Solomon Island

Solomon Island is the first questing zone in The Secret World.

History
2000 years ago, the island was already occupied by the Wabanaki (People of the Dawn), who did not at that time call it Solomon Island. They were the guardians of a Third Age Dreamer. While being close to Earth, to Gaia, they performed regular containment dances to ensure that this entity remained asleep.

The Darkness War
About 1,000 years ago, some Mayans, worshipers of the black sun, traveled to North America with the goal of waking up the « sleeping snake under the mountain ». The Mayans arrived in Solomon Island with ak’abs, giant insects they used in combat. The Wabanaki, with the help of Sasquatches, withstood but nearly in vain. But while the Mayans were getting the upper hand, Vikings came from Northern Europe and joined the fight to help the Wabanaki.

After a premonition, their god Odin had warned them of the battle which would take place on the island. He therefore summoned the Varangian, for preparing an expedition to help the Wabanaki. Loki, brother of Odin (who would later be known as "Frederic Beaumont"), decided to also join this expedition. On their way, the Vikings stopped at a monastery located on an island near the Scottish coast and, on the advice of Odin, pillaged the place, and seized Excalibur (kept by the Templars since arthurian times (500 AD)). Excalibur is an artefact that can harness the power of the Sun, the power of the Viking gods king. On their way, a mysterious fog tried to catch up with the Vikings, but they pushed through it using the power of Excalibur. Finally, after landing on Solomon Island’s shores, they joined the Wabanaki and, with the help of the Varangian and his sword, ended the Darkness War by defeating the Mayans, worshipers of the black sun.

A few months after the Viking victory, the fog finally arrived on the island. The Wabanaki and the Vikings had to perform a magical protection ritual and trapped the mist inside the sword. The Wabanaki shaman and the Viking Godi  performed an exhausting ritual to strengthen the protection of the island. The sword became the only artefact able to break the seals and "open the door"… the Vikings leaved with it to ensure the island protection would never be lifted.

At the end of the Darkness War, Viking memorials were erected all around Blue Mountain in memory of the Darkness War. Nowadays, these monuments are protected by Viking and Wabanaki zombies. A year later, the Vikings left by sea, but without Beaumont who decided to go toward South America to learn more about the Mayan religion and its black sun. On their way back, the Vikings were caught in the Mist and would become draugs. The sword was lost and the Vikings who returned home infected their village. The Varangian himself remained prisoner of the fog.

From 1666 to 2005: The development of Solomon Island
The Wabanaki lived in isolation from the world for another 600 years. It was in 1666 then 1667 that Beaumont returned to the island with Solomon Priest and Isaac Fletcher, both senior members of the Illuminati. They fled from Europe and wished to rebuild an empire in the New World.

Beaumont was banished from the island in 1672 and Solomon Priest was killed in 1702 by Isaac Fletcher. Beaumont returned in 1711, and he broke into the house of Solomon Priests to steal some Illuminati documents. He also returned a year later, in 1712, and that’s when he set fire to the city and destroyed Illuminati archives and artefacts.

During the following century, the English settlers regularly fought with the Wabanaki in order to appropriate their land, thereby nearly causing the extinction of the Wabanaki.

The Innsmouth Academy was built in 1798. And even if it was destroyed by the Templars no less than three times (directly or indirectly), in 1852, 1905 and 1967, it was rebuilt after each attack.

After over a century away, Beaumont finally returned to the island from 1875 to 1876, when he got closer to Franck Devore, an entrepreneur who wanted to open a mine in Blue Mountain. Franck joined the Illuminati in 1879 and, thanks to their financial support, began the exploitation of the mine. He built the Devore Manor which would later become the Franklin Manor. The Wabanaki, distressed at seeing their holy lands desecrated, started to rebel. Meanwhile, some workers of the mine suffered serious injuries, while some strange whispering could be heard inside. Many of the workers fled from there. Franck Devore was finally sentenced to death by hanging after poisoning his wife. The mine was closed in 1881 after only two years of operating.

Again, Beaumont would be away from the island for nearly a century and returned there in 1959 and in 1962. The mine was reopened in 1971 by Edmund Franklin. Again, the Wabanaki started a rebellion and fought to protect their sacred site. In the ensuing conflict, Ami’s father was accidentally killed by Edmund Franklin. He was quickly acquitted of the charges against him, which caused a major discontent within the tribe.

Shortly after this first accident, mutilated bodies were found in the mine, the Wabanaki were accused of seeking revenge and are imprisoned. The real culprit, Jimmy Rigsby, a mad miner, was never questioned, but would eventualy be killed by Edward Franklin. The latter, tormented by his secrets and the whispering within the mine, hung himself in the manor attic. The mine was then closed again. The investigation concluded that the injuries to the miners could not have been made by men and the Wabanaki were acquitted in 1973. The U.S. government, embarassed, decided to return their " sacred land", the Blue Mountain site, to the Wabanaki, who recovered the ownership of their ancestors lands.