The Sanctuary Building / Landmark in Valathrion | World Anvil
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The Sanctuary

The Cellen Mansion, secretly housing the notorious Sanctuary of the insidious cult of the Unveiled Path, is a large mansion in southwestern Moranthis belonging to the prominent Cellen family. Whilst the Cellens hold up the appearance of a regular, if somewhat eccentric noble house, in truth they serve as the Host for the cult's activities, the whole family line being deeply embedded in the organization.   The mansion itself is large and richly furnished, showing the typical extravagance and fashionable design of most noble homesteads. With spacious halls, ample saloons, a large number of rooms for servants and storage, numerous bedrooms and a large banquet hall, the mansion is one of the largest in Moranthis and coupled with its furnishings, rich banquets and parties is a perfect example of the ideal noble residence.   However, the many guests indulging in mortal pleasures and sins have no clue about how large the mansion truly is and what their hosts are hiding below the surface.   Several hidden entryways in rooms not accessible by anyone visiting lead to the dark underground headquarters of the Unveiled Path - a dark, apocalyptic cult whose notoriety is second only to the Red Hand. Featuring dark corridors and grotesque ritual paintings on the cold walls, the so-called Sanctuary is in stark contrast to the luster of the mansion above. The underground labyrinth of corridors and lesser ritual chambers is filled with cultists, either working on rituals, summoning spirits or sleeping on the stone floors without a single cushion or any form of padding underneath. The grim atmosphere of the Sanctuary is complemented by the ever-present stench of unwashed bodies, urine, feces, mold and rot.   All the winding corridors in the labyrinthine complex lead to the round central chamber, where the greatest ceremonies and rituals take place. In its middle stands a stone statue dedicated to Shrregeth, the God of Gore and Decay, painted a bright yellow, the only thing to stand out in the dark, candle-lit cult headquarters. The ground in this so-called Hall of Flesh is stained by dried blood, the floor being more and more covered as one gets closer to the uniformly bloodied center around the statue. The sides of the room are lined with a thick, rotten lining of the guts and insides of the same human sacrifices whose blood graces the floor, whilst their bones are crushed and the powder used by the cultists during their rituals.   The horrid and terrifying Sanctuary is a place of widespread rumors in the outside world, and even though people don't know where it lies, stories of gore and horror are abundant. None of them, however, come even close to the true extent of gore and dread that the real Sanctuary is saturated with - least of all the very indulgent noblemen and women gracing the marble floors above.

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