Book of Bone and Ebony

to stoke the fires of jealousy, or if jilted and abandoned, will
wail and shed tears, fulfilling the wishes of their clients.
Even the necromancers of Creation have heard of these
shapely dolls and are quick to summon them to fulfill their
sexual desires, for the courtesans are equally well-trained
in the needs of mortals for those among the dead who
desire to ape the ritual of life.
The House of Dolls caters especially to a very select
and rare sort of clientele: mortals traveling the Underworld.
They are precious few in number — mostly
necromancers and mediums walk the lands of the dead —
and even fewer enter the distant and remote city of Stygia.
The hollow foods and the empty hearts of the dead cannot
sustain those who do, however. The Mistress with the
White Hands long ago ensured, at great cost, that her
larders were filled with the foods of Creation and that her
courtesans were trained in the desires of mortal flesh. To
any mortal that enters Stygia, she offers all of her hospitality
for one small price. Every morning, at dawn, every
living guest of the House of Dolls (seldom more than one,
and often none) must rise and, with a silvered knife, offer
the Mistress their own blood. She asks for only enough to
fill her ornate chalice (never more than a single health
level of damage), and unless already grievously wounded,
the victim will recover the small wound by the next day,
ready for the next offering. The dead enjoy the taste of few
things more than blood, and ghosts flock to the House of
Dolls should they learn of the presence of a mortal. To
those that please her, the Mistress sometimes offers this
finest of delicacies. By carefully playing favorites and
allowing others to accept the savory offering in her stead,
she gains small favors and slowly spreads her influence.
THE DISTRICT WHERE SHADOWS WALK
Madness lurks under the surface of this otherwise
normal district. Black cobblestones still pave the streets,
but deeper within the district, the stones grow broken and
torn. The tall buildings and spires of this district are
twisted and topped with jagged peaks. The shrill screams
of the nephwracks and the dark chanting of their followers
replace the monotonous hum of prayer. Though the ghosts
here carry on with their normal tasks, they cast nervous
glances over their shoulders at the ubiquitous disciples of
Oblivion. This district bears no scars from the nephwracks’
occupation and was spared the wrath of the Deathlords,
lending it an ancient feel. Surrounded by the shadowy
cathedrals of the Abyss and watching the nephwracks
preach their insidious gospel on the street corners, none
within the district can deny that they reside in the center
of Stygia’s darkness.
The District Where Shadows Walk was surrendered
to the nephwracks after their occupation of the city. By the
laws of the treaty signed thousands of years ago, the Dual
Monarchy has only token control over the area. Packs of
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CHAPTER ONE • STYGIA
vicious mortwights replace the stability of the Monarchy’s
soldiers with their own brand of law and order. Monstrous
temples replace government buildings, and enormous
monuments to Oblivion rise out of the depths of the
district. Nephwracks battle one another constantly for
dogmatic dominion with both magic and weapons, and
only the occasional threat of force from the Monarchy’s
effigies is enough to keep their struggles from spilling over
the borders. The dominion of the district requires both
cunning and brute force, and the rulers of this part of Stygia
seldom last long.
Not every ghost within the district follow the teachings
of Oblivion. Despite the confines of the nephwracks’
insane religions, many ghosts choose to remain here, for
there are worse places to live. Even so, peril abounds in the
District Where Shadows Walk. The greatest danger of the
district is the attentions of one of the Void-maddened
priests. Generally, professing unspecified devotion to
Oblivion and quietly nodding in agreement with the
priest’s rants will satisfy him. However, appearing too
pious can hold its own dangers. Some cult leaders seek a
reverent ghost devoted to the Void for a sacrifice. Other
nephwracks take murderous offense at the slightest theological
error. Worse, a new sect could violently sweep away
the old and seemingly safe philosophies of yesterday,
endangering any perceived as adherents to that faith.
Despite the constantly shifting political atmosphere and
the murderous leadership of the district, most ghosts residing
in there manage to avoid the attentions of the
nephwracks and continue their existence unmolested.
PLACES OF INTEREST
THE STARK MONOLITH
A massive obelisk of seamless, shadowy marble rises
from the very center of the District Where Shadows Walk.
The empty ground surrounding the monument is rumpled
and broken as though something had churned violently
beneath it. The Monolith evokes a silence in its immediate
area, and no being can force himself to speak louder
than a whisper in its awe-inspiring presence. Legends have
risen around it, the most popular claiming that the monument
is the haft of an enormous spear that slew a Primordial
and continues to pin it in its grave. At the base of the
obelisk lies a single stone door, and no amount of effort has
ever opened it or even scratched its unbreakable surface.
None knew what lay within the Stark Monolith, and none
knew what the monument marked.
Three years ago, the day the first Abyssal stepped
upon the soil of Stygia, the door opened, and an ancient
spectre stepped forth. After surveying his surroundings
and the stunned crowd that gathered to witness his entrance,
the spectre nodded and proclaimed his satisfaction.
He has been a powerful resident of the District Where
Shadows Walk ever since.