Tomb of Shadows

The Tomb of Shadows is over 2,000 years old as it was first discovered in 1 TDRE by those living in what would become known as the Winter Plains. It is a temple for Vulyeva, Fate of Shadows, but Vulyeva's worshipers never designed the tomb. Nobody knows how the tomb was formed, just that it randomly appeared around the time the Daunting Wastes formed.
Around 2025 EoL, Sanescin Lenio gathered a group of archaeologists and entered the Daunting Wastes, specifically looking for anything connected to Vulyeva, and they eventually found the Tomb of Shadows. Sanescin added this information into their book, Vulyeva: The Shadows that Trickle In. Within the book is a chapter dedicated to the tomb and a unique set of murals depicting a boy that Sanescin described as possibly a demigod child of Vulyeva, along with an ancient prophecy.

Oliver McKinney: "Wait, is this a picture of me?"

Oliver gasped as he pointed to a mural in the book. Granddad turned his head and furrowed his eyebrows. He leaned toward the book and shrugged.

Kěith Cheonsa: "Hmm... I never noticed."

— His Kiss, book 2 of the Shadows Saga snippet

Architecture

When coming upon the tomb, it seems like the average cave entrance until one descends into the depths. Pillars upon pillars line a tunnel that spreads out into a circular path above a pit so far down it is hard to tell what is down in it. On the left and right of the pathway are stairs leading into the pit. Upon entering the pit, the sight of seven large stained glass murals was lit by a brazier in front of each mural, containing a dark purplish flame that continuously burned. Spiders, ravens, and shadowy whisps are inscribed on the tomb's walls, each representing a part of Vulyeva's province.
None of the structures within the tomb were hand carved. Instead, they seemed all-natural, as though Vulyeva made the tomb with her magick. Though this can't be proven, this is all the Sanescin could figure to have happened to make the tomb all-natural. He detailed that the reason for naming Vulyeva as the creator was that nobody ever returned from being within the Daunting Wastes. While the cek'zuq, spiderfolk people, were the only sentient beings in the Daunting Wastes and worshippers of Vulyeva, they did not like architecture. Sanescin found a small shrine the cek'zuq people would pray to from their civilization. So, in conclusion, Sanescin marked the cek'zuq as not having built the tomb.

Table of Contents

---

by Amelia Nite (artflow)

---

Titles/Nicknames

Temple of Secrets / Temple of Spiders

---

Quick Facts

Founding Date:

1 TDRE

Type:

Cavern, Temple

Parent Location:

The Daunting Wastes

Discovered By:

Sanescin Lenio

Related Documents:

Vulyeva: The Shadows that Trickle In

---

Tourism

With most living lifeforms unable to enter the wastes without dying, tourism does not happen. The only records of the tomb are in the book by Sanescin Lenio, who only had the chance to discover it with a group of archaeologists.

---

The Stained Glass Murals

Each mural depicted a part of the same boy's fate, indicating that his tests are of courage, loyalty, harmony, respect, and kindness. The thing standing out about the murals is they weren't made by people or any mortal for that fact. The beautiful colored glass seemed to be poured into each tier through some sort of magick. Unfortunately, Sanescin could never figure out how it worked, so that he couldn't add it to his book. Brightly colored images were inside the glass, giving some idea of what was happening. Above the murals was a carving of words written in the Ezosa language. Sanescin described the wording as crude and almost indecipherable if it weren't for the similar writing on each mural. The very writing above the murals was written to read: "By Shadows None, The Boy Must Awaken."
Described below are what each mural looks like...
Mural 1 ( ) — A spider with a web at the top. A boy with dark hair, wolf ears, and a wolf tail is stabbing himself in the chest, which is covered in blood. A closer depiction of his face, in between the full body of the boy and the spider, shows a profile shot facing left with one eye glowing like red fire.
Mural 2 ( ) — The boy holds a hornet hive with giant hornets surrounding him. A forest is behind him.
Mural 3 ( ) — Rainbow streaks beaming off the boy. In his hands is a staff as the hornets surround him.
Mural 4 ( ) — The boy holds two plushies that look like a dark-haired male with silver eyes and a golden wolf. A rainbow string swirls around the male and wolf plushies.
Mural 5 ( ) — The boy holds a plush of a silver-haired male with blue eyes. A giant spider looms overhead with dolls starting to surround the boy.
Mural 6 ( ) — The boy holds a jack-o-lantern pumpkin with a sadistic smile as a creepy doll looms over him.
Mural 7 ( ) — Lightning streaks surround the boy as his eyes glow. Dark clouds fill the sky behind him.

The Prophecy

Sanescin Lenio: "The prophecy on the murals reads as follows:

Awaken the hidden blood to cure the plight,
Reach for the tree that builds affright,
Shade the hive with the colored sight,
Misty mornings bring out the lies with smite,
Trample past the fears that shroud the light,
Sever the hold of the mist's might,
Wash the lightning away by moonlight."