Lore/Story The Fall Of Lexdale Penitentiary

And now, for something... similar. Yep, more off-canon ramblings.

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Below has been transcribed word for word from a Lexdale Penitentiary guard's journal. These were written over the course of 5 weeks, from what appears to be start of employment to January 31st 1001 AP, which is the date of the final entry.

Day 1, December 24th 1000 AP

It's been bleak for the last couple of years I worked as a prison guard in Llevigar Prison. Everything seems to be very boring and lifeless, given that we don't get as many prisoners (there have been reports of a quartz shipment fraud in Karoc; the issue was resolved by the government, which I doubt has anything to do with this other than realizing their quarry was being leeched off of), which made me consider moving to another prison. Is it weird or unrealistic for me to ask for an actually exciting prison where you don't get to do the same thing day in day out?

I wonder if Lexdale has any spots in their penitentiary... Heard that they paid the guards well there, in contrast to the few emerald blocks I get as my monthly wage. Owned by a royal, last time I've heard of it. Would be a neat Craftmas gift if I actually got in! I'm actually writing my transfer papers as I'm writing this journal entry... Hoping I will get in.

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Day 2, December 25th

I just received word from the Bureau of Security that I was allowed to be transferred to Lexdale Penitentiary. Wasn't expecting a swift response, especially considering it's Craftmas today. Should I be concerned?

Either way, I'll be packing up my stuff throughout the next few days so journal entries will be far and inbetween.

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Day 7, December 30th

Today was my first day at the Lexdale Penitentiary, where the local authorities have scrounged up a whole bunch of people for various crimes, ranging from heresy, arson, murder and... jaywalking? Is that even a crime?

Anyway, the people in charge of the prisoners seem to be rather blunt and straightforward with their approach to the prisoners. Seems like they treat everyone like a scum of the earth in here.

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Day 8, December 31st

I think it's safe to say the next year is going to be quite eventful. We've been lectured by the penitentiary's warden, who wishes to be called by her title or as "mistress", to obey her orders to the word. This means, we have to be strict no matter what, and we cannot show any form of compassion to any prisoners. I think there's bound to be a couple of problems regarding this, not that I can do anything against it, because she has already told us that anything we do against her word will be a surefire way to earn our job termination.

I don't want to do this to the prisoners, but at the same time I feel compelled to do so, because if I don't, how am I going to feed my family?

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Day 10, January 2nd 1001 AP

We're finally in 1001 AP, which marks the 178th anniversary of this penitentiary's establishment. Apparently. I was unable to write anything for the journal since no notable events had occurred that day.

And it seems we have a rather unique visitor. I was told that one of the new prisoners was a human, who were apparently in for murder. I was told strictly not to interact with them, even under emergency situations. I don't know why or how a human could commit murder in Gavel, let alone get there considering the average lifespan of a human these days is rather low not with what's going on both in their province and in Gavel...

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Day 11, January 3rd

A prisoner in west wing of the penitentiary was causing problems, namely public disturbance and harassment of fellow prisoners.

That was all that was going on today, so sadly nothing more to write here.

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Day 12, January 4th

For the first time, I've witnessed what happened to people who were causing public disturbances and stepping out of the line, both figuratively and literally, in the prison.

They're sent to the chop shop.

I've witnessed the penitentiary's warden kill someone, before... sucking their soul out? I don't know, I haven't been able to get a good view of it. It seems the penitentiary has a specifically purposed execution chamber for reasons I do not understand - I remember the Gavel Consortium banning summary executions all the way back in 711 AP, is this prison so ancient that they do not have to adhere to this? Is this even written in the Consortium's statement?

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Day 14, January 6th

I've been told that the human prisoner was nowhere to be found. Their cell was empty, with no visible signs of someone breaking out. I don't know why.

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Day 15, January 7th

The warden herself just confirmed that someone had escaped. They're now in full on manhunt mode. This especially considering that their track record for "highest containment rate" for any prison had been compromised by just one person escaping. But this also begs the question - can other prisoners do the same as well? Surely they wouldn't - they don't seem to have the same willpower as that human did, judging from the perpetual scowls on their faces. But if one can escape, no matter who they are, it's definitely going to inspire others to do the same.

