Castle Ansangaar
Dating back to at least the Realmgardic period in its earliest form and destroyed, abandoned, rebuilt, and re-settled countless times over the centuries, the imposing fortress now known as Castle Ansangaar has long been recognised as a place of significant magic power.
Though logistical challenges and safety risks have meant that archaeological studies of the site have been minimal, the evidence thus far collect indicates that Castle Ansangaar has been a site of magic rituals from its earliest history.
Thus, the Castle Ansangaar has come under the control of numerous aspiring sorcerers and self-proclaimed dark lords seeking to make the castle’s magical power and secrets their own. This, in turn, has spurred the cycle of destruction and re-construction of the castle, as the emergence of these sorcerers and dark lords has been met with alarm from the rest of Realmgard. Throughout its history, Castle Ansangaar has been the target of campaigns intended to prevent the rise of a sorcerous overlord in Realmgard.
Castle Ansangaar has been besieged and destroyed by the Trolls, the Amazons, a Theobaldian expeditionary force sent north, and a band of restless Hrimfaxi vikings.
Despite its repeated destructions, the potent magical qualities of the site remain. And after long periods of lying ruined and abandoned, this has inevitably lured back yet another aspiring sorcerer or dark lord hoping to make the castle his (and occasionally her) seat of power.
Of course, this inevitably culminates in yet another campaign against the castle and its overlord, leading to the castle once again left to lie in ruins until the whole cycle begins once again.
Both attempts to occupy the site to prevent its resettlement and archaeological studies at the ruins have been ill-fated. There are reports of the soldiers sent to guard the ruins and scholars sent to study them being slowly driven mad under the influence of its strange magical properties.
Most recently, Castle Ansangaar has been occupied by the sorcerously-adept warlord Rhadamanthus the Grim, who has rebuilt and fortified the castle and leads a horde that controls the extreme northwest of Realmgard, a development viewed with concern throughout the continent.
However, at present, Rhadamanthus has shown little ambition beyond his immediate domain. Despite the fearsome reputation of his horde and of Rhadamanthus himself, he contents to maintain surprisingly cordial diplomatic relations with most of the rest of the continent.
Notably, Rhadamanthus was among the first foreign rulers in Realmgard to send aid following the devastating earthquake of Barro in the Kingdom of Torres, and even supplied a team of architects to help with the reconstruction of the city.
Though largely viewed with caution and concern by the peoples of Realmgard, Rhadamanthus is also admitted to be a paradoxical figure. Despite his fame as a sorcerer and warlord, despite leading one of the largest and most powerful hordes of warriors on the continent, one of the few things that can be said for certain about Rhadamanthus as an individual is his fondness for fine art.
He is, for example, documented as a former student of the University of Oxfjord, having earned a Master of Fine Arts following his successful defence of a thesis paper about the famous painting The Constancy of Styracosaurus.
I’ve really, really wanted to have a Dark Lord character with an MFA degree and I’m glad I’ve finally got a chance to introduce that.
Also, to make it clear, Rhadamanthus is the father of our favourite Witch-Princess Tenebella.
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