Took ages to finish this, I haven't done a setting focused piece like this in a hot minute.

"A bit of information and history of the Temple of Shadows. A few centuries after the initial event of the fracture, remaining Drakavinn units of the Vamishirr Regiment began construction on a bunker on Barros Island, believing it to be an advantageous strategic point in the Northern oceans. Barros island itself didn't exist until after the fracture, a piece of land mass formed from the land shift caused by the Paragon Void-Arcane Bomb that's believed to have prematurely detonated over the Northern Shores of West Verenia. Unfortunately, radiological effects from the bomb still lingered centuries after, and the last of the Vamishirr Regiment succumbed to its, at the time, poorly understood effects. The bunker was left near finished, amenities such as electrical and plumbing left incomplete, part of the tunnels below also incomplete. It sat abandoned for another millenia. Upon the return of Barontos decades after the Battle of Crimson Falls, he took on residency in isolation and slowly carved the bunker out to be a home of his own.

Before his return, vegetation had slowly taken over the landmass, some of which due to the anomalous effects of the Fracture, were unique to the island. This includes the DarkWood Strangler trees you see around the landscape. The trees themselves would technically be classed under the fungi instead of flora, due to the lack of leaves and the manner in which they grow. Lack of leaves means no feasible means to practically absorb sunlight, instead these ‘trees’ seem to get all they need from water and nutrients in the ground along with the energies flowing through the island. They’re all connected through a deep root system, which is only kept from breaching the deep corridors of the temple by Barontos’s magic.

After a decade of renovations by the Lord of Shadows himself, a tall deepstone Obelisk was sculpted by efforts from Terraio and Griame artisans, with thousands of writings dedicated to the history of the Shadow Wars. It acts as both an informative piece and a memorial. Shortly after its delivery to the front grounds of the temple, it was simply dubbed ‘The Black Pillar’. Eventually, strangler roots disturbed the base of the obelisk and left it now at a tilt. Further foundation disruption was prevented by combined efforts of Evelyn and Barontos, the ladder of which decided to leave it at this tilt as a testament to the shifting of the planet as a whole caused by The Fracture.

Now, millenia’s after the formation of the island, the anomalous radiological effects of The Fracture have dissipated enough due to the islands separation from Western Verenia. Enough so that it’s mostly safe for visitors, but heavy caution is still advised. Wards, prayers, and magic mitigating equipment is generally recommended. But Barontos himself is seldom interested in visitors as the bunker doors to the temple remain closed, even to devout followers of the Shadow Elemental. Occasionally, tourists claim to be able to hear a grand organ playing from deep in the depths of the temple, perhaps a new hobby taken up by the dark dragon.”

~Excerpt from an EverJourney Tourism Pamphlet. Inferimes, 55067.