The Dungeons

The dungeons are a remnant of the time when the Tower was simply the royal palace, but that is not to say that they do not get used, for either their new or original purpose. In truth, most of what is known of the dungeons is pure speculation. Hearsay and rumors that no one can pin down a source for is the only real source of information, but that does not stop people from generally accepting them as truth. In truth, none of the “known” information about the dungeons could be true as people who actually see them don’t tend to make it out, leaving each rumor to add to the new truth of the dungeons.
No one ends up in the dungeons merely by fighting against Ra or his subordinates, there is the prison of Tartarus after all, but if you are believed to have information or want to be made an example of, you will soon find yourself being transported to the Tower of Souls. Any and all resistance leaders against Ra, of whom there is increasingly less each year, know to carry a pouch of cinder root with them, because it is far better to die painlessly with a mouth full of cinder root than to be subjected to the tortures of the priests.
Not all prisoners of the dungeons are tortured however, assuming any prisoners are actually tortured there at all. Given that the Tower was once a palace, many of its stately bedrooms are still intact underneath the Tower, though their level of luxury has waned. Ra does not support torture to its own sake alone, for even he sees no pleasure in unnecessary cruelty, and understands that sometimes an open hand is better to use than a fist. This does not mean that should you find yourself in one of these bedrooms that you will be staying in a life of leisure, however. It simply means one of two things. Firstly, that Ra sees himself as a legitimate ruler and not a despot, for rulers treat themselves and their guests with dignity, even if it is only superficial. Secondly, and more importantly, it means that he doesn’t want you to be physically broken down for whatever he has in store, because he will need his prisoners in good physical shape in order to mold them as he sees fit.
Though the dungeons do bring to mind pictures of prisoners, chains, and racks, those are not the primary functions of the Tower’s dungeons. Throughout his reign on Venus, Ra has built many devices and contraptions to better observe, pursue, and capture his enemies. Flying disks that patrol the landscapes, the weapons and armor that his soldiers carry into battle, and even more that border on the line between scientific and magical. Aside from the Tower itself, one of the most significant inventions to come from the Dungeons have been the Oculi, or as most people call them, the Flying Eyes.
The Flying Eyes are large spheres that travel the planet’s surface, constantly watching and reporting back to Ra. These autonomous devices are roughly five meters across, with a glowing pupil in the center, giving them their eponymous name. If you are caught within the vision of an Oculi, you should run until you are completely certain it could not have followed you and then run some more. Only one has ever been brought down before, where they found the crystal within. Even Ra could not find where the Oculi had disappeared to, but whoever got their hands on that technology has not yet revealed themselves.

Type

Dungeon