The Domain of Dolurrh

The Domain of the Dolurrh is a book recovered from the Pillar of Ualune.

## Description

A book of findings penned by the hand of Ealwant Besculus the ex-Archmage of the Guild of the Crimson Blossom, detailing the Domain of Dread known as Dolurrh, a demiplane within the wider expanse of the Shadowfell.

## Research

### Completed by Hassk

The existence of the Shadowfell, known also as the Plane of Shadow and the Shadowland, is well accounted within tomes both scientific and religious. An endless expanse of gloom-filled black, mist-laden grey and bleached white, it is a place where all the brightness and vibrancy exists no longer. In many ways, it is considered a reflection or counterpart to the Feywild, which in turn is an echoed mimickry of the Prime Material Plane. The nature of its origin has been long speculated, and while some scholars and philosophers suggest that it was once as vivid as the Prime Material Plane before an unknown force leeched away all the colour, it is widely accepted that just as the Feywild is attributed to Srar, the Shadowfell is a creation of Iotl. Some go further to suggest that there once existed three Material Planes, each near copies of the other, but as Srar infused further vibrancy into his own, it was transferred from another - and so the Feywild exists as a place of heightened reality, and the Shadowfell persists in a state of suppression and mutedness.

The question therefore remains to why the Stoneheart was create such a place, so strongly associated with depression and despair as it most commonly is. It is therefore sometimes referred to as the Gateway, for in the moments following death, all mortal spirits pass through, drawn to the reaches and plains shrouded in shadow. There, guided by the Daughter of the Veil to the Shrouded Valley, their memories begin to fade, something that is believed to be caused by Yaldin, the Holder of the Scales sifting through the mind of the spirit to make his decision to their final resting position - be it within the Seven Heavens of Celestia or another of the Upper Planes, or damned to the Nine Hells or an alternate eternity of turmoil elsewhere in the Lower Planes. With a decision made, they are escorted once more by Iotl, and transition to their destined fate. The further that a soul has passed along this process, the less understanding they have of their life before - and so their willingness to return quickly falters. The only light that exists within the Shadowfell is said to be the light of the Beacon of Souls, an eternal blue-tinged flame that brightens with the passage of souls filled with goodness and truth, and falters with the arrival of those weighted with evil deeds.

Unknown to Iotl and Yaldin though, all mortal souls pass through another nexus upon their journey. For the briefest of moments, all pass through the demiplane of Dolurrh, a Domain of Dread hidden just a fraction out of existence - but revealed to a few chosen few. The memories of mortals are not lost to the Beacon of Souls, but rather to Dolurrh, for within it is where the Keeper resides. True to his title, no memory truly leaves Dolurrh, for it is scrutinised, categorised and sorted within the Echoing Athenaeum by the Susurrate Custodians, stored as shards so they are not lost to the natural and unrelenting degradation of the Plane. Every piece of knowledge ever known to mortal minds, from mundane matters of craftsmanship and community to secrets that even dying breaths deigned not reveal reside within, hoarded at the whim and will of the Keeper.