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Day 19, January 11th

More missing person cases - several villagers have apparently managed to break out of the penitentiary as well. It seems it's going to become a regular occurrence...

In other news, one of the prison guards started acting strange. He seemed to have frequent headaches, further compounded by the fact that he was physically feeling unwell, not even mentioning his speech becoming gradually more slurry. Rabies? Decay? I don't know at this point...

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Day 21, January 13th

I'm writing this particular entry because I woke up with a note in my pocket. It doesn't seem to match our warden's handwriting - she has rather blunt and dead straight handwriting. This one is more eloquent, and it seems to be written in... Wynnian Basic?

Odd, I haven't heard of that language before...

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Day 22, January 14th

It appears that Wynnian and Gavelic Basic are both the same language, under the "Basic" umbrella. I don't know if people prefer to speak Basic, which is common language between the two provinces, over our regional language Common Gavelic.

Either way, here's the note. I had some leftover glue from when I did paperwork instead of grunt work to stick this onto my journal:

Spoiler: Attached Note

To whomever it may concern,

It is with great sadness that we must announce your employment in Lexdale Penitentiary terminates in 3 weeks. Your employer refused to comment on the details of your termination, and will not be made available to you.

You will be given a severance pay and one week's notice before your re-transfer to Llevigar Prison. Once this notice period is over, you will have to vacate the premises immediately.

Gavel Bureau of Security

It struck me as odd that I received my termination letter in Basic instead of Common Gavelic. Is Gavelic legacy? What's going on?

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Day 29, January 21st

I'm in the process of packing and moving out of the Lexdale Penitentiary. Honestly, with all their services and the conflict of interest that I have with them, no wonder why I got sent back to Llevigar. I think I'll learn to be more appreciative of the rather idyllic, monotonous prison guard life that I had the past couple of years.

I still have a week to move out, so I'll write down some stuff here while trying to retain my "compliant" image with the warden.

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Day 31, January 23rd

I think some of the guards are starting to act strangely. I tried to chat with them, but they just told me to "sod off". I didn't even do anything to them! What's happening here? They weren't as irate, and would simply remain silent and avoid chatting. Is the penitentiary work really getting into their head?

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Day 32, January 24th

More oddities going on in the penitentiary... The warden just snapped at a guard and told me to kill them on the spot, and if I didn't, then I would be killed as well.

Against my moral code, I was forced to oblige.

I still wish I knew what was going on, especially with the summary executions now extending to guards.

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Day 35, January 27th

I finally moved out of the hellhole the penitentiary had become. No wonder why people are scared to go in there now. I will send a complaint about this matter to the Bureau - it is simply unacceptable for a warden to treat their subordinates like that. At most, you'd get terminated, but outright killing someone because they didn't obey a single order?

Here's to me hoping that there are other sane people like me in there within the halls of this murder asylum...

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Day 36, January 28th

Something, or rather someone, just barged straight into the Lexdale Penitentary. Through many layers of reinforced steel-cobalt alloy that formed the door leading to the main halls. Never once have I seen such overpowering strength, destroying even the toughest barriers we have managed to erect against any prisoner daring to escape (or for that matter break in).

I think it's safe to say the Lexdale Penitentiary has gone downhill. If someone can break through the strongest known alloy in the world... then what hope have we? I'm hoping the same won't happen to the Llevigar Prison...

Speaking of which, I was lucky to get out the day before my actual termination, as stated on my termination notice. If I were there... I would've been killed too!

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Day 37, January 29th

To whomever it may concern,

We're temporarily borrowing this guard's journal to send you a message. Rest assured, your ex-minion is in good hands.

You may notice a large plume of smoke coming eastward from your castle. That is to be expected. After all, a building just collapsed. Now, what buildings may exist to the east of the Gelibord Castle, you may ask? Surely, we can't be going around butchering innocent people in Lexdale, can we?

