The Ruby Realm

It's like she never left.

## About

A realm of magic and artifice. Vis surrounds it, powering thaumic devices and manifesting in many different forms.

Everything has a slight red tinge in this world, as well as the air temperature being slightly higher than usual.

One of the manifestations of Vis is a rapidly spreading biome which infects not only the land, but also the inhabitants of it, called "Taint".

Another notable manifestation of Vis would be Aura Nodes.

Concentrated ethereal pools of magic, they allow you to harvest Vis directly from them, though consequences might arrive...

Just like Vis itself, Nodes manifest in vastly different ways, from Hungry Nodes that consume everything around them, to Energized Nodes that produce a steady supply of Centivis.

## The Outer Lands

The Outer Lands is a dimension located within the Ruby Realm. It is extremely dangerous and inhospitable, inhabited by eldritch monsters born from the darkness lurking around every corner.

To enter the dimension, one must awaken an obelisk installed by the Crimson Cult, which functions as both the enter and the exit from the Outer Lands.

The dimension's structure consists of various shifting corridors, some of which lead to rooms, some of which contain loot, while others contain malicious creatures.

Beneath the floor and walls of this dimension lies a portal to nothing, significantly harming any person who dares to touch it.

To exit the dimension, one has to just look for the way back, and they will surely find it, even if the corridors have shifted.

Several gigantic, malevolent creatures titled *"The Champions"* reside behind the locked gates in the Outer Lands. Any thaumaturge brave enough to bypass them faces the wrath of one of the five Champions, incredibly strong and able to withstand a lot of magic attacks.

## The Crimson Cult

In the seams of this world resides a vicious cult, worshiping eldritch creatures and installing giant obelisks as praise to them. Not much is known about their motives, though some things have been uncovered about them.

What appears to be their main focus is noted in "The Crimson Rites" - A book carried by all of the cultists which offers a tiny bit of insight into their worship, though much of it is unintelligible. It seems that their main goal is the perfection of a ritual known as "Apertis Oculus" - "Opening the Eye". What it does is unclear, though many doubt it is anything good.

There exists a hierarchy in the cult, with Crimson Knights being (presumably) the lowest tier of it. When the Crimson Knights fight enough battles and slay enough foes, they get promoted to *Sergeant*, carrying a powerful sword imbued with magic. The sergeants also discard their helmets, opting instead for clearer vision in battle. The highest rank in the Knight tier is the *Commander*. It is granted to the most skillful and powerful of the knights, as they wield an immensely powerful Void Sword, as well as permission to wear the Crimson Cult Hood, which is most commonly worn by the Crimson Clerics.

The Crimson Clerics are the next hierarchical tier in the Crimson Cult. Only the most loyal and skillful Crimson Knights become Clerics, being granted extraordinarily harmful powers. The Clerics do not fight with weapons, rather, they fire flaming magical projectiles, somewhat similar to the Blaze monster native to the Nether.

The highest tier of the hierarchy in the cult is the *Praetor.* The Praetor seems to be the Leader of the Cultists, though some suggest that there might be several Praetors. The Praetor wields a more powerful version of the Void Sword, stained with the blood of their enemies fought in countless battles. The praetor is also one of the Champions found in the Outer Lands.

1. ↑ A word used to describe a unit of magic.
2. ↑ One unit of Centivis (CV) represents 1/100th of a unit of Vis.