[A layer of soot and ash is belched into the skies above Ghastria and the various homesteads contained within the water-encircled land. Embers swirl and carry along the air-currents, settling upon the lands with their ebony-dusting. Within the twilight hours of the night of eruption, figures moved within the confines of the shadows; the waters around the harbor and northern shores churning with activity.
As the sun crested the horizon over the island, the distorted and corrupted trees already began their reclamation...buds forming along long dead limbs and foliage sprouting where once believed salted silt. The native population gave little mind to the recent developments, their farmsteads and fields preoccupying their attention. Still, within the din of the dawn, a detachment of foreigners discreetly dispersed; leaving renewal in their wake. Future travelers and merchants, in the recent days to come, all leave their mark within the ash-encrusted roads and the visitors brush off a thick layer of soot that clung to their traveling mantles.]