Sample Sanctum: The Wending

One final sanctum for this series. Unlike the others this belongs neither to a modern wizard nor one from the recent past. Nor does it exist within some metropolis. This relic of high magic lingers at the edge of our reality, a remnant of a circle of archmages who would have seen the current age as an abomination. The guardians they left behind might yet bring an end to our urban lifestyle.

The Wending of the Circle of Four

A Wending (for those who have not read Mage: the Awakening's Imperial Mysteries) is the former Golden Road, or spiritual path, of an Archmage. Essentially a modified part of their soul left behind when they Ascended or otherwise left this world, they are unstable but often littered with powerful relics of their former owner.

Four potent mages founded the Circle of Four before the dawn of known history. Whether they descended from Atlantean survivors or some of other "enlightened" civilization remains unknown. What is known is that they sought to return to the natural world, rejecting of the hubris that ended the prior age of magic. They founded a Legacy based on this idea, hoping to guide humanity into a bountiful age of neotribalism. Cities and taming nature were anathema to them. They sought balance and a communion with the world.

Together these mighty willworkers linked their Golden Roads, creating a miniature universe to test their ideas and conduct their great works. After centuries of effort, most Ascended to the Supernal, leaving Artifacts, creatures and lesser mages to continue their work. Over the millenia, their followers in the Fallen World, our world, were killed, died, or simply gave up on their mission. They were forgotten by all but a few.

But their works remain.

The Former (Arch)Masters

None speak the true names of the Four. The few who know see no point in telling. Instead they are referred to by the region they identified with.

• West: both a shaman and leader of men, this mage believed in leading all humanity to its birthright: mastery of magic and the Supernal. Skilled in the Arcana of Prime and Spirit, he came from the deserts of the west.
• East: the most radical, this scout and hunter sought to return all humans to primal nature bereft of civilizing ways. Originating from the forests of inter-glacial Europe, his skill in the Arcanum of Life was unmatched by the others.
• North: this tough survivalist felt to better oneself meant facing the fiercest elements. His mountain home provided plenty of such challenges and gave him a unique insight on the subject of the elements and the Arcanum of Matter in particular.
• South: the sole female member of the Circle, this necromancer followed the legends of the dragons with an unmatched intensity. In her later years she connected the Wending to a strange ruin tied to those lost creatures.

What Remains

Each of the Four recreated regions of pure nature on their Golden Roads. The together regions once covered hundreds of square miles but time has caused much of the terrain to disappear. What remains is unstable.

Even now, millenia after the last of their disciples in the outside world perished, the Wending remains littered with their relics. Abandoned subsouls, splinters of the original archmages, keep watch over strange spirits, unique shapeshifters, and a tribe of mundane humans. Within the very center of their world, an ancient stele holds the secret of their lost Legacy and perhaps Ascension itself.

South: the Yucatan Wending

One of the few stable regions within the greater Wending, this realm now stands isolated from the modern world. Its thick flora and numerous fauna remain untouched by man, watched only by a secretive old woman. Beneath the forest floor, hidden caverns hold vast amounts of fresh water that keeps this land lush and healthy. Beneath the waters lie the bones of many creatures including man.

Access to this jungle clad realm can only be accomplished from another Wending or the Temple of the Dragons. Stepping into a certain crevasse chock full of small animal bones takes one to the grave of Dragons. A rough path leads from it and eventually splits. One route climbs a steep hill that gives way to rock and chill winds. Those that persist find themselves in what remains of the Mountain fragment. Another route takes one out of the jungle into the plains. A storm soon enshrouds travelers and leaves them in the Badlands fragment. A final path leads to a still pool. Diving into it takes travelers to the Primeval Europe Wending.

Shadow: A vibrant realm without any trace of man or his artifacts. The Gauntlet is nonexistent and any who knows the way can step from one world to another.

Twilight: No ghosts of man linger in this realm but Twilight remains "lively". The trees and animals of this jungle possess something that might be called a soul. Their ghosts linger in Twilight interacting with the many spirits who crossover effortlessly.

Traits:

• Living animals and plants possess souls here, capable of leaving ghosts and being used in the normal (if often horrible) ways.
• Natural well spaced pools of water serve as Hallows, infused with Death focused Mana. These pools also allow access to Twilight to anyone spending a Willpower.

