Captain Sereg Kerkhof, renowned for his daring exploits and unwavering dedication to the safety of Seregon, had been chasing rumors of pirates along the Lula River for weeks. The pirates had been plundering trade boats and terrorizing local villages, and Kerkhof was determined to bring them to justice. After a fierce confrontation on the river, he and his men finally routed the pirate gang, securing their loot and capturing their leader.
Returning to Seregon, however, Kerkhof was met with a chilling sight. The bustling city he had left behind was eerily silent. Streets that were usually filled with merchants, children playing, and the lively chatter of citizens were now deserted. Not a single soul was to be found. The only signs of life were the distant calls of crows and the rustling of wind through empty alleyways.
Kerkhof and his men searched every corner of the city, from the grand halls of the Upper District to the primitive huts of Old Knot District. They found no signs of struggle or conflict—only the eerie emptiness of a city abandoned in an instant. His heart heavy with dread, Kerkhof finally discovered something unusual: a hidden entrance in the ancient graveyard near Kerkhof Station, leading to an old myconid temple. The door was slightly ajar, revealing a stairway descending into darkness.
Determined to uncover the fate of Seregon’s citizens, Kerkhof gathered his most trusted men and ventured down the stairway. Torches in hand, they descended into the depths, each step echoing ominously off the stone walls. The air grew damp and cold as they moved deeper, the smell of earth and decay growing stronger.
After what seemed like hours, they emerged into a vast underground cavern, illuminated by a ghostly bioluminescent glow. Before them stretched the Myconid city of Unknown. Massive fungal structures rose like ancient towers, and mycelium carpets spread across the ground, pulsating with an otherworldly light. The myconids moved silently among the structures, their intentions unreadable.
Kerkhof signaled his men to stay close, but the labyrinthine paths of the myconid city soon tested their resolve. Strange sounds echoed through the cavern, and shadows seemed to move just beyond their torchlight. One by one, his men began to vanish. First, a scout sent to reconnoiter a dark passage didn’t return. Then, two soldiers guarding the rear were snatched by unseen forces. Panic started to spread as they realized the myconids were not just passive inhabitants—they were hunting them.
Desperation set in as they pressed on, trying to find any clues about the missing citizens. Some men split off in small groups to cover more ground, but this only led to more deaths. Some fell into hidden pits, others were claimed by natural hazards—collapsing tunnels, poisonous spores, and treacherous underground streams. The myconids, it seemed, knew every inch of this domain and used it to their advantage.
Kerkhof himself barely survived multiple ambushes, his experience and instincts the only things keeping him alive. At one point, he found himself alone, the last of his men having fallen to the silent predators of the dark. Bloodied and exhausted, he stumbled upon a large chamber but found no trace of the missing citizens. Instead, he was met by Sovereign Sporegan, the old and wise leader of the Greycaps.
Sporegan communicated telepathically, explaining that the ritual was to restore the mycelium network that had been disrupted when Kerkhof's people massacred the Greycaps above ground. Sporegan told Kerkhof that he had unknowingly served Psilofyr, the Carrion King, by bringing decay and destruction. Now, he must accept the time of renewal. The citizens of Seregon were integral to this ritual, and they would not be returned.
Kerkhof, mentally and physically exhausted, realized he had no choice but to negotiate. He returned to the surface alone, a haunted shadow of his former self. The experience had left him mentally scarred, and he was never quite the same. Nevertheless, he knew that a truce was the only way to prevent further loss. He eventually brokered an agreement with Sovereign Sporegan, leading to the establishment of the Festival of Canals, a fragile peace that marked the delicate balance between Seregon and the myconid realm below.
The festival became an annual event, filled with exquisite debauchery leading to a Purge, a night of legalized murder. By morning, the streets were cleaned by the myconids, the dead becoming the exclusive property of Sovereign Morel. Criminal organizations in Seregon were forced to align with Morel, understanding that corpses belonged to the myconids. This uneasy truce maintained a semblance of order, but the memory of the missing citizens and the shadows of the underground realm never left the minds of Seregon’s inhabitants. It's an event known as The Time of Sadness.
Later, the myconids would return The Marcelis Journal.