#152 Nixbreath Citadel

Age: 650 years

Hidden or Lost?: Hidden

History: Hidden within the roiling eldritch maelstrom known as the Bleeding Bedlam, is a tall and ancient tower. It floats within a calm, magic-free bubble, untouched by the all-consuming sorcery surrounding it. Few are aware of its existence as the Nixbreath Citadel was the target of the weapon that created the impossible storm in the first place.

Centuries ago, the remote tower now known as the Nixbreath Citadel was the fortress stronghold of a growing militia cult. The followers were devoted to the elimination of magic, preaching a return to mundane skills and powers. While the nameless tower predated the cult, they made it their seat of power as it was the home of the Nix Stone, a massive boulder of some unknown material which emitted a radiation which nullified magic. Upon discovering the Nix Stone and its deathless alien keeper, known only as “the Grey,” the cult made the rock the focus of their worship, working to emulate its hex-canceling properties.

When the enigmatic master of the tower refused to help the luddite zealots they imprisoned the Grey and continued their experiments. The cult was eventually able to develop a terrible weapon dubbed, the Nixbreath. This enveloping mist, which cult soldiers would deploy via special handheld sprayers, was able to poison magic users, turning the arcane energies which flowed through them into a deadly current. Taking the name of their signature weapon, the Nixbreath cultists silently deployed in cities across the land, launching surprise terror attacks against the mage guilds.

In response, the various covens and conclaves banded together to destroy their heart, the Nixbreath Citadel. The most powerful sorcerers of the day combined their powers to unleash an attack that they assumed would destroy even the Nix Stone. The blast created the Bleeding Bedlam that rages to this day.

The cult and its citadel was assumed to have been destroyed by the unending mystical tumult, but now, hundreds of years later, it seems that the Nixbreath is once again loose in the world, and the surviving citadel is once again a threat to magic everywhere.