The Ruins of Twinstone lie half-buried beneath the northernmost scorched sands of The Sands of Serrakhan, where shattered stone and sun-blackened timber mark the grave of two once-thriving sister settlements. These twin towns—whose name is aptly known as twinstone—once stood as proud beacons of sun devotion, dedicated in full to the worship of the Primarchs of the Sun, Thavak & Gharok, twin demigods of radiant fury and martial strength.
What began as a covenant of faith ended in wrath. Their downfall would serve as a cautionary tale throughout the Serrakhan Sultanate, though its full truth remained buried—until the arrival of The Sunsations.
History
Founded in the waning centuries of the Fourth Age, the towns that became Twinstone emerged as devout outposts in the desert’s anterior, situated atop modest aquifers and sustained by trade caravans to Shariz and seasonal oases. The townsfolk, many descended from early Vanir and nomadic settlers, venerated Thavok and Gharok as divine patrons of sunlight and protection—warrior-saints who, according to ancient sermons, had once defended the desert’s first pilgrims from Gharazh'uul.
Temples to each Primarch stood at the heart of their respective towns, their twin obelisks rising like golden blades beneath the desert sun. The settlements held ritual combat festivals, sun-blessing ceremonies, and rites of endurance in their name.
But as the Fourth Age stretched on, the region was struck by relentless drought. Crops failed. Wells dried. Trade routes shifted with the changing winds. Starvation swept through the streets, and faith waned.
Wrath of the Twin Suns
In desperation, a faction of the townspeople turned to foreign harvest deities, offering sacrifice and supplication in the hopes of salvation. To the faithful, this was heresy. To the Primarchs, it was betrayal.
According to oral accounts and fragmented murals uncovered by later scholars, Thavok and Gharok descended upon the towns in divine fury. What followed was not a battle, but slaughter. Sunfire seared the skies. The twin temples exploded from within. Streets were sundered by molten clefts, and those who pleaded for mercy found only the silence of ash.
In the end, the twin towns were reduced to rubble, their charred bones left as a warning to any who would abandon their gods.
Intervention of Talus
Decades after the massacre, Elder Talus—then living in exile after the sealing of Malekith—discovered the ruins during his wandering pilgrimage through the Serrakhan wastes. Through remnant ruin-marks, he discerned what had transpired and located the Thavok and Gharok, who lingered still in spectral wrath.
Determining they posed a threat to the elemental balance, Talus lured them into a containment ritual, binding their fractured spirits into a prototype containment relic later refined into what would be called the Dawn Device.
He buried the artifact deep within the desert, leaving behind cryptic runic inscriptions at both the Temple of the Seven Suns and Twinstone, ensuring only the worthy would ever reclaim it.
Sealed by the Sunsations
Centuries passed, and the ruins faded into myth—until the Sunsations accidentally released the primarchs within the Temple of the Seven Suns (see: Primarchs Release).
Guided by the forgotten runes of Talus and haunted by solar omens, they ventured into the broken townships. There, amid the skeletal remains of temples and dust-choked corridors, the spirits of Thavok and Gharok stirred anew—half-formed, burning with fragmentary memory and elemental rage.
A harrowing battle unfolded across the ruins, where the very stones twisted with heat and ancient fury. In the final moments, the Sunsations unleashed the Dawn Device, binding the twin Primarchs once more, this time with permanence.
Current Status
Today, the Ruins of Twinstone remain a scorched and unholy ground. Scattered basalt fragments from the twin obelisks still jut from the sand like shattered tusks. Though the spirits are gone, the land bears the scars of divine wrath—no plant grows, and no animal lingers. Even the desert winds grow still when crossing its threshold.
It is now used only as a whispered landmark by desert guides, and a warning etched into memory: even demigods burn with pride, and the sun is never merciful when betrayed.