Brillimar Lighthouse

Located in the center of the Glimmersea, the island of Brillimar is famous for its lighthouse. Built during the Third Age, it was constructed on the ruins of a tower, believed to have been built during the Years of Absence. The original tower's purpose or allegiance is unknown, and the scripts found on the original runes have never been deciphered.

The Brillimar Lighthouse's career has been a long and celebrated one, serving as a cultural symbol of peace and trade between the Ibanian Kingdom and Udeluppa. It was also used as a supply port for fleets defending against the Dwarvic Conglomerate. It is credited for having prevented hundreds of shipwrecks each year, and being so central to its body of water, has served as a base for rescue and recovery operations for less fortunate vessels. Additionally, the lighthouse has never been claimed by any individual nation, instead trading keepers annually. This has led to an exclusive social club of Ibanian and Udeluppan keepers who have served at least one year at Brillimar, this society meets once every six years to trade stories and reminisce.

Unfortunately, the lighthouse has also had its fair share of violence and misery. On several occasions, the lighthouse was captured by pirates or marauders, its stores looted, and the crew either killed or ransomed. On one occasion, the beacon went out during a particularly devastating storm, resulting in the wreckage of no less than six vessels, with all souls lost. And the work of maintaining a lighthouse is an isolated one, often resulting in madness and death. Dozens of crew have died of disease or accident, some of whom perished while ships with necessary medicine or physicians were within hours of arriving. Many other crew have died of self-inflicted wounds. Some have left behind journals describing their loneliness, desperation, or declining sanity. But perhaps most dramatically are the murders, with the most infamous of all being the grisly scene of a keeper who murdered every other member of their crew, arranged their corpses in a ritualistic circle, and drew symbols and diagrams with their blood. After they were apprehended they could not offer any explanation of their behavior, nor of the meanings of the symbols.

Nonetheless, the Brillimar Lighthouse stands both as a symbol of triumph over the inhospitable ocean, collaboration between nations, and hope. And with the advent of telegraphy and radiography, it only promises to become a more powerful tool for guiding naval and air traffic for the future.