"When the mountains were young, the Citadel already stood." — Ancient Deep Elf Proverb
High in the jagged Shadowfang Mountains, northwest of Blackhat, stands the Obsidian Citadel, the greatest fortress ever built in Eyr. Carved directly into a mountain of volcanic black glass, its towering walls seem to drink in the light itself, making the fortress appear as a silhouette even beneath the midday sun.
Today, the Citadel serves as the seat of the Witch Mother's power. It is here that she commands her armies, studies forbidden necromancy, and searches for the legendary Demon Amulet.
But the Citadel was never built by the Witch Mother.
It is far older.
More than five thousand years ago, before witches, before kings, and before the races of Eyr founded their kingdoms, the Obsidian Citadel was raised by the mysterious First Civilization.
These ancient people mastered both magic and engineering beyond anything known today. They forged the fortress from living obsidian using forgotten rituals, creating walls that cannot be broken by ordinary siege weapons or magic.
The Citadel was never intended to be a palace.
It was a prison.
Beneath the fortress lies an immense labyrinth known as The Black Vaults.
Miles of tunnels descend deep beneath the mountain, protected by magical seals, enchanted guardians, and traps that have remained active for thousands of years.
At the lowest level rests one of the Four Great Seals created by the First Civilization.
This seal binds a fragment of The First Darkness, the primordial demon imprisoned when the world was young.
The Obsidian Citadel was built to ensure that the seal would never be broken.
Centuries ago, the fortress stood abandoned, its halls silent and forgotten.
Drawn by dreams and whispers from beneath the mountain, the Witch Mother journeyed to the Citadel and uncovered many of its secrets. She claimed the fortress without a battle, for the ancient guardians mistook her mastery of dark magic for that of the long-dead wardens.
She restored its crumbling towers, filled its halls with loyal zealots, and transformed it into the capital of her growing dominion.
She believes the Demon Amulet will allow her to control the power imprisoned beneath the Citadel.
She is wrong.
The Obsidian Citadel is divided into several great districts.
The Witch Mother's audience hall, carved from a single block of polished obsidian. A massive throne overlooks the chamber, surrounded by burning green witchfire.
Barracks housing the Witch Mother's elite warriors, inquisitors, and fanatical followers.
A forbidden library containing thousands of grimoires, cursed relics, and the largest collection of necromantic knowledge in Eyr.
Ancient volcanic workshops where enchanted weapons, obsidian armor, and skeletal constructs are created.
The endless underground labyrinth beneath the Citadel.
Very few who enter ever return.
The Citadel is protected by powerful defenders.
Zealot Knights
Necromancers
Death Priests
Witches
Bone Golems
Skeleton Legions
Wraiths
Shadows
Death Hounds
Gargoyles
Ghosts of the First Civilization
Deep within the Black Vaults dwell creatures that even the Witch Mother avoids disturbing.
The Witch Mother believes the Demon Amulet will grant her absolute control over the First Darkness.
Ancient records hidden within Grimstone Ruins, Aetherion, and the Stone Circle of Eldermoor all tell the same story.
The Demon Amulet is not a tool of command.
It is a key.
Should the four ancient seals be broken—including the one beneath the Obsidian Citadel—the prison of the First Darkness will collapse, and the being imprisoned since the dawn of Eyr will awaken.
The Witch Mother has unknowingly become the guardian of the very evil she hopes to command.
A Deep Elf scholar believes an ancient map beneath the Citadel reveals the locations of all four seals.
One of the Witch Mother's captains seeks to defect, carrying knowledge of a secret entrance into the Black Vaults.
Strange earthquakes shake the Shadowfang Mountains as the seal beneath the Citadel begins to weaken.
Nyx secretly hires the adventurers to recover a forbidden tome hidden in the Necromancer's Archive.
Vesper believes someone inside the Citadel is working against the Witch Mother and asks the party to uncover the truth.
The oldest prophecy of Eyr ends with these words:
"When the Obsidian Throne stands empty...
When the Four become One...
When the Key finds the Lock...
The mountain shall open,
And the First Darkness shall remember the world."