West: the Badlands Fragment

Now accessible only from the South Wending, this desert land once covered miles of maze-like canyons. Now the sandy waste covers a few acres obscured by a constantly blowing dust storm. Those who push past that limit find distance fades away. Each step one takes covers less and less space until walking forward leaves one moving in place.

Shadow: Nothing remains of the spiritual landscape except a weak Gauntlet (Strength 0).

Twilight: Spirits and ghosts can linger here, if any remained.

Traits: Space magic reveals the degradation of this fragment. Any powerful magic or supernatural powers will cause the fragment to decay completely. Active Mage Sight using Space, Death, or Prime detects this process immediately and grants anyone caught in the realm when it collapses an extra turn of action.

Three turns after a 4th dot power is used, the realm disintegrates. It can take 1 to 3 turns for a normal human to reach the exit depending on how far they moved into it. Failure to escape drops one into the Abyss and possibly unmakes the character. Run quickly.

North: the Mountain Fragment

This realm now consists of a single peak shrouded in storm clouds accessible from the South Wending. Thick glacial ice covers the peak. combined with the high winds, intruders slowly freeze to death. The slippery surface threatens to hurl them off the mountain as well. Since there is no ground, falling means death. Only a single being lives here: a gigantic bird that attempts to murder all who come here.

Shadow: There is no gauntlet here, so the few spirits that remain can move effortlessly between shadow and reality.

Twilight: Doesn't exist.

Traits:

• High Winds: a Strength + Athletics roll must be made when moving or one loses a turn attempting to hold on.
• Intense Cold: a -2 penalty to all physical rolls (and those requiring concentration) if not protected from elements.

Thunder Bird

A rainbow-colored bird with a 40 foot wing span.

Attributes: Power 4, Finesse 5, Resistance 3
Speed: 29           Defense: 5 [Armor 2]
Initiative: 8       Size: 6
Corpus: 10

Traits:

• Claw: pool of 9 dice, 1 Lethal or grapple.
• Bite: pool of 9 dice (1 Lethal)
• Lightning: pool of 10 dice bashing.
• Antimagic: resist all spells with 5 dice.

East: the Primeval Europe Wending

Cloaked in perpetual twilight, this wending was carved from a primeval Germanic forest. Mortals are stripped of their human tools and transformed into animals. They must remain this way until they escape. Only the most potent masters of the Arcanum of Life have a hope over coming this (They must beat the Potency 10 spell in an instant action). Mute and thumbless, they possess only the advantages of whatever beast to which their soul identifies with.

Worse there are wolves.

Only two entrances remain to this Wending: a pool of water leading to Yucatan Wending or by crossing a raging river several miles away to reach the Chicago Wending.

Shadow: There is no gauntlet here and discerning the difference between spirits and mundane inhabitants requires magic.

Twilight: Doesn't exist.

Traits:

• All intruders are instantly transformed into beasts due to a staggeringly powerful spell (20 successes are needed to resist it). The one exception are the deer people who linger in these woods. But they are vanishingly rare.

Center: Primeval Chicago Wending

A realm of cold woods and swamps, this Wending resembles the environment of Chicago prior to the last glacial period. Abundant game helps support a small tribe of normal humans who live in coexistence with the spirits of the wilderness.

Once the heart of the network of Wendings, it now stands isolated and decaying. An Archmage recently visited it, defeated its guardians and stole the artifact that kept it in balance. Now unstable any serious magical conflict will set into motion the slow destruction of the Wending. This will not be fast nor pleasant. Over the course of days it and all who live within it will be slowly ripped to pieces (including a couple of hundred stone age tribesfolk). Worse a dangerous spirit has secreted itself into the tribe as their god. It has already directed them to murder other spirits and the last of the deer people. Soon it will lead them into an apocalyptic suicide pact.

With the closing of its gate to the Fallen world, this Wending can only be reached via the European Wending.

Shadow: There is no gauntlet here and spirits can move between realms without effort.

Twilight: Doesn't exist.

Traits:

• Powerful magic (including any 5th dot power) will set into motion the slow decay of the realm, noticeable to anyone with Prime Mage Sight.