The Clocktower

Written by
Pashaman Gaheltno

"We stood at the foot- or should I say the head?- of the structure. Its slick black walls, marred with cracks and gashes, rose above us as we stared the thing up and down in utter disbelief. The tower. To this day, I still do not understand why or how this occurred. Dumb, crazy luck I suppose.
I wished Braccus were there. Her heavily muscled figure would've made me feel all the more safe.¹ Who knew that the entity which gave our race eternal life, should we keep it, could be so daunting? It floated at the edge of the cliff, suspended in the air by unknown means, surrounded by equally buoyant stones, made of the same material and some around half the size of the structure itself. The face of the tower stood in front of us, beckoning to me. I simply could not resist. I gathered my wits about me and strode toward the unknown.
I noticed two things when I reached the face. First thing: the face of the tower, upon closer inspection, was entirely blank, the same as all the material surrounding it. Second thing: I felt as if there was nothing in front of me at all. Like I was seeing a mirage. A grand illusion, made of the finest black matter, shimmering in front of us as we play right into its elaborate game- a game that I knew we would lose. I wasn't entirely sure how far the drop was from the edge of the cliff, but it would no doubt have been enough to kill me, and unfortunately my ability doesn't give me the proficiency to create lift in thin air. Gods, do I envy those endowed with such potential.
I reached my hand out toward the face of the tower, feeling every fiber of my being telling me it wasn't worth it. When my hand reached it, I'm not sure what I was expecting at the time. It certainly wasn't the expectation of my hand going straight through a seemingly solid outer wall, much less being sucked into said wall and ending up in an well-furnished, well-lit room. The walls were black, but a lighter, more solid color than the black of the outer walls. There were 4 chairs, a leisure seat, a table covered in various glassware, liquids, and instruments of unknown origin and purpose, and a massive collection of clocks adorning the walls. Each one was set at a different time, and all of them were ticking, or buzzing, or beeping, or whatever sound they're supposed to make, I can't remember entirely. I saw this from what I assumed was the right way up, for it was all on the ceiling. It then occurred to me that I was neither upright nor standing on any conceivable solid object. I was suspended in air- but not for long. I felt something give, and I tumbled to the true floor. As I turned back toward my unlikely entrance, I found that everything I left behind was now upside down. Shulak's movements made me slightly giddy as I saw her screaming what I assumed was my name whilst completely the wrong way up. At the time, of course, I was unaware that I was the one who was the wrong way up. I reasoned that she'd be fine. Of course, the only problem for me at that point was figuring out how to get out without hurting myself."- Pashaman Gaheltno, Eunjeck Entho. A Journey Beyond Understanding- An Epilogue

¹I would like to clear the notion that I have any relation with Braccus Grier other than a professional one. Simply put- my current mate makes me feel much safer.

Purpose / Function

It is from this structure that the Clockmaker controls and witnesses the weave of time and space, balancing it when needed and shepherding the gods throughout. It has no other revealed purpose, but some speculate that it is much more than it appears to be (and it appears to be quite a lot).

Architecture

The structure is roughly 601 meters tall, and takes the shape of an upside-down tower made of an obsidian-esque substance. It is surrounded by debris, arguably old scraps and chunks of its former shape. The midsection of the tower is a cylindrical shape, with small imperfections in the form of pits, gashes, and missing chunks or shavings. The top (bottom?) is shaped like a large hexagonal prism crowned by a tapering spike. There are no perceivable doors or windows.

History

The Clocktower appeared to the Ausran people not long after they began to appear on the surface of Auser. It has since been manned by one Ausran steward at a time, known as the Clockmaker. Each Clockmaker can last for any given span of time, but the there has never been a Clockmaker that has lasted longer than 1 million Terran years.

Alternative Names

Vesiaar (direct translation)

Type

Natural Wonder

Owner

The Clockmaker

Related Historical Events

• Circa 1200, or The Days of the First Clockmaker
  The Emergence of the Clock Tower