The Ruinous Vault

Not every monster can be killed.

The Ruinous Vault is a prison for creatures beyond death and artifacts beyond destruction. Within its twisting halls, magi have locked away the end of the world a dozen times over, next to relics of great despair, magical secrets of potent destruction, and more than a few inconvenient truths.

Doomsday Vault

Somethings should never be released, like that last MegaDeth album.

A place beyond the known worlds, the Ruinous Vault isn't quite part of the Shadow nor part of the Beyond, but is another, private domain. Within, a thousand smaller realms form in the dark lik bubbles, each housing its own prisoners.

The fact that the Vault even exists in the way it does gives magical theorists headaches all over. If that works, then their neat 3-world model falls apart.

by Rawpixel.com (Freepik)

The entrance to the Vault is a single gate of iron and stone, chains crossing between arches. The gate is somewhere in the Shadow, but it isn't really sure where - many paths lead here, and no one has been able to tell what Prime place it overlaps. Some suspect it doesn't at all, but even the Vault's very first step existing somewhere past known space.
Those who have been inside the Vault describe it as a hazy, dark place, as insubstantial as a passing thought but stronger than steel. It is a place of grey mists and physical darkness, a sharp and material black that makes the walls, floor, and ceiling. There's no sound here, and even the steps of visitors and inmates are swallowed by the Vault. Only the wardens of the Vault can find their way, and visitors who stray become lost forever, another prisoner of the Vault.

The makers of the Vault are as much as a mystery as the rest of it. It is ancient beyond reckoning, made with powers few can come close to matching in the modern world.

Even with guides, traveling the Vault is dangerous. Not all of its prisoners are content to stay shackled and quiet, and the things trapped here exert a pull that calls the weak to free them. Even the wardens of the vault struggle and members of the cult sometimes disappear without trace when they venture inside.

The Ruinous Cult

We're the links in a chain.

The Vault is guarded by the Ruinous Cult, a ragtag group of magi and the occasional monster pledged to defend the Vault and keep it sealed. Most cultists come from those who have survived encounters with things now locked away in the Vault and seen the results up close. They tend to be an obsessive lot, concerned with the Vault and nothing more.

Of course, not everyone believes their line about good intentions.

Most of the Cult is centered around the gate, a small fortified temple compound that welcomes supplicants and fresh prisoners while warding against any who would rob it. More independent members strike out into the world to ensure the Cult has what it needs to function or hunt down thieves who might've breached the Vault.

Or escaped inmates, as with the imprisoned Alexander Sheridan after his latest scheme.

The fact that there are thieves at all is a closely guarded secret. The Vault, though one of the most secure places in the world right next to the gate to the moon, is not impenetrable. Magi are a greedy, inventive bunch. Such failures by members aren't punished by the Cult; dedicating one's life to the Vault is already more punishment than any soul can shoulder.

by Unsplash (Mahdi Bafande)

At other times, the Vault is opened by choice and something retrieved from within. These are rare, momentous occasions, but when the need is great, and nothing else seems a good option to stop whatever terrible thing about to end the world, the chains are undone, and the Vault opened.

by http://www.tribalartasia.com/

The Beyond

The Beyond is a realm of monsters and magic, of wonder and horror, far from the mortal world. Here, spirits, gods, and demons dwell among impossible, myth-shrouded lands. Getting there is difficult, and getting out can be even worse.
The Ruinous Vault occupies an uncertain space in the universe. At times, it seem to be equally part of the Beyond and The Shadow, or perhaps another, unique sphere of existence.

by Unsplash (Jaroslav Devia)

Sigilarium

Among the many rumored things to dwell within the Vault is the book of words, a lexicon of Sigilarium. A language of arcane power in its purest form, Sigilarium evokes the essence of a word just by being spoken aloud. In the Vault, runes glow with world-ending potency, holding words that the world can never be allowed to suffer.

Lord Ruinous

Our work is ancient. Our oath without end.

The Ruinous Cult is guided by the mysterious Lord Ruinous; a mythical figure rarely seen by visitors, claimed to be the original guardian of the Vault. Only scattered details are known, and then there's plenty of unsubstantiated speculation. He is a warlock of considerable power and age or a title passed down through generations - hints exist to support either theory. When dealing with outsiders, he is courteous enough but trusts few. Only when someone seeks to imprison something within the Vault will the Ruinous Lord meet them, and only then if they've already been vetted by his disciples. Those who seek his favor must tread carefully, as he has grown apt to see through deception by those who seek to plunder his ward.

by Unsplash