Aldia's Keep

Lore

"In the far eastern outskirts of Drangleic lies an old manor that is now long forgotten."

Aldia was condemned here by his brother Vendrick when they disagreed on how to find "the truth" about the secrets of life in an attempt to overcome the curse. Aldia viewed the Undead as a key to this mystery. In the manor, Aldia continued his experiments in seclusion, creating monstrous creatures from his guests, and he even tried to recreate a dragon. A number of the experiments were literally dumped into The Gutter to live out their wretched existence out of sight.

Unspeakable magic was performed here, and the cruel fate of the residents gave way to powerful artifacts and dangerous spells. Some of the greatest minds converged here to perform strange rituals behind closed doors. Their actions may not have been their own though; an unknown force may have been manipulating them.

The Guardian Dragon is kept in an enormous cage behind the Keep. It presently acts as the de facto guardian of the path to the Dragon Aerie but more than likely began as an unwilling participant in the experiments conducted at the Manor.

The foes encountered here are:

• Dragon Acolyte: Acolytes of Aldia responsible for the rituals and experiments performed behind the closed doors of the Manor. Some of Drangleic's greatest minds gathered in Aldia to conduct highly secret research, but it is rumored that an unknown force may have been manipulating them throughout the process; the hideous abominations produced by their efforts would seem to corroborate this theory, but the precise goal of their research remains unknown…
• Looking Glass Phantom: Reflections residing in the dimension within the King's Mirror. They can cross over to the world of the living through the looking glass, but for what purpose? Do they seek to replace those who originally cast them?
• Royal Sorcerer Navlaan (Dark Spirit): A former sorcerer surrounded by conflicting rumors and great controversy, Navlaan gained infamy when he was supposedly executed along with his entire village for practicing Dark magic, but the truth is far more complicated. At first glance Navlaan appears to suffer from dissociative identity disorder and displays two opposite personalities. The reality, however, is not so easily explained; perhaps it would be better to draw your conclusions after meeting him yourself.
• Aslatiel of Mirrah (Dark Spirit): Elder brother of Lucatiel of Mirrah. He was known as one of Mirrah's greatest swordsmen but became afflicted by the Undead Curse and set out for Drangleic in search of a cure. He was never heard from again and his fate and whereabouts were unknown - until now…

Theories

The Experiments Aimed to Cure the Curse Through Petrification

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In Aldia's keep they were attempting to rid of the curse through petrification. Creating the stone dragon was driven by a madness that consumed them according to items the acolytes drop. In the dragon shrine above the door you find the same design that is in Elena's room that leads to Sinh. How come we find this in both places? The frogs are held in wagons and cages, because they were needed for the experiments and also the monkey-like things outside cause petrification. The cyclops is turned to stone as well which I believe was an experiment. The corrosive bugs were used to try to find a balance death and stone. I believe the bugs were only poison, but they found a way to make them corrosive with the corrosive ant queen.

Why Navlaan is Here

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Navlaan seemly either despises everything related to Lord Aldia, or failed creation of Lord Aldia, as two of the four assassination targets are related to Lord Aldia, one is Felkin, who possessed the staff from Lord Aldia's realm. another one is Shanalotte, who was raised by the Ancient Dragon (The Ancient Dragon is confirmed to not be Lord Aldia in Scholar of the First Sin, but may instead be a creation of Lord Aldia). Navlaan also has a cyan skin tone and possibly crimson eyes, covered beneath the hood's eyepatches, it is believed he's a failed recreation of a Fenito, while the sucessors are the Aldia Warlocks, as Lord Aldia needs a false deity to lure more undead citizens to enhance them in order to recreate dragon, while the Fenito are the guardians of the dead, this explained why Navlaan despise Lord Aldia so much that he wants to wipe out everything related to Lord Aldia from existence.

Sources

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Aldia Key
Key used in the mansion of Aldia.
King Vendrick condemned his own
elder brother to the mansion.
They both sought the truth, but through
different means, and their fervor meant the
eventual withering of their familial ties.

Sunset Staff
A staff said to have been forged in Aldia.
A catalyst for sorceries and hexes.
Particularly powerful for casting hexes.
The mysterious Lord Aldia secluded himself
inside a manor to conduct various experiments.
Those invited to the manor disappeared,
replaced over time with malformed beasts
that roamed its halls.

Homunculus Mace
A pole with lumps attached to it.
Found in the manor in Aldia.
Heavier than a standard mace, but with more
effective striking owing to its hard lumps.
In the far eastern outskirts of Drangleic lies an
old manor that is now long forgotten.
As it should be, for the things that lurk there
are better left unknown.

Malformed Shell
One of the malformed weapons developed
in Aldia. Swung like a great hammer.
Appears to be a fragment of a giant shell,
but its precise origins are unknown.
The peculiar figure known as Lord Aldia
attempted to uncover the secrets of life itself,
and viewed the Undead as a key to this mystery.

Aldia Hammer
Hammer used by Aldian acolytes.
Not used as a weapon, but as an instrument
to dissect the bodies of the victims of
their experimentation.
They say that Lord Aldia was the King's
elder brother and helped found Drangleic,
but he later lost interest in the land's fortunes.

Bone Shield
Shield used by Aldian acolytes.
Crafted from the skull of some creature that
outlived its usefulness for experimentation.
The peculiar figure known as Lord Aldia
kept Giants in his manor, and attempted
to recreate a dragon, but after some time,
was not heard from again.

Dragon Sage Hood
Hood worn by the Archmaster of Aldia.
Several of the greatest minds converged in Aldia
to weave strange new rituals, but rumors suggest
that during the course of their work their thoughts
were not their own.
The nebulous face of the mask is designed
to deflect the ire of the ritual sacrifice.

Dragon Acolyte Set
Worn by acolytes of Aldia.
Several of the greatest minds converged in Aldia
to weave strange new rituals, but rumors suggest
that during the course of their work their thoughts
were not their own.
The nebulous face of the mask is designed to
deflect the ire of the ritual sacrifice

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NEXT: Belfry Luna

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