The Cumberland Memorial Lighthouse is situated on the north end of Little Cumberland Island, adjacent to the main Cumberland Island. Even though the island and the lighthouse on it are in Georgia instead of Florida, the location is close enough to Jacksonville to be within easy commuting distance.
The Lighthouse
The entirety of Little Cumberland Island is part of the Cumberland Island National Seashore, making it a nature preserve. That means the only viable approach is by boat, as there are no roads on the island, and no bridge connecting it to the mainland. The lighthouse itself is 18 m (60 foot) tall and was built in the nineteenth century, but it has been out of service since the early twentieth century.
Cumberland Memorial Lighthouse is private property and access is not permitted without the owner's permission. So there is little reason for tourists to come here even if the approach was less difficult. The only semi-regular visitors to the island are wildlife managers and biologists (at least officially). However, outside the lighthouse the visitor will find a plaque reading:
| Cumberland Memorial Lighthouse In Memory of the H.M.S. Vigilance and Her Crew. May Her Fate Never Be Repeated. |
|---|
At low tide it is possible to see the remains of the shipwreck of the Vigilance scuttled against the rocks off the coast, a cruel reminder that names are not always omens.
Cumberland Refuge
For most people, the door of Cumberland Memorial Lighthouse leads into the interior of the tower, as one would expect. But if someone keyed into the portal opens the door, it leads to a different place entirely:
Cumberland Refuge is a small bastion created in the Shadowlands, per an agreement between the Infernal Court and the local wraiths. It is meant to serve as a refuge of the court in an emergency, and also as a holding facility for some of the more dangerous artefacts in the court's possession.
Most of the time, Cumberland Refuge is inhabited by only one person: Caelan Chase, former forge master of the court and current keeper of the refuge. The Annunaki has furnished the interior with local materials, which means a large part of the furniture is made out of stone (with the exception of his bed, chairs, and the couch, obviously).
The existence of the bastion is a secret of the Infernal Court. Revealing its existence to people outside of the court, even the court's allies within the council, is strictly prohibited except with the tyrant's explicit permission.
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