Caer Carmina
Purpose / Function
To house those who have need of it, and provide shelter for adventurers lost in the middle of nowhere. Originally, it was built to be a status symbol for a powerful lord, though his reputation for unethical experiments preceded him before the Seven Days of War.
Sensory & Appearance
The keep is desolate, with cobwebs covering most of its surface area. The ever-present smell of moisture hangs in the air like a blanket, as if the stone itself has absorbed the rot of a hundred years of neglect. There is a coldness that not even throwing the curtains back will remove, and one's breath might frost slightly with every exhale. Outside, there is an unnatural stillness, a quietude that is almost artificial. The flap of a bird's wing, or the cry of any forest animal is surprisingly vacant, only heard in the distance. The crunch of one's feet on the stale, dry grass might seem like a cacophony of noise among the silence. Other than the creak of architecture that is too old for this age, one might hear the clattering of old machines under the floor, which vibrates should one put their hand against the stone. Late at night, ghostly moans can be heard echoing through the keep, bursting the bubble of silence, even making their way to the outside, inexplicably. A wave of eerie, menacing fear emanates through the fortress during this time.
Denizens
Lord Sangue, rats and other vermin, the monsters of the labyrinth.
Alterations
Around the time that the infamous Lord Sangue disappeared from the public eye, years before the Seven Days of War, curtains mysteriously sprung up around every single stained-glass window that Caer Carmina once proudly boasted. The castle was originally built with an extensive basement that few have ever seen, and it has only expanded in size since, quickly becoming Lord Sangue's prized labyrinth. One year after the castle was completed, a border wall was constructed around the entire castle and surrounding property.
Architecture
A large, mostly demolished stronghold, capable of housing many a weary traveler in its prime. However, by Year 103, it has fallen into rot and decay, overrun by the course of nature. Beneath vines and rubble lie the foundations for barracks, small shops, and within the main fortress lie four belfries and a locked trap door out of which the occasional ghostly wail is known to rise.
History
14 years pre-War: Magazi du Sangue, a wealthy noble from the West, happened upon quite a sizable family fortune, striking out into the middle of the country to commission a castle for himself. Sangue was well-known for his dubious imprisonment policies, as those who fell into his custody would either disappear under mysterious circumstances or return to their families with noticeable discrepancies in their behaviors. All refused to talk about what had transpired in the Lord's care.
9 years pre-War: Caer Carmina's construction was finished. Not long after, it received a visit from a bloodied, bruised man wrapped in a cloak. Lord Sangue's machinations for the man were unknown, but not long after he was given treatment by the clerics on hand, he received a private audience with the noble. The man left that night, his wounds barely noticeable. Lord Sangue was not seen for several days. When asked where he had been, he claimed anemia.
8 years pre-War: Lord Sangue commissioned a border wall to encircle his keep. Records only state that his paranoia concerning the theft of his life's work had reached a boiling point. All visitors had to pass an inspection by the on-duty guards, though Lord Sangue himself always made a personal appearance to greet one certain guest.
6 years pre-War: Lord Sangue was rarely found in the daylight, preferring to spend more and more time in the depths of his labyrinth with the leading scientists of the bygone age than with his subjects. The surface life slowly dwindled, the flow of travelers and residents diminishing to an occasional trickle. However, a shadowy figure could often be seen slinking around the keep late at night, undoing the latch to the trap door of the labyrinth with practiced ease.
5 years pre-War: Lord Sangue completely vanished from any publicity. His servants were instructed to leave food and drink outside the trap door to the labyrinth, though if they were to press their ear to said door they would hear incessant clattering, as if strange machines were constantly vibrating in place.
3 years pre-War: Caer Carmina was evacuated. Due to trouble brewing between the three factions of life as well as the constant absence of order within the castle, all remaining denizens were instructed to return to their families. The only surviving record of Lord Sangue around this time is an account from a retreating serving boy, whose shaky memory revealed a man hunched over as if in constant pain, matted hair down to his shoulders, pale gray skin, and gnarled fingernails clutching the arm of his throne.
The Seven Days of War: Though the forces of the Infernal attempted to encroach upon the North, a bastion of protection seemed to ward off their advances, and they never managed to reach the coastline in force. Much of Caer Carmina was destroyed during the conflict, though the outer walls of the main keep remained mostly intact. It would appear that a bloody battle ensued inside the keep itself, and a shadow of death looms over the Great Hall.
Post-War: Not much is heard about Caer Carmina. Travelers and urchins sometimes attempt to make camp within its walls, but they eventually move on in search of a more hospitable area. It is said that any who enter the castle's walls to cause it harm or disrespect its legacy in any way are later found dead just outside its grounds, gruesome bite marks littering their bodies. The only surviving accounts of what might have caused this violence are shaky at best, though they all give accounts of monstrosities lurking beneath the surface of the castle grounds, fused together by some ancient science. That, as well as the ever-present twin puncture marks near the cartoid arteries of every victim, are the only clues as to what Lord Sangue had become in the years leading up to the war.
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