Isolus
Lady of the Lexicon
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"The Raven and the Rogue"
LOCATION:The Queen's Garden
"Hiding behind these gray walls lay strange horrors ruled from feudal days of a violent dynasty -- Behold, the present ruler: A mad Queen!"
𝑺𝑼𝑴𝑴𝑨𝑹𝒀 ━━━
In the dense woodlands west of the Aria capital, the flourishing land is fiercely protected by House Corvus. When the royal hounds aren't scouring the hills on a hunt for the white stag, the sacred site is kept in close watch for the queen's own private court. But rumors among her staff tell their own tale -- when the world sleeps, this is where she resides to whisper secret pacts to the growling gods held in safe sanctum within her own mind. Tonight, as the moon bleeds her light over the Arian Gulf, the queen's court has been stirred from their beds and ordered to attend a party within these sacred gardens. There has been promises of great feasting and entertainment. This is a time of celebration ... but for what exactly, the guests are unsure. But they're wise not to deny such an invitation and anger the Mad Queen of Aria.
"Three must you paint: one to see, one to be and one to will."
𝑫𝑬𝑺𝑪𝑹𝑰𝑷𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵 ━━━
The Queen's Garden extends both over and underground. It's exterior is kept in neat order, a grand gazebo surrounded with a marble wall that circles the entire length of the property. The walls are maintained every night through a ritualistic cleaning set in place by the queen in order to maintain their protection runes against vengeful spirits. A giant elder tree stands near the entrance (thought to be a mirror to the 'tree of life' mythos) where an oily black statue of the demon known as Tibetanus stands underneath it. Yet its interior buries itself deep underground - underneath its main dining hall, there are winding labyrinths and dungeons crossing over the deep sewers. Prisoners who are brought here never return.
"Three you must taint: one to wed, one to dread and one to kill."
𝑫𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑴𝑺 ━━━
Were the queen's visions of Cyphos' own doing? Were they simply mirrors of her madness, spinning hallucinations spurred by the growing stress on an already fragile mind? It is difficult to know. But since the rise of the last full moon nearly a month prior, the Queen has been plagued with dreams of what she believes to be foreshadowing the end times. Why is it when all other faces remain blank, there are but five whose visages remain clear to her memory? A wounded lion, pierced by four arrows, roaring among a sea of flame; A bronze owl with diamonds for eyes reclining half submerged in sinking sand; A flower blooming through a wall of ice opens its petals to release a spider that snaps at her hand; A golden ladder that connects heaven to hell; a valley of many names forms a hungry maw and opens to devour the cliffs around it completely. And in each one, she sees their faces. The queen does not know what role these faces have in the world's end -- nothing good, no doubt. It's up to her to stop them before they swallow this world completely. The Keepers pay a steep price. But they get the job done. Only a few days pass before the Queen's prisoners are locked in chains and kept in cages, awaiting their fates at her hands.
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