Monastery of the Lady

by Ross Stamper

History of the Monastery and Theonia Panlen
Prior to the War of Allegiance the Monastery of the Lady was a well-respected establishment of learning and a training ground for the White Order. The Church sent many of its brightest pupils to study at the monastery. When the war between King and Church erupted the King’s Malregard Knights seized the monastery. The priests, students, and other faithful were imprisoned for the duration of the war and the monastery closed. When the war finally ended after a decade the structure and surrounding area fell into a state of disrepair. According to the treaty that was signed the Church could not rebuild or claim the monastery so it has remained abandoned until recently.

Theonia was a minor noble and a successful magess prior to the war. To all outside appearances she remained neutral during the course of the war. However, the truth was far different than those appearances let on. Theonia used her great wealth and vast contacts to create a secret society known as The Darkened Sun. She was given large amounts of resources from the Church in the hope her organization would remove the king from the throne and end the war in their favor.

However, Theonia had different plans and was using the Church for her own gains. Her goal was to remove the King but she also intended to take his place and continue the war against the church at the same time - her ultimate goal being sole rulership by her. In the 9th year of the war her plans were proceeding smoothly until the king caught one of her agents. The King’s vengeance was swift, her organization was torn apart and she and her followers put to death for treason - nearly 300 people all told.

As it turned out the Church learned of her planned double cross and arranged for her agent to be discovered. This was revealed to her just before she was executed.

Upon her death Theonia remained in our plane of existence as a ghost. She lingered for many years as a shade until she possessed the body of the widowed noble Lady Geivorenth and using her wealth purchased the old monastery. For the past year Theonia has been summoning her followers from the grave and providing bodies for these newly arrived ghosts to possess. Her newly risen agents have taken the bodies of several nobles in the court, local citizenry, guards, and even a priest. The possession can be done on both the recently dead or living, unfortunately for the living it causes irreversible side effects. Theonia has reformed her secret society with the intent to completely overthrow the King and Church.

Once a body has been taken by one of her minions they continue about the former person’s life as normally as possible. In most cases the families and friends of the victims have no clue of their loved ones demise. However, Lady Geivorenth’s brother has become suspicious of her reclusive behavior.

***Note from a local Priest: While possession is fairly common, the form Theonia has used is a bit different. It destroys the previous owners soul and replaces it with the newly risen. I would hazard a guess that to destroy such a creature one must kill the living body first and then defeat the undead entity. It would also seem likely that for those souls that are possessed while still alive there might be a way to recall them***

Beyond these suspicions, Theonia’s plot has not yet been uncovered. The main focus of the dungeon will be to discover Theonia’s plan and defeat her.

Synopsis of the Main Chambers and Areas
The Monastery is located on the Northern outskirts of Sanguine. It’s of simple design and stands 3 stories tall with 2 sub-levels. Since the end of the war the monastery has been abandoned and the structure has fallen into disrepair. Since Lady Geivorenth purchased the land she has directed some repairs but much of the structures are still in sad shape.

The land itself sits on several acres surrounded by a large black iron fence. Besides the monastery itself 4 other structures dot the landscape. These include a guardhouse, barracks, crypt, and a large training field with a small training building.

The Monastery Grounds and Garden
Theonia has directed the re-building of a beautiful garden that extends from the front gate to the entrance of the monastery. While not large one could spend some time exploring the lovely flowers and plants of the garden. Originally tended to by monks the garden’s many features include low hedges that frame the walkways. These walkways open into a large statue of the goddess Morgaine near the entrance to the villa. A small stream flows through the center of the garden with a stone bridge to cross. The garden functions as the first line of defense for Theonia’s monastery. During the day it is tended to by servants (possessed of course) and guarded at night by spectral wolves and ghost handlers who have yet to receive a body.

Standing on the eastern side of the monastery is a barracks that once was used to house the trainees from The White Order. It’s a simple one story wooden structure. Within the building two rooms exist. The main area is where the trainees bunked and contains many rows of beds and chests to keep their belongings. The officers in charge of training used the second room, which is attached by a door. This room is of the same basic design but contains a few desks for the officers to work at. There are no windows in this building (except in the officer quarters) and only candles light it.

Directly behind the barracks is a drilling field the White Order used for sparring, drilling, and weapon demonstration. Several training dummies can still be seen in the field today. Adjacent the field is a small single story building that housed the White Order’s practice weapons and doubled for indoor training when needed.

