Ghosgate
Ghosgate
Fenris is the dictator and proclaimed god of the ashen ruins that border Hernlak. Past buildings rot in their place as leafless trees grow around them, creating a seamless transition between the previous owner and the new decrepit parasite that will slowly destroy it.
There is no official number of habitants as individuals are constantly moving in and out. However the single constant is that every inhabitant is corrupt. Ghosgate is a violent and lawless ruin where murder is a commodity and greed is as prevalent as hunger. No pure faunid has ever made it past a hundred meters into the dead forest.
The etymology of Ghosgate comes from "Ghost Gate," stemming from superstitious beliefs about Ghosgate being an entry into a world beyond Faunids.
History and Mythos
Ghosgate is a place of war and distrust. Fenris was a faun who worked in direct submission to Herne. Day by day, the anarchist questioned and opposed his mentor, learning their tricks and powers, their truths and secrets. Debating the ethics of death and sustainability, Fenris and Herne got into a dispute that ended up in a physical battle of will and strength. Antlers clashed in violent crashes, splitting the ground. Where they stepped, craters formed. Where fenris fell, jabbed in a near fatal move and shoved across the land, the Bullran cliffs formed. Losing the battle, Fenris was condemned to reside in the shadows of the deadwood forever, but he still lives with his wounds and seemingly-godly powers.
The volcanoes rumble their displeasure, sending leaking streams of molten lava cascading down barren hills and mountains of the deadwood. unstable underground caverns breathe akin to living creatures on quiet days, said to be brought to life by herne's fallen blood. Large cracks and caverns lead to an uncertain end but a certain death.
In an attempt to clear the deadwood from its toxic inhabitants, warriors and guards attempted an attack on those who resided in ghosgate. upon seeing disfigured and corrupted family many hoofsoldiers nearly instantly crumpled underneath the moral and mental battle of killing those who they once loved and called mother/father/child. Those who fought on were slaughtered like livestock.; their blood and bodies painting the forests crimson. Being in unrecoverable locations, families back in Hernlak were unable to say proper goodbyes and give proper burial rituals. It's said that these slaughtered fauns roam the deadwoods as neither spirits nor alive and live in a desolate grey area inbetween.
Incredible magical concentration is teeming throughout the soil, but it is thick in the smog. Residing nextdoor to hernlak, the resulting inhabitants who return to an animalistic form begin to inhabit natural X. The chaos collection was perfected in ghosgate. Based in means of brutality and harm, the chaos collection has taken victims in the form of students and does equal damage to its user as it does to those who are at the opposing end.
Current Status
Desolate and depressing. Stains of blood and bile paint old and decrepit buildings as Faunids fight over the meager shelter like rats. Rusted and discarded swords lay next to their slain owners, bones crushed and gnawed on by rodents and carnivores. The population is a seemingly different strain of corruption, more vile and violent than they have been witnessed in other areas of atalav.
Infamy
The most dangerous corruption hotspot in all of Atalav. The dead forest is teeming with bloodsucking monsters and is considered where one goes to die. Suicide by "wandering" isn't unheard of and always ends in fatality. Attempts of clearing the population have ended in pools of blood and gore, the ground seeming to shift and breathe from volcanic activity. Deep chasms and splits/cracks in the earth run like veins throughout the forest and city, sometimes consuming the very inhabitants that live there.
Most buildings residing in Hernlak are basic shacks constructed from old timber and recycled material. Low roofs and basic amenities are commonplace with only the occasional building being built otherwise on land. Within the boundaries of the lake are a few well-regarded buildings built on stilts to seemingly "float" over the lake's surface. These structures are reserved for those who regularly are in touch or in need of Herne's blessing and Lifesource. Mentors, students, Tellers, and other high-esteemed life paths typically reside in these luxury homes.