The Close

The Close was a fortress created by the Nentyarch atop the ruin of Dun-Tharos in. It served as the seat of their power until, when the Rotting Man ousted them from the fortress and take it for his own. He abandoned the fortress in, though the Nentyarch had not returned by.

Description
The fortress of the Nentyarch in the Rawlinswood was a circle of immense trees, roughly over in diameter; these trunks were contiguous, touching and blending together at times, witho only the narrowest of paths existing between the trees, requiring a human-sized person to walk sideways through some of them. Those paths reached about twenty paces before reaching the inner side. After the Rotting Man captured the fortress in, the trees became bare, petrified, and a faint greenish phosphorescence shone all over them, resembling an eldritch cliff from the inside.

On the inside, there had been fields of flowers and fruit trees, stone bridges, and paths between the gardens. Starting on, the life had moldered to rot instead, leaving dry brooks full of nothing but worms and aggressive insects, the paths were full of mud, and the fruits had become blots of poisonous putrescence. There were great holes on the ground, reminiscent of a cemetery. From the inside, the tree ring forming The Close was carved with scores of openings, and held catwalks.

During the Nentyarch's holding, there was a simple hardwood structure in the middle of the Court. In the Rotting Man's time, he had replaced it with a lone ash tree of towering size, more than, though still shorter than the petrified fairy ring. It was crowned with sickly green leaves forming an oval mass, with a twisted, blackened trunk holding a massive swollen cyst: the Thieving Ash. Ahead of the tree was a hardened, fetid mud throne, where the Rotting Man sat; before his throne was a rough stone altar, where he kept a magical flower with a petal for each of his Talontar blightlord living (or rather, animate) servants. The Rotting Man kept the arrangement hidden with a thick mist.

Government
The Close served as the seat of the Nentyarch, the leader of the Circle of Leth, in Dun-Tharos. When the Rotting Man took over, it served as his seat instead. After the Rotting Man retreated, Dun-Tharos was abandoned to demons, including The Close.

Defenses
The Close was defended by the forces of the Nentyarch until 1371, when it passed into the hands of the Rotting Man. Neither had returned to defend it by.

History
The fortress of magical trees was created by the Nentyarch atop the ruin of Dun-Tharos in. It would serve as the seat of their power until, when the Rotting Man would oust them from the fortress and take it for his own. Though he'd abandon the fortress in after a battle with a servant of Lurue, the Nentyarch had not returned by.

Inhabitants

 * Nentyarch
 * Rotting Man

Appearances

 * Novels
 * Lady of Poison