The Lighthouse

Rising from the shifting mists and hostile seas of the Domains of Dread is The Lighthouse, a spiraling tower formed not of stone or brick, but of interlocked bones and fossilized monstrosities—ancient creatures whose forms defy the natural order. It clings to a jagged reef like a fossilized wound, forever bathed in a strange, sourceless radiance that spills from its summit and dances like ghostfire across the sea.

The Light That Should Not Shine

• The light at the top of the tower pulses with no discernible source—not flame, nor crystal, nor spell—but shines with a dreamlike, pale violet hue that defies shadow and reflection.
• Mariners say this light is not a guide, but a trap—luring the lost and the mourning to the rocks below, or into domains from which there is no return.
• Its glow is visible even when the rest of the world is swathed in night, casting silhouettes of things that aren’t there.

Construction of the Dead

• The Lighthouse is formed entirely of fossilized remains: colossal ribs, spiral shells, and chitinous plates that suggest origins in far-flung planes or forgotten epochs.
• The bones themselves whisper when touched, speaking in ancient languages or echoing sounds from a visitor’s own past—especially voices they wish they’d forgotten.
• At its base, tidepools shimmer with phosphorescent ichor, and fossilized mouths gape open in silent screams.

The Lighthouse’s Role

• It stands at the confluence of many mists, surfacing within view of other Domains in times of great trauma, decision, or despair.
• Sailors, seekers, and mourners might glimpse it in the fog just before vanishing—or just after stepping into another life.
• No one who walks up the spiraling, hollow stair is unchanged. Some emerge enlightened. Some never return. Others become part of the structure, encased in translucent amber bone high upon its crown.

The Watcher in the Beacon

• At the summit dwells a sentinel, though its form is debated. Some speak of a blind child who asks riddles, others of a tall figure of starlight and scars, or a many-eyed thing that weeps blood and fire.
• The Watcher is not hostile, but sees too much. It offers truths, usually the kind that cannot be endured.
• Some believe the Watcher is the spirit of the sea itself, or a being who tried to defy fate and was bound to the tower for eternity.