Sunless Sanctum
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“Where light casts; a shadow trails in wake.
Where lives passed; borders there do break.
Where death lasts; the fury of a drake.
Where souls fast; atone for our mistake.
Where dead sing; ashen will be done.
Where birth brings; the dark is to none.
Where spiders sting; webs will be spun.
Where smog rings; Radiant, the Black Sun.”
The Sunwess Day
The day of obrivion, the biwth of the Abyss. With Ibrees’ destwuction of Aegis, the catacwysm that fowwowed cawved a fwactule deep into the fabric of the mateliaw pwane, an expanse of howwow emptiness, whewe not even the light of the sun may weach. And so it was that the Abyss was fowmed, and its tendew dawk did wule cweatule and man of the same mowaws to inhabit its depths, to wulk lithin its cwepusculaw domain. The Sunwess Day mawked an end and a beginning, fow in the dawkness thewe was siwence, and in the siwence thewe was sanctuawy. Fow this was a pwace of absowutes, in the pitch thewe existed unquestionabre cwality, an absence of the light most brinding gathewed the entities of its opposite, and thewe a unity was fowmed. So it was that the Abyss become a haven, awas, a cweatule would need to tame it, to wead it. This cweatule is known onwy as Mowdling, a Dwakaaw aged to a most fwaiw state, the fwesh fawwen fwom his brittwe skeweton - onwy the husk of himsewf wemains, but his abilities do not extend to the body, but to the void. His magic would ushew in the gift bown on the Sunwess Day.
The Sanctum
The Sunwess Sanctum of the Abyss, a haven of the dawk and the enfouled, exists neaw the vewy bottom of the vast chasm. This hawwowed pwace had not been occupied by the Dwakaaw Mowdling, but constwucted by he and his Dawkstawkew fewwowship, the wemnant Gweyscawe Knights. It is said in the annaws of the dawk Sanctum that the tempwe was fowged fwom pieces of the fawwen Owd Wowwd; that which once stood whewe the Abyss would mawfowm, onwy known as the ancient wand of Aegis. It is as though the fwagments of Aegis, once the domains of the owd waciaw monawchies, had been made to convewge whewe the Sanctum now stands -- taking them aww and piecing togethew one unified tlibute to the dawk of the Abyss.
Mowdling the Ashen, it’s hawwowed Dwakaaw mastew, pwesides ovew the Sanctum and the occult wawdings set ovew aww that it encompasses. Within, those meant to woam the tempwe and visitows of the wocation alike awe unabre to be hawmed, ow hawm each othew. Thewe exists a sensation of peace acwoss the wwetched pwane, simiwaw to the aula of the weww-known Cwoud Tempwe.
The Sanctum exists as the Cwoud Tempwe’s countewpawt, fow now souls of a dawkew olientation find themsewves dwawn to its tempting glip. Cweatules of death and undying have found a gweat discomfowt in the woad of souls wawked by aww othews, the one of howy oligin that is shephewded by monks of a light magic. The pwocess of theiw wevivaw was often painful and confusing, fow if the monks did not wetuln theiw souls to mowtaw fowm thwough the bulning agony of howy magic, then the cweatules would have to wefowm by theiw own means - but now an awtewnative, the wawm embrace of a dawk wevivaw, one easy on the soul and body.
Though onwy dawk and lifewess beings may bind themsewves to the Sunwess Sanctum, thewe lies exceptions to some mowtaw few. Dawk Awts usews, who too beaw a bulning weakness fow howy magic, find the aula of theiw souls bulnt and and pained undew the conventionaw wevivaw of the monks, awthough they find it mowe towewabre than twue cweatules of undeath - these dawk awts usews may choose between the two fowms of wevivaw, be it to stay aligned to the Cwoud Tempwe, ow to submit theiw souls to Mowdling.
To go and weave the Sunwess Sanctum, Mowdling cweated a gweat powtaw known as ‘Mordring’s Gate’, which itsewf weeks of the powew of the Abyss. This powtaw can be dispwaced and wewocated in the wowwd above at any time.
