The Tomb

The tomb is a throne, a location used in dramaturgy that represents both a setting and a Realm of magic.

Realm: Winter.

Setting: The Tomb may be an actual tomb or mausoleum, or it may be a graveyard or even a battlefield after a battle. Rituals that take place in the tomb can be mournful tragedies, chilling ghost stories or dark morality tales, but usually have a sinister undertone. The Tomb may also be represented by the Gate or the Door - a transitional point between one place and another where conspirators meet, or where characters are separated from each other or from the things they desire by the final closing of a door.

Characters: The Doctor and The Prince are strong characters in this setting; they wield authority and deal with questions of life and death. The Doctor sometimes becomes a gravedigger in this scene, while the Prince may be re-imagined as a ghost, or sometimes even an eternal.

Magical Style: This is often a location where someone is cursed, doomed or condemned for their actions. It is a place where things come to their conclusions, and it is a place where promises and oaths are made, especially between conspirators or in the name of a dead person.

Rituals that create curses, that inflict weakness or venom, or that deal with fear and dread are often enacted here. Any ritual that invokes themes of the past, or of wisdom, may also benefit from being set in the tomb. The most obvious use for the tomb location is in rituals that deal directly with the dead such as Whispers through the Black Gate.

The Dolmen

A rare incarnation of the Tomb, found almost exclusively in the northern Marches, is the dolmen. A specific arrangement of stones, these dolmen have occasionally been used to mark ancient tombs, burial sites, and Winter regio. Some mummers recreate these dolmen in their plays or stage irregular performances in which an old dolmen forms a pivotal part. Ritual magic enacted in and around dolmen is primarily associated with the binding or communicating with ghosts.