The Magister's Lair:

Located near the central region of the Sahara, slightly to the east of the Ahaggar mountains and delving within the Libyan Desert, what appears to be an enormous slab of black rock extends towards the skies. An artificially grown jungle expands across what once was sand, though its composition has been tampered with, ultimately shifting the entire scenery and transforming it all into rich and fertile dirt. The whole area – a kilometer around the tower – is saturated with mana and rich in Mist, often producing illusory images and messing with the minds of weaker creatures, such as humans or simple Earthly animals. The Mist often takes the form of an iridescent – though usually orange – semi-transparent fog. Light at the edges of the jungle, the quantity and density of the Mist becomes higher the closer one gets to the tower.

The effects on the Mist vary wildly depending on the length of exposure and strength of the fog. For example, animals like dogs and cats could suffer mutations to their bodily structure, growing larger and consequently stronger, their reflexes could see themselves magically augmented, and they could even gain the capability to utilize low level magic attacks as though they inherently possessed them. In rare cases, such creatures can gain heightened cognitive processes, becoming monsters that are eventually sought after by hunters and researchers alike. Beings that are used to constant exposure to magical energies won’t see any change on their physiology or thought processes, naturally being capable of pushing the mental disturbances aside as well. At most, they’d only perceive a small buzzing in the back of their minds.

The once normal-looking jungle has also undergone several changes over the years of exposure to the Mist, as trees and plants evolved while taking in the rich magical energies permeating the environment. Fly traps have developed, becoming deadly man eating plants with enough intelligence to lure their prey through an array of scents and slight psychic skills to project sounds and illusions alike. Common predators have evolved into ferocious beasts that assault each other or sometimes escape the jungle in search of better prey. Most of them perish in the desert, though very few have been rumored to reach small human settlements, either devouring each and every single individual in the camps or meeting a premature death at the hands of men.

The natural defenses of the magister’s lair rely on both the Mist and the creatures within his jungle, but there’s more than meets the eye. First and foremost, several layers of enchantments surround the extent of the area – barriers encompassing the width and length of the jungle – that quite literally drive prying eyes away. This is done carefully and mostly through the beholder’s senses. Were a human traveler gaze upon the jungle from afar, they would regard it as nothing more than a mirage and carry on with their travels. The barriers simply suggest at the impossibility of a jungle in the middle of the desert and amplify the individual’s common sense according to Earthly ways. In the event that the traveler/s still found themselves drawn to the jungle, another series of enchantments kicks in merely to rearrange the thought processes of the humanoid/s staring upon the vast greenery. If all the above should fail, a third defensive measure ensures that whoever attempts to approach the jungle simply keeps walking in a straight line, giving them the illusion that they’re making progress but never actually growing closer to the magister’s true lair.

There exists a particular spot in the jungle where Vincent grows many different kinds of plants, herbs, and even vegetables and fruits. The trigger to reach this place exists as a slab of stone hidden deep within the underbrush and protected by a small puzzle. It is unknown even to the magister why the artifacts that make up the puzzle are completely indestructible, but the magic that binds it together also spreads throughout the entire area, rendering that portion of the desert under it protection. Even when Vincent punched the objects countless times, not a single dent was left upon its stone-like surface. In any event… Once the puzzle is solved, stepping on the slab of stone practically allows access to this specific pocket dimension.

Named the “Pleasing Garden”, it’s a conglomeration of illusions and vast corridors that, unless one knows the exact way around them, it is impossible to travel through. Naturally, plates with riddles and what not exist all across the walls of the Garden, and there’s even a couple signs in areas where walls are practically nonexistent. It is of note that any power that would allow one to skip the trials of the Garden is automatically restricted upon entry, which basically makes people stepping inside the dimension no different from a common human. Vincent seems to be the only one exempt from that rule, believing that the pocket dimension is akin to – if not exactly the same as – a Reality Marble.

Perhaps the Reality Marble, capable of dictating the rules within it, has an effect on the portion of the desert that the slab protects. Seeing as how Vincent is one of the few who has been able to decipher the contents of the puzzle and access the Garden, it could be inferred that the Reality Marble has allowed him to control the laws and rules in effect within his lair and within the pocket dimension as well. The truth of the matter, however, is unknown even to the Fiorelli.