The blood moon
Noctra
The blood moon, Shattered and raining red meteors down upon crudilex. This empty and seemingly lifeless celestial rock is home to many strange alien creatures that have evolved in isolation on the surface of the moon.
Ebbhyde
Built at the twilight of the Age of Beasts, Ebbhyde was the magnum opus of the Illumian, a civilization renowned for their mastery over the Devine. To create this city, they worshiped a moon goddess named Noctra into existence, and through her ascended will, she conjured the grand library-city. Ebbhyde’s obsidian spires pierced the blackness of the night, its streets woven with moonlight, and its archives contained the collected knowledge of the Illumian civilizations.
Goddess Noctra ruled alongside her consort, King Hazradorf. Their reign reached its zenith with the birth of their first child, a being of unspeakable power— with all the strength of the gods this deva would be the prince of Ebbhyde, However it arrived unto the world as a monster, The Doomsinger. This entity unleashed a cataclysm that tore Ebbhyde apart and shattered the moon itself. Fragments of the city rained down on crudilex and all of the ancient memories of the Illumian with it, lost forever.
The Garden of Blood
At the heart of the Sanguine Leyline lies a chaotic nexus where the arcane essence coils and knots upon itself. Drawn to this desolate place by the lack of other magical outlets on the moon, the energy has congealed and intensified, forming a singular creation: a deeply saturated Wildroot Tree. Its bark is the color of dried blood, its roots sprawling like veins across the ground, exuding a faint, pulsing sanguine glow.
Surrounding the tree is a spectral congregation—the ghosts of those violently slain. They drift in solemn circles, their translucent forms wailing softly in unison, a dirge that reverberates through the eerie stillness. The leyline's raw energy trapping them here for eternity.
The Sarian Tree
The Sarian Tree is a singular anomaly, unlike anything found in any realm. Its towering form is a jagged silhouette against the dark sky, with crimson bark that seems to bleed and roots that burrow deep into the moon's core. This tree serves as the anchor for a primordial entity known as The Red. Claiming to be the first embodiment of evil from the first iteration of existence—the initial universe born at the dawn of all things—The Red is a being of unfathomable malevolence.
Its purpose is clear: an eternal war against the gods across all realities. The Red traverses dimensions, consuming divine power and leaving devastation in its wake. Each iteration of the Sarian Tree acts as a conduit, a passage between realms, often rooted on the moons of different worlds.
Though Crudilex's time has not yet come, The Red has darkened its skies on more than one occasion. Each visit bleeds the skies with unimaginable tides of sanguine essence, Like invisible divine blood, painting the moon's glow red for years following. A grim warning that the fragile peace of existence can be shattered whensoever The Red chooses to reap this world.
The Drop
A colossal pit plunges into the darkness of the moon, its sheer cliff walls seeming to stretch endlessly downward. This chasm is home to the Starwatchers, enormous jellyfish-like creatures that drift eerily through the void. Their translucent bodies shimmer brilliantly with veins of light like bolts of lightning that never fade away, and their long, tendril-like appendages dangle in search of prey. Anything that brushes against these tendrils is swiftly ensnared and consumed.
The Starwatchers dominate this region, moving in concentrated herds of hundreds. Their synchronized movements put on an unsettling spectacle as though the Drop itself is alive with an organic pulsating.
The Broken Heart
A massive, cracked mesa looms on the horizon, its jagged fissures and dark caves cutting deep into the barren landscape. This desolate expanse is home to the Gate of Minds an otherworldly golem of immense psychic power, a being believed to have originated from a distant and alien plane and followed by a reclusive cult known as the Whispered Choir.
The members of the Whispered Choir are not ordinary mortals; they have mastered the art of severing their minds from their physical forms with the golem’s guidance. In this state of disembodiment, they drift as an ethereal consciousness, existing beyond the constraints of flesh. Despite their eerie detachment, their purpose is noble—they serve as unseen guides to those stranded on the moon’s perilous surface. Through psychic counsel, they lead lost souls to sanctuary or, if possible, direct them to portals that will return them to Crudilex.
Xzvel’s Gate
A barely operational rift gate, constantly active and unstable, hums with a corrupted energy. The portal links directly to a Notilarc lair in Crudilex, serving as a dangerous bridge between realms. Its creator, the notorious Xzvel, once opened the gate with grand ambitions before his ultimate demise.
Xzvel’s plan was to harness the power of the Sanguine Layline, a source of immense blood magic. By drinking from its essence and then succumbing to death, he believed he and his minions would achieve a twisted form of immortality as undead beings. However, the ritual was only partially successful, interrupted before its completion leaving Xzvel trapped in a state of perpetual half-life. A zombie-like state trapped in his collapsed lair.
Turmoil
Noctra’s Lament
As the moon Noctra continues to shed fragments of red Noctrite, a new phenomenon occurs: the fragments hum with an eerie melody that grows louder at night. Scholars believe this "Lament" is a cry from the moon. A signal from some unknown sentient force within the moon itself, possibly warning of an impending catastrophe.
The Red’s Omens
The Sarian Tree, anchor of the ancient being known as The Red, pulses with sanguine energy visible from the surface of Crudilex, Historians say that the last time this occurred was the Apocalyptic Day of Dawn. The Omens have been read that something horrible is in the future and someone must investigate. Someone needs to enter Noctra's Garden of Blood