Virakhu, Glade of the Occult

"Enter the forbidden Glade, and embrace the strange, the unnatural.

Among the frozen bones of Nightmare, the dreams of life take form."

- Navali

 

Hidden deep within the icy crevasses above Highgate lies a peculiar glade. The Maraketh call it the Virakhu, the Precipice, a forbidden entrance to the eternal depths of Wraeclast. Here the bitter mountain winds converge with the warm humidity rising from the abyss below, breeding a delicate fusion of northern rainforest and subterranean grove atop the blackened spire of rock piercing the glacier floor. The air reeks of the fetid cycle of life and decay, as pine, fir, root and fungi vie for dominance. The absence of light is forgotten among the fluorescent patches of moss casting an eerie verdant glow upon the mists. There are no birds. There are no beasts. Death lingers like a cold scythe at the end of summer, waiting to reap a crop long overdue. But the roots cling tighter and delve deeper, drawing strength from the immortal ones lurking below, and the fireflies dance in the mists as silent sentinels against the darkness. It is the bridge between Wraeclast and what lies beneath, a nexus of thaumaturgy and powers far older than Nightmare.

 

 

In her days after Kitava's fall, the exiled Witch hunted ceaselessly for a sanctuary. Wraeclast knew her as the very spirit of vengeance, the slayer of Gods, the Liberator of Oriath. All praised her name and her courage, yet fear shadowed any attempt at true belonging. Intrigued by the echoing death throes of the Beast, she wandered, until one day she came upon a broken, winding trail very near to Tevarus' Resonator. It reeked of mystery, twisting and spiraling down the fissure. A cold comforting darkness embraced her as she descended, until finally she emerged into the Glade. A shiver of excitement pierced her veils of apathy. The air hummed with the complex weave of arcana and the teeming glow of improbable life, whispering to her by names only she knew. The mists clung to frostclad robes as if alive, measuring the Witch's will and finding it worthy. For the first time in her life, she beheld a mirror clearer than Kalandra's finest craft. She was home.

 

This hideout is my first earnest attempt at creating a thematic home for a character. After the success of my Cold Occultist this league, I wanted a suitable, unique hideout for her. The Glacial layout was an obvious choice, but I wanted to do more with it than just snowclad ruins. So I began testing, first with the vivid green moss found in the Dungeon tileset, then with the Coastal rocks. A picture in my mind began to form, and this was its realization.

Sadly, I cannot find a way to include the rest of the hideout in this design. I deliberately crafted this theme around the absence of snow. Even an inch left or right exposes the snowy rocks and the jarring black tops of the ridgelines, so I chose to sacrifice space for aesthetic. Besides, I always prefer compact, ergonomic hideouts compared to sprawling ones with the map device and waypoint a good walk apart from each other. The stash, map device, masters and crafting bench are all quickly accessed.

A word of warning: Jun cannot spawn her portals anywhere in the hideout. Her ridiculous need for a football field of space around her is just not possible to satisfy given the constraints of the rocks and the dozens of decorations covering the floor. If you can find a place for her that works, I salute you. Otherwise you'll need to load a different hideout or spawn her in maps. 

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Hideout version: 2.0.1
Total decorations: 516
Uses MTX: No

Decoration name MTX Count
Alva No 1
Crafting Bench No 1
Einhar No 1
Guild Stash No 1
Helena No 1
Jun No 1
Map Device No 1
Navali No 1
Niko No 1
Stash No 1
Waypoint No 1
Zana No 1
Crypt Rubble No 6
Driftwood Log No 1
Vaal Debris No 49
Vaal Pylon No 1
Large Crypt Rubble No 4
Stone Well No 2
Skull Pile No 24
Vaal Reading Table No 1
Vaal Tablets No 4
Webbed Tree No 1
Decorated Tree No 6
Large Rocks No 58
Ossuary Brazier No 11
Pooling Blood No 2
Vaal Block No 1
Vaal Notes No 1
Absorbed Flesh No 4
Bone Sculpture No 6
Flesh Glob No 5
Glowing Embers No 4
Ryslatha Tree No 8
Thick Trees No 2
Vaal Mechanism No 2
Vaal Mummy No 1
Vaal Square Altar No 1
Decorated Trees No 2
Vaal Treasure Trove No 2
Driftwood Branches No 2
Shore Rocks No 7
Forest Flowers No 1
Mossy Cairn No 2
Beach Coral No 7
Coral Grass No 2
Fern No 6
Forest Tree No 16
Lush Tree No 1
Reef Coral No 4
Sitting Log No 4
Tree No 5
Agave Plant No 4
Aloe Plant No 2
Barnacles No 1
Bush No 47
Dry Tree No 1
Garden Path No 19
Macrotaen Plant No 3
Road Trim No 41
Shore Bonfire No 1
Coral Barnacles No 2
Coral Cluster No 5
Blown Grass No 1
Blown Leaves No 4
Coral Formation No 7
Cave Trash No 6
Den Large Rock No 1
Sewer Moss No 53
Sceptre Of God Debris No 4
Azurite Chunk No 3
Sulphite Vein No 1
Volcanic Rock No 1
Abyssal Ritual Circle No 1
Abyssal Whale Bones No 1
Azurite Vein No 1
Fetid Smog No 9
Ghostly Fog No 1
Water Fog No 8
Arena Flowers No 6
Cave Treasure No 2
Pohutukawa Tree No 2
Latest version: 2.0.1

Version number MTX Publish date Total favor Total decorations Downloads Link
2.0.1 No 2019-02-03 04:16:18 2,071,540 516 3700 Download
2.0.0 Yes 2019-02-03 03:54:52 2,071,540 517 473 Download
1.0.0 Yes 2019-01-12 02:17:57 1,875,560 461 544 Download

2.0.1 | 03 Feb 2019 - 04:16

- Removed MTX


2.0.0 | 03 Feb 2019 - 03:54

- Removed MTX - Replaced Azurite Map Device with Ryslatha Tree - Minor improvements


1.0.0 | 12 Jan 2019 - 02:17

Initial release