The Scottish island of Pabbay has long been of interest to the Authority; AEDF satellites have registered strange energy readings there, signifying a level of weakened reality. The island is home only to fantasy author Randolph Gowering, who is composing the final work in his beloved "Cair Aisling" series—a monumental fantasy novel and his greatest to date.

After leaving the island to meet with his publisher, Gowering suffers a fatal stroke. In an instant, Pabbay is transformed into a place straight out of Cair Aisling. Technology has no place on the island, only the magic items and fantastical gadgets carried by its many inhabitants. The magical beings who inhabit the island cannot leave, but their supernatural treasures are ripe for the taking. With tactical gear and high-tech support rendered useless, Authority security is forced to adapt.

The twisting Castle of Dreams looms in the distance. Wizards, witches, elves and alike populate the lands. As the island creates the missing conclusion to the Cair Aisling series, the Authority hurries to investigate and take what it can before the last page is written and the book is closed at the end of the decade.

The Current State of Cair Aisling

OAS Fantasy Literature Working Group
For General Issue

NOTE: Physical copies of this document hand-inscribed on vellum or papyrus are available for personnel who are required to operate within the bounds of the Cair Aisling anomaly.

Volume 1: Triumph of the Empirical

The Empirical Clans of Humanity have long served the ancient and decadent Spire Elves, whose reign over the land of Cair Aisling from their capital in the Castle of Dreams has grown corrupt and cruel. In a Spire Elf university, overworked Mage-Professor Jedda Mauaka stumbles across a discovery that will revolutionize magic on the Island, unaware that he is about to set in motion events that will destroy civilization as he knows it.

Volume 2: The Source of Magic

Jedda Mauaka's brilliant but naive attempt to control the Source of Magic has failed, and a foul Corruption spreads across Cair Aisling. As the Spire Elves turn against their former Human allies, Mauaka works desperately to undo what he has created. In the distant Ashwoods, however, those Spirers worst afflicted by his experiment are plotting a new order- one that will end the Spire Elves for good.

Volume 3: Sword of Prophecy

Cair Aisling is at war. The Ashenfolk advance against the ruins of the Spire Elf empire, while the Orcish Dominarchy and the Underguild of the Dwarves make their own plays for control of the increasingly-corrupt Castle of Dreams. And far off in the Hinterlands, unassuming fisherman's apprentice Hasan Maza makes a discovery that might just end the war.

Volume 4: The Underguild Rebellion

Hasan Maza and his band of unlikely heroes have done the impossible: brokered an uneasy peace between the rampaging Dominarchy and the remains of the Spire Elves. As he sets his eye on the Castle of Dreams, however, dark tidings arrive from Underheim: the trade-families of the Underguild are in open civil war.

Volume 5: The Caves of Crystal

Hasan Maza and his new bride Kaelyth of Mistwood find themselves on an unlikely honeymoon: the Ashenfolk seek peace, as the Corruption twists their underground kingdom to the breaking point. In the Crystal Caves of the Deep Refuge, Kaelyth navigates the nightmare that is Ashenfolk politics, while Hasan makes a discovery about his hated enemies that will shake his beliefs to the core.

Volume 6: Castle of Dreams

Randolph Gowering has as of yet refused to divulge major plot points for the long-awaited final volume in the series, save that it will involve Hasan and Kaelyth's perilous journey to the Castle of Dreams to "heal" the Source of Magic, and that it will conclusively resolve plot threads related to the characters of Gareth Heliodor, Solkoth of Bitterfield, and Meg'hek Bloodrisen, introduced in previous volumes.

If you're cleared for this document it means you're somehow involved in the utter chaos surrounding the Pabbay Island Incident and the subsequent formation of a semi-extradimensional "fantasy kingdom" in its place. Given the apparently literary origins of the pocket dimension, the OAS has made a detailed survey of Gowering's previous works in the Cair Aisling series in the hope of providing some general context for what, exactly, Cair Aisling represents as a geographical area. More detailed plot analysis of the series is widely publicly accessible. We are including book-cover glosses and previews from the released and promised volumes of the series to provide a general analysis of the scope of the plot.

The Novels

Randolph Gowering has produced 36 novels since the release of his first, Spelltaker, in 1978. While different series he has produced (notably his popular Sands of Glass, Voice of Iron books, which have received several film adaptations) do not share a common storyline or canon, they maintain an internally-consistent magical system and are implied to exist on different continents in the same world. The Cair Aisling series, his latest, was intended to cover 6 books. The first 5 have been released publicly worldwide to substantial critical and fan acclaim in the English-speaking world, and at the time of writing a television adaptation of the first volume is in production.

