Map21 - Blood Rite

Blood Rite is the eleventh and penultimate level of Hedon Bloodrite, funneling the game back into a linear progression after the second level cluster containing Paradise Lost, Place Afoul and Blood and Salt. It takes place at the very core of the island, where legend claims that the Baron's Citadel emerged from the volcanic rock of the endless crater abyss beneath it, held afloat by the countless restless souls of those who were sacrificed in the Icon's name.

The writhing souls of the sacrificed are rumored to have congealed into a veil of dark energy which boils the blood of anyone who comes near the Citadel and isn't a Demon, or doesn't bear the five taints of the Demon Primarchs. Suffice to say, no mere mortal has ever crossed the massive bridge leading towards the dark silhouette of the Baron's Citadel and lived long enough to tell of the horrors happening beyond the veil. Even fewer know that the true purpose of the Citadel is to hold a device powerful enough to allow the Baron and Nithriel to summon their ancestors from the Nether.

After the second attempt of the Iron Division to push through the frontiers of the Demons proved successful, the Baron and his Elven ally have sought to retreat to the Citadel in order to take shelter from the bloodthristy invaders. After arriving at the Core of Hell, the orcs could advance no further, having instead to rely on Eraanthe and Zan to appease the Primarchs and infuse their demonic blood with the five unholy taints in order to pass the portal guarding the Citadel and challenge the Icon.

## Baron's Citadel

### Gates

After crossing the blood portal and the seemingly endless bridge, the Gates are the first part of the Baron's fortifications protecting his dark Citadel. The primary defensive wall is comprised of two towers and the main gate they are flanking in the middle, which is also equipped with ceiling grates, resembling a traditional barbican. However, the lack of a secondary gate necessary to entrap potential invaders inside suggests that the Gates have been built with a decorative purpose in mind, rather than a practical one.

This decorative aspect is further enhanced by the upper corridors of the fortifications, which feature lavish gothic arches and stained glass windows that would have to be outright removed to allow shooters to fire from the wall in case of an invasion. Since the cursed veil surrounding the Baron's Citadel is enough to deter any army, the Gates have been essentially designed to intimidate the Baron's demonic guests and tease them with the extent of his influence and power, should they ever attempt to cross him.

### Eastern Fortifications

With the entire Citadel floating on an island, the Eastern Fortifications are even less likely to ever witness a siege than the Gates, carrying over the same decorative aspect enhanced by ornate arches and gothic windows showering the corridors in blood red light.

Ironically enough, the most functional defenses of the Eastern Fortifications are the ones oriented towards the inside, including the large northern tower (which also serves as a main entry point for the fortifications) and the metallic walkway overlooking the main path towards the Citadel Courtyard.

Judging by the materials it was constructed from, the walkway was erected along with the nearby Cathedral's side extension, thus linking it to the Eastern Fortifications and the Eastern Tower beyond.

### Eastern Tower

Much like the rest of the fortifications, the Eastern Tower does little to add up to the Citadel's defenses, instead bearing the lavish interior decoration worthy of the Citadel Commander's quarters. Aside from the basement and attic, the Eastern Tower features two circular levels with helical stairs connecting them at the center. The lower level is comprised from the living/sitting room, while the one above has the bedroom, study, library, and two secret chambers containing teleporters to the Blood Caves' hidden altar and the Baron's Cathedral above.

### Baron's Cathedral

Although it's nowhere as large as the one inside Yzbeth's domain, the Baron's Cathedral surely outshines any other with an imposing architectural display of demon gothic, forged from intricate pillars and arches wrought from metal and showered in crimson light from the massive rosary window on the southern wall. The plan is relatively simple, with a main nave just large enough to hold the Baron's congregation being flanked by archways and pointed towards a semicircle altar bordered by stained glass windows.

The Cathedral has, at one point, been extended with a secondary building to the east, containing an offering shrine and stairs. The side building allows easier to the upper floor, in a similar fashion to the Bell Tower on the opposite side, to the north-west.

### Stables and Bell Tower

The Bell Tower was designed as a part of the Citadel's western fortified wall, although much like the rest of the defenses, it serves more of an aesthetic purpose, with the ground floor being used as a mere storage space. A series of walkways and ladders lead up to the top level, where the giant bell being used as a communication device with the demons across the Core of Hell.

The Stables are adjacent to the Bell Tower, opening up to the small courtyard defined by the two buildings and the Cathedral's wall to the east. The stablehouse is also linked with a fortified corridor leading southwards to the Gates. Aside from being used to harbor the charriots of the Baron's guests, the small courtyard also contains a small blood fountain which leads down into the draining pipes of the Blood Caves beneath the Cathedral.

### Blood Caves

The Blood Caves are one of the many secrets which lie encased in the massive chunk of stone floating above the abyss. It is said that the Demons would gate special victims worthy of being sacrificed into the caves beneath the Citadel to grant the Baron further unholy power.

Initially, the caves held an entire complex of buildings, including a secret altar below the Baron's Cathedral where the first waves of sacrifices would be performed, causing the blood of the victims to pool into the floors and caves below. The gruesome sacrifice would involve binding the untainted victims in chains and allowing the restless souls roaming the premises to boil their blood and claim it in the name of the Icon.

Following countless sacrifices, the caverns have been eventually completely flooded, with the Demons building an entire complex of metal pipes to allow the precious substance to flow into the upper parts of the Citadel. In the present, only the ominous crimson surfaces of the fountains above hint at the horrors which lie buried underneath.

### Citadel Courtyard

The Citadel Courtyard is the central piece of the compound, designed to surprise a visitor coming along the main path from the Gates with an imposing display of demonic aesthetics, centered around the stern facade of the Baron's Citadel and its massive body looming beyond the bloody mist. The baroque symmetry of the Courtyard, complemented by an oval blood fountain and a rounded pair of stairs leading to the Citadel's entrance contrasts with the asymmetric premises (primarily generated by the Cathedral's location to the side) in the chaotic mixture styles characteristic to the Demons. This allows the Courtyard to easily connect major areas of the compound such as the Cathedral and the Eastern Fortifications to the grand entrance leading into the Citadel Interior.

### Citadel Interior

Featuring an impressively large size and a near excessive amount of decorative features, the Interior looks as if it had taken a thousand years to build before the Citadel could emerge from the abyss. A guest would be greeted by a relatively small vestibule compared to the throne room behind, which nonetheless features a taste of the Citadel's Interior, laden with chaotic ornamentation carved in metal and brushed by crimson light from the large gothic windows on the sides. The vestibule is also intended to divert the Citadel's staff towards the western and eastern walls, with the Baron's distinguished guests being allowed further inside.

A massive round elevator shaft cuts through the core of the central hall, marking the hollow shape of the Citadel's tallest spire going upwards, and the abyss leading down into the Baron's Vault below. The sizable pit also separates the main entrance size of the hall from the Baron's throne, raised imposingly at the northern end of the chamber. The western and eastern sides lead further inside the Citadel's quarters.