The Silent Spring

I am sure you have heard of the Silent Spring. They say it was where the first Ziin appeared, that beneath it is a city with roots so deep they flow to the center of the world. I don't know if that is true, but I do know that people these days who go into those halls... They are rarely seen again.

  This glittering maze of caverns and tunnels was once a haven; a safe place for hunters traveling through the burning sands of Sitaar. Now it is a prison, in every sense of the word. For the Tujaar Alrabie have built their oppressive fortress above and convinced the nobles to send their criminals and unwanted to the mines.  

All That Glitters

It is a widely accepted historical fact that this is indeed where the Ziin first established their home. Somewhere deep beneath the surface is said to be the door through which they emerged into this world. This is according to their histories and songs. This is also the place they retreated to when their prey not only eluded them but forced them back. There was a war, the details of which are long forgotten, and the Ziin lost.   They fell back to the dunes, to the Silent Spring, and planned their next move when the Solar Titan broke their tether and sent them reeling for purpose. The halls and caverns, full of arcane crystals and strange metals, became their refuge. Unfortunately, as the story so often goes, humans learned of the wealth of resources hidden below.  

Forgotten Halls

The mines were established first. Through coercion and subterfuge, the Tujaar Alrabie gained control of the Silent Spring and much of the surface lands around it. They originally employed miners, extracting crystals and more mysterious substances. But this method was costly and slow. So they suggested to the Crown, the lords, and the governors to send their criminals to labor.   The fortress above slowly grew in size as more and more prisoners were sent to the Silent Spring. It earned a reputation, over time, as the end of the line. Regardless of the criminal's sentence or crime, prisoners would rarely leave alive. Many of the people kept there are even speculated to be innocent, their only crimes being Ziin, poor, the sort of people no one will miss. They all toil away in the darkness, harvesting riches until they are forgotten all together.