Tomb of Nakhelos

* Artwork
* Map

Wren

Zareyl Arkenviir

The Tomb of Nakhelos is an expansive tomb located beneath a hill at the heart of the Bone Fields.

## Description

Circled in increasingly wide spirals of bones that stretch for miles in all directions, the entry way to the Tomb of Nakhelos was understated and little more than a sandstone pathway flanked by a series of featureless pillars. Buried beneath however was a large crypt filled with numerous alcoves, antechambers and hallways, all heavily trapped to dissuade would-be grave robbers. Relief art on the walls seems to tell the history of the Dustlords' rise and eventual fall.

## Notable Features

Compared to that of the Tomb of Khitros, the crypt dedicated to the Dustlord Nakhelos the Sacrosanct was a vast construction. Roughly symmetrical in the placement of its hallways, the tomb was sealed in sections, each openable by offerings of silt placed into basin-like stone braziers that burned with a vibrant green flame when ablaze.

### Relief Artwork

Particularly noteworthy within the tomb were the detailings and storytelling achieved through the delicate masonry. Six reliefs were discovered in total by the expedition party that entered the crypts during Jarrast-Highreign 3 WD.

Entranceway, Altar - "Offering"

The relief on this wall depicts a trail of figures that stretches off into the distance, weaving between a pair of mountains on the horizon. Every figure kneels at the edge of an oasis, filling an urn with the silt before continuing on their way, urn in hand. Later the trail passes through a gateway formed from a pair of skeletal wings which stands isolated in the sands, making their offering to each of the glowing lanterns on either side of the arch before passing through.

Left Wing, Entry Dias - "Sacrifice"

The relief is split into three sections, the two flanking pieces narrower than the central focus. Each depicts a similar scene although with subtle differences. In each a figure raises one hand skyward, grasping for an item descending towards them while simultaneously striking down another cowering at their feet. The leftmost figure grasps a snake in hand, guiding it towards his victim's throat. He claims a crown. The rightmost figure butchers his victim with a curved blade, plucking from above a glimmering ring. The central figure tears the heart from his victim with his hand, moving to place it within the urn floating above him.

Right Wing, Entry Dias - "Testimony"

This relief shows three figures looking onwards with approval from a set of towers as a group of figures preach before a large gathered crowd before them in a plaza made of shimmering bricks. Beneath the crowd flows into a central river which then branches and spreads between countless settlements, some little more than villages, others great cities and palaces.

Left Wing, Antechamber - "Victory"

This stone relief depicts a trio of warriors riding into battle atop skeletal steeds, leading a charge of an army that stretches into infinity in the distant horizon. As all manner of humanoids and beasts beneath the hooves of the horses, they look heavenward, watching the sandstorm raging overhead, from which twisted points of metal fall in place of rain.

Right Wing Antechamber - "Abandonment"

This stone relief depicts three figures atop a hill, looking out across a village in the valley below. Huts ablaze, the individuals figures offer out items each in turn to another figure on the opposite side of the gorge. Paying little mind to the circlet, ring and jar presented, the lone-standing form, swords in its upper set of arms and a pair of torn wings raised high from the back takes off into flight in the opposing direction.

Nakhelos' Chamber Relief - "Desolation"

The same three figures are depicted again, this time their bodies withered and skeletal. Clad in trailing rags that catch upon thorns and rocks alike, they claw forwards towards the edge of a cliff, a swirling abyss beneath them. Behind them shattered cities are ground to dust by figures clad in chainmail atop warhorses clad in fine barding. Impassive and focused, the trio reaches for the sky, but finds no answer, save for the setting sun in the west, and the night that follows.