Ruin of Man
Deep within the Deserter desert, cut into the orange and tan walls of cliff faces, stand structures older than anyone can understand. The ancient cliff dwellings of Ruin of Man were mostly empty villages when passing Darwinists first discovered them, but what the faithful found there changed the site's purpose forever. The Church of Darwin declared this the birthplace of humanity's relationship with the Glow, the origin point from which radiation first touched the species and began its transformation.
There is a problem with this belief: no natural radiation exists at the site. The Darwinists found historical significance but no Glow. Rather than abandon the claim, the faithful began bringing radiation themselves. Pilgrims transport radioactive materials from across the wastes, carrying them to Ruin in the hope that concentrating enough radiation at humanity's supposed birthplace will ignite the next stage of evolution. What began as a place of historical research has become a temple of accumulated intent.
The site serves as a separate Darwinist pilgrimage destination, distinct from the City of Saints, because bringing radiation into the multi-faith city provokes hostility and danger. As more faithful make Ruin their permanent home and more radioactive material accumulates in the cliff dwellings, the growing concentration has become a whispered danger to surrounding areas. The faithful call the place Salvation. Everyone else calls it what it is.
There is a problem with this belief: no natural radiation exists at the site. The Darwinists found historical significance but no Glow. Rather than abandon the claim, the faithful began bringing radiation themselves. Pilgrims transport radioactive materials from across the wastes, carrying them to Ruin in the hope that concentrating enough radiation at humanity's supposed birthplace will ignite the next stage of evolution. What began as a place of historical research has become a temple of accumulated intent.
The site serves as a separate Darwinist pilgrimage destination, distinct from the City of Saints, because bringing radiation into the multi-faith city provokes hostility and danger. As more faithful make Ruin their permanent home and more radioactive material accumulates in the cliff dwellings, the growing concentration has become a whispered danger to surrounding areas. The faithful call the place Salvation. Everyone else calls it what it is.
History
The cliff dwellings were ancient when Darwinists first discovered them, structures cut deep into orange and tan rock faces by hands so old that no one can date them. The site was initially treated as a place of historical research and archaeological curiosity. When the Darwinists declared it the birthplace of humanity's relationship with the Glow, the site's purpose transformed. Research gave way to worship. The faithful began transporting radiation from the Glow Wastes and Toowilluh, hoping the sacred location would spark the next stage of human evolution. The Ruin became a pilgrimage destination separate from the City of Saints because bringing radiation into the multi-faith settlement had become hostile and dangerous. The site grows more radioactive with each new pilgrim, and the surrounding desert grows less safe with each passing year.
Geography
Ruin of Man lies deep within the Deserter desert. Several manmade structures older than can be understood are cut deep into the orange and tan walls of cliff faces. The cliff dwellings were mostly empty villages until discovered by Darwinists. The accumulating imported radiation from faithful pilgrims is transforming the site, making the ancient dwellings glow in ways they never did naturally.
