House of Lament
Once known as Castle Laventz, this crumbling fortress was meant to be the home of a noble heroine’s triumph. Instead, it became her tomb—and the mausoleum of every innocent caught in the web of betrayal, vengeance, and war. Now, it endures as the House of Lament, a self-aware edifice steeped in malevolence, sustained by the anguish of countless souls buried alive within its walls.
More than a haunted house, the House of Lament is a Domain of Dread and a Darklord unto itself, a spiritual vortex that absorbs and twists tragedy wherever it appears.
The House of Lament is not haunted—it is the haunting.
Unlike other Darklords, it has no mortal form. It is a conscious accumulation of pain, an entity forged by countless tragic deaths and the betrayal that binds them. It hates and mourns in equal measure. It wants to be healed—but punishes those who try. Every soul trapped within adds to its madness, and its inner chambers mirror their fears, regrets, and torments.
When the domain is closed, a thunderstorm erupts, surrounding the house with torrential rain, gale-force winds, and crashing lightning. No one escapes the house once the storm begins.
Architecture
Today, the House of Lament appears as a looming ruin, half-swallowed by the woods, its foundation cracked, and ivy clutching its black stone face like claw marks. But to those who enter—or are lured within—it becomes something more: shifting, aware, and impossibly vast.
- Its rooms rearrange themselves, trapping victims in recursive hallways, windowless parlors, and staircases that descend into the past.
- Portraits weep, floors breathe, and music boxes play lullabies composed by the dead.
- Ghostly reenactments play out in empty halls—of battles never fought, weddings never held, and rituals never completed.
- The very stones whisper, echoing voices from beneath the walls.
Defenses
- Psychic Intrusion: The house pries into the minds of its guests, shaping rooms from memories, regrets, and lost dreams.
- Malevolent Manifestations: Poltergeist activity, maddening whispers, and emotional hallucinations are constant.
- The Weeping Vaults: The castle’s crypts—still slick with condensation and rot—hold the spirits of Mara Silvra, her knights, and other entombed innocents. Many are still conscious.
- Echoes Across the Mists: The House of Lament can impose itself on other Domains, appearing as a sudden estate, lodge, or mansion wherever tragedy stirs.
Some believe a deeper force lies beneath the foundations, beneath even the bones. A seed of unknowable evil, or perhaps the tortured soul of Mara herself, now twisted beyond memory. Scholars from Lamordia and Kartakass who studied the House of Lament vanished without a trace—or returned forever changed.
History
Centuries ago, Dalk Dranzorg, a ruthless warlord, seized Castle Laventz in a brutal campaign that left the countryside shattered. When Mara Silvra, daughter of the slain lord, returned to liberate her home, she and her knights fell into a trap. Dranzorg entombed them within the castle’s very walls, sealing them in silence and darkness.
Shortly after, invitations were sent out to the surrounding nobility, proclaiming Mara’s victory and summoning guests to a grand feast. What those who arrived found was not victory, but a bloodless house, filled with unanswered screams and unburied bones.
The land turned against itself. Crops withered, animals fled, and the weather grew wild with grief. The castle was abandoned, but the screams never stopped.
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