The Eerie Horror of Sanctum and Liminal Spaces

An excerpt from "Exploring the Fae and Beyond" written by Elvin Tarkestiv

My name is Elvin Tarkestiv, I am a Faefolk explorer hailing from the islands of the East. I have explored nearly all dimensions in some capacity, aside from several detestable locations such as The Void or The End, for obvious reasons. In my travels, I have seen many beautiful things, coral unlike any other in The Brine, flowers made from a billion different colors in Pax, crystals of pure brilliance dazzling the walls with rays of light in The Underdark. Despite all of this... there is... one dimension that has stuck out from the rest, even from the Omnidrome. One dimension which envokes an existential terror and beauty unlike anything in The Cornucopia. One in which the dread of liminal spaces overtakes your mind and soul, and you are left with an underlying layer of anxiety, and a fear of loneliness. That dimension is Sanctum.

The stories and tales of Sanctum you may have heard in the past, are in fact true. When one enters Sanctum, you feel your body and mind compeletly seperate, yet there is a lack of any sort of astral projection. Your physical appearance deteriorates and diminishes until it disintegrates into nothingness, your body completely turns invisible. Then there is the terrifying experience of actually travelling down deep in Sanctum. For some reason, when I went with a group brave enough to traverese its empty halls, I was completely seperated from them, like the dimension ripped my location entirely from it's position and flung me deeper into its bowls. I was alone, and nothing but the deep sound of wind and silence guided me forward. A complete and utter sense of unknowing, horrifying loneliness, and anxiety clouded my thoughts with uncertain tension. There was a looming sense of dread hanging over the entire dimension. The history of the place is disturbing in itself, but when you are in Sanctum, you can feel it, as thick as the fog that surrounds you.

Directions were also completely altered when deep within its confines. Any sort of technology either ceased to function properly, or didn't work at all, which only contributed to the dead atmosphere. The endless sea of sand and gears around me seemed to stretch on forever, and even stranger was the odd interactions and effects of distance within the place. In my limited knowledge of cartography, I attempted to draw out a map of my general surrondings to better understand where exactly I was. Every night, after sleep, I would wake up to find that my map was no longer accurate. Landmarks grew much further away, the directions I did use did not make sense any more. It was as if the dimension itself was infinitely expanding. Yet, there is no current Mod or ruler under Sanctum's command, no one to give orders or change aspects of the dimension. What is this realm built on top of? What the hell is going on in this place!?

Not a single friendly creature nor any living thing lived or grew in that place. I witnessed several endermen, but of course I stayed my distance away from The End's influence as much as I could. Of course The End would attempt to sink their ugly claws deep within Sanctum, that didn't surprise me. But I needed to carry on; my food supplies were running short, and I never managed to reunite with any of my team whilst I was down there.

There was one last, unsettling encounter that I had down there before I was able to departure. One that chills my bones and makes my blood run cold even to this day when I think of it. I had brought with me a Floating Boat of Unn, a common way to travel as a Faefolk, especially on the trip to Pax. In order for the boat to work, I needed to get very high up somewhere, but the dimension was relatively level in regards to height. That was, until I came across a stark, and tall dark pyramid. My level of unease only grew the moment I laid eyes on it. Just staring at that thing gave me deep gooseflesh. I knew something absoultely atrocious and evil had gone down here, although I do not wish to know what. I had no choice but to climb that wretched thing, and so I recluntantly scuffled in its direction. Upon meeting at its base, a chill went down my spine. My fear had skyrocketed, and I was almost at the point of screaming in consternation. The broken rubble and dark shadows looming nearby made me nearly sprint up the side in fear. When I got to the top, I noticed the entire pyramid was some sort of device, with a vault attached at the peak. Could this have been the device used to kill The Builder? I had no idea; all I knew was I wanted out of there. I set up my boat, and oar'ed away. But before I took off, I could've sworn I heard something absolutely horrendous, something so terrifying it nearly made me die from shock. After getting in my boat, I heard just one, terrible, scream come from the bottom of the pyramid, perhaps underneath it. I sailed away as fast as I could go, and vowed to never come back.

After this experience, I was able to reunite with two other of my team members, who managed to get out a little quicker than I could, from what they described as a giant hand sticking out of the sand. They described it as some sort of statue made from the materials down there. Frankly, they were much more fortunate than me. I can still see the pyramid in my mind, it's looming figure jutting from the surface disgusts me. My curiosity of the place is insaitable now, knowing the mysteries that lie deep within the sands of Sanctum. But I refuse to return to its awful surface, as much as some of the silent beauty still lingered from The Builder's hard work.

I would recommend, dear readers and explorers of the many worlds, you do the very same and ignore its tempting treasures, technology, and history as much as possible.