Unreal City,
Under the brown fog of a winter dawn,
A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many,
I had not thought death had undone so many.
–T.S. Eliot, The Wasteland

The mournful tale of the Citadel is not yet done. There is more, so much more yet to say. Come with me into the Keeper Temple, here at the center of the Citadel and witness something so awful, so horrific, it barely bears repeating. It has not been enough for the Citadel to enslave their people to the iron wheel of Time. They have gone further, so much further.

Shh. Be very quiet as you pass this way. Guards are everywhere, and I mean to take you into the innermost sanctum of the Temple, where the Keepers perform the Ritual of Restoration.

Ah. Here comes a funeral procession now. It will not be long before you will see this horrible deed performed.

No one really knows from where this ritual came. Certainly its source must have been Pheric, for he does not forbid its use and is said to produce the Water of Life that fills the Restoration tanks. Yet still, there is something darker, almost unholy about the act that makes me wonder if the dragons have had a hand in the crafting of this rite.

Here they come now. The mourners are all gone, returned to their home. Only the Keepers remain in the sanctum now, prepared to perform the Ritual.

It is so simple, really. Do you see those large glass vats in the middle of the room? They will place the body in one of those vats and then cause it to be touched with the divine essence of Pheric. See? Even now they attach the cable from the ceiling. It will not be long now….

Yes. There is always that scream. The Keepers claim that it is the dragons, raging that they were robbed of a soul. I rather think that it is the despairing cry of the soul being returned to its former home. And now they are finished. Behold, the birth of a new Restored.

The Restored are everywhere in the Citadel. They are used for so many of the dangerous menial tasks that once were performed by the poorest residents. Restored cleaning crews wander the Citadel, cleansing the streets of litter and offal dumped from the surrounding buildings and the Web that hangs overhead. Restored man the simplest of jobs in the power plants and factories that fill the Citadel. Entire cadres of servants wait hand and foot on the wealthy families of the Citadel. They have many other uses as well. Restored troops are herded into combat, expendables with truly nothing to lose. Restored crews man mist ships sailing far away across the Sea of Mist. They no longer breathe and so do not need the clumsy breathing equipment required by mere mortals.

Not everyone can be Restored, though. The body must be in good condition upon death, something that does not always happen in this violent world. Moreover, younger bodies are preferred. The Restoration repairs much of the damage caused by aging, but still better are those bodies that have never aged at all. Frequently capital prisoners are used for the Restoration. The Keepers claim that all receive a fair trial. Some citizens actually believe them. However, there is an even more basic reason why there are not more Restored.

Yes. I see what they are doing. They are placing an implant into his skull, aren’t they? That implant is a control mechanism. It will keep this new Restored calm and docile. Also, when activated with certain keywords, it will allow verbal programming of the Restored. Anyone with the proper knowledge can control one of these poor creatures. Usually the master of a Restored selects the keywords, although I have heard it said that the Keepers implant their own words as well.

Those implants are all that ensure that these Restored to not riot in the streets of the Citadel. Unfortunately, no one remembers how to make those implants anymore. One of these days, the Keepers will run out of implants, and who knows what will happen then? Therefore, whenever a Restored becomes non-functional, the first thing that the Keepers do is recover the implant. Then, if the body is still in good enough condition, the Ritual of Restoration is performed again.

You seem shocked. Yes, a body can be Restored multiple times. This is often done, especially when the Restored has been useful or knowledgeable in the past. He is placed in the Restoration vats once again and is once again drawn forth to an existence of torment. How would you like to spend your existence in a daze, not even being granted death as a merciful release? Or perhaps this existence is just the beginning of a taste of Hell.

However, there is a fatal flaw in the Restoration. It cannot truly restore the brain. Even as the bodily functions are restored, subtle decay in the brain slowly degrades the mental capacity of the Restored. The damage slowly spreads, even over the course of several Restorations, until all that is left is a gibbering wreck, useless for anything.

What is done with these mindless Restored? The Keepers refuse to destroy them. They claim that the essence of Pheric has entered them and that to destroy them would be sacrilegious. Instead, they remove the implants from these worn-out Restored and release them to a place outside the Citadel to roam mindlessly until they are destroyed. Men call them the Howling Lands because of the mindless howling from the hundreds of zombie-like Restored that wander the land. During the Devil’s Hour, when all the machinery lies idle, the people of the Citadel can hear the howling and they cower in their homes for fear that the monsters will get them.

And right they are to fear. Some Restored have been freed from the tyranny of the implant. Not everyone in the Citadel loves the use of Restored. Some fear that their livelihood may be at stake from the free labor of the Restored. Others feel that it is their religious duty to help the enslaved and oppressed. Still others seek to destroy the Citadel by destabilizing it from within. Whatever the reason, many seek out Restored and remove their implants. Some Restored even have the force and strength of will to remove their own implants, although this is very rare.

What these rogue Restored do is anyone’s guess. Some probably flee into the Web, where the strange and outcast are commonplace. Others flee into the wilderness to make their own way in a cold and hostile world. However, I have heard stories of an island in the Sea of Mist called the Isle of Refuge. I have heard it said that many Restored flee there, where all who seek asylum from the Citadel’s purges are welcome. The stories say that rogue Restored, Misbegotten, Blessed, and many others live there together in peace. I cannot say myself, as I have not yet been there. When I do, be sure that I will take you with me.

And so another Restored is led off to his fate. Remember this well, my friend, as you pass through this world. It has been said that there are fates worse than death and it is so very true here. If you are not careful, then it may be you awakening in that Restoration vat, a scream of despair on your lips and your hope left behind in your grave.