Blaustein

A lone isle rises from the Sea of Sorrows, its cliffs sheer, its coasts lashed by brutal waves. Black rock, gray skies, and white-capped surf surround a crumbling keep perched upon a jagged headland—Bluebeard’s fortress, once a seat of pleasure and terror, now a mausoleum of wrath. This is Blaustein, a Domain of Dread where the dead remember, and vengeance wears a bridal veil.

Blaustein's former ruler, the infamous Marquis Bluebeard, was a decadent and cruel noble who took wife after wife—young women lured by wealth and power. Each was drawn into his fortress and never seen again.

Now, his victims rule the island.

• Thirteen spectral brides haunt Blaustein, each a woman Bluebeard murdered and entombed in secret rooms. In death, they are not passive spirits, but avenging wraiths who learned to wield the power of the Mists.
• The brides share dominion, though some are more active than others. Their personalities range from wrathful to mournful to calculating. Some yearn for justice; others desire only to make others suffer as they did.
• Bluebeard himself remains a tormented prisoner in his own keep. He is a broken specter—powerless, gasping, and dragged screaming from chamber to chamber by the brides. His voice is rarely heard except in moments of pity... or when he lures new victims to the island in hope of stealing their bodies.

Themes and Horrors

• Gothic Haunting: Creaking doors, blood in the washbasin, the smell of old perfume, and faces behind mirrors. Blaustein is not abandoned, just full of watching eyes.
• Secrets & Disobedience: The brides were once silenced and hidden. Now, they pry into the minds of the living, exposing unfaithfulness, abuse, and betrayal. Their vengeance is not always just—but it is always personal.
• The Cycle of Violence: Visitors may be tempted to repeat Bluebeard’s sins: controlling others, silencing truths, locking away fear. The domain mirrors these choices and punishes them mercilessly.

Notable Locations

• The Forbidden Wing: A locked series of opulent chambers—once Bluebeard’s inner sanctum—now filled with relics of his murdered wives. Some whisper to visitors. Others scream.
• The Chapel of Veils: A ruin draped in ghostly bridal veils. Here, new visitors may find phantom weddings re-enacted, or be offered unholy unions by the dead.
• The Blood Garden: A once-beautiful garden now grown wild with red roses that drink from the earth and weep tears of blood. Sometimes the flowers whisper the brides' names.
• The Drowned Cellar: Beneath the fortress, a sunken oubliette filled with saltwater where Bluebeard drowns anew each night—only to be revived at dawn to suffer again.