The Spire of Detlav Manfred

Detlav Manfred, the infamous dark magician, left innumerable marks upon the face of the world, but none are as well-known or as sought after as his Spire. The Spire was his laboratory, his home, and his seat of power, towering above the frozen Sea of Snow, visible for miles around. Countless explorers, historians, and aspiring mages have set foot inside the tower, looking to claim small pieces of Manfred's legacy, but next to none have returned. Though the mage is long dead, it seems, his home defends itself just as aggressively.

Purpose / Function

Detlav Manfred built the Spire early in his career with the intention of using it as a laboratory for testing his spells and enchantments. In time, however, as Manfred became more infamous, more powerful, and more wanted, the Spire turned from a research site to a veritable fortress.

Alterations

When the original Spire proved insufficient to protect Manfred and his creations, measures had to be taken. The tower grew taller, wider, and more imposing, with entire floors being dedicated to complex magical traps that could tear an intruder to pieces in an instant. Beneath, a labyrinth was carved into the miles of ice and filled with the worst of Manfred's bestiary, a sort of jail-meets-death trap for any would-be thieves. More recently, the remains of an adventuring party returned from the tower with strange and incredibly concerning news: the Spire attacked them. While this is anecdotal at best, and the surviving members of the party were in varied states of shock, authorities have determined that they were not referring to the various traps within the tower; instead, they referred to the very building, which "came to life and tried to crush [them]...it was bloodthirsty." This development, in concurrence with the recent disappearance of an artifact containing a portion of Manfred's soul, has some historians worried that the Spire itself is now among the host of objects, creatures, and locations inhabited by pieces of Manfred's mind.

Architecture

Despite its imposing nickname, the Spire is not actually black. It is primarily composed of thick layers of ice, carved to resemble bricks despite the fact that the tower itself is actually carved from a single block of ice. Intricate murals are carved into the base of the tower, while the top of the tower comes to a nasty point, where a blinding orb of light hovers.

History

The Spire is believed to have been raised sometime in the early 500's AM, although the timeline is hard to pin down. Manfred conducted his research and experiments there until sometime in the 540's, when the Council of Danteldindar issued a warrant for his arrest, at which point he began his modifications. The labyrinth beneath the ice was completed around 570 AM, but Manfred continued to modify and upgrade the tower's defenses until his death. In 662 AM, the Council of Danteldindar, in conjunction with the rulers of Kalana, announced an initiative to actively prevent items and creatures created by Manfred from getting to the Spire, as there had been a strange surge of Manfred-created items and beasts disappearing from their original locations, and reports of them being seen at or near the Spire. The aforementioned adventuring party revealed the Spire's seeming intelligence and animation in 778 AM, and since then no official action has been taken due to the fact that this is the only report of its kind.

Alternative Names

The Black Glacier

Type

Tower, Mage

Owner

Detlav Manfred

Characters in Location

• Valted Manfred