The Black Stain

Three ancient elven towers stand on a small hilltop close to the border of Silvanesti, surrounded by a crumbling stone wall at the heart of a mile-wide patch of pitch-black dirt and sand. Vegetation does not grow here, the land being utterly dead and incapable of creating or supporting life. According to ancient legends, the three towers once belonged to three mages at the time of the Second Dragon War. These mages - a trio of elven brothers named Fayal Padran, Parys Dayl and Kayn Wystnall has called on all the great powers at the disposal to, with the help of a magical Scion, cast the one great spell that would end the war. The evil dragons that plagued Ansalon were driven underground into a great sleep, and their bakali allies were pushed to the brink of extinction as the brothers released terrible and violent wild magic into Krynn

The lands of Silvanesti were devastated by this, and the remaining mages were forced to understand that such power should not go unchecked in the future and led to the formation of the Conclave of High Sorcery. The brothers themselves, facing the fury of the Silvanesti for what had happened to the elven nation, fled their towers and went into hiding.

Nomads and barbarians of the plains consider the three towers haunted, some witnesses having claimed to have seen floating spectres moving about within. In truth there is nothing living nor undead within the boundary of the Black Stain, though foolhardy explorers might find creatures of raw magic moving about the old towers, such as elementals. The Silvanesti care little what outsiders think of the towers, and avoid them themselves out of spite. It pleases them somewhat though, knowing that the legend of the towers helps to keep the people of the plains away from their own borders.