Veneficus

Perhaps the most unsettling feature of Veneficus is that it appears to watch. Set high on every tower are massive carved eyes, stylized but lifelike. These are not merely decorative—they are the Eyes of Hazlik, magical scrying devices that allow him to peer into every corner of Hazlan.

Each eye is linked to Hazlik's will. From his meditation chambers, he watches:

• Apprentices in their laboratories.
• Strangers passing through Hazlan.
• Conversations between lovers, rebels, and hopeful mages.

The people of Hazlan live with this constant fear: no secret is safe while Veneficus stands.

The palace appears to have been carved, grown, or conjured rather than built. Its towers are slender and exaggerated, spiraling toward the heavens like claws. The entire structure is composed of a strange crimson basalt, veined with black arcane script that writhes and flickers when viewed out of the corner of one’s eye. Lightning rods, floating crystal orbs, and glowing runes pulse across the towers, warding off intruders and fueling the constant magical activity within.

No known roads lead up to the Red Rise. Those who approach on foot face treacherous cliffs, sudden surges of magical energy, and illusion-laced terrain. Most visitors (rare as they are) arrive via teleportation portals, summoned only at Hazlik’s whim.

Inside Veneficus, reality bends under the weight of Hazlik’s will. The layout is mutable, its halls rearranging themselves according to his moods and magical whims.

Notable locations within the palace include:

• The Labyrinth of Inquiry: A series of shifting chambers where failed experiments wander freely and memory-warping spells keep intruders disoriented. It’s said Hazlik releases unworthy apprentices into this maze as punishment or testing.
• The Lustrum Vault: A locked and warded vault containing ancient arcane relics, forbidden scrolls, and the crystallized remnants of dreams harvested from unwilling subjects.
• The Whispering Fane: A chapel to no god at all, where Hazlik meditates beneath a floating sphere of bleeding crystal. Here, he communes not with deities, but with raw magic, dreaming of ultimate arcane perfection.
• The Glass Ascendant: A translucent tower chamber that hovers just above the palace's highest spire. Its walls show visions of Hazlan in real time, and through it Hazlik directs the Eyes, speaks incantations, and marks his next victims.

Though rarely seen by mortals, Hazlik’s psychic presence suffuses Veneficus. His voice occasionally echoes through its walls. His wrath manifests as sudden storms of fire or vertigo-inducing gravity shifts. Even when he's in meditation, those who step inside may feel as though they are being peeled open and studied.

When Hazlik does appear, it is always with theatrical control: floating inches above the floor, crimson robes trailing behind, tattoos glowing with suppressed fury, and his voice a whip of command.