The Island

Assuming that the current geopolitical state of the island is roughly approximate to the books, the OAS FLWG assumes the following:

The FLWG would like to clarify, however, that there is increasing evidence that the situation on the island is no longer properly following the plot of the original novels, and that conditions on the ground may not match the above. Notably, reports are spreading that the "Hero" Hasan Maza may have suffered a fatal injury during a critical plot point of Volume 6: Castle of Dreams.

A rendition of Cair Aisling based on information gathered during ASF/MST expeditions; areas of the island appear spatially incoherent or poorly-defined.

Known Locations

Note that the following list is very much incomplete, and even cursory reconnaissance of the Cair Aisling anomaly has revealed substantial differences between information derived from the books and officially published maps.

• Locations Discovered/Occupied by Authority Forces
• The Corrupted Lands
• The Ashwood
• Underheim Mountains
• The Great Marshes
• Wethir
• The Spirelands
• The Desert

The following locations have been charted by Authority exploratory personnel and do not match with pre-established locations from the literary canon.

OL-Site-CA/Camp Crannóc: The current Authority base of operations near the Beach of Beginnings, built entirely from local materials. Palisades and earthworks provide some protection from roving magical beasts.

Page's End: Unstable areas of "literary" reality, characterized by marked inconsistencies with book locations, spatial distortions, inexplicable writing, and strong smells of ink and paper.

Incoherent Spaces: Areas of incoherence and inconsistent reality. Objects, landmarks, and creatures from across Gowering's novels appear at random, typically never seen again. Lingering in these spaces is extremely unsafe.

Former capital province of the Empire of the Spire Elves, now twisted and damaged by the Corruption. A dangerous battlefield full of swamp and thick forest, populated by monsters, magical anomalies, and roving Ashenfolk and Spirer war parties.

The Castle of Dreams: The former capital of the Spire Elves, now a ruined and twisted monstrosity that may or may not be a single intelligent entity. Contains the Source of Magic.

The Nightmare Road: The remains of the only intact Spire Elf road through the Corrupted Lands. Fought over constantly by the Elves and Ashenfolk.

Watcher's Rest:
A half-destroyed spire occupied by Spire Elf forces. The main staging area for Elven expeditions into the Corrupted Lands.

The volcanic jungle inhabited by the Ashenfolk, formerly part of the Spirer Empire. Dominated by huge caves and cooled magma chambers.

The Deep Refuge: The deepest portion of the caves beneath the Ashwood. The main seat of Ashenfolk civilization, though it is rumored that ancient things live in their depths.

The Lord of Ash: A semi-active volcano which gives the Ashwood its name and its constant coating of volcanic soot.

The Old Observatory: An ancient Spirer observatory built to monitor the Lord of Ash and warn of upcoming eruptions, now occupied by the Ashenfolk.

The Nightglow: A chain of volcanic mountains along the northern border of the Corrupted Lands, so named for its near-continuous lava flows and lakes of boiling sulfur.

Wormspire: A broken Spire once carved in the shape of a dragon, now in use by the Ashenfolk as a naval base.

A more geologically stable mountain range that extends to the east of the Nightglow, known for its incredible mineral wealth. Inhabited by the Dwarven Underguilds.

A sprawling wetland on the eastern border of the Corrupted Lands, inhabited mainly by bands of Empirical Clan refugees and the occasional Underguild trader.

The Mouldering Spire: A collapsed Spire on the edge of the Great Marshes, rumored to be inhabited by evil spirits.

The Eye of God: A peculiar eye-shaped crater on the edge of the Great Marshes, believed by locals to possess magical properties.

The Beach of Beginnings: A mundane beach inhabited by small Human villages. Notable as the location of an ancient and half-forgotten prophecy. All Authority attempts to land elsewhere on the island have instead been redirected to this area by unknown means.

A vast steppe plain, once the breadbasket of the Spire Elf empire but now controlled by the roving nomads of the Orc Dominarchy. To its east lies the Bay of Wethir, once the seat of Human power.

The Sirencoves: Rocky, reef-covered shorelines covered in caves which are inhabited by predatory Sirens. The presence of hundreds of ancient shipwrecks makes this coast an inviting if dangerous target for treasure-hunters.

The Thralspike: An abandoned Spire, captured by the Orcs during the Corrupting Wars. Now the de facto capital of the Dominarchy.

Barharrow, Elenhall, Bris: Former Empirical cities, destroyed by the Orcs and the Spire Elves during the early days of the Corrupting Wars.

The ancient and glorious empire of the Spire Elves, now fallen into decay. Dominated by ruined Spires, massive magical towers that once contained whole cities.

Mistwood: A temperate rainforest and semi-independent duchy of the Spire Elves.

