Prison of Lights

The Prison of Lights is a location in The Shrouded Isles, on the island of Kinir. It primarily serves as the holding cell for an ancient malevolent spiritfolk, The Warlord, and is often used as a shortcut by the Nine Shrines Adventure Agency to traverse the isles. It is the primary setting of the The Prison of Lights and Where All Light Fades arcs.
== History ==
While the creation of the prison itself is unknown, nor is much of its history, the prison serves as a bleak landmark on the Shrouded Isles. Constructed around 4000 years ago, it is implied to be, to some extent, a living system. The stone floors that make up its being being its flesh and bone, the enlightened lanterns serving as its blood. At some point, what can best be described as a thrashing infection overtook it, black shadowy creatures, perfect to the true world, and only repelled by the light. 
2000 years ago, the humans and spiritfolk of the Shrouded Isles were at war. The Warlord, a powerful leader of the spiritfolk, wished to remain at war while the others sought a peaceful end to the conflict. While the prison was originally used to house a form of spiritfolk, the conflict would ultimately result in the Warlord being bounded in the Prison as its primary occupant. A new prison was built on the island of Azhel to replace its original function. The Warlord brought with it its shadow, with those who dare venture into it depths only protected by the light of Kyl'il, being either potentially killed or taken control of by the Warlord if they run out. 
Overtime, the other inmates were either devoured or corrupted into mindless beasts under the Warlord's influence. Over time he as well lost his sanity eventually becoming a monster that knows only consumption. It fears the light, but many of the lanterns filling the prison that were meant to keep him in check burned out long ago. New lanterns capable of fending off the darkness, created by Kyl'il, have been made since, however the prison itself remains largely dangerous and dark otherwise, with only scattered lights containing the beasts within. Over the millenia, various adventurers would travel down in an attempt to conquer the prison, being permanently trapped and forced into the roll of spanking skeletons. 
More recently, Kyl'il vanished following a seeming uptick in activity surrounding the Prison of Lights. It would be revealed that within the prison, the Warlord had taken a new horrifying form and had taken control over her body as the remaining lights in the prison quickly began to fade. After an investigation by the Nine Shrines Team and a long confrontation, the Warlord would eventually be destroyed, with the shadow monsters it had created dissipating along with it. At last, the spanking skeletons were free, electing to remain in the lower levels to party and spank as much as they pleased.
== The Upper Level ==
The upper levels of the prison are explored in the The Prison of Lights arc as Gregor, Markus, Ashe and Kyr traverse the isles. Filled with various monsters, it is essentially a dark and spooky dungeon, with stone walls and reinforced doors. Many of the doors in the prison require numerous keys in order to pass through them, one in particular here requiring 4 lightstone keys. The rooms of the prison are numerous and generally all carry some level of threat, some filled with glyphs holding prisoners in place, vats of acid, as well as curiously a sentient piece of coal. The exit is marked by an elevated platform, with a gate and a barrier, the platform leading further to two smaller pathways. Only shadow and monsters fill the darkness beneath the platform. Utilizing the upper level of the prison is very convenient for traveling across the isles, however runs the risk of an encounter with The Warlord.
== The Below ==
The lower levels of the prison are explored in the Where All Light Fades arc by Gregor, Markus, Harlock and Mercedes. Much like the upper levels they are made of stone, with a central requiring numerous keys blocking certain entry points, and primarily comprised of a large loop circling through the entire area. The first hallway as well was filled with flowing water filling much of the floor, and at the end, a door. Upon attempting to lock pick the door, the entire crew was transported to a prison, locked in place my a ring of runes, excluding Gregor who was lucky enough that one of the rings was occupied by a skeleton, and a key. As they began to attempt to break out, the lanterns around them, fueled by a magic oil, began to flicker, slowly beginning to go out throughout the entire prison, and monsters began to appear. Notably these monsters are, to the perfect world Gregor sees, perfect, without weakness. They are messes of shadowy limbs, eyes and teeth, seemingly only repelled by the light. The shadows have the ability to suck up heat, leaving only cold emptiness in their wake. 
Upon retreating from the monsters, traversing over a false-floor leading into the empty abyss and back, they discovered an old well that led deeper into the prison. At the bottom floor was a skeletal structure of pillars and platforms, hanging over endless shadow. While the floor above it served as the flesh of the prison, this served as its skeleton. The vast shadows of this room all lay filled with the dark creatures that inhabited the prison. 
Beyond the well is the original hallway that the crew had entered in, alongside the teleporting door, and further down, a mysterious egg. Notably before, Gregor had fallen into a nest similar to the one found here only much larger. Once the egg was returned to the bigger nest, it began glowing, functioning like a lamp itself with a key at its center. Further on from the nest, was a different lamp from the others, a light blue shade as opposed to a warmer one. Upon inspection, Mercedes found it cold to the touch, realizing it acted as a master switch for all the other lanterns in the prison. In another room is a separate unique lamp with an opposite power, capable of relighting every lamp on the floor if need be. Nearby is a key locked behind a runic circle. At the center of the floor however, is a hallway filled with lanterns, each row acting as a barrier of defense for whatever crawling shadow lurks behind it, and the lamps are slowly flickering out. 
Further down is a hallway filled with once again, more lanterns. However these lanterns are filled with illusion-creating fluid, making the impression that their light fends off the darkness, while instead disguising danger from the lantern holder, particularly devastating in a place such as the prison of lights. Past these illusions was yet another key. The room itself is filled with dangling nearly-invisible blades, disguised by the illusions, alongside shadow creatures in the far corners. it is here that it is noted that the shadow creatures, while repelled by the light, are capable of being within its light for brief moments, capable of pulling light away from the lanterns and weakening their power. There is another room at the far end with a large empty basin, marked by the statue of a Fishtaur, which was debatable sentience. After the basin is filled with water, the Fishtaur dispenses another key. 
After utilizing the various lighting mechanics of the dungeon and acquiring all 5 keys while still having the egg intact as a 6th one, the team ventured down into the darkness, opening the door that had brought them there in the first place. Past it lay a long, twisting staircase as seen in the thumbnails for the videos in the arc. 
== The Heart of the Prison ==
Moving down the staircase, the team found themselves in the location Harlock had seen when she descended the well, thin stone bridges connecting the suspended land, all hovering over a pit of writhing darkness. Upon Mercedes dropping a molten ingot into the pit, it made a squelching sound, filled with the same shadows they had been fighting. The ceiling was likewise covered in a crawl of monsters, seeking to destroy the team and prevent their further progress. At the end of the structure was yet another door, requiring yet more light keys, though requiring a different set of keys than before. Maneuvering through the puzzles on this level, utilizing the scene dressing and various tools available to circumvent the mechanics of the area, escaping a ceiling cave in, a timed puzzle, and a corridor of spanking skeletons. Past this final door lie a stone chamber, surrounded by flowing water and vibrant green flames. At the center, chained to the floor and surrounded by a glowing white sigil, was The Warlord, having expanded its influence throughout the prison and transformed into a new horrifying state. After a confrontation, the team managed to free Kyl'il, and were chased by the Warlord down the corridors of the prison, eventually managing to trap and destroy the Warlord, freeing the isles from its threat as the shadow monsters faded along with it. Now freed of their service, the spanking skeletons remained, free to do as they pleased.
Category:Locations