Noureddine was the holy city of Ronahiya, goddess of the sun — the seat of the Coronal, the most powerful centralized church dedicated to her worship. Even at its height, the city was nearly overshadowed by the Great Zenith Manara of Ronahiya, a massive stepped platform structure designed to ensure no one would be denied sunlight by the shadow of mortal works. The Manara once housed a flame-powered mirror beacon that cast daylight into the night sky.
The city now lies in ruins, its shadow falling far despite no physical structure casting it.
The Fall
Fifty years before the present day (circa 1070 4E), the Kingdom of Kex prosecuted the War of Dominion — a military campaign that culminated in the sacking and ritual desecration of Noureddine. During the siege, Kex forces performed the Ritual of Sundered Day, which killed a substantial number of combatants on both sides and resurrected them as undead.
The ritual permanently cursed the city. The ruins now function as a megadungeon swarming with undead from two ideologically opposed factions: the resurrected Kex soldiers and the resurrected defenders of Noureddine, who continue fighting each other decades after the war that killed them. Both groups have fuzzy memories of their past lives and conflicting agendas.
The Settlement
A small town has grown up around the ruins in the fifty years since the war. It exists in an uneasy relationship with the megadungeon looming over it — caught between the practical necessity of living near a site of historical significance and the very real danger of what dwells beneath.
The settlement is home to two figures who serve as living witnesses to the War of Dominion:
Leo — the only Kex national in town, a former veteran consumed by guilt. He runs a general goods store and serves as an appraiser and oral historian of the Kex side of the conflict.
Fiona — the town healer and priestess of Ronahiya, who holds the other perspective on the same history. Where Leo carries guilt, Fiona carries righteous indignation and pride in a tradition that was destroyed.
Dungeon Archaeology
Noureddine functions partly as an archaeology site. Adventurers recover artifacts and relics from the ruins and bring them to Leo and Fiona for identification. Leo speaks to what belongs to Kex hands. Fiona speaks to what belongs to Ronahiya’s faithful.
Sometimes adventurers find an artifact belonging to a person before they find that person’s undead remnant in the dungeon. When they later encounter the undead, they already know who that person was.
The two witnesses may recognize names or objects — and respond accordingly. Leo occasionally goes quiet. Fiona lights up with recognition and grief simultaneously.