Ensom Citadel

The Ensom Citadel Prison is a mighty monolithic structure located on the island of Ensom in The Rokningspik Circle. Its function is to serve as an inescapable prison for the worst criminals in The Continent.
== Profile ==
To an approaching boat, the prison complex was a blackened rectangular fortress perched upon a collection of jagged rocks. At the base of the central tower there lied a building for guards, supply stores and prisoner admittance facilities, leading down to a bridge and a small dock.
Within the central tower, 2,400/2,760 cells lined each side (with 2,737 on the entrance face), giving the entire prison a capacity of 11,017. There existed a solitary staircase in the centre to access the cells, with the outer walls of the central tower putting 4 metres of granite between the prisoner and the outside world. The citadel was met by a singular boat every month to bring supplies, unless there were arrivals of more prisoners. No other ships passed nearby due to the treacherous navigability of the wider Rokningspik Circle.
== History ==
=== Grenthyx Dynasty intrigue ===
After Grenthyx overseers witnessed an eruption of Røyking Helvete in 34 AG, it attracted significant attention from the dynasty. Having experienced a surge in illegal activities on The Continent, the dynasty law enforcement policy placed greater emphasis on the use of deterrents. As such, there was a need for a prison to house the victims of the new laws. Having being aware of the Rokningspik Circle and its geography, the dynasty decided in 35 AG to initiate the construction of the Ensom Citadel on the island of Ensom, with construction concluding in 67 AG. In 188 AG, King Rickon II Grenthyx gave permission for a vent to be accessed in the lower chambers of the citadel; thereby providing a safeguarding contingency measure in the event of a breakout. The vent channelled poisonous volcanic gas, and was thusly capable of incapacitating any present in the citadel at the time of release. 
=== The era of Syrell Grenthyx ===
Along with the establishment of the Royal Court in 103 AG, the Queen of The Continent, Syrell Grenthyx, ended the power to send individuals to Ensom being solely concentrated in the Royality of the Grenthyx Dynasty. Instead, she opted to shift this power to the Royal Court - a move she viewed to be an increase in justification for sending an individual to such a heinous place. This justification, now found in a fair trial, was intended by Syrell to increase transparency and accountability with regards to sending a person to Ensom.
=== Breakout of 185 AG ===
In 185 AG, an eruption from Røyking Helvete sent lava bombs flying into the Citadel Prison. Following multiple breaches, prisoners took their chances with some risking the jump of hundreds of metres from high-up cells. Thousands of prisoners died, with many jumps resulting in instant death thanks to the rocks below. Over the course of 3 hours, silhouetted by the orange glow of the bellowing Røyking Helvete volcano, the rocks became stained the the blood of the forsaken corpses.
In one instance alone, 700 prisoners lost their lives when they crammed into the only remaining boat, only for it to be struck by a lava bomb and sink into the icy waters. A drastic surge in the Kromorte population was noted, resulting in the surrounding waters being evermore infested by them. Many suggested that this was because that both the living and the dead were snatched in the following hours, with the situation being worsened due to blood-stained rocks having the effect of attracting even more. The early hours of the next day were subsequently an utter massacre. Forkoux Fyth laid a devastating critique of incumbent patriarch Norgoux Fyth aged just 15 in 187 AG for his response to the situation to abandon the whole archipelago. Forkoux argued with an impassioned voice,
"Your own strategical incompetence doomed men both innocent and guilty to the judgement of the most terrible creatures of the deep on the blood-ridden rocks that night - their judgement is far worse than death. Abandoning the Ensom Citadel will forever be a stain on your legacy. The people of Helmont will not forget, rest assured."
Other scholars who were more sympathetic towards the Grenthyx cause, and therefore their puppet Norgoux, argued that the massacre that followed was testament to the claim that the Ensom Citadel could not be escaped, and that its Kromorte population acted as an efficient natural defence against any would-be escapees. As well as causing the breakout at Ensom, the eruption's impact on crops in The Borrows also spooked Borros I Root into launching an infamous crusade to punish Helmont shortly thereafter. 
=== Contemporary usage ===
Following the breakout of 185 AG, and its subsequent abandonment, the Ensom Citadel fell into a state of disrepair and degradation. However, when Forkoux ascended to the position of patriarch in 189 AG, he ensured that his plans for Helmont to capitalise off of a renewed Ensom Citadel detention facility. By 195 AG, Forkoux had secured the prison back from the now waning Grenthyx Dynasty. As a part of the transfer, Forkoux repaired the damage and ensured that walls were thickened as well as an evacuation ship on stand-by.
Following these reforms, kingdoms from across the Continent and other continents were allowed to send their prisoners to the Ensom Citadel Prison with each cell costing a set amount. The first prisoner to be taken in as a result of Helmont's new power was former Archon of Mhordyn, Kogen Theôs, after his usurpation in the Revolution of Mhordyn in 200 AG. By 301 AG, the practice remained mostly unchanged. In addition, Caldon Witcher was sent to the Citadel, much to Patriarch Forkoux Fyth's chagrin - he was dismayed by the decision to send the Duke of the Opialands to the prison, and shortly after his arrival, discreetly had him transferred to a less severe prison, fixing what he viewed to be a vast overreaction in terms of justice being perverted. By 243 AG, Ronder Bridger had been sent there after being caught, to pay for his crimes during the Uprootings. 
Category:Locations
Category:Helmont Locations