Thievesport: The wealthiest city-state within the Mistwood and seat of the Duke of the Mists. Known for its large Human ghettos.

A great expanse of seemingly endless sand, rumored to contain ancient and powerful magical cities which are forever hidden by sandstorms and mirages.

The Dragon's Graveyard: One of few navigable points within the Desert, an ancient mountain of fossilized dragon skeletons protected by mystical forces.

Extracts from Anomaly Encounter Briefing

The following is a selection from an initial OAS analysis briefing on the nature of the Cair Aisling anomaly and its effects on further research and exploration.

All right, the pamphlets you received in the briefing package yesterday explain all this in more detail, but we'll go over it again. The projected energy field surrounding the island forces away certain artificial materials, regardless of scale and exact composition.

By certain artificial materials, we mean almost all petroleum derivatives—plastics and everything but natural rubber are right out, plus certain ceramic materials, carbon fibre composites, and some more exotic metal alloys. You could be wearing polyester undies under a cotton uniform and the field would blast them off along with your pants. Unfortunately, the same applies to contact lenses, certain kinds of tooth filling, and pacemakers. If you've got medical implants of any kind, you're not visiting the island.

The same energy field also has a disruptive effect on a large swathe of the electromagnetic spectrum. You can bring hand-crafted radios in, but they'll have an effective range of a few meters. The guys at Prolab put in a lot of work forging these items with only basic metals. None of them worked. Those maniacs managed to create muskets, gunpowder and a combustion engine that could be brought past the field, but none of it was worth a damn once we brought it on the island. Most chemical explosives simply won't light. Most guns fail to pass through the field, but ammo doesn't work anyway. You wanna shoot something? I hope you're good with a crossbow or a sling.

The island is only a couple kilometers across in the real world, but once you're on it, it's about two hundred times that size. Don't enter unless you're equipped for a long walk. There's also a massive desert somewhere, but we're not really sure where. It's either on the east or west. You only ever stumble across it.

Maps of Cair Aisling

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The official map of Cair Aisling drawn by Randolph Gowering, printed in the softcover edition of Volumes 1 to 3. View full resolution here.

The "New Map" of Cair Aisling, released in the hardcover editions of Volume 3 and all subsequent printings of earlier volumes. View full resolution here.

The unattributed "New Map", released with Volume 3, remains divisive among fans. While many hold that it is a superior piece of fictional cartography to the black-and-white map included in the original softcover printings, others hold that the alterations it made to Cair Aisling's geography are non-canonical. While alive, Gowering refused to confirm which map is "correct", furthering endless fan debate and argument. Note that neither map entirely matches conditions observed on the ground in the Cair Aisling anomaly.

Vignettes from the Cair Aisling Campaign

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ASF swap their guns and kevlar for plate and rough-spun cloth sourced from a dozen legacy Auctoritas suppliers. Camp Crannóc resembles a Renaissance fair at times, albeit one with deadly serious intent.

The trails to certain landmarks are coherent, but still unsafe. A waykeeper hoists his light; a caravan marches through a fictional forest.

An ASF sergeant was trapped in the corrupted forest for some time with one of the proud, recalcitrant "Spire Elves". Their mutual survival provided an opening for Authority diplomacy in the Spirelands, to obtain powerful artifacts. The sergeant expressed his doubts over the humanity - the "realness" - of these literary creatures of Cair Aisling. She seemed real.

Following their traipse through the corrupted forest, diplomatic channels were opened between the Authority and the Spire from which the elf hailed. Here a well-coiffed diplomat negotiates for artefacts. The escorts, in the finest tradition of bored grunts, talk and banter round the perimeter.

The contest is over!

Congratulations to Von Pincier with the contest winner Case OUVERTURE at 4.69 stars, Fortunae in second place with Sirensong at 4.44 stars, and Almarduk in third with RPC-448: A Wyrmspire at 4.31 stars.

Thank you to everyone who participated by entering submissions, giving critique and voting on pages. Winners of the contest will have their articles featured on the front page for two weeks. The contest may be over, but writing will continue. Make sure to check back for new entries in the future.

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Collaborative Pages

Post-Contest Articles

Writing Submissions

• RPC-190 by JimmyBoyHaha
• Sirensong by Fortunae
• RPC-360 by Agent Eldritch
• The Battle Below the Mouldering Spire by PhoenixOfHope
• Case OUVERTURE by Von Pincier
• RPC-448 by Almarduk
• RPC-433 by TheGreatTarbolin69
• RPC-370 by GibbyFuckingDies
• Four Pages Forming a Preface by Von Pincier
• Frostbreath by Big Mark

Art Submissions

• 8ismo Cair Aisling Art Gallery by 8ismo
• Vizlox Cair Aisling Art by Vizlox