Two weeks ago, a drowned castle rose from the center of the Iris Atoll off the Sirocco coast of Kaivara, the largest island of the Nacreveil Isles.
Since then, the Isles have begun to change.
Pearl divers return with pearls coated in a strange blood that refuses to wash away. Shipping routes near the atoll have grown dangerous. A noble has gone missing on the far side of the island, and the few expeditions sent into the castle grounds have returned with little to show for it. Rumors spread faster than facts across the Isles.
Some sailors now claim to have seen mermaids gathering in the waters surrounding the castle at dusk — watching passing ships from beneath the waves before disappearing into the deep.
As unrest grows, Tide Regent Lysoria Nacreveil has ordered her Tidewardens to investigate the castle. Yet each day they enter at dawn and return by dusk with fewer answers than before.
Now others seek opportunity in the chaos.
The Liege House of Bluewater-Pierce has begun quietly recruiting capable adventurers willing to brave the ruins themselves. Treasure hunters, scholars, mercenaries, pirates, cultists, and opportunists alike have begun arriving across the Isles.
Some believe the castle holds the answer to the failing blood pearls.
Others fear it should never have risen at all.
For good or ill, something has awakened beneath the Iris Atoll.
And no one yet knows what the tide will bring.