Maniero Di Mystwood · No Survey

It started with a rhythmic thumping behind the floorboards—the "heartbeat" of the house. Elias sat in the library, the journal open, when he heard a soft, melodic humming. It was coming from the , a room encased in glass at the back of the manor.

He realized then what the Tithe meant. The house required a —someone to keep its secrets and maintain its physical form, or it would collapse and spill its darkness into the world. Maniero di Mystwood

Elias took a heavy brass key from the journal and inserted it into the clock. He wound it tight, the gears screaming as they ground against decades of rust. With a thunderous tick , the house shuddered. The fog outside pulled back. The shifting walls grew still. It started with a rhythmic thumping behind the