The Shroud of Burl
Purpose / Function
The Shroud is an inward facing defensive wall, designed to contain the mindless undead and fell monsters that stalk the ruined city and surrounding area.
The initial construction was almost entirely by magical means, given the pressing nature and scale of the project. The entire six mile-radius encirclement was raised to an initial minimum height of twelve feet in just twenty-two days.
Alterations
Physical construction was not considered finished until it had reached a minimum of twenty five feet in height and six feet in depth at all points. Process slowed considerably after the initial phase, and the project was not declared finished for over two years.
A second, outer wall was constructed a few years later, along with a quarter-mile firebreak, in response to the spread of a blight to the forest beyond the inner wall.
A paved road was thenadded around the north-to-east arc of the outer wall, to replace the roads that had been cut by the Shroud. This reconnected the road network around the Verdant Basin.
Defenses
Because of its vast size, and the largely unintelligent nature of the creatures contained within, the wall is not patrolled regularly. Its full length is inspected twice annually.
The area contained within is forsaken land, and so there are no gates or other means of passage through the wall. The inner face is smooth and slightly beyond vertical, making unaided climbing almost impossible.
From the outside the wall can easily be scaled at several points - although doing so is illegal without a permit.
Streams and minor rivers crossing the construction line were dammed during the initial phase. However, there are three points where major waterways pass through the wall - two flowing in, and one out. In these areas the wall is considerably deeper, to accommodate a complicated system of grates and filtration, designed to remove both creatures and contaminated matter from the water.
History
Following the Fall of Burl, the order of necromancers aiding the Orc armies set about two tasks:
Raising the fallen Virdendran army to unlife, and desecrating the surrounding lands. These developments heightened the pressure on the survivors of the Oakenhart Royal family. This perhaps forced their acquiescence to the new terms offered by the Teriman regime in exchange for help, ultimately ending the monarchical rule of the Oakenharts.
Upon Virdendran subordination, a military detachment was sent to Burl. After initial assessment, the Royal Teriman Engineers were sent for, to provide a containment solution. The Shroud is the result.
Alternative Names
The Stone Veil
Type
Megastructure, Land based
Parent Location
Owning Organization
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