Ember Tower
The Ember Tower is a large obsidian obelisk in southern Felimandoo. It is known for being the home of the Circle of Embers and for the distinctive mark it makes on Felimandoo's skyline.
The Ember Tower is on the squat side as far as obelisks go, but still towers above the shops and low buildings that surround it. The exterior is made of smooth black bricks that many claim is actually obsidian, but is more likely a composite material crafted by the wizard-artisans that originally created the building. There are windows that dot the high walls, but they are few and the narrow slits don't offer much in the way of sunlight. At the top of the tower, a large fire burns, seemingly endless as it has never been seen unlit in the centuries since it was built.
While the top of the tower is certainly impressive, it is the base of it that locals are far more concerned with. A large angular doorway sits recessed in each side of the building, each with large, ornately carved doors of a pale grey wood. But the doors are neither here nor there. It is the gnarled swathe of black lava rock that spreads from the base of the tower like a stain that is the topic of whispers. There are those that swear that the dark and empty expanse that separates mundane buildings from the Ember Tower grows a bit larger every year, contributing to the overall size of the city through its mysterious magic. The rest just acknowledge that the rock is weird and scold their children to keep away from it and try to avert their eyes to keep the bad luck from following them home.
Past the ominous expanse of lava rock and the towering walls and the pale grey doors, past all the whispers that call upon the Radiance for protection, past all of that nonsense lies the Pit of Fire. It is the last impressive sight the tower has to offer, a grand hall with vaulted ceilings and designs laid into the tile floor. No matter which door you enter through, you come into the Pit from the western entrance. The eastern door, much smaller than its western counterpart, leads into a cramped hallway, the glamor immediately giving way to a slightly shabby but lovingly maintained headquarters. It is patched and repaired, scrubbed and yet somehow dusty. It is simple and it is practical, from its stuffed library to its well-used study rooms to the sparse meeting chamber at the top of the tower only used by Master Embers.
The Ember Tower was built in 209 AD, when Havika the Havoc-er decided it was high time the Circle of Embers have its own tower instead of running the whole thing out of her house as they had for the last four decades. They brought in a renowned wizard-artisan from the Spring Kingdom and told her to whip up something impressive with her team. Only, once they got past the exterior and the Pit of Fire, the Circle decided that impressive wasn't really their whole deal. They had the artisans build the rest of it in a nice, but more practical manner, with plenty of room for their small but steadily growing organization.
The lava rock only appeared a couple decades later, but it is lost to time just how purposeful it truly was...
In the centuries that passed, the Ember Tower was asked to hold a lot more than a steadily growing organization. As the Circle of Embers became more and more powerful, became the kingdom's most powerful war mages and then struggled through the abrupt decline in public opinion, the Tower was used to headquarter more and more spellcasters. In recent centuries, more and more Embers have become itinerant than ever before, only returning to the Tower as needed, in order to free up space for the growing collections protected by the Circle.
As that time passed and those fortunes waxed and waned, the niceties originally invested in the upper floors were worn down and aged, sold off and half-patched, scrubbed and forgotten. Generations of mages have worked hard to keep the exterior preserved in its impressiveness while they've worn grooves in the interior to accommodate the homey-ness.
And not once has the fire gone out.
Architecture
The Ember Tower is on the squat side as far as obelisks go, but still towers above the shops and low buildings that surround it. The exterior is made of smooth black bricks that many claim is actually obsidian, but is more likely a composite material crafted by the wizard-artisans that originally created the building. There are windows that dot the high walls, but they are few and the narrow slits don't offer much in the way of sunlight. At the top of the tower, a large fire burns, seemingly endless as it has never been seen unlit in the centuries since it was built.
While the top of the tower is certainly impressive, it is the base of it that locals are far more concerned with. A large angular doorway sits recessed in each side of the building, each with large, ornately carved doors of a pale grey wood. But the doors are neither here nor there. It is the gnarled swathe of black lava rock that spreads from the base of the tower like a stain that is the topic of whispers. There are those that swear that the dark and empty expanse that separates mundane buildings from the Ember Tower grows a bit larger every year, contributing to the overall size of the city through its mysterious magic. The rest just acknowledge that the rock is weird and scold their children to keep away from it and try to avert their eyes to keep the bad luck from following them home.
Past the ominous expanse of lava rock and the towering walls and the pale grey doors, past all the whispers that call upon the Radiance for protection, past all of that nonsense lies the Pit of Fire. It is the last impressive sight the tower has to offer, a grand hall with vaulted ceilings and designs laid into the tile floor. No matter which door you enter through, you come into the Pit from the western entrance. The eastern door, much smaller than its western counterpart, leads into a cramped hallway, the glamor immediately giving way to a slightly shabby but lovingly maintained headquarters. It is patched and repaired, scrubbed and yet somehow dusty. It is simple and it is practical, from its stuffed library to its well-used study rooms to the sparse meeting chamber at the top of the tower only used by Master Embers.
History
The Ember Tower was built in 209 AD, when Havika the Havoc-er decided it was high time the Circle of Embers have its own tower instead of running the whole thing out of her house as they had for the last four decades. They brought in a renowned wizard-artisan from the Spring Kingdom and told her to whip up something impressive with her team. Only, once they got past the exterior and the Pit of Fire, the Circle decided that impressive wasn't really their whole deal. They had the artisans build the rest of it in a nice, but more practical manner, with plenty of room for their small but steadily growing organization.
The lava rock only appeared a couple decades later, but it is lost to time just how purposeful it truly was...
In the centuries that passed, the Ember Tower was asked to hold a lot more than a steadily growing organization. As the Circle of Embers became more and more powerful, became the kingdom's most powerful war mages and then struggled through the abrupt decline in public opinion, the Tower was used to headquarter more and more spellcasters. In recent centuries, more and more Embers have become itinerant than ever before, only returning to the Tower as needed, in order to free up space for the growing collections protected by the Circle.
As that time passed and those fortunes waxed and waned, the niceties originally invested in the upper floors were worn down and aged, sold off and half-patched, scrubbed and forgotten. Generations of mages have worked hard to keep the exterior preserved in its impressiveness while they've worn grooves in the interior to accommodate the homey-ness.
And not once has the fire gone out.
Type
Tower, Mage
Comments