Shadow Fen is a realm of myth and nightmares, a sundered mirror of the mortal world born from the cataclysmic binding of the Dark King. Twilit and treacherous, it exists between dimensions, a land of perpetual dusk and damp sorcery. Here, reality itself buckles under the strain of ancient magic, and every step upon the sodden earth echoes with the weight of a forgotten war. This is the prison of the Dark King and the crucible of the guardians.
Geography and Notable Landmarks
- The Gasping Fen: Vast wetlands veiled in eternal mist, where the ground oozes and the very air smells of decay. Beneath the surface lie bones of fallen guardians and monsters alike. It is the first and final battlefield.
- The Weeping Star Lake: A black mirror-like lake formed from the Drowned Star’s corrupted tears. Ripples sometimes move without wind. Dreams die here. It is sacred to Kappa, who meditates at its edge when seeking prophecy.
- The Maw Crater: A collapsed valley resembling a great devouring mouth, lined with fossilised teeth and obsidian. It marks the place where the Sigil of the Maw was last seen before its long dormancy.
- The Hollow Spire: A lone tower built from bleached bone and forgotten resolve. The eye motif that adorns its apex never blinks, and those who gaze into its hollow face are said to glimpse the truth of their end. Once Hadron’s seat of contemplation.
- Ashvault Ridge: A jagged volcanic region of smouldering crags and falling ash, shackled by the Technomancer’s rites. Here, the firestorms of the Dark King’s wrath were once loosed, now held in abeyance.
- The Riftscar: A gaping, dimensional wound left by the Technomancer’s Leap and the final battle. At its heart, time frays and space echoes. It is both exit and warning.
Settlements
There are no towns in Shadow Fen as mortals would recognise. Instead, scattered across the realm lie a patchwork of villages, ruins, encampments, and dream-warped locations. Some were once sacred sites of the Guardians. Others are the work of mortal souls who wandered too far and chose not to leave. These are the homes of the Vanguard and the Fenfolk—those who resist the Dark King’s return not with ancient power, but with stubborn courage and resolve.
Fenwatch
Perched on rare dry ground, Fenwatch is the de facto capital of the Vanguard. Founded by displaced mortals who stumbled through veiled rifts and chose to stay, its windmills and cooking smoke now serve as beacons to lost travellers. The village hosts trade, training grounds, and rites of passage for new recruits. No sigils are housed here, but songs of all five echo from its communal hall during rituals.
Mistbrook
Built near the convergence of three safe paths through the swamp, Mistbrook is a vital crossroads settlement. Its greatest treasure is the Archive—a vast, damp vault of scrolls and recovered lore guarded by quiet scholars and librarians versed in sigil theory. Pilgrims often pass through Mistbrook to seek knowledge or protection.
Wyrd Hollow
Nestled deep in the drowned woodlands, Wyrd Hollow thrives on herbalism and intuition. Its folk live in close harmony with the Fen itself, listening to its murmurings and walking the ancient glades with reverence. Many Guardians visit here in dreams. Rituals are whispered, not sung, and the moss-covered stones pulse softly at dusk.
Northmere Watch
This fortified outpost lies on the edge of nightmare territory. From Northmere Watch, elite Vanguard rangers and scouts monitor movement beyond the veil—tracking cultists, abyssal creatures, and signs of sigil disturbances. Its fires never go out, and its warriors rarely rest. Northmere’s shield wall has held since the Battle of Shadow Fen.
Candlefen
One of the newest and strangest settlements, Candlefen was built by mortals from the modern world. Here, salvaged tech fuses with ancient runes, forming lanterns that ward off shadow-beasts and bridges of glass that hum with energy. Candlefen is loud, defiant, and innovative—a rebellion wrapped in circuitry and song.
Sorrow’s Rise
A sacred site atop a windswept ridge, Sorrow’s Rise houses no permanent residents. Instead, it is a pilgrimage destination. Once the site of a Guardian’s final stand, it is now tended by monks and warriors-in-training. The air carries echoes of the Sundering, and the wind whispers secrets to those who will listen.
Gravepost
Once a gathering point during the Long Vigil, Gravepost is a toppled structure of rotting stilts and broken walkways. Though abandoned, its stones still hum when moonlight strikes them, and haunting chants rise when the Fen grows still. Few stay overnight. Fewer return unchanged.
Dreamsunder
At the edge of the Drowned Star’s reach lies Dreamsunder, a sunken bastion of cracked towers and shimmering wards. Once Kappa’s sanctuary and sigil-laboratory, it now breathes when unobserved. Only the brave or mad dare retrieve relics from its depths.
The Grove of Tongues
A forest of twisted trees and ash-covered roots, The Grove of Tongues is a forbidden place. Every leaf carries the memory of corrupted speech, and even the wind murmurs in forgotten tongues. This was where Thorin Stonebeard first encountered the Withered Tongue. It lies quiet now. But not silent.
The Forge of Echoes
Neither entirely real nor unreal, the Forge of Echoes appears only in dreamwalks or during intense drumming rituals. It is shaped from memory, steel, and sound. When the Forgemaster plays, its ghostly anvil rings out, and weapons of resonance are born. It exists between beats, between breaths.
Murkstead
A quiet but watchful village hidden among the reeds, Murkstead is built from salvaged timber and old-world masonry. Its folk are suspicious of outsiders, but fiercely loyal to the Vanguard cause. Many of its youth have taken up arms, trained under torchlight and mist.
Brindle Hollow
Shrouded in luminous moss and gentle silence, Brindle Hollow is a place of healing and divination. Herbalists, seers, and ward-crafters make their homes here, serving both Guardians and Vanguard alike. Its glades host rituals of renewal, and many visions have been born beneath its starlit canopy.
Gullmere
Drifting on the edge of the Gasping Fen, Gullmere is a village of rafts, boats, and floating barges. Tinkers, fishers, and scouts dwell here, ferrying news and supplies across the fen-waters. Though it seems fragile, Gullmere has endured every flood and every rising shadow.
These villages are largely sustained by the Vanguard — brave souls who have pledged themselves to fight beside the Guardians. Armed with makeshift weapons, ancient relics, and unwavering belief, they form the last line of defence against the Dark King’s creeping influence. Newcomers who stumble through forgotten barrows or eerie mists sometimes awaken in Shadow Fen and, if they survive their first night, are welcomed into this fragile alliance of resistance.
Safe Havens and Danger Zones
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Safe Havens:
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The Shrine of Five: Hidden within the Gasping Fen, this site holds the sigils’ echoes in stasis. It offers momentary peace and has been a place of healing and memory for guardians through centuries.
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The Ember Hollows: Caves beneath Ashvault Ridge, shielded by residual technomantic energy. They provide sanctuary for wounded spirits and exhausted souls.
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Danger Zones:
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The Thirsting Bog: A bottomless mire that drinks not only flesh but memory. Many of the Dark King’s cultists disappeared here, only to return changed.
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Oblivion’s Choir: A region where the veil between dream and void is threadbare. Nightmares take form and voices without mouths preach madness. It pulses with the influence of the Drowned Star.
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The Howling Vein: A wind-scoured chasm that screams with the voice of the Dark King. Words spoken here return in twisted form, and reality unravels with too much exposure.
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