A heavy population of insects, known as Cliknar, can be found in the area. They feed the fungus and other creatures as well as pollinate the plants. They were originally used as farm workers and helped supply the residents with food.

Over time, the Cliknar lost much of their ability to grow their food and have taken to hoarding more and more for themselves instead, making for lean times among the other residents of the Underfoot.

The area between the Genari and the clay staging area looks like a rather organized series of farmsteads where fungus and other odd plants are grown on hard, unyielding ground. Rarely, the farmers will head into this area to gather wild resources. Even more rare is the arrival of a new Genari.

The Genari

The Genari are titan-sized giants that were created by Brell Serilis to hold up and cause movement within the mountains of the worlds. There is no leadership amongst the Genari, as they are merely servitors of Brell. Each Genari stands on a different piece of the Underfoot, called a foundation, representing a mountain range one of any number of worlds.

When Ro raised the Serpent's Spine Mountains on Norrath, he created many problems for the Genari, and several were crushed under the additional weight. Brell created more Genari to carry the load, but many of the dead Genari have been kept in place, their unmoving stone corpses acting as support columns. As the Serpent's Spine compresses over time, its weight continues to crush the supporting Genari, which will need to be removed and replaced with more flexible living Genari.

Some screenshots of the Foundation:

More...