The Rose City

The walls rise through the mist like a tired ghost, pink marble and covered in crimson moss. Ancient gates, obviously once great and imposing, lay shattered before the gatehouse. Here and there, hints of greatness still shimmer through the grime like jewel-toned constellations still clinging to the stone.
An ancient king, his name long forgotten, stands in silent, headless vigil. His head rests in a crater of dirt, eyes glaring blankly into the sky.
The way is open, yet still, it feels as if the very air warns of danger beyond the gates. An oppressive concoction of grave loam, dust, and decay tingles in your nose, and a heavy gloom makes it impossible to see too far into the city without going further. Tread with caution, for there are many dark things that dwell in these ruins.

Where Shadows Dwell

The fortress city in the ancient and overgrown forests of the southern Silver Mist Hills of Kresla has been in ruins for thousands of years. Its true name has been lost to the ages and now it is known as the Rose City, named for the rose-pink marble of its construction. To the best guess of most historians, it may have once been the primary fortress of the kingdom that ruled Kresla before the Fall. Its shattered gates tell a story of battles lost, now the dead and the shadow keep it.
The mighty gatehouse is still a wonder of engineering, despite lying in shattered ruin. They were not enough, however, to withstand the attack from the unknown enemy.
Beyond the gates are shadowed streets, unbroken yet overgrown with loam and grasping briars. In the thousands of years since the ruination of this city, the buildings have remained mostly intact. While some stones have fallen or succumbed to the weight of ages, it is far more than a pile of rubble one would expect to find after so many years abandoned.

Architecture

The walls of the fortress were over one hundred feet high, constructed of massive pink marble blocks. It is assumed the wall was constructed with the aid of magic, but few Etheris tools have been found. Still, large portions of the fortress city have been left unexplored due to the dangers they present.
The gate was over fifty feet tall, a double portcullis, two layers of murder holes, and several grates for hot oil all threatened intruders who managed to break through. The heavy iron of the portcullises stands rent apart as if torn by a massive animal. Much debate over what could have done this has been had in the academic spaces of Ior, but no conclusive evidence has ever been found.
At its height, it is plain to see that the Rose City was a marvel to behold. The sheer scale of the construction still dwarfs any modern counterpart. The quality of the masonry is such that even thousands of years of exposure to the elements and time, the intricate carvings in the walls can still be clearly seen. The statues still hold their details, despite the loss of their names and relevance to history. It is a graveyard of lost wonder. Unfortunately, its secrets will likely remain undiscovered, for only the foolhardy or desperate dare to venture beyond the gates.

Image credit: Jedd Chevrier

RUINED STRUCTURE
2056 Before Fall

Type

Fortress

Parent Location

Kresla - Land of the Shattered Rose