Sphinx Gate

The Sphinx Gate opens onto Westerhold and the farms and forests beyond. In Absalom, it straddles the boulevard separating the Ivy District from the Wise Quarter. The First Guard typically uses this gate to access the Cairnlands. Named for the enormous Mother-Sphinx statue overlooking it, the Sphinx Gate was long a site of pilgrimage for Aroden’s faithful. Riddles in numerous human tongues appeared on its inner walls during the worst of the Unraveling Siege in 1742 AR, when teleporting proteans threatened the city. The answer to one riddle, provided by a Tian First Guard recruit, proved instrumental in unlocking a ward that prevented the proteans from controlling the air over Absalom. To this day, many riddles remain unanswered. The First Guard does not permit unknown visitors to see these riddles, for fear it might allow an enemy to usurp control of forgotten magic; however, those who have proven their usefulness to Absalom can get that permission.
The Sphinx Gate is the only one of Absalom’s gates that has never had a single one of its doors broken. Some First Guard take pride in this, but most consider the Sphinx Gate simple to defend because it is so near Azlanti Keep. Posting to siege duty at the Sphinx Gate is regarded as nearly a vacation or early retirement.

Parent Location

Absalom