Russian scientist finds Paradise at the North Pole

Summary

November 29, 2006: A Russian researcher of the Arctic named Valery Dyemin claims that the mythical land of Hyperborea really existed in the Artic region. He bases this on his research of many stories of a paradise (Eden) on Earth. Allegedly, a vast continent existed in the Arctic, which was shown on maps by Gerhardus Mercator. This continent had a large mountain in the center (possibly Mount Meru).

Furthermore, Dyemin claims that the Russian Empress Catherine II sponsored two expeditions to find Hyperborea, possibly in the hopes of finding the elixir of youth, which the Hyperboreans were said to have invented. She signed a secret decree on May 4, 1764 to give an expedition to Spitsbergen this additional goal.

Source

Bibliography

1. Original article

Game and Story Use

• The search for Hyperborea could take the place of the search for Atlantis, only in a more frigid environment.
  • These lost continents could also be one of the same.
• You are entrusted with a Secret Mission from the Empress Catherine herself to discover the Elixer of Youth. Ooo! I like this plot. I've got to use it!
  • Or, if you're not running an 18th Century campaign, you are a team of modern-day researchers trying to follow the tracks of one of Catherine's expeditions.
  • Considering Catherine's experience with the Potemkin Villages, the expeditions might have been part of an elaborate hoax!
    • An even wackier plot! The Empress has sent an expedition to Hyperborea! Your mission is to fake the evidence to make her think they've succeeded!
• Quite a lot of Hollow Earth theories have the main entry points at the poles - perhaps Mercator accidentally wandered over the rim.