| “ | "On second thought, let's not go to Hallowmere. 'tis a silly place." | ” |
—Tox cowers on the airship
| ||
Hallowmere was a region of Dragonhollow settled during the Sixth Era.
Though widely considered to be the most beautiful land of its day, its natural splendor and refreshing vistas came at a price. Hallowmere was an environment so dangerous that it challenged even hardened veterans, leading to unprecedented loss of life.
Geography
| Acey: I just found a plain.. surrounded by a blue mountain.... like in a U shape Zen: I found an entire biome made of cyan hardened clay. Acey: xD |
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—Eris even surprised at her creation
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Hallowmere was incredibly diverse, boasting a vivid landscape far more varied and visually stunning than any previously discovered regions of the planet.
A floating island in Hallowmere
It featured icy wastelands, tropical beaches, jutting mountains, vast oceans, snowy deserts, lava rivers, cypress forests, and hundreds of other spectacular biomes.
A great deal of the human habitation in Hallowmere was located on or near the Straits of Mere, including the capital Hardship. The River Acheron served as a major means of transportation as a trade cooridor among those who lived upon it.
The land was also populated with many structures built prior to the Sixth Era, some in such disrepair to suggest they may have even existed in antiquity before the First Era. They ranged from simple austere cabins to maze-like underground labyrinths, jutting towers, and rotting shipwrecks.
Hallowmere was also the home to a number of Hyper Dungeons.
The region's borders expanded every time a new resident arrived, a unique phenomenon made possible by the wizard Jack Firebane, though Tohbeh claimed credit for the idea itself.
History
| "Welcome to hell." | ||
The first evidence of Hallowmere's existence came late in the Fifth Era. Rumors slowly leaked out of the Twilight Project about a distant land with breathtaking landscapes and magnificent treasure.
On 5E:303, an airship docked above the cafe in Sanctuary, with cryptic references to a future date and warnings regarding its destination. However, passage required the purchase of a nonexistent airship ticket.
The Herald accidentally mentioned offhand the "shores of Hallowmere" in the presence of MaccaMan, Bagger, and Tox on 5E:311. When Pandora's Box was opened a week later on 5E:319, residents of Pandora fled the complete annihilation of their homes and sought refuge in Sanctuary. Though the destruction had been carried out by her order as punishment, Eris took pity on her subjects and offered them free transport aboard the airship to Hallowmere.
That airship first arrived on 6E:1 and those aboard became known as the Hallowmere Pioneers.
Reia face-to-face with deadly Hallowmere
Unfortunately, they soon discovered that they had simply traded one hellish nightmare for another as the supposed "pity" of Eris was replaced by gleeful amusement. Hallowmere was a deadly confluence of cave-ins, supermobs, bloodthirsty bandits, difficult terrain, and unyielding surfaces.
Absurd was the first person to die in Hallowmere after he fell from the airship.
The propeller assembly on the original airship was damaged by charged creeper attacks and crashed into the sea not long after the Hallowmere Pioneers disembarked, stranding them in Mere Stop. Eris forcibly teleported them against their will to a new airship just arriving in an entirely different part of the region.
Tohbeh was the first resident to discover diamond, as well as the first to construct an enchantment table and establish a brewery. He was later eclipsed by other ambitious adventurers; the Scylfings acquired the land's first beacon from within Thundermere, Zen and Hyperion constructed the first tier-two beacons, and Bagger and Mac slayed the ender dragon Darkscale.
Citizens gradually built homes in the area surrounding the airship, giving rise to a community called Hardship that became the de facto capital.
The Phoenix Spire
A number of factions vied for control of the land but none were entirely successful. The Scylfings occupied the capital on 6E:36. The Merry Men launched an invasion on 6E:44 that ended with the execution of Jrod on 6E:66.
On 6E:71, Eris named Retro as Hegemon and her sole representative in Dragonhollow, sparking a rebellion against his policies by outlaw revolutionaries. During the uprising, an exploding bomb destroyed the airship and damaged sections of downtown Hardship.
