Caer Adacia¶
Caer Adacia (pronounced "Care uh-doss-ee-uh") is a large, hidden dungeon in the eastern Ebony Veldt. An underground city initially formed by exiled criminals of the First Tharhan Empire, Caer Adacia was the capital of the Second Tharhan Empire in mid-Av2, but has been under control of many different larger powers since then. Since the fall of Insohm, the city has fallen into ruin and become largely abandoned by the Drehmari.
The ruin can be very difficult to find, with its location only hinted at by a few lore books around the map.
Location
One of the entrances to Caer Adacia is located at -1440, 76, 390
Entering Caer Adacia for the first time grants the "Underground Fortress" advancement.
This is a major dungeon, containing a Stone of Worry, the Penumbra legendary item, and expansive lore.
Discovery and Entrances¶
Caer Adacia's exact location is difficult to pinpoint without the use of outside resources, but it is hinted at by other sources, most notably the "Tharhan: A Land of Conquest" series. This book series, found in four parts throughout the Tharxax Plains, centers around the history of the larger region through the lens of Caer Adacia, establishing it as the regional seat of power for much of recorded history. These books do not give a specific location, but state that the city existed in one of the largest underground caverns in the Ebony Veldt.
There are several ways to enter Caer Adacia, some more smooth than others. The city is found in the northeastern Ebony Veldt, at the northern end of an acacia wood bridge. It is possible to simply mine down into the earth and find the massive cavern, but there are dedicated entrances.
The largest entrance to Caer Adacia enters the town from the northwest, through a cave at (-1440, 76, 390). This cave leads to a partially ruined blackstone wall, which can be dug through to reveal a bridge to the main city.
Another entrance is found inside a large, hollow tree of stripped jungle wood to the east at (-1279, 103, 472). The inside of this tree has a ladder, which leads down directly to a tower inside Caer Adacia.
Other, less convenient entrances can also be found in the form of air vents: deep 1x1 holes, partially filled in with walls. These vents can be dug through to lead to the city, although they do not necessarily lead to safe landings.
Layout¶
Caer Adacia boasts some of the most varied architecture styles in Drehmal, owing to its storied history and ownership by several different political entities. The city is contained within a massive, custom dripstone cavern, with its buildings constructed around (and inside of) the natural shape of the cave.
There are no villagers or major races represented in current-day Caer Adacia. Vanilla mobs spawn in the dark, but custom spiders and cave spiders, named "Neverdawn" Soldiers and Workers, also inhabit the ruins.
Dripstone Complex (East)¶
The eastern portion of Caer Adacia is mostly built into a colossal set of dripstone stalagmites, and includes the most prominent loot in the city. It can be accessed directly from the second entrance listed above—the ladder entrance—which deposits the player right next to a pond with Penumbra, a legendary set of leggings.
On the outside of this structure, further down, another building is home to A Retrospective, the longest lore book in Drehmal, written by potential player-character Thresa Vera.
A series of significant rooms is contained within these rocks, including the throne of the ancient Tharhan Empresses, what appear to be royal quarters, a series of dungeons, and a hidden shrine with a Fervor Stone. Approaching from the west, a still-functional spike pit trap sits in front of the throne room, now covered in Insohmic banners. To the right from this room, the hallway culminates in a staircase blocked off by rubble. Digging through this rubble leads further down, to an open room with an elaborate shrine. At the very bottom of this set of stairs, the player will find a Stone of Worry.
Higher up within this complex, a singular "Neverdawn Queen" spider is found in what seems to have been the Empress' bedroom.
Upper Cave¶
To the west, Caer Adacia can be loosely divided into two or three areas. In the center of the cave, more homes are built on top of a small hill, with several different styles of architecture built on top of one another. High and Mid-Avsohmic architecture can be seen in the form of quartz/purple concrete pipes and pillars, and crimson wood fences and walls seem to have been constructed by the Empire of Maelihs. Insohmic banners are flown throughout this area as well. Most buildings are made up of a mix of copper, slate, granite, and dripstone.
Cave Floor¶
The floor of the Caer Adacia cave is home to similar buildings as those on top of the hill, with the addition of blue fences around their roofs. A patch of large mushrooms also inhabits the southern cave floor.
The ground of the cave itself does contain valuable ores, including diamonds.
Southwest¶
On a hill in the southwestern corner of the cavern, simple dwellings carved into the rock are found with faded Maelihs banners. It is possible that these were the very first homes built by the original founders of Caer Adacia.
Lore¶
As written in Tharhan: A Land of Conquest (Chapter 1), Caer Adacia was founded by exiled criminals from the First Tharhan Empire, in early-mid Av2. The First Tharhan Empire, pressured by the neighboring Empire of Maelihs, was coerced into sending their felons to Rhaveloth, where they would be converted into Maelmari to serve in Maelihs' empire, in exchange for peace between the nations. Those convicted of less severe crimes, however, were simply exiled to the Ebony Veldt, seen at the time as such an inhospitable land that this was effectively a death sentence. However, these criminals eventually banded together and took refuge in the caves of the region, hiding from wild beasts, and their largest dwelling eventually grew to the size of a small town.
The First Tharhan Empire crumbled into six warring states, but Caer Adacia, still only a vague rumor to the surface-dwellers, continued to develop during this period. The Patheraad, the most detailed surviving history of the First Tharhan Empire, was written in Caer Adacia, and its re-discovery was one of the greatest archeological finds of the Third Avihm.
Caer Adacia developed a matrilineal society, ruled by Empresses and lurking in the shadows. They developed advanced technologies based around the dark and stealth, with their Nightwalkers (the Empress' elite guard force) later becoming feared throughout the region. When the Casain Empire invaded the surface of Tharhan, nearly destroying the Six Tharhan Kingdoms, Caer Adacia revealed themselves to the world, repelling the invaders and establishing themselves as the regional seat of power. From this point on, Caer Adacia served as the capital of the newly-crowned Second Tharhan Empire, with the Empress at Caer Adacia exercising absolute power over the Tharhan Plains.
The Second Tharhan Empire significantly reformed and united the peoples of the west, and ruled for almost 200 years. However, their dominance over the region would come to a swift end when they first came into contact with the massively advanced armies of Avsohm in late Av2. Realizing they stood no chance in battle against the technology of Avsohm, the Second Tharhan Empire was effectively annexed by Avsohm in a series of alliances and truces.
Avsohm inhabited Caer Adacia from this point until its collapse, and appointed the noble House Vera as the provincial rulers of the traditional regions of Dehar (the region surrounding Mt. Ebonfire) and the Ebony Veldt. House Vera, whose lineage would culminate in Avsohmic C.S.O. Thresa Vera, was seated in Caer Adacia. After the collapse of the empire, Caer Adacia was captured by the Empire of Maelihs in the Dune Wars.
Insohm reclaimed the city in the Battle for Drehmal, but abandoned it around the time of their own collapse. Since that time, it has largely fallen to ruin, with the mysterious Neverdawn peoples filling the vacuum. This is the only place where Neverdawn mobs appear in the map.
Extras¶
Update History¶
Prior to version 2.2, Caer Adacia was simply a default stone ruin at the surface of the Ebony Veldt. The entirety of the underground build and the lore surrounding it is a new addition in 2.2.