Eledryll

Khalista Gardens [28x21] [4K] [jpg/webp] (Patreon)

Published:

2022-07-17 14:00:06

Edited:

2026-01-04 18:22:30

Imported:

2026-06

Tags:

Battlemap Cemetery Fantasy Free Garden Mansion

Content

Kryss Khalista, first count of Daggermane and caretaker of the duke of Vileroot, left behind him a name soaked in blood and soil, and a somber legacy. He built the gardens behind Daggermane manor and planted a great willow, symbol of inner wisdom and freedom. Since he was but a child, the count dreamt of a greater future he could achieve by untold and forgotten means. During inebriated banquets, he would speak of the wisdom he glimpsed behind the Gates. Many uneducated guests would put such flights of fancy down to the wine but for some, these allegations were definitely worrying.

It was at this time that count Kryss took the young and fierce duke Arnwald into is custody. The two would spend long afternoons walking amidst the trees in the Vileroot forest talking about methods to break the duke's opposition and pacify the court. Years passed and the duke grew older and forlorn. Kryss was elevated to the status of Thornblade. Thornblades were a secretive cohort of elite assassins guarding the duke and working with his inner circle to break any opposition and prevent any unsavory event that would trouble his reign. Meanwhile at his manor, Kryss would spend increasing time in his garden, looking towards the stars with a bizarre mixing of melancholy and expectancy. The willow had died and countless members of his court were burried here amidst the lilies, a white flower symbolic of rebirth and purity. In time, the Thornblade himself was buried there with his unfathomable secrets.