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{{Realm Infobox
{{Realms of Orethil Infobox
|Realm Name=Baelmarsh
|Realm Name=Baelmarsh
|Image=[[File:Baelmarsh - General 02.jpg|center|frameless]]
|Spirit=Baelon
|Spirit=Baelon
|Significance=A land that remembers; what is lost is never truly gone.
|Significance=A land that remembers; what is lost is never truly gone.
}}
}}
{{Realm Sections
{{Realms of Orethil Sections
|Introduction='''Baelmarsh''' is a realm of still waters, tangled roots, and the weight of memory. It is a land where time does not erase but preserves, where the past lingers beneath the silt and waits to be uncovered.   
|Introduction=Baelmarsh is not a land of conquest or wealth. It is a land of remnants—a place where nothing is truly lost, only waiting beneath the water, buried beneath the roots.    


Here, villages stand long after their inhabitants are gone, their doorways yawning, their lanterns unburnt. Ancient roads vanish into the mire, yet footsteps still echo upon them. Ruins remain half-sunken, not crumbling but waiting—as if their stories are not yet finished.
Few come here willingly, and fewer still leave unchanged. Those who enter do so not for riches or power, but for answers, closure, or something long forgotten.  


Baelmarsh is not a land of decay. It is a land of unfinished endings.
Some seek the Half-Sunken Archive, a library whose ink shifts when read, revealing histories erased from time. Others follow the Hollow Procession, hoping to glimpse the faces of lost loved ones.  
 
The waters of the Mireglass Expanse do not reflect what is, but what was, drawing scholars, diviners, and the grieving to its shores.  
 
And some, desperate and reckless, seek out the Wraithroot Witches, offering their own memories in trade for knowledge, revenge, or secrets no mortal should know.  
 
Baelmarsh does not lure travelers with gold. It calls to those who cannot let go of the past.  
|History=The history of Baelmarsh is not written—it is buried. Unlike other realms, whose pasts are shaped by war and conquest, Baelmarsh’s past is silent, sunken, and preserved beneath its waters.   
|History=The history of Baelmarsh is not written—it is buried. Unlike other realms, whose pasts are shaped by war and conquest, Baelmarsh’s past is silent, sunken, and preserved beneath its waters.   


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|Geography=Baelmarsh stretches across the southwestern edge of the continent, bordered by the plains of [[Vaelthar]] to the east and the forests of [[Celyndor]] to the north. Unlike the shifting dunes of [[Zanarak]], Baelmarsh does not change—it holds.   
|Geography=Baelmarsh stretches across the southwestern edge of the continent, bordered by the plains of [[Vaelthar]] to the east and the forests of [[Celyndor]] to the north. Unlike the shifting dunes of [[Zanarak]], Baelmarsh does not change—it holds.   


The land is a vast, stagnant expanse of sodden glades, flooded ruins, and still-black rivers whose waters seem to drink the light. Pale mists coil through ancient trees, clinging to broken watchtowers and temples long abandoned. Beneath the mire, entire settlements rest, undisturbed yet whole, as if waiting for the day they will be remembered.   
The land is a vast, stagnant expanse of sodden glades, flooded ruins, and still-black rivers whose waters seem to drink the light. Beneath the mire lie **entire cities**, their rooftops just visible beneath the surface, their streets waiting in silence. The deeper one goes, the more history is uncovered—not lost, merely waiting. 
 
Those who walk Baelmarsh do not merely tread over land—they walk upon **centuries of forgotten places, buried in time but never truly gone.**  


=== Notable Landmarks ===   
=== Notable Landmarks ===   
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* Sable Eels – Ink-black, slow-moving eels that can grow as thick as tree trunks, their presence marked only by the absence of sound.   
* Sable Eels – Ink-black, slow-moving eels that can grow as thick as tree trunks, their presence marked only by the absence of sound.   
* Glass-Faced Stags – Creatures seen only when the mist is thickest, their antlers entwined with glowing moss, their faces like perfect mirrors. Those who gaze into them see themselves as they could have been—or as they never should be.
* Glass-Faced Stags – Creatures seen only when the mist is thickest, their antlers entwined with glowing moss, their faces like perfect mirrors. Those who gaze into them see themselves as they could have been—or as they never should be.
|Inhabitants=Baelmarsh does not welcome outsiders, and few truly live within it. Those who do are not merely residents; they are part of the land itself, shaped by its endless memory.
|Inhabitants=Baelmarsh does not welcome outsiders, and few truly live within it. Those who do are not merely residents; they are part of the land itself, shaped by its endless memory.
 
=== The Lurathi – Keepers of the Unforgotten ===
The Lurathi are a strange and solemn people, their forms reminiscent of great, tusked beasts, their faces long and narrow, their curved tusks arching toward their foreheads like spirals of polished ivory. Their skin is thick, ridged like the roots of ancient trees, marked with lines that grow deeper with age, like the growth rings of a felled trunk.
 
No one knows when the Lurathi first came to Baelmarsh—perhaps they have always been here. They do not build cities, nor do they carve their names into stone. Instead, they carry their history within themselves, their memories passed down through word and ritual. It is said that a Lurathi never forgets, that they can recall the footsteps of their ancestors as clearly as their own.
 
