The Luxiang Sanatorium for Arcane Afflictions
Situated in the middle of the foreboding Luxiang Forest between Anshun and Hechi towns, a place whispered about in taverns and avoided by all but the bravest of souls.
Physical Description
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Estate: A massive, gothic stone edifice covered in creeping vines and moss. The estate's towers reach eerily towards a sky they never quite touch, shrouded eternally in mist. The windows are tall and thin, resembling the eyes of a watchful creature, and many are barred or sealed with arcane runes. Around the estate is a stagnant moat filled with a viscous dark liquid, rumored to deter those with malicious intentions.
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Interior: The inside is dimly lit, with sconces holding green-flamed torches lining the walls. The air is thick, and a perpetual draft seems to carry whispers from nowhere. High ceilings with shadowy corners, long corridors with doorways to chambers where patients are kept - some doors are sealed with chains, others with glowing magical sigils.
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Grounds: The immediate grounds feature a twisted garden filled with thorny bushes and plants that seem to move just out of the corner of one's eye. There's also a decrepit greenhouse where plants with magical properties (some dangerous) are grown by the inmates as a form of therapy. Beyond the garden, the trees of Luxiang Forest loom, their branches perpetually rustling even without wind.
Head Staff
Dr. Lucius Blackthorn
- **Race**: Human (but rumors suggest he might have fiendish blood)
- **Gender**: Male
- **Description**: Tall and gaunt, with slicked-back black hair showing signs of gray. His eyes are a deep shade of crimson. Always dressed in dark tailored suits, he carries a silver-tipped cane. A scar traces down his right cheek, the origin of which he never speaks.
- **Role**: He's the director of the sanatorium, known for his unorthodox and often feared treatments. There are whispers that he has been around much longer than anyone realizes, and that he himself might be afflicted with some arcane condition.Nurse Agatha Shade
- **Race**: Shadar-kai (Shadow Fey)
- **Gender**: Female
- **Description**: With pale, almost translucent skin, and hair as white as snow, Agatha has an otherworldly aura. Her movements are graceful, yet her eyes are always veiled with an inscrutable expression.
- **Role**: She is Dr. Blackthorn's right hand. It's said she can calm even the most violent of patients with just a glance. Staff Members
Gideon Grimwell
- Race: Half-Orc
- Gender: Male
- Description: Standing at a formidable height with muscles to match, his green skin contrasts sharply with his white orderly uniform. He has a shaved head and a well-trimmed beard.
- Role: Chief of security. He ensures no patients escape and that the staff remains safe.
Lysandra Moonveil
- Race: Moon Elf
- Gender: Female
- Description: Ethereal beauty with silver hair and eyes that reflect the phases of the moon. Wears flowing robes of deep blues and silvers.
- Role: Lead therapist. Believes in using magic and meditation to heal the patients, often clashing with Dr. Blackthorn's methods.
Jasper Quill
- Race: Kenku
- Gender: Male
- Description: Raven-black feathers and bright yellow eyes. Dressed in standard sanatorium staff attire, but with many pockets filled with scrolls and quills.
- Role: Recorder and administrator. He documents everything, from patient histories to daily incidents. His mimicry abilities often come in handy to recount specific incidents or conversations.
Rumors persist of hidden chambers where the most dangerous and afflicted are kept, patients who've become part of the sanatorium's experiments in understanding – and perhaps harnessing – arcane madness. The Luxiang Sanatorium is not just a place of healing but also a place of deep and dark secrets.
Patients
Elara Silvervein
- Race: Dwarf
- Description: Middle-aged with deep-set blue eyes. Once had shining silver hair, now matted and unkempt. Her once proud warrior tattoos are now mostly hidden under her patient's garb.
- Magical Affliction: Stonecurse
- Manifestation: Slowly turning to stone starting from her feet. Every day, the petrification progresses a bit more.
- Duration at Sanatorium: 5 years. She can still speak and move her upper body, but her lower half is completely petrified.
Rowan Nightshade
- Race: Half-Elf
- Description: Young with long, raven-black hair and a sorrowful expression. His eyes are a mesmerizing mix of green and violet.
- Magical Affliction: Eternal Slumber
- Manifestation: Caught in a perpetual dream state, his body remains in a comatose condition. However, his dreams physically manifest around him as illusions.
- Duration at Sanatorium: 2 years, with no sign of waking.
Gorrak the Sundered
- Race: Goliath
- Description: Towering and heavily scarred, with tribal tattoos. One of his arms is missing, replaced by a spectral arm made of shimmering blue energy.
- Magical Affliction: Phantom Limb
- Manifestation: His missing arm was replaced by a magical appendage that acts on the emotions of the patient, often becoming violent.
- Duration at Sanatorium: 8 months.
Lillith Whisperwind
- Race: Halfling
- Description: A dainty figure with curly auburn hair and freckles. Always seems to be talking or laughing to herself.
- Magical Affliction: Echoing Voices
- Manifestation: A failed attempt to communicate with the dead left her hearing the echoes of past conversations, making her seem as if she's lost her mind to outsiders.
- Duration at Sanatorium: 3 years.
Arion Stormweaver
- Race: Triton
- Description: Blue-skinned and regal, his fin-like hair flows as if he's perpetually underwater. A deep sadness is evident in his eyes.
- Magical Affliction: Landlocked
- Manifestation: A curse prevents him from returning to or even sensing water, causing him immense distress and a drying of his skin.
- Duration at Sanatorium: 6 months, steadily deteriorating.
Nyla Brightsun
- Race: Aarakocra
- Description: Resembles a golden eagle with shimmering feathers, but her wings are tattered and broken.
- Magical Affliction: Gravity’s Grasp
- Manifestation: An overwhelming force of gravity binds her, making flight impossible and even simple movements extremely laborious.
- Duration at Sanatorium: 1 year, her spirit sinking with every grounded day.
Each of these patients presents a unique challenge for the staff at Luxiang Sanatorium, and their varied afflictions add layers of mystery, potential danger, and opportunity for poignant interactions in your story.