Sanctus

Cursed.

Your arrival in this city may come in life, or come in death. Maybe it was a sword through the heart, an arrow in the eye, or a virulent disease. You awake here in Sanctus, on the path into the city from the Fog. Maybe you went walking through a forest, mist clinging to the conifers. The fog becomes so thick you couldn’t see a foot ahead of you. When it begins to clear, here you are. Sanctus.

All those who arrive in Sanctus are cursed to not be able to fully die. Every time their body is killed, they will return, losing parts of themselves each time. Losing their mind, their control, and their form, until they go hollow, becoming a husk of a being with only enough presence of mind to shamble and swing. A Hollow. End of the road. A Hollow dies, and they stay dead. There is nothing left to bring back.

Outside the Walls:

The skeletons. The rusted weapons spiked deep into the cracked, stoney soil. Haphazard gravestones topped by pieces of shattered armor. Vegetation that struggles in the weight of the fog. The ground here is crag and rock, and the only other signs of life are these struggling trees and vines. Eking out from the fog that covers the land, these areas are a danger, not only because of the Fog’s touch, but horrific, deformed beasts who appear through the mist from time to time.

The Nexus

The Nexus, that tower, stands before you, rising from the city's center. Proud and powerful, its marblesque facade contains mysteries and doors to paths unknown. It is the start of an adventure; it is a place of legend. Ancient as it is strong, the Archstones within can connect you to all regions of the Gatelands.

Sanctus

Around it grows and swells a small metropolis. It is home to hustling merchants and stalwart adventurers, to transient dwellers and long-term residents. In its thirteen districts dwell a hundred thousand lives in rags and riches and honor and sin. The four houses—the ever-reaching Crows, the lawful Wolves, the prideful Lions, and the dastardly Snakes—rule the city and cut deals as easily as they cut throats.

Sanctus is a city of almost 100,000 people, with about 25-30% of the population being members of the many houses. Others are transient, or simply not involved enough to care for who has the power and who doesn’t.