Ravenholme

*Aye, son, you see that ruin over there? They call it Ravenholme.*

*Whole place is cursed by the gods. Goes to show what happens if you*
anger them.
- Gildorf, local farmer

Ravenholme was commissioned two decades ago by the now-deceased Warren Godfrey, the last member of the royal house of Warren. House Warren was
not originally its own independent house, but rather a part of one. Years ago, their founder, Lord Warren, was one of the highest-ranking members of House Jorn.

The House of Jorn is an aristocratic house within
 Maria that has since fallen out of power with the rise of Divitia and
the resurgence of demons. They lived by a strict moral code set down by
their founder centuries past. Honor and honesty were their two greatest virtues, and their word was stronger than any contract signed or fealty pledged. As to be expected, there were deviants in the house that
refused to adhere. Those few that turned their back on the code were branded as Oathless and exiled to the wilds of Maria to die and rot. Warren was one of those individuals known as Oathless. With a wife, son, and daughter, he valued his family’s safety and protection above all. When circumstances arose that forced him to choose between his honor and
 his blood, he broke his vows and was branded Oathless by House Jorn. His fortune was seized and he and his family banished to the wilderness.

House Jorn soon collapsed when it was unable to fulfill its trade contracts to the many nations of Maria due to a reappearance of demons from the north that attacked their farming villages. During his time in the wilds, Warren had managed to grow a small army of those sympathetic to his cause. With promises of fame and glory, Warren Godfrey and his following returned to the now ruin of his guild house, beating back the demons and reclaiming the former house’s fortune. With this fortune he returned to the wilds along with his following of peasants, villagers, and mercenaries and began construction of a grand castle designed by the
 young architect Ancaladar. This castle he would name Ravenholme.

The fortress would take almost a decade to complete and in its
completion Warren squandered the remainder of his fortune, leaving nothing for his following he had vowed to shelter and protect. His citizens had built a small village at the base of the castle but were in desperate need of more supplies. When they learned what Warren had done with his fortune, a fortune they had helped him earn, they flocked to
the gates of his castle in protest. Beating their hands upon Ravenholme’s massive cast-iron door, they demanded Warren open his gates for negotiation. Warren ordered to the gates to be opened only to reveal a wall of hired crossbowmen that
massacred the citizens where they stood. This act of senseless slaughter would not go unnoticed by the gods. In his wrath the Sky God Castiel Deorum sent out a storm of such ferocity that it toppled Ravenholme’s tallest tower from its perch. The tower crashed through the throne room, burying Lord Warren where he sat under a hundred thousand pounds of rubble. Now believed to be cursed by the gods, the castle is empty except for the young Architect Ancaladar who remains upon the premises and presides over the castle as the groundskeeper, keeping watch over his creation.