The Alabast

"The Black Citadel of Xrie Palax..."

On the continent of Golthein... hidden within the city state of Lentokk... far below ground, in the great deepening pit known as the Master Delve... there, only the bravest (or most foolhardy) may discover the obsidian fortress called The Alabast.
Seat of the black throne of Lentokk and home to Xrie Palax, the greatest of the ten Lentokki God Kings, The Alabast is a needle-like tower, sitting at the bottom of the Master Delve. The Delve is an inverted, inside-out tower, shaped like a humongous cone with its widest diameter at the top. It's walls are lined with cavernous rooms, from which the court of Lentokk operates and lives. The Delve is as deep as Mount Celene is tall.

At its needle-like "apex," in this case, the deepest point, sits the actual throne of Lentokk. The Alabast is a black needle jutting upward through the conical depths. It's centered at the narrow base of the Delve, taking up the entire circumference. There is only one entrance into the Alabast, through the jagged spire marking its highest point. Magic, thusly, is the primary means of admittance to the dark needle. And inside sits the Alabast's only resident...
Xrie Palax, "The Deep One..." "...The Unending" (see article).

Within the Alabast, Xrie Palax resides alone, often seated upon his dark throne of Lentokk. He receives few visitors and holds infrequent courts, but his presence is felt everywhere. His closest advisors, if they can even be called close, do not often enter the throne room of the Alabast, relying on communion with the God King via magical means of projection. What Xrie Palax does with his days, what tasks and passions he pursues, are known only to him. Even his "fellow" God Kings rarely, if ever, see the interior of his chambers.
In fact, most of the other nine God Kings resort to governing their empire without the aid of Xrie Palax, day-to-day governance being beneath him. Though ostensibly all of the ten God Kings are each other's equal, it's clear there is a power imbalance when it comes to the Lord of the Alabast. Why the others permit this is unknown, but it is assumed that even they fear Palax. "The Unending" only involves himself in matters of a global scale. He sits within his throne room plotting and scheming, with constant plans to expand his small empire into one that could rival or even surpass his mortal enemy of Wyeth.
There are many outside of Lentokk (and quite a few within) who believe the Alabast itself is merely a myth. A bedtime story to scare unruly children. As few who've actually seen the interior of the "palace" have lived to tell the tale, artists and storytellers are forced to imagine what it might look like...

THE SUBTERRANEAN ATOM SPLITTER

Deep in the pit of Alabast a series of intricate tunnels wind. They create a track of sorts. A hadron collider. It only needs a spark to activate. The god machine. The ascendance.
An evolutionary jump-start. The impatience engine. Achieve godhood today! Why wait for the drip drip pace of evolution? You’ve got things to do!
Is it operated from a special tower?
The Tower of Tir Tirthion

Purpose / Function

The seat of Lentokki power in the east, the Alabast houses but a single, solitary resident, the God King Xrie Palax. "The Unending" doesn't even keep a royal guard. He has no consort. Not even a pet or plaything. He is the epitome of loneliness.

Architecture

The walls of the Deepening Pit are pocked with various caves and settlements, all set to the glory of the God Kings. This is the true face of Lentokk, not the bustling surface city open to travelers. This is darkness.

History

It is unknown exactly when the Alabast was constructed, let alone how it was achieved. When the Sanguine Order of blood mages crossed the World Sea and discovered the original settlement of Lentokk (roughly 1,500 years ago), they quickly seized it, reestablishing it as their seat of power. The rifts and pits that pock the surface of the land, both within and surrounding Lentokk, are simultaneously natural and magical in nature. But one thing is certain, prior to the Lentokki incursion, the Master Delve was not anything near the size and depth it currently occupies. This was the result of slave labor combined with excessive blood magic.
Why the God Kings felt they needed to drill deeper in the earth is yet another mystery, however it's clear that the Alabast is damn near impossible to reach without permission.

The rumored countenance of Xrie Palax...

Alternative Names

The Black Keep

Type

Keep

Parent Location

Lentokk

Owner

Xrie Palax

Owning Organization

The Lentokki