Old Obliques Abbey

The 'Old Obliques Abbey' is a name applied to a mysterious, abandoned structure located partway up one slope of the equally mysterious Rhombic Obliques. This structure dates back to the 4400's AC and is not associated with any known lost tribe. With no remains and only scant scrawlings in an unknown hand to go by, it seems unlikely that the secrets of the Old Obliques Abbey will be revealed any time soon.

Purpose / Function

While it remains unknown who built the Abbey or what their religion fully entailed, it is known that the Abbey was a religious structure of some sort. The surface structures, which were comprised of local redwood and large, kilned bricks, have long-since collapsed, exposing several rooms which were inset with obvious altars and stone pews. The foundations, which stick out perpendicular to the pull of the nearby cube surface's gravity, contain vaults which extend into the Rhombic Obliques' seemingly infinite mountainside; these vaults are richly-decorated with paintings (see Alterations) and bases for what are believed to once have been wax figures.

Alterations

Fading, but lushly-painted, murals within the undergound portion of the structure depict flowing currents of purple and orange light inset with stellated points. This has provoked some researchers to speculate that this structure may be associated with some ancient sect of Eyes of the Void, but there are no obvious remants of the observation platforms on top of the structure that would come with such a belief system. Others believe that whoever built the Abbey must have had some recollection of The Curved Time or had observed the Celestial Realms in their native state, as indicated in the oral traditions of the Unnamed Ovinex Religion, but the architecture is too advanced for a contemporary ovinex population. Those with the right knowledge of the region suggest some connection with The Cobalt Legacy, though the New Cobalt Protectorate is famously reticent to discuss their extended history with outsiders.

Architecture

While the complex itself is not particularly descript, having been constructed with materials and techniques contemporary to most humanoid species active at the time, what is notable abou the Old Obliques Abbey is its unusual location. The Abbey is located far enough up one of the slopes of the Obliques that it is difficult for modern explorers to linger there without the aid of external oxygen or sealed environment suits. This suggests that, at some point as recent as 4400 years ago, the atmospheric pressure in the Rhombic Obliques was much higher - or, at least, much richer in oxygen - than it is in the modern day. The relative proximity of the Eastern Tesseract and, by extension, the Eiquereus Craglands, may explain this unusual state of affairs. It is known that the Craglands, being a huge pyrite geode, had been a much more chemically reducing environment in eons past; it was only relatively recently in geological history that the massive, iron-rich cubes of the Craglands became almost entirely coated over in thick iron oxide layers, stopping the stripping of water and oxygen from the surrounding environment that ultimately made the Eastern Tesseract on the whole so dry.

Defenses

It is unlikely that the Abbey's builders died off from external forces, as, beyond the lack of signs of struggle, the Abbey's location and thick walls would have made it almost impossible to take using contemporary military forces. Instead, it is now believed that the shift in the atmospheric pressure (see Architecture) played some role in the decline and ultimate depopulation of the site.

Tourism

Pilgrims of various faiths with the means to do so occasionally travel to the site to pay respects to a faith tradition now long forgotten. The Knappist Cobalt Rostrans are the most frequent visitory, travelling to the remote location under the cover of darkness to contemplate what they believe to be yet another clue to the question of who their forebearers in The Curved Time might have been.

RUINED STRUCTURE
4400

Type

Monastery

Parent Location

Rhombic Obliques