Located at the gate entrance is small two-story structure that acted as a guardhouse for the monastery. However, Theonia has left it abandoned, or so it would seem. Within the guardhouse Theonia has posted several ghost sentries that will confront any unwanted intruders.

***Note from the Royal Floral Society: The Monastery of the Lady’s new garden is amongst the greatest in our Empire. The garden has stunning examples of Dechampsia Cespitosa and Anuenue Anthurium***

The Chapel
Once the heart of the monastery it fell into major disrepair after the war. The most striking features are the beautiful stained glass windows that allow light to filter into the room. The main rows of pews all direct attention to the large statue and altar to the goddess. Oddly enough, Theonia has refurnished this room to its full glory and it’s tended daily by her minions. Theonia finds it amusing that such evil could dwell in this once proud house of worship.

The Dining Hall
This hall dominates the center of the first floor of the monastery. It has a high vaulted ceiling and is beautifully decorated. Statues of the goddess Morgaine stand in each corner of the room and a large rectangular dining table sits in the middle. The room is well lit with candles and a large chandelier that hangs over the table. There is a corridor leading from the dining hall to the courtyard.

Theonia often holds dinner parties for nobles that she intends to possess. She has the food poisoned and the bodies prepared for her minions. Her parties are well known throughout Sanguine and it’s considered an honor to attend. If only the truth were known!

***Note from a local priest: It would seem that the possessing process is far easier on a dead body***

Adjacent to the dining hall is the kitchen that is fully staffed by Theonia’s minions. The possessed bodies still need to be sustained for the ghosts to keep control.

Courtyard
Protected within the walls of the monastery is a small courtyard that the monks once used as a place for conversation. Again, a garden has been restored by Theonia but on a smaller scale. The center area is cobble stoned and a magnificent fountain stands seven feet tall. The walls are ivy covered and there are trees scattered about the courtyard that provide much needed shade from the noon sun. Tucked away in the Northeast corner of the courtyard is the entrance to the monastery crypt.

The entrance to the crypt is small and unremarkable for the most part. It’s a small marble enclosed by a single oak door that opens to a staircase that leads downward to a small landing. The main portion of the crypt is small and does not see much use by Theonia’s minions. No bodies remain from the priests that were once entombed here but to the best knowledge of historians they were never removed by the Church when the monastery was abandoned after the war. Small torches light the crypt and recently mold has started growing on the walls.

***Note from the Royal Architects Society: There are rumors of a secret passage in the crypt leading deep underground. It’s said the Church stored many artifacts here and likely contains many traps and puzzles of protection***

Bell Tower
The bell tower stands several stories taller than the rest of the monastery and naturally draws the eye to it. The single staircase is a tight fit and well worn from years of use by the monks. The stairs open onto a landing in the bell house to reveal a view of the entire monastery grounds. The wind whips through the tiny bell house but does not budge the heavy simply designed bell. It’s clear that Theonia’s minions do not view this area as important and don’t bother to maintain it.

Theonia’s Study, Bed Chamber, and Summoning Room
Theonia resides in the former High Priest’s quarters located in the East wing of the monastery. She performs her dark summoning and other vile magic in this area. Only her closest followers are permitted in this wing. Spectral knights of the White Order patrol the corridors, bound and forced to serve by Theonia’s magic.

The Study is where Theonia oversees and plans the literal resurrection of The Darkened Sun. A large study table filled with books of the arcane dominates the room. The walls are lined with dusty bookshelves. A soft light from candles on the study table lights the room. This is where Theonia can be found most often.

Theonia’s bedchamber is fairly modest. In the corner of the room is a 4-poster bed and two dressers are present in the room. On the floor is a purple throw rug. The room sees very little use by Theonia but she is bound by the limitations of her body and must sleep sometimes.

What Theonia now uses for a summoning room was once an observatory. The monks gazed up into the darkened, star-filled sky using the open skylight. All furniture has been removed from the room and discarded. On the floor is a large purple summoning rune surrounded by candles that burn an eerie purple. The monks painted the goddess a beautiful portrait of the goddess Morgaine on the wall. Recently the portrait has altered itself - she now weeps.

