Ghosthaven
Ghosthaven is likely the most ancient building in Zevemlya, though it has been built over many times, the bones of this building date back over three-thousand years. No prisoner has ever successfully escaped the island, though there have been three successful prison riots and escapes over its recorded history. Prisoners on this island who escaped the prison were summarily taken by the ghostly denizens that call the island home, or froze to death before joining the ghostly ranks separately.
Prisoners here aren't sent here for violence, but treason and sedition. Violent criminals are executed in public. Those who fight against Galvander's rule through seditious means are sent to Ghosthaven rather than be martyred in the streets of the capital. That isn't to say that those imprisoned aren't dangerous, many have been graduates of the war colleges and as such are deadly warriors. Their isolation and lack of sunlight do make the prisoners abnormally unpredictable, but most violence is pointed at the guards, or during mealtimes.
The most obvious flaw in the security of Ghosthaven is its relatively sparse guard force. This is due to the fact that they aren't the main deterrent for escape. They are the means by which the prisoners get food, but the ghosts are the main deterrent. The Warden is typically a military man or woman who has fallen from favor, and is suffering punishment of their own, though no posting to Ghosthaven lasts for more than 5 years.
The prison guards have weapons and the advantages of escape when there is a visiting sorcerer, while two main groups within the prison suffer one another. Spies and military dissidents. Both suffer while there and they often fight over the sparse resources in the prison.
Purpose / Function
For the punishment of those deemed treasonous or seditious to the kingdom of Zevemlya
Design
Gothic in architecture, the first two floors are for the guards, while the lower floors, all eight of them, are for the inmates. the upper floors are well equipped, and a hole like a well sits in the middle of the lower of the two floors. inmates are sent down in cages and released on the third floor, roughly fifty feet below.
The lower eight floors consist of an incinerator, a work hall, three sleep quarters, a lavatory/bathing floor, a forge, and the mess hall/entry hall. Food is dropped in twice daily most days, and the guards do not monitor who gets it. the guards only make sure that when someone dies, that they get incinerated to prevent disease.
Entries
The gatehouse at the entrance to Ghosthaven is the only entrance
Sensory & Appearance
terrifying and stark
Denizens
Prisoners and prison guards
Contents & Furnishings
the upper floors are furnished much like a barracks, though the lower floors have stone tables and ledges that serve as beds.
Valuables
guard weapons
Hazards & Traps
pit and incinerator
Special Properties
surrounded by ghosts
Alterations
The stone of the fortress is mortared in the blood of Galvander's sorcerers with silver dust to prevent the ghosts from entering, but its isolation keeps the ghosts contained on the island. Almost every dead inmate here adds to the growing ranks of the ghostly dead that call the island their home.
Architecture
Gothic and stone, carved deep into the cliff from above with no escape except the entrance at the peak.
Defenses
Horde of ghosts, precarious position, armed guards.
History
Ghosthaven is ancient, and no record exists of its founding, though scholars agree that its barest bones date back to a time even before Galvander's conquest began.
Tourism
no.
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