| “ | I’m torn in two by my thoughts. I sensed a great magic protecting the island to keep strangers away, at the same time I felt like something was inviting and pulling me towards the island. | ” |
Isle of Nex
The Isle of Nex is an island located in the Northern Realms, on which the events of Legend of Grimrock II take place. The ship carrying Magister Alarast near it was subject to thick blankets of fog and erratic compass behavior; it is little wonder that ships sailing any closer to it have never returned.[1] These effects are caused at least in part by the magic guarding the island, which is in fact the hiding place for the Words of Creation.
Isle of Nex ground level (left to right, top to bottom): Barren Desert, Pyramid of Umas, Hamlet of Stormbreach, Ruins of Desarune, Sleet Island, Cemetery, Crystal Mine Entrance, Twigroot Forest, Forgotten River, Castle Nex, Shipwreck Beach, Keelbreach Bog
As detailed in the Island Master's Testament, the trials found on the island are meant to test visitors, in an attempt to find the best successors for the current guardian. The large number of puzzles on the island were likely designed by puzzle-makers, whose graves can be found in the Cemetery. There are also Stone Philosophers, large head statues, scattered around the island that help survivors find the right direction when they are lost.
Notable structures on the island include:
- Castle Nex - The tallest structure and dwelling of the Island Master. Its gates are closed until the statues in front of the gates are given the proper Elemental Essences. Inside are libraries filled with texts of precious knowledge.
- Pyramid of Umas - Once home to native inhabitants of the island, who were sealed and imprisoned inside by the Island Master after his betrayal.
- Five Elemental Shrines corresponding to each element, the fifth hidden beneath the Castle.