Student Rooms and the rest of the Monastery
The remainder of the monastery is filled with rooms for students, a vast library, and workshops for crafting projects. Much of these rooms are in use today by Theonia’s minions for the society’s many projects. Many of the corridors of the monastery are arched and small fountains can be found every few meters.

Sub-levels
The basement is reached via a secret passage in the dining hall. This is where the normalcy of the monastery completely changes. The monks once used the basement for storage but now it contains many terrible secrets. The basement is where Theonia keeps the possessions that went wrong - horrible zombies. The ghosts can’t release their bodies so they are trapped until Theonia can research a method for release. Located within the first level of the basement are rooms where the possessions are performed. These rooms are filled with various instruments of torture and tables for possession. The entire basement is dimly lit. The corridors are tight and moss-covered stagnant pools of water have built up in many places.

Sub-level 2 is the dungeon. It was not originally part of the monastery and was recently constructed by Theonia for the storage of bodies for her minions until they are summoned. The dungeon is much smaller than the larger sub-level 1. The main room is the guardroom staffed with zombies. Two doors lead out of this room. The first leads to a small armory/storehouse. The second leads to the prison cells. There are 5 cells all told, 2 large cells and 3 smaller. Only a few torches light the dungeon and a wretched smell drifts throughout. The stagnant pools of water are present here as well. If one stares into the darkness long enough one might see a pair of ghastly eyes staring back.

Potential Quests, Rumors, and Books
The main quests with the dungeon should be uncovering Theonia’s plot and stopping her. The introduction quest would start when the player speaks with a family member of Lady Geivorenth or the suspicious Priests in Sanguine.

The quest tree could look like this:

1. Locate books from the Royal Library or private collections around the empire that offer some brief history of information about the Darkened sun

2. Track down old Darkened Sun/Theonia artifacts that can be divined by mages.

3. Having heard of Theonia’s famous dinner parties the player can decide to attend one to gain more information about her plans. The party could involve has many as 10 NPCs having scripted conversations for the player to discover some information from. Theonia could appear and the player could duck out of the way to witness some of her actions at the party. (A script could run the entire party once every game week.)

4. Once some understanding of Theonia and her plans have been found the player must infiltrate the monastery and find one of Theonia’s closest followers or second in command. Using some medallion or potion made by a priest to control undead force him to reveal what he knows of her plans and how to possibly save the souls of her victims.

5. The player visit to the monastery reveals that one of Theonia’s plans involves informing the King of the Church’s involvement with The Darkened Sun during the war. Fearing that if the King learns of this backing that it might cause serious strain on their relationship or even instigate a renewal of hostilities. The Church then sends the player to root out Theonia’s agent in Sanguine that is charged with delivering this information and neutralizing it.

6. Infiltrate the monastery again and recover Theonia’s journal and other manuscripts. Return these to the local priesthood in Sanguine.

7. Discovering in her journal that Theonia’s second in command has possessed a high-ranking Priest in the city of Dalriada the player must travel there. Once there the player will need to “un-mask” this priest and remove the threat that he presents.

8. Returning to Sanguine the player discovers that the priesthood has uncovered a way to return the souls of Theonia’s victims to their bodies. The player will need to locate two holy relics, one of which can be found in the crypt of the monastery.

9. Armed with the holy relics and the knowledge to defeat Theonia the player must fight the final show down with her. Once she is defeated the player must go to the bell tower and cast a holy spell through the relics and ring the bell to call back the souls of Theonia’s victims. Only then will Theonia’s plot and evil be defeated.

Items the player comes across are books detailing information about The Darkened Sun or emblems of the society. The player will then need to have the books and emblems divined by a local mage to discover the meaning behind them. Armed with this knowledge the player can report back to Geirvorenth’s brother.

Books the player will come across that shine light on the situation might include:

“When the Sun Shines No Longer” a brief and incomplete history of The Darkened Sun

“Little Known Secrets of the War of Allegiance” a collection of various secrets about the war.

Books about arcane summoning rituals and possession.

The idea and focus of the dungeon would not be a place to for players to “camp” and farm items or money. The dungeon is intended to be a story driven dungeon and allows for the player to progress through quests until finally defeating Theonia.

However, players not doing the quest could explore the dungeon and fight the monster but they obviously wouldn’t receive the benefits of someone doing the quests.

***Note from the Royal Library: No books regarding any entity known as the Darkened Sun Exist among our collection. Perhaps sources can be found in private collections***