Centuries ago, Cynidicea was a thriving jewel of the Empire of Thaloros, a colony that reached its zenith during the reign of the revered King Alendria and Queen Zanobis. Under their rule, the city blossomed into a beacon of culture, trade, and architectural marvels. The crown jewel of this era was the construction of a massive step pyramid, erected in honor of the beloved monarchs after their deaths. This grand structure served not only as a tomb but also as a hub of civic and religious life, symbolizing the city's devotion to its rulers and its gods.
However, the prosperity of Cynidicea was not to last. During the construction of a burial ziggurat adjacent to the step pyramid, workers uncovered something ancient and terrible—a gnarled, jet-black horn protruding from a mysterious obelisk deep beneath the earth. Unbeknownst to the workers, this horn was the remnant of a Great Old One, a primordial being of unfathomable evil named Zargon. The horn had been entombed within the obelisk eons ago by forgotten gods or sorcerers, in an attempt to imprison Zargon and prevent his return to the world.
When the horn was pried from the obelisk, the ancient seals that had kept Zargon at bay were shattered, unleashing the creature’s wrath upon the world once more. Zargon materialized from the severed horn, a monstrous entity of slime, tentacles, and malevolent will. The workers who had unwittingly freed him were the first to fall, consumed by the Great Old One’s insatiable hunger. The city's defenders, unprepared for such a horror, were quickly overwhelmed as Zargon drowned them in torrents of acidic slime, corrupting and annihilating everything in his path.
The fall of Cynidicea marked the beginning of the end for the Empire of Thaloros. The once-mighty empire, already strained by internal strife and external pressures, fractured into warring states as news of Cynidicea's destruction spread. Fear and chaos gripped the land, and the empire eventually crumbled into a collection of smaller, weaker states, now known as the Confederation of Thaloros. The memory of the empire's former glory faded, replaced by the harsh reality of its diminished power and influence.
Yet, the legend of Zargon and the doomed city of Cynidicea endured, haunting the collective memory of the Thalorans. In recent times, many Thalorans have come to believe that reclaiming the Ziggurat of Zargon—the last bastion of the lost city—is the key to restoring hope and greatness to their humbled nation. They see the ziggurat not only as a symbol of their past but also as a potential source of power, one that could either redeem their people or doom them anew if Zargon were to rise again.
The Confederation of Thaloros, though a shadow of its former self, now grapples with the decision of whether to pursue this dangerous course. The ziggurat, shrouded in legend and surrounded by the ruins of Cynidicea, remains a place of both reverence and dread, a haunting reminder of the cost of hubris and the ever-present danger of the ancient evils that lie beneath the surface of the world.
