Black Fortress

Overview

The Black Fortress is the defense against the dangers of The Spiral and is guarded by the Black Fortress Sentries.
The Black Fortress is armed to the teeth with poisoned spears, catapults, slingshots and multi-shot ballistae on top and within the thick walls. A bridge spans over the Spiral, the Winged Cut, guarding from above, delivering death on a daily basis.
It's construction began roughly seven years after the devastating event - which created the Spiral - occured. The Electorial Congregation was formed and consists of nearly every state and race in Koria. One part of it are the Black Fortress Sentinels.
Started as a heavily fortified, guarded and armed camp it grew over the years to its full glory. In spite of the constant attacks from the otherworldly aggressors the fortress grew from week to week even with setbacks when one part of it was overrun by enemy forces.
It was in this time that the Electorial Congregation got another department: the Congregation of Approval. Their only purpose was to recruit and test applicants for the title of the Mortal God.
Those mighty warriors, mages and sometimes berserkers were the ideal defense against the stream of attackers, both on ground and in the air. With their help they guarded the construction sites and with every year the fortress grew in height and width. Its only weak points were the two connectors for the bridge, that will became the Winged Cut in the near future.

"The Black Fortress is huge. It is wide, its walls are so thick you wish it were a barmaid. And against its name it is not entirely black, more of a very dark grey. I had the pleasure to witness one of the furious attacks from the ground of the Spiral. I never had more fear in my body then this time. The ballistae, the ropes of the slingshots... a beautiful symphony of death. But the screams on site of the recipients...lets say, I was glad I could leave the castle the other day."

— Sutler to one of his friends

Purpose

The purpose of the Black Fortress is as simple as it is brutal: to shield the states against the aggressors and to contain them with every force necessary.
The foundations of the fortress reach deep into the ground and are divided into small solid sections. In these sections they placed barrels with high-explosive substances, corrosive liquids and small explosive traps which will emanate lethal gas.
In case of a breach each of the sections had a lever which every soldier could activate. If activated, two things will happen: bells will toll and spears made out of solid iron will be lowered into the tunnels to seal off the foundations.
A second lever in each of the Section Houses (where the commanding officer of each section resides) will activate mechanisms which will raise massive stone gates, cutting off the sections from the rest of the fortress in case the section is overrun.
Each section is one kilometer long and fifty meters wide. The Section House is placed in the middle of each section in the outer wall.

"Oh yes, I built some of those gates. This order was the biggest I had in my life and I had to utilize all of my workers for nearly a year on this single project. But it was worth it. Show me one battering ram or catapult which can break one of those gates."

— Proud craftsman on topic of the section gates

Crew, Ressources & Weaponry

Each section of the Black Fortress has several square towers with at least five storeys and one top level. The top of the tower houses one ballista or one catapult. They can shoot large arrows or big stones over a large distance.
The other storeys are armed with slingshots and multi-shot ballistae shooting through loopholes in the massive walls. They can fire stones, bolts, arrows and explosives (mostly small balls which detonate on impact).
If the Spiral is fully manned and everyone is on his or her station every section has an operational crew of eighthundredfifty (850) people, including officers and excluding Mortal Gods.
Each regiment has a designated service time of five years and will be reassigned after this time. The assignements are publicly visible to everyone in the military or affiliated with the Electorial Congregation. Nearly every state has signed the contract to provide the manpower of at least one regiment and the ressources to keep the Spiral operational.
Around the Spiral small farms and settlements provides the fortress with corn, flour, meat & mead, leather, beverages and other things of daily needs.

"Oh well. If ya going out in the villages ya find ev'rything ya need. Beautiful lasses, beer, mead, craftsmen for ya shows...showes...shoes or trousa'...trousers. Didn't see someone foa the shiny gems but only matter of...matter of the...thing, you know? Time, yes!"

— Drunk soldier to a new Mortal God