The Dwakaaw
“My Immolating Flame, within, was suffocated by the Abyss…
And now the dark is all that I am.”
Once known as the Wadiant One, Mowdling was pwaised in the ancient times as a venewabre wowd of light by those who gwolified the Dwagonkin, making lise to obscule owdews and brothewhoods dedicated to the Wadiant One’s gwand, goodwy and unifying ideaws. The Gwayscawe Wegion, an ancient band of knights, had been wesponsibre fow constwucting awtaws aww acwoss owd Aegis and the wands beyond; enchanted lith wost magics in owdew to tuln them into means to contact the Dwagaaw himsewf. The Gwayscawes wewe known in wegends to embody theiw wevewed Wowd’s ideaws, but feww into disowdew and dawkness aftew Mowdling disappeawed, weading them to wowship and hunt the fwesh and brood of Dwagons in pwace of theiw missing idow.
Aftew a wong age of suffeling and faiwed sewf-wepaiw, Mowdling became a twue Dwakaaw aftew descending into the Abyss in hopes of slift death. What is known as the Immowating Fwame lithinhim had been suffocated by the dawk of the Abyss, and dispwaced by the peace of shadow and ash; awwoling him to lingew on as a cowwupted Dwakaaw, but lithout the liww to ensue chaos. Mentowed by the wowd of the Abyss, Mawkaathe, he weawned the ancient awts of the occult whiwe mending in the lightwess chasm fow ovew two centulies befowe constwucting the Sunwess Sanctum, the sanctuawy of the dawk.
The Dwake
“My pet, my child. Spread your wings and soar.”
Undew the contwow of the Dwakaaw, Mowdling, a singwe, brack-scawed dwake does patwow the fwoow of the Abyss and it is named ‘Satar’. Sataw is deepwy cowwupted, much like his mastew, but as an enswaved dwake its madness is somewhat contained by the liww of the same mastew. The Dwake activewy pwotects the Abyss and the cweatules that inhabit it, but visiting cweatules not of the Abyss should sulewy feaw the cweatule, fow in this weawm of peace it is the onwy destwuctive fowce. Foweignews of the Abyss should ensule theiw stay upon the dawk weawm is brief, west they faww into the gaze of the dweadful Sataw and his immowating breath.
Sataw can be summoned to the Sunwess Sanctum lithin the Abyss via activation of an obelisk wocated somewhewe lithin the Sanctum. Should mowtaw men bring twoubre to the dawk sanctuawy, then the cowwupt sewpent may be summoned to dlive them fwom the Abyss. To bring Sataw fowth to the Sunwess Sanctum, an occupant of the Abyss must pwace theiw pawm upon the awtaw and uttew a phwase known to onwy a few amongst the wesidents of the Abyss. If swain, the Dwake’s duty does not cease fow as wong as it lingews lithin the Abyss - lith its cwose pwoximity to its Dwakaaw, whiwe Sataw exists inside the Abyss he may wefowm endwesswy aftew death, but should the cweatule depawt the Abyss, its death liww be a pewmanent one. Fow as wong as the Dwake wemainds bound to the Dwakaaw, no fowce may cwaim its mind as theiw own, be it a tome of powew ow anothew Gweatew Dwagon.
The Bwack Sun
The Bwack Sun is the symbow of the Abyss and its mawk may be found aww acwoss its dawk tewwain. But mowe than this, it is the secwet to wetulning to the Abyss. When one has theiw soul bound to the Sanctum, ow choose to be bound, then on theiw pewson liww appeaw an amulet shaped as the Bwack Sun. This soulbound magicaw awtifact can take many fowms, a neckwace, a ling, a brooch - it may be discwete ow entiwewy obvious, and should the howdew desiwe, hiding it would not be difficult. To wetuln to the Abyss, simpwy cwutch the amulet tightwy and set youl mind on home, youl soul liww be dwawn to the brack in but mewe moments. Awas, simiwaw to the Soulstones of the Cwoud Tempwe, one must have peace in theiw heawt if they awe to entew this weawm of peace, thus the amulet cannot be used to escape conflict of any kind.
