Hellbane Keep

Hellbane Keep, then Telanacas Tower, was originally constructed under the Celsani Hegemony to extend its authority to south-eastern Edhana. After the collapse of the Hegemony, the castle was maintained as the seat of a local lord family before it eventually passed to the Knights of the Watch. They would transform the castle into a prison for warlocks and worse things.

After its acquisition by the Knights of the Watch, Grandmaster Valran

In 1E 846, the Celsani Optimate of Edhana—Heron Orryar—ordered the construction of Telanacas Tower to cement hegemonic control over the Esainé Valley. To her woe, and many merchants' glee, the location Heron chose for Telanacas was far from any deposit of good stone for castle building, requiring her to import stone at a steep cost. This, alongside issues with corruption and local resistance, delayed the completion of Telanacas until 1E 857 and nearly bankrupted Heron. Unfortunately, the optimate's issues did not end here as the War of the Broken Moon would begin in 1E 864. At the edge of the Hegemony, Telanacas escaped the war unscathed but the conflict emptied Optimate Heron's treasury. To secure more funding for the war, Heron sold Telanacas Tower to Sybille sína Lannan in 1E 871 and appointed her as Castellan of Telanacas.   Under the Sína Lannans, and the later Síl na Galniths, the Castellany of Telanacas remained a quiet corner of Edhana until 1E 1076 when the death of Emond síl na Galnith left it without a legal holder. Without a legal heir or will, the castle defaulted to King Marlen of Edhana. When his court realized that he didn't care to keep Telanacas Tower, claimants emerged from the woodwork with various reasons for why they should be granted the castellany; ranging from spurious blood-ties to previous holders or greatly exaggerated deeds of service. Frustrated and annoyed by his court, Marlen decided to grant Telanacas to one Willamina whose boldness had impressed him when she made the claim that she should have the castle because she requested it first. Willamina became the first of a new house, House síl Telanacas. Sadly, her house would die with her grandson in 1E 1152 and Telanacas would again revert to the Grand Duchess of Edhana. In an eerily similar situation, Grand Duchess Isabel would grant the castellany to Farya Brighteyes. Farya would hold Telanacas until her death in 1E 1292, after which it was granted to the Knights of the Watch by her will.  

Hell Watcher Ownership

Within the Knights of the Watch, Telanacas Tower would become home to veterans of the old Red Watch, a group that taken to calling themselves the "Hell Watch". Initially, not much changed. The Watch's administration and treasury was moved to the tower and aging sections of the castle were repaired. When Grandmaster Valran was elected to lead the Watch in 1E 1301, he renamed Telanacas Tower to Hellbane Keep and began sweeping renovations to the castle, completely changing it. Its white Athellaresque walls were encased in heavy black stone. The golden fields that surrounded the castle were torn up and trenches were dug through them. The graceful tower at the center that lent the castle its name was transformed into a menacing spire that sends a chill down the neck of all whom lay eyes upon it. What was once a beautiful white citadel atop a golden hill, Valran converted to a sinister black fortress surrounded by torn earth.   Starting in 1E 1309, the Hell Watch began transporting all warlocks to Hellbane Keep for trial and execution. By this time, Valran's renovations had been completed and prisoners were greeted by the sight of the dark fortress in what would likely be their last moments as their trials were always short and execution swiftly followed. In 1E 1316, Valran ordered an expansion of the keep's cellars, turning them into an underground complex that warlocks would disappear into should their trial not end in execution. Not long after, rumors began to spread of prisoners being horrifically mistreated and unholy experiments ocurring in the depths of Hellbane Keep. The unexplained disappearance of the laborers that expanded the lower levels and Valran's refusal to allow any outsiders to see the complex beneath the keep do little to disprove the rumors.   In 1E 1321, the Hell Watch—at this point the only surviving remnant of the Knights of the Watch—would have a series of encounters with a warlock named Lucian Silainé.