Phantom Gatekeeper

The Phantom Gatekeeper was a mocking representation of the goddess Eissa (Lorminstra) from the Shadow World history. It was presumably a dark, hooded figure who guarded the cursed gate of The Graveyard, slamming it shut and shaking its keys at trespassers. These were symbolic of the Keys to the Gates of Oblivion, which were opened by the keys of "Life" and "Death". There was also a key for the "Void", the forbidden one which must never be used. The Void were demonic planes of existence, most notably the Pales, which were often associated with the Unlife. It was why the cult mantra of The Dark Path was "Kadaena Throk Farok", which was Iruaric for "Guardian of the Forbidden."

A cool breeze sweeps around the gate, sending a shiver down your spine.
 
Suddenly, a Phantom Gatekeeper appears.
 
The Phantom Gatekeeper moans loudly as he shakes a set of keys at you. He slams the gate closed, checks the lock, then disappears in another chilly swirl of air.

The Gate

The gate would look like it was on fire, due to being made out of bronze, but topped with iron. When blasted open, the iron hinges released a blizzard of dark red rust, resembling a flame burst. It was inspired most likely by the temple of Orgiana (Eorgina) which was ruled by the daughter of Kadaena, which used rusted iron spikes and a flame burst to threaten the souls of trespassers. The Phantom Gatekeeper tells you that you are not welcome in The Afterlife. Or that you are not allowed to leave. It is possible to climb the gate to enter The Graveyard, but impossible to climb back out from the other side.

[Graveyard]
A massive bronze gate spans the path, blocking the way north. On either side are high stone walls
surmounted with jagged rocks. Now green and pitted, the gate is still locked shut by a rusted
chain fastened with an ancient padlock. A cast likeness of the goddess Lorminstra, Keeper of the
Gates of Oblivion, her Staff of Doom in hand, and a grotesque statue of the Empress Gosaena are
the main motifs of the elaborately decorated portal. You also see a dirt path.
Obvious paths: none.

>l gate
The massive bronze gate is wrought with strange and marvelous metalwork beneath the tarnish.
Although topped with sharp, menacing spikes, it looks possible to climb it.
It is closed.

>look chain
The chain is rusted but intact. It is long enough to leave sufficient slack should that be needed.

>l padlock
The padlock is old and corroded, its mechanism frozen shut by rust.

>climb gate
You carefully grab hold of the sharp grill work and begin to work your way up it.

[Graveyard, Top of Gate]
You find yourself hanging from the ornate ironwork of this gate, the top of which consists of rows of
sharp iron spikes pointing straight up. You might be able to vault over them, but that is best left to
the acrobats.
Obvious paths: down

>jump
With characteristic daring, you decide to vault over the spikes!
With the grace of a swan you swing yourself over the deadly barbs and drop to the other side of the gate.

The huge gate shudders violently! Dark red flakes of rust fall from its massive hinges like a blizzard
of bloodstained snow as it slowly swings open. 

Behind The Scenes

Phantoms were significant for having no awareness of their past or present state of existence, originating in very long imprisonments that bind them in eternal hopelessness. This may have been symbolic of Oblivion, where identity and memory washed away. The Empress Kadaena was portrayed grotesquely, possibly emphasizing her transformative nature. The Dark Path was seemingly proposing being "lost to the demonic" as a superior fate to Death. It was obsessed with "everlasting existence", and may have involved transforming souls into demonic. While the idea is rooted in archaic history, it still has a modern basis, as the forging of demons by sorcerers is a conjectured origin of the verlok.

There is a relatively obvious parallel to this Gate of the Black Hel, which conflates the Gates of Oblivion and Gates of the Void, with the "abandon all hope" Gate of Hell from Dante's Inferno. What is much more subtle is the Egyptian necropolis aspect to its decoration, where each gateway further into the underworld was guarded by two opposite gods and a serpent. Klysus (Luukos) was simultaneously a serpent, sun, and soul devourer god. His relevance to The Graveyard is much easier to miss than Eissa, but he was a patron of the other Etrevions as a result of their fealty to Lorgalis. The underground stronghold with its Klysus cult and the cemetery on the Coastal Cliffs are part of the Etrevion story.