The Fallen Citadel
The Fallen Citadel is the largest of the abandoned structures built by the Imperium in their campaign against Ecith. The Citadel is located due south of Ailos, following the path the Imperial armies took toward Kythera, a region known as the Imperial March. The Fallen Citadel is the northernmost of the prominent locations of the Imperial March and usually the first that those traveling from Drathera or Ailos encounter on their way to Kythera.
The fortress is located in thick jungle that is common in much of Central Ecith. It is now heavily overgrown with plant life and inhabited by many creatures. The fort was large enough to house several thousand soldiers and was meant to be a landing site for airships to bring more troops and supplies. The war went off the rails before the first airship could arrive.
After the armies were crushed in Kythera, and the navy destroyed in the Crystal Sea, those stationed in the Citadel were abandoned by the Imperium. Many deserted, attempting to flee to the coast, to find ways back to the northlands. Those that weren’t killed by the wild life and jungles were hunted down by Orkhan with extreme prejudice. No mercy was given to any Imperials, not one singular moment.
Many stayed in the Citadel and attempted to turn it into a settlement of their own, as it was beyond the Commonwealth’s control, their own armies shattered as well. But it was a fool’s dream. Disease ran rampant through the Imperials, unused to the conditions of living in a tropical environment. Food stores rotted, creatures picked off those who went foraging and hunting until little was left.
When an Ecithian scout party reached the citadel, there was evidence that the remaining survivors fought amongst themselves, resorting to cannibalism. Ecith left them where they lay, to allow the jungle to claim them.
But a curious thing has occurred.
For reasons unknown to the spiritists and shamans of Ecith, every person who died at the citadel did not pass on. Instead, they returned as specters, ghosts, of many varying types. It is believed to be the most dense collective of ghosts on the continent. Many an Ecithian shaman has been sent to help the spirits pass on and all come back, claiming to have been overwhelmed by the sheer number.
Many familiar with the journey toward Kythera tend to avoid the Fallen Citadel altogether.