# Wendell Ruins ![[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/99 - Attachments/Session Artwork/Session 56/Solland-Wendell-Ruins.jpg|760]] ## Category Ancient Ruins / Woodland Refuge / Unresolved Historical Site ## Known Facts - The [[Wendell Ruins]] lie beyond the farmland north-north-east of [[Bastion]]. - [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] had passed the area as a child while travelling with [[Sir Dain Sunward]]. - Dain mentioned the ruins only briefly and spoke their name with clear disdain; he did not explain why. - The site contains the remains of stone buildings, collapsed arches and a ruined watchtower, heavily reclaimed by woodland, ivy and grass. - A toppled humanoid statue made from very dark stone lies near the entrance on or beside a worn grey plinth. - The plinth bears old markings or an inscription, but the party could not read it in the darkness. - Glass vessels or cylinders are embedded amongst the courtyard stones. - At least one broken vessel contained an old preserved tongue. - The purpose of the vessels and tongues is unknown. - [[Jambo]] uses the ruins as a hidden refuge. - Jambo maintained a deliberately concealed campfire, a single bedroll and a collection of mirrors there. - The party sheltered at the ruins after escaping Bastion in [[Session 56 - The Wendell Ruins]]. ## Known By - Full party - [[Sir Dain Sunward]], at least historically - [[Jambo]] ## Connected To - [[Jambo]] - [[Sir Dain Sunward]] - [[Raphius Sunward]] - [[Bastion]] - [[Solland]] ## Open Questions - What were the Wendell Ruins originally built for? - Why did Sir Dain speak of them with disdain? - What did the fallen dark-stone statue depict? - What do the worn markings on the plinth say? - Who embedded the glass vessels in the courtyard? - Why do the vessels contain preserved tongues? - Are the tongues connected to the site’s original purpose? - Does Jambo know more about the history of the ruins than he has yet explained? ## Session 57 Update - In daylight, the party established that the worn inscription on the dark statue’s plinth invokes **faith**, **silence**, and an **eternal witness**; the complete wording remains partly weathered and uncertain. - [[Jambo]] said the Crown Guard do not enter the ruins, although he does not know exactly why. - The preserved tongues therefore appear increasingly connected to the site’s original religious purpose, but the party’s theory that they were literal offerings or vows of silence remains only a theory. - Deeper within the ruins, the woodland became unnaturally quiet and the daylight seemed to dim. - The party found a glowing [[Old God Symbols|black circle divided by a single vertical line]], similar in style but not identical to the combined symbol previously found in [[Harringdon]]. - A [[Wendell Spectral Apparition]] manifested beside the symbol and addressed [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] alone. - Its accusation referred to “blooded butchers,” “wardens of the dread sun,” a purge, a Lady and inherited suffering. - The apparition used a shared-pain tether that transferred damage to whichever party member it was linked to. - Raphius discovered that the ground-symbol mattered to the apparition and helped shatter it; when the symbol broke, the tether ceased functioning. - [[Elena]] then destroyed the apparition with the power of [[Nyxthys]]. The ruins are no longer merely an unexplained abandoned site. They are now confirmed to contain active supernatural remnants connected to an ancient faith and a violent historical grievance, though the identity of that faith and the people involved remains unresolved. ## Session 58 Update - Destroying the [[Wendell Spectral Apparition]] exposed a thick stone slab covering a hidden stairway beneath the shattered symbol. - The lower complex is now confirmed to be dedicated to [[Whune|Whune]] and repeatedly uses her circle-and-vertical-line symbol. - The complex contains magically enforced trials built around **silence**, **sound**, and **sacrifice**. - A first door opens only after those before it remain silent; passing it can separate magical communication across the barrier. - A second chamber suppresses all sound and asks visitors to place **“that which makes the loudest sound”** before the door. A living person standing on the central plate opened it. - A third chamber states **“Sacrifice proves our worth.”** Blood alone was insufficient; touching a tongue to the ritual bowl opened the way without mutilation. - Beneath the shrine is a black-and-purple void that suppresses ordinary gravity, blocks light and can interrupt magical communication while someone is within it. - A hidden chamber suspended within that void preserved three tablets called [[The Final Days of Whune]]. - The tablets confirm that the people of Wendell were faithful to Whune and deliberately kept her secret when the **Lands of Sol** came seeking her divine self. - The exact role of the preserved tongues is still not confirmed, but their connection to the faith's sacred silence is now much stronger. - Crown Guard who normally avoid Wendell entered the ruins later in the day while searching for the party. - [[Jambo]] drew those guards away by taking Raphius' appearance and fleeing towards the checkpoint; his current fate is unknown. ## Artwork - Hidden Whune Complex ![[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/99 - Attachments/Session Artwork/Session 58/Whune-Temple-1.jpg|760]] ![[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/99 - Attachments/Session Artwork/Session 58/Whune-Temple-2.jpg|760]] ![[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/99 - Attachments/Session Artwork/Session 58/Whune-Temple-3.jpg|760]] ## Artwork - Surface Ruins ![[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/99 - Attachments/Session Artwork/Session 57/Solland-Wendell-Ruins-Day.jpeg|760]]