The Sites - Ash (TIP)

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Only a few places of any real importance stand in the quasiplane of Ash. It fits the nature of this realm that two of these places're in ruins.
==Cavitius==
This vast place might even be more evil and ominous now than it was when Vecna and his minions lurked within its shadowy walls, if rumors're to be believed. The whole place looks like a giant skull, and it's as old as, well, it's older than Vecna-and that's old. Some tell tales that it's older than the Doomguard that originally lived here, built by some longlost race of bloods who worshiped death in a way that even the Dustmen could never understand. There's even said to be places within Cavitius that Vecna was afraid to go, but that sounds like nothing but screed, if I ever heard any.
Only a fool would enter this place, given its history. For one thing, there're bound to be ghosts, spectres, and other incorporeal creatures lurking within. Chant is, though, that some very powerful spirit has come to power in this place. Far more powerful than other ghosts, it supposedly has somehow managed to tap directly into the power of the Negative Energy Plane. Whether this creature has ties to Vecna, or even knows what has become of that dread lich, is unknown.
Maybe it's got ties to Acererak, another old lich from Oerth who's said to be looking for a major connection with the Negative Energy Plane. You ask me, it sounds like that Oerth world's full of liches. You won't catch me there!
==The Citadel of Former Flame==
This structure has been carved from the very ash of the plane and then magically fused together. The citadel constantly alters its fonn very slowly, raising a tower here, moving a wall there, obeying some whim or perhaps unseen, unfelt forces in the plane itself. One thing's for sure-the place never looks the same way twice. It's the capital of the ash quasielemental empire and the home of Gazra, the Shifting Emperor. While Gazra's not yet powerful enough to claim archomental status, his might is growing. In time, who knows how powerful he'll become? Not a basher like me, that's for sure.
Gazra uses undead guardians around the citadel in addition to his own quasielemental kin. Ghouls, wraiths, and spectres've been spied around this terrible ever-changing place. Me, I don't care for spooks, and I won't go near the citadel again.
Visitors to the Citadel of Fonner Flame find that it's not only devoid of heat, but also of light. No manner of illumination, either magical or mundane, functions within this structure. It's said that the quasielementals can see normally within the Citadel, but no one knows how they do it.
Other rumors insist that anyone who does manage to see the inside of this place would be instantly driven barmy.
==The Crumbling Citadel==
The Doomguard maintain a stronghold in the quasiplane of Ash, just as they do on all the negative quasiplanes. Why would anyone want to live near the Negative Energy Plane, a body might ask-and a good question it is, really. The Inner Planes, in general, aren't really all that pleasant to spend any time in, and these dark planes're probably among the worst of the lot. Well, if folks liked living only in the nice places, they'd all live in Elysium, right? Or some prime world in temperate lands with cool breezes in the summer and mild winters. But it don't work like that.
The Doomguard think that these planes-Ash, Dust, Salt, and Vacuum-represent what they base their whole belief system on, namely, decay and decomposition. If anyone ever wanted to prove that all things decay as a part of the natural order, they'd only need to visit these planes for proof. It's no wonder that so many of the bashers're willing to withstand the tribulations of these planes-each one, in its own way, shows the Sinkers that they're right.
Now, you've heard about the big war in Sigil, right? So I don't need to tell you the whole story, just the bit about the Doomguard. Seems their headquarters, the Armory, was totally destroyed during the fighting. Lots of Sinkers abandoned the place before the big crash. Even more took a roundabout route and came here later, after the Lady of Pain outlawed all the factions. The Sinkers were already hurting with their losses during the fighting, and the Lady's decree really hit them where it hurt. Faction members're in an uproar, unsure of their future, and the messages between the four quasielemental fortresses are flying fast and furious. Most of the Doomguard here are of the faction subgroup that believes everything's falling apart too fast, and they take steps to slow the rate of decay so that the multiverse doesn't fall apart ahead of time. Devland (Pl/♂ half-elf/FI4/Doomguard/LN), the reclusive Doomlord of Ash and nominal master of the citadel, agrees with this point of view.
Anyway, originally the Doomguard in Ash lived in Citadel Cavitius, but the arch-lich Vecna drove 'em out. As a body might imagine, this didn't make the Sinkers too happy. Nevertheless, what can a bunch of sods do against a power like Vecna? First, they just sulked; eventually, they built the Crumbling Citadel.
Now here's a piece of work. And I mean, constant work. The place's constantly breaking apart and falling down-a body'd think it was built in the plane of Dust. Nobody knows exactly why the place continually crumbles, unless of course the original architects and builders meant for it to be that way (which is a possibility). 'Course, while the Doomguard like things to fall apart, if they didn't do something about it they wouldn't have a place to call kip right quick. So, they constantly rebuild sections and fortify others. They actually seem to enjoy to it, really.
The Crumbling Citadel's a vast structure that holds about four hundred souls. The Doomguard maintain a fair relationship with the paraelementals and even the undead here, and a body'll find them along with the obvious Cager types who've come through a portal to join their faction brothers amid the crumbling ruins. Only the rasts and the ash xorn aren't welcome-they just don't mix well with others.
There's a small group of Doomguard based solely within the Crumbling Citadel called the Sifters. These bashers search tirelessly through the ash for tiny bits of useful or valuable materials. See, these bashers believe that the ash of the plane is what remains of things already destroyed by fire. They think that the plane of Fire is slowly burning away all of existence, consuming it as it does. The plane of Ash, then, is what's left over. The Sifters look for anything not entirely consumed and destroyed. 
Surprisingly, the Sifters actually find things of value. Occasionally a bit of valuable metal or gemstone turns up among the ash. Furthermore, they've become adept at distinguishing the different sorts of ash and cinder formed by the burning of different materials. Not only is this useful for collecting the needed requirements for various spell keys, but it can be right handy for creating other things too-magical potions unlike any found anywhere else, for example. Chant has it that some of the more enthusiastic Sifters, when they find organic ash, have the creature resurrected so that they can see what it once was.