The Hallowmere Best Build Contest ran from 6E:74 to 6E:118. Macca's residential tower Phoenix Spire was the competition's winning entry.
A gigantic sinkhole swallowed Hardship and much of the surrounding environs on 6E:124, resulting in Retro ordering evacuations to Sanctuary, which had appeared in the skies above Hallowmere. The refugees relocated to the Hammerlands for the Seventh Era.
Points of Interest
| "We're in Hallowmere, bitches!" | ||
—Jinx
| ||
| Picture | Place | Architect | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Hardship | Many | The capital of Hallowmere |
|
Nova Zaeric | Bagger, Macca | Castle town of the Zaeric imperium |
|
Shambhala | Zen | An oceanside castle built by Zen |
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Big Butte | Tox, HyperSilence, Retro | Home of Hyperion |
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Mere Stop | Eris | First landing site of the Hallowmere Pioneers |
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Castle of Colour | Jinx, Alec | A treehouse complex built on the sea shallows |
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Lest We Forget | Bagger | A monument to Eris |
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Greywatch Garrison | Lex | Stronghold of Greywatch |
|
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Phoenix Spire | Macca | A residential tower and winner of Hallowmere Best Build Contest |
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Fort Peet | Peetmans | A fort on the River Acheron |
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Westernmere | Wojcik | A settlement established by Wojcik |
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Home Tree | Zen | A pair of towering jungle trees |
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Tirconnell | Sleekit | The floating island home of Sleekit |
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Ice Temple | Zen | A frosty place of worship |
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Vigilance | Tox | A prismarine statue |
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Pumpkin Patch | Terry | A small village made from giant pumpkins |
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Dhyāna Sky | Zen | An airship docked at Shambhala |
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Forest Lodge | Peetmans | A tower house in the woods |
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Fort Jasmine | Boiled Rice | A walled jungle fortress |
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Higashi Murayama | DredGrimoire | A shrine |
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Weyland House | Sprankles | A farmhouse amidst cropfields |
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Tox's Cabin | Tox | The teleporting home of Tox |
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Steleton | Zen | A giant skeleton statue in Hardship |
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Meander | Sophie, Hana | A quaint homestead on the River Acheron |
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Aetherwing | Macca | An airship docked in Nova Zaeric |
Gallery
Behind the Scenes
The following is out-of-universe information about the real world Dragonhollow.
| As usual, Acey's goal is to make the server harder with each new idea she has. With that in mind, I introduce to you a plugin called Extra Hard Mode. This plugin not only changes the way the server behaves, but changes the way mobs act, certain biomes act, events, and much more. | ||
Hallowmere launched on February 17, 2017 and ran for 124 days until July 3, 2017, making it the fifth-longest Dragonhollow map.
It was the first map to go away from a mostly vanilla Minecraft experience, incorporation new terrain with the Terrain Control plugin, a wealth of new structures with Biome Bundle, and new mechanics and enemies using Extra Hard Mode. The changes were suggested and partially implemented by head admin HyperSilence and lead developer Retro before the project was taken over by Acey with the idea of injecting excitement back into the server and giving old veterans a true UHC challenge.
The results were mixed, however; while most players enjoyed the new terrain and structures, they were split on the changes brought by Extra Hard Mode. Many felt the plugin made the game too tedious and/or unforgiving and a number of players like Sprankles and the Dragonslayers left the server entirely, despite Acey's attempts to address concerns by tweaking the plugin settings and fixing bugs.
On April 23, 2017, Retro purchased the server from Acey and took over the development for Hallowmere.
| Regions of Dragonhollow | |
|---|---|
| Badlands • Eventide • Everfroze • Hallowmere • Hammerlands • Lakelands • Northlands • Outer Pandora • Pandora • Summerlands • Swamplands • Tidelands • Woodlands | |
