On the Origin of

Sanctuary Keep

            In the years leading up the The Event, a new country was founding itself in the center of the contested lands.

            A traveler with a small amount of magical prowess was wandering the world, in search of a place to call his own, when he came across a failing farming town.  The town, known as Paradise to the locals, soon learned of his magic, and asked him for his aid.  He declined, pointing out that with his limited abilities, the vast lands owned by the town would be far too large of a task for him to enhance without help.

            To this, the villagers offered their aid, in return for his.

            And so the wanderer drew up plans, and passed them before the townsfolk, who gladly agreed to help the stranger with his plan.

            Within weeks, a tower had been constructed.  It rose above the landscape, near the center of the farmlands, a black tower of black stone, hauled several miles from a site deep within the forest.  The building was simple; a circular tower with a spiral staircase, leading to the top floor, where the wanderer set himself up, and with the aid of the tower and supplies purchased from the locals, he cast spells which aided the lands, and in so doing, saved the livelihood of the locals.

            Each year, the locals would pay him tribute, in return for the ensured success of their crops and lands, and occasional protection from the predators in the area.

            But all good things eventually draw to a close, and the wanderer knew his life was coming to an end.  He sought out a townsperson willing to come and learn of the magics, and to carry on the tradition.  He found one in the mayor’s child, a bright young boy with an obvious gift for magic.

            The boy continued to live in the tower even after his master chose to move on, saying nothing to anyone, and the townspeople continued to pay the boy in the tower for his help.

            Years later, the boy was to be wed.  Because he still needed the tower to aid the lands, he insisted that he remain living within.  His wife, understandably, insisted he find a larger, more comfortable home, and that he only visit the tower when he needed it. 

            The Mayor, aging now, offered a proposal that suited the newlyweds both.  Construction began anew at the tower, and a house was constructed around the tower.  

            The Manor, as the townspeople came to call it, was built similarly to the tower, but of a much lighter stone from a nearer, and more recent, quarry.  The purple stone was soon found to hold magical power well, and the area aided by the tower expanded.

            Tragically, the boy’s wife died whilst giving birth to their first children—twins, both had been male, and one, who had shown great magical potential even before birth, was stillborn.  In his grief, the father soon passed away, as well, and the other child, already weak and sickly, passed away.  The family was buried in a plot in the backyard. 

            The dark purple stone still held magic, however, and the surrounding crops continued to flourish.

            With no one to live in it, the tower and its house became property of the town, and so it was made into a church, in honor of those who had served within its walls, and those who were buried in the graveyard.  Stained glass windows and elaborate archways were added, and the building was given a formal name:  Sanctuary Church.

            With this change, a large pipe organ was installed in the tower.  However, only a few years later, the tower itself was sealed, and deemed haunted.  Despite having been closed off, the organ could still be heard across the town.

            Years passed.  The Church stood, the organ played its haunting strains, and the land continued to flourish.

            The town grew closer to the Church, and soon it became the seat of power.  Though it was no longer a church, it was still a safe place for the townspeople, and it was soon expanded again.  The arches and windows were preserved, and reinstalled within the newer walls, which were thicker and sturdier.  The building grew, and interior training grounds were added, reflecting its new purpose.  Thus, the Tower Building became Sanctuary Fortress, and the few nearby towns declared themselves independent of the surrounding countries.

            Not so long after that, buildings sprung up around it, and it became known as Sanctuary Castle, and the building itself as the Keep.

            Records at this point are scarce—in fact, absent.  The few located records of Sanctuary are missing the entries for this era, and only pick up again after the year 0 P.E., after the Event, of which there is also no record.

            At some point in this period, the castle was destroyed, and only the Keep, and a few minor outbuildings remained.  Much of the large city was destroyed, and the land scoured.  The magic stored in the building seems to have been drained away, and the crops once again began to fail.  The Keep itself was abandoned, and many of the townspeople moved away. 

            While no one can say what happened for certain, it is clear that Sanctuary, and the surrounding lands, will never return to their former glory.  The land of Paradise, once bountiful, is now a decrepit land, said to be haunted by ghosts of its past.

--From “A Historical Observation of the Rise and Fall of Paradise,” E.O.