The Ruins

The Ruins were an anomaly in the space-time continuum. It had five main sections: The ancient temple, a rundown manor, shards of future technology, a haunted castle, and a swampy forest. These five sections were triangular pieces of a circle, meeting in the center to form the ritual location. The magic here had such a presence that you could physically see it in the air. A wrought-iron fence encircled the property and existed as a warning to those nearing the property. Each part had it's own dangers, uses and history. While most ruins had their own name, nothing changed the fact that these were, The Ruins.

 The Ancient Temple was made from a light stone, looking very beaten and old. Long tattered banners hung throughout it's many hallways and levels, each representing a different color. It appeared that this temple was once used to worship color, though why that was, no one knew. Only one offering fire was still working, the one that existed for the color Gold. Most of it exists underground, with abandoned gardens taking up most of the land. There is an above ground temple that goes up two stories, and a path, made of obsidian, that leads straight to the center.

The Rundown Manor looks as if someone ripped it out of it's original bustling rich life, plopped it down, and then forgot it existed. Vines of blooming flowers grew up along its walls, and trailed onto the roof. The bottom of the manor had lightly torn marks, as if pulled with a lot of force. The inside was covered with dust and cobwebs, dark coverings over all the mirrors and paintings hid who this place might have belonged too. In the dining hall, plates of petrified food lay, cutlery perfectly arranged around them. Luxurious beds lived in every room, including the servant rooms. The path to the center was made out of moth eaten blue rugs.

The Shards of Future Technology probably had some form of inside space that no one could get into. Iridescent shards pushed up from the ground, glowing in every color of the rainbow. There were no seams, no way to break in, any tool that tried to broke on first contact. When you touched on of the shards, a grey holographic path showed the way to the center.

The Haunted Castle was, as the name suggests, haunted. What once might have been a glorious castle, was full of shades, ghosts, and spirits. While strangely in perfect condition, all 24 floors perfectly habitable, any fire that was located in the castle burned blue, even the ones brought in. The symbol of whatever group ruled in it was, oddly enough, a roughly outlined phoenix bursting into flame. The path leading to the center was one long red carpet path.

The Swampy Forest was the least-traveled path. Full of thick trees, muddy paths that quickly became knee deep water at best, and many toxic plants, the few people who enter The Ruins, often choose a different route to get to the ritual location. While very pretty, it was the easiest to get lost in, due to the fact that the path to the center was made of a tan stone that quickly became covered in mud, although the frequent, only appearing over the forest quickly cleared off the path.

The Ritual Location was located in the center of the circle. Holding an offering table, the ever-burning fire, and long banners pulling in from each side to touch the sides, it held only the most carefully selected rituals. The magic was so strong here, that anyone who entered became high off of it. Everything was outlined with strange symbols inlaid in the object. Gold, Silver, and Platinum, were commonly used, as if they came from a people who thought of them as common metals, a theory confirmed by the use of metals so rare, none had a name, in the places where the precious metals normally went. The Center had a clear view of the sky, no matter what weather was happening anywhere else.

The Ruins was one of the most questioned places in the universe, yet no matter how hard people looked, no answers were found.