Castle Dranzig
Perched upon a perilous precipice of the Karthax Mountains, Castle Dranzig was the fortress of an ancient warlord. Although it is believed that Castle Dranzig is an abandoned ruin, the warlord was cursed for his crimes and remains the lord of the fortress.
• The warlord’s name has been lost to history, but he is known in folklore and legend as the Black Knight of Dranzig due to both the ebony armor he is always encased within and his dark reputation.
• The Black Knight was cursed with a life of eternal torment for his lust for murdering innocent children—he participated in supposedly holy crusades solely for the chance to butcher the progeny of his avowed foes.
• The pain that courses through the Black Knight’s body is a constant reminder of his misdeeds and an encouragement to curb his horrid impulses.
• However, the urge to slay children has again been building in the Black Knight’s breast.
• Soon he will ride forth from Castle Dranzig to abduct children and bring them back to the fortress so he might indulge his thirst for dismemberment.
Eisengraz
Eisengraz is a massive tower of white stone perched atop a high peak at the northern edge of the Karthax Mountains.
• Eisengraz is the domain of the snow elves, a branch of elves regarded as an especially cruel, bloodthirsty people.
• Snow elves are usually clad in furs and wear headdresses made of horns and antlers.
• The snow elves revere Hekala, the fey Queen of the Winter Throne, who encourages them to master the arts of war, magic, and wilderness survival.
• Hekala teaches them that exposure to hardship and danger weeds out the weak and allows the strong to thrive.
• A loyal follower of Hekala, Lady Eriandel Av’Drauga, the queen of the snow elves of Eisengraz, seeks a magical diadem that would allow her to bring a ceaseless winter to all of Krevborna.
• Lady Eriandel believes that turning Krevborna into a frozen waste would allow her people to reign over the land amid a never-ending frost—ushering in a hibernal age that would cull the frail and allow the snow elves to flourish.
It struck me just a day or so ago that Castle Dranzig might be most interesting if this blighted tower were sited above a living settlement or two - being a place only sinners and the most innocent are at peril, it’s marginally safer than many other passes through the Carthax Range.
ReplyDeleteI’ll bet that local parents send their children to be fostered elsewhere, to be brought back only after they’re thought to be safely beyond the targeted demographic.
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Regarding the Black Knight of Dranzig, it might be interesting to show his pathology as a mortal Serial Killer stem from a twisted interpretation of Saintly Blood theology - “The blood of martyrs water seeds from which spring up a mighty blessedness” or some such - resulting in Countess Bathory-style depredations intended to wash away sins and fuel righteous might.
Krevborna being a Gothic Horror/Dark Fantasy setting, he might even have got some magical mojo in a minor key from working such ritual horrors, but it would seem that the unquiet grave has finally driven it through that skull that The Divine is NOT OKAY with this line of conduct,
Alas that awareness of his addiction has allowed the Black Knight to seriously address his Problem.