That, my "friend", is exactly where we differ, day and night.

You were infected by the darkness that struck your body after the grievous bite from the parasite that once infested Orphion. Keyword, once. They have been dealt with, not that you would care about it either way. Shame, since death wasn't a solution for your plight. It's also a shame that you did not care to read them, not that you could say the same for your former friend either, but the rules of the Lazarus Pit are three: The Pit is not a panacea. The Pit is not a wellspring. And most importantly, The Pit is not a place to resurrect the dead. While it is capable of pulling off such a feat, it is forbidden by ancient laws agreed upon by the Gavelian Consortium, whose dissolution does not mean that their ruling is void. I think you can guess why.

Lazarus Pit, or with its ancient name "ᛁᚾᛏᛖᚱᛗᛁᚾᚨᛒᛁᛚᛁᛋ ᚹᛁᛏᛇ ᚠᛟᚾᛋ", is a spring of pure Light. It is miracle given form. It does not want your or anyone else's intrusion, and using it to revive the dead is considered sacrilege even by the denizens of the darkest reaches in this world. It is no wonder why she did not want you to be unleashed unto the world, or why pretty much everyone else decided that you were a high profile criminal that needed to be eliminated.

The conflicting energies of the Spring's Light and your corpse's Dark has intertwined and twisted your essence, turning you into the Decay incarnate himself. I pity you, and your horrifying existence. An abomination unto this world, killed by the Dark, resurrected by the Light, mutated by both. This mutation came with a price, of course - in exchange for unspeakable power, you were afflicted with an unspeakable hunger. A hunger for the very life force of all that lives. You hunger for souls. You hunger for the souls of the innocent in vengeance and spite of those who killed you years ago. You seek them to further your power, so that you may unleash yourself on the hapless citizens of Gelibord, Lexdale, and Cinfras. You wish to be free. Free of the shackles that clamp upon your mind like a terrifying presence. Free of the shackles that bind your corporeal body into your prison. Free of the shackles that cursed your soul with Light and Dark. And free, you will be.

Free of body, free of mind, free of soul.

???, the Watcher Beyond

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Day 38, January 30th

I've heard that a mysterious artifact just popped up in Bucie. They have barricaded the area so nobody has access. The strange part is that the people barricading it is not from the Gavelian Provincial Bureau of Investigation, but from a completely different organization. I tried to ask them what was going on, and - rather uncharacteristically - received an actual sane reply. You read that right: A sane reply! These people weren't employed by our government, but were a part of a multi-provincial group that protected magical artifacts from people... and people from the magical artifacts. It appears they don't want the laypeople from accidentally killing themselves with whatever was in Bucie, which was exactly what happened to a friend of a friend.

I also heard that old man Duvale was rambling about hearing voices in his head...

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Day 39, January 31st

It seems that the artifact in question was, rather interestingly, an hourglass. I don't know what it does, nor do the people of Bucie (or for that matter the people guarding it), but the guards received strict orders to not let anyone near it or the premises. Have to respect their work, seems a lot better than having to deal with a bunch of lunatics in Lexdale Penitentiary.

Speaking of, I've finally recovered from the insane clown posse that was the penitentiary. I told my family that the severance pay was... rather generous, even by our government's standards (24 liquid emeralds? Seriously?), so we could finally afford a house in Llevigar. This means that we finally get to live close to the prison block, where I will be returning to work, so travel won't be much of an issue. Hopefully.

Also, yes, I know I skipped January 29th, even though it would be a big day and I would talk about it a lot. I was scared witless after witnessing the Lexdale Penitentiary Massacre as an outsider, and not a guard, to the point that I actually had to go to sleep early to deal with the PTSD that followed immediately after. Is it normal to be fearful of my life after that experience? I have no idea...

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EDIT: Wording changes
EDIT 2: Fixed a factual error with Lexdale Penitentiary's establishment date.
EDIT 3: More wording fixes

 

The only reason why I gave such an arbitrary date was because I didn't know when exactly the Lexdale Penitentiary was established in-universe. Will edit that.