They live in hollows of drowned trees, upon the ruins of cities long gone, tending to places that no longer have names. To them, nothing is lost—only waiting to be found again.
 
It is said that if you ask a Lurathi the name of a ruin, they can tell you not only what it was, but the color of its banners, the sound of its streets, and the words of the last prayer spoken within its walls.


=== The Siltborn – Those Who Linger ===
=== The Lurathi – Keepers of the Unforgotten ===
The Siltborn are not a people. They are a fate.
The [[Lurathi]] are a strange and solemn people, their forms reminiscent of great, tusked beasts, their faces long and narrow, their curved tusks arching toward their foreheads like spirals of polished ivory.


No one is born a Siltborn—they become.
They do not build cities, nor do they carve their names into stone. Instead, they carry history **within themselves**, their memories passed down through word and ritual. Scholars and treasure-seekers often seek the Lurathi for guidance, hoping they will lead them to lost places. 


There are those who enter Baelmarsh and forget to leave. Perhaps they linger too long in a place that remembers too much. Perhaps they listen to a whisper they should not have heard. Whatever the reason, the marsh claims them—not as corpses, but as something else.
But the Lurathi do not share knowledge freely. They believe some things are meant to be forgotten—and some ruins are best left undisturbed.


A Siltborn does not decay. Their skin turns cold and gray, their eyes take on the milky sheen of waterlogged bone. They no longer hunger, nor do they tire. Their voices are soft and thick, as though spoken from beneath the water’s surface.
It is said that if you ask a Lurathi the name of a ruin, they can tell you not only what it was, but the color of its banners, the sound of its streets, and the words of the last prayer spoken within its walls.


They do not attack, nor do they flee. They simply wander.
=== The Siltborn – Those Who Linger === 
The [[Siltborn]] are not a people. They are a fate.


Some say the Siltborn are not truly aware—that they are shadows of the past, half-formed memories wearing flesh. Others claim they are still alive, just... stretched thin, caught between what was and what is.
There are stories of **seekers who entered Baelmarsh searching for answers but never returned**. Sometimes, years later, their forms appear again—silent, cold, wandering the mire.


It is said that a Siltborn can lead you to things thought lost—but at the cost of something you will not realize you have given.
A Siltborn does not decay. Their skin turns gray and wet, their voices become hushed, as if spoken through water. They do not seem to recognize their own names.


---
Travelers fear the Siltborn not because they are hostile, but because they are a **reminder**—that those who seek too deeply into Baelmarsh may find themselves **becoming part of it.**
|Notable Settlements=Most who pass through Baelmarsh find only ruins—half-sunken villages, temples smothered in moss, roads leading nowhere. Yet some places still endure, not because they thrive, but because they have not yet been forgotten.   
|Notable Settlements=Most who pass through Baelmarsh find only ruins—half-sunken villages, temples smothered in moss, roads leading nowhere. Yet some places still endure, not because they thrive, but because they have not yet been forgotten.   


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=== The Half-Sunken Archive ===   
=== The Half-Sunken Archive ===   
A drowned library, its halls hidden beneath the roots of an enormous tree. The books are preserved, but their ink shifts when read, revealing truths that were never meant to be remembered.   
Somewhere beneath the roots of a drowned tree lies a library that should not exist.
 
Its books are preserved despite the water, and its scrolls contain things that were erased from history. Secrets thought lost—spells, forgotten kings, unfinished prophecies—are said to remain untouched within its halls. 
 
Many seek it. Few return.   


=== The Mouth of the Mire === 
The Lurathi refuse to guide seekers to the Archive. They claim some knowledge is best left to drown.   
A black chasm of still water, said to be the heart of Baelmarsh. No sound returns from its depths, and those who stare into it for too long claim to see figures watching from beneath the surface.   


=== The Hollow Procession ===   
=== The Hollow Procession ===   
A ghostly parade seen on rare mist-laden nights—figures in tattered finery, walking a path no one can follow. Some say they were kings and courtiers of a kingdom that never was.
A rare event, seen only on the thickest nights of mist—a ghostly parade moving along the water, figures in decayed finery, their faces obscured. 
 
It is said that if one walks with them, they may see a world that no longer exists. 
 
Some follow the procession in search of forgotten kingdoms. Others believe their lost loved ones walk among the figures, and they wish to bring them back. 
 
Those who try to speak to the Procession never return. 
 
=== The Whispering Graves === 
There is a place where the dead do not sink, where the marsh holds them just beneath the water. Their bodies do not rot, their lips remain parted, as if whispering. 
 
Scholars claim the Whispering Graves hold answers—secrets left unspoken, confessions unfinished. Those who place an offering in the water claim they hear words rising from the depths. 
 
But the Lurathi warn: **the marsh does not give without taking something in return.**
|Conclusion=Baelmarsh is not a land of change, but of memory. It is a realm where nothing is lost, only buried—waiting beneath the mire, patient and unforgotten.
|Conclusion=Baelmarsh is not a land of change, but of memory. It is a realm where nothing is lost, only buried—waiting beneath the mire, patient and unforgotten.
}}
}}
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