Sylvanwroth's Well of Souls
The power of a lich comes from the souls it is able to incorporate into itself, through profane rituals detailed in evil tomes such as the Book of Vile Darkness. And about 100 years ago, the King of the Haunted Wood, Sylvanwroth, came into possession of 16,974 such souls, all at once.
Construction of the Well of Souls took more than thirty years, and the excavations of the bone boxes in the walls and ceiling of this domed space are the source of the earth that forms the large hill over Sylvanwroth's lair. However it should become evident quickly that this is not a place of quiet repose for the dead; rather, it is a power plant channeling enormous currents of negative energy into other parts of the lair, even further down.
Sylvanwroth does partake of a sip or two of some of this power from time to time, though he greatly prefers to instead take the unwary or undeserving traveler's life while riding his bone nightmare through the haunted wood on cold nights under a dim moon.
Purpose / Function
The Well of Souls stores and transmits pure Negative Energy from the bone-boxes of 16,794 dead people stored in its floor, walls and ceiling. Specifically, it powers the Cinematic Room, an animation that in turn restrains Velendir Starshadow, the Baelnorn of the elves entrusted with the care and protection of the Sorrow of the Silent Lady. Within this animation, Velendir believes he remains within the kingdom of the elves, and willingly shares secrets of his people's wizards and priests with others that enter the Cinematic Room; the Animation changes their appearance and language to match that which Velendir expects, but this permanent enchantment and the magical wards against divination that surround and permeate it require the soul equivalent of a nuclear power plant, which the Well of Souls provides.
Defenses
Within the well of souls, frustrated packs of hungry Ghasts roam free, of no danger whatsoever to other undead or Sylvanwroth. When desired, the power source can empower defenders directly from the Darklight, and Sylvanwroth has imprisoned a Boneclaw for this contingency. The Boneclaw believes - perhaps correctly - that it can ascend to challenge Sylvanwroth if only it can devour a few more fresh souls, souls currently in use by the adventuring party members, of course. It falls into torpor when no threats are present and arises when the need arises.
In fact, it is utterly slaved to Sylvanwroth, and this belief is how the Arch-Lich motivates this failed specimen to defend the well of souls.
It is worth noting, however, that the concentration of so much undead power could theoretically attract the attention of even more powerful beings, including Dorezain and even Orcus himself; so the primary conduit for a certain amount of energy is devoted to creating invisibility to divination, and the Cinematic Room is a secondary circuit. If some of the primary conduits are damaged, that invisibility could falter or drop entirely, and all hell - or the Abyss, more likely - could break loose.
Founding Date
3262
Type
Power plant
Parent Location
Owner
Related Report (Secondary Locations)
Comments