Blackthorn Keep
The seat of King Daerion Blackthorn, a towering fortress entwined with thorned vines and pulsing, fungal growths. Its walls are said to be woven from the roots of a cursed tree, and the very air inside hums with whispers of the dead. It is a place where the living serve only as long as their usefulness lasts, before joining the ranks of the eternally bound.
Purpose / Function
Blackthorn Keep is more than a fortress—it is a conduit for the Dominion’s will, a symbiotic creature, a necromantic power node, and a holy site for those who worship the cycle of decay and regrowth.
It is said that should the Keep ever fall, the entire Thornveil Forest would wither to ash or surge into uncontrollable growth, depending on whether its corrupted heart dies or breaks free.
Alterations
The interior is perpetually shrouded in gloom, illuminated only by the occasional glow of phosphorescent fungus or the haunting light of captured spirits. The air carries the scent of decay, earth, and blood-iron. Every hall whispers—echoes of the dead bound into the keep’s structure through necromantic rites.
Ceilings drip with rot, staircases wind in impossible angles, and doors open not with hinges, but as organic folds of bark and sinew. The walls sometimes pulse to a slow rhythm, like the heartbeat of the forest itself.
Architecture
Blackthorn Keep is not built in the traditional sense—it has grown. Its massive walls are a fusion of living blackthorn roots, flesh-like fungus, and crumbling stone, all pulsing faintly with unnatural life. The roots of the Cursed Heartwood Tree, a mythical entity said to predate the Wilds themselves, form the very foundation and structure of the fortress.
Spiraled towers emerge from coiled brambles, each one tipped with twisted spires of obsidian bark and bone-crafted lanterns that emit sickly green light. The keep is constantly shifting, as if breathing, the vines twitching or retracting, reacting to nearby motion or intent.
The heart of the fortress houses the Throne of Thorns, grown from the fused remains of warriors, beasts, and trees warped by dark rituals. It sits atop a withered dais of petrified roots, with vines coiling from it into the bodies of servants and courtiers—some of whom still breathe, though barely.
King Daerion Blackthorn, the death-bound sovereign, rules from here, attended by undead advisors, fungal seers, and rootbound generals. The throne pulses with the lifeforce of his dominion, connected directly to the cursed flora of the Withered Wilds.
Defenses
- Living Ramparts – The keep's walls can regrow, entangle attackers, and release spores to confuse or mutate enemies.
- Thorn Maw Gates – Entrance gates are formed by two massive, biting vines that must be subdued with blood or necrotic magic.
- The Shrouded Cloisters – Chambers where the memories of past rulers, bound into root-crystals, whisper advice or madness.
- The Fungus Choir – A warped spore-organ that emits tones to communicate with beasts, command the undead, or inflict psychic terror.
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