It was a cold winter's day in early December. I remember it well. It was the day the team of archeologists found the base of an old castle near Perion, in the dry North. Once the Victorian press found out, the whole island knew about it and wanted to go visit. The archeologists excavated more and more ruins and people helped them. Soon after, a small town was found and the team of archeologists named the town 'Sheranian' after the magician who is said to have once lived there: Ergoth Sheranian.
According to the runic markings on a particular portal shaped gate, Ergoth was banned from life and bound in his tomb, there to stay until the world would decay.
His tomb was located deep beneath the ground and was guarded by two huge stone lions, and two stone knights. Both the lions and the knights were imbued with powerful magic to restrain Ergoth from waking and keep passengers away from the tomb.
But the people ignored this and kept revealing more of Sheranian's ruins and houses, until something that was supposed to stay hidden was found and it was too late. The graves of the people who lived there so long ago were all empty one day and the archeologists all but one gone without a trace. The only one who was found, was found dead at the runic portal.
The township of Perion, closest to the site, immediately sent an investigation party. They all returned, pale of fear and anxiety.
When the Chief of Perion, Dances with Balrogs, asked what they had seen, they all said the same answer: "Hordes of living skeletons! Everywhere!"
When the news spread across the island and reached Grendell's wise ears in the Eastern forest, he converted a circle of ground around the entire excavation site into holy ground. The skeletal army could not pass and the area within the circle was declared unsafe, and the crisis was solved... or so they thought.