The House of Rot
There was a cold that no flame could warm, a chill that no number of woolen jackets could stave off. It ran down to the bone, assaulted the core, it was a relentless, overwhelming sensation that was nigh inescapable.Time stood still in this land of eternal twilight, there was no breeze, no sun. No days, nor nights.Towering in the distance stood lone fortress, a castle in ruins. Tattered banners hung from her parapets, foul, wretched beasts scurried around her courtyard, hissing and snarling at passers by.Past gates that creaked and whined on rusted hinges sat a path of bricks, cracked and uneven, flanked to either side by a large bonfire that offered no comfort on the right, and a sickly looking stream on the left. The head of a fallen god, rotted and festered in the waters, impaled by an accursed blade.This lone keep, offered no Solace. It was a House of Rot, it was a Devil's Castle.Entering the inner walls of this ruined building, one was met with the burning gaze of a beast of legend, a Manticore. Its fell wings blocking off much of the foyer, centering a large, towering throne.Ghastly specters wandered the halls, echoes of a time long since past, constantly tormented by the demonic beings that inhabited the space.What secrets did this place hold?
Le Château Noir as it was once referred to used to stand to a noble house within the Thirteenth shard.The family that resided there, seemingly turned to mindless beasts with the rest of the reflection. Though, for those who have found a way to visit it, they would swear that they've seen glimpses of "Normal People" walking around. Though they would also report that these "Normal People" seem to flicker away and vanish when approached.Off to the right of that towering throne, was the Keep's art gallery. A cramped museum of paintings and statues that offered a glimpse into what life once was like before the contramemoria, before the flood.