Clavicus' Folly

For years I sought to understand the lost histories. To separate fact from fiction. Now I delve into the greatest mystery of all. The common thread tying all legends from the Age of Conquest. So much was lost when the Usurper fell, the names of its agents, the source of their power. But the stories of that time all tell the same tale: A being of mortal origin sitting on the throne of a mighty tower, armed with enough power to reshape the land itself.
Are these the villains that served the Usurper? Madmen ruling from their throne until they were cast down by the gods' chosen champions? Or are they merely a common story we like to tell each other? The dark lord and the hero, a tale as old as time, or hints of a forgotten past? I must know the truth.

- Clavicus the Enchanter

The Twisted Tower

When traversing the hills and grasslands that lie between the fishing town of Seafoam and the ancient mining city of Darkhallow, the weary traveller might find the endless green and brown disrupted by a solitary structure. Looming over the hills, this tower infers onto the onlooker a sense of disturbing wrongness. The black stone is unnaturally warped, contorting the tower into itself. Cracks into the warp seep out a sickly yellow light. The remnants of forbidden magicks and the folly of a mad mage.

History of the Historian

The tower now only known as Clavicus' Folly was the final experiment of the renowned mage and historian Clavicus the Enchanter. After years of research, Clavicus uncovered hints of the past that were never meant to be uncovered. Clues about the identities of the Usurper's agents, and the devastating power they wielded to topple the Azul kingdom and turn the once-proud nation into a breeding ground for monstrosities. The perfect landing stage the Usurper needed to set off their invasion.
Clavicus found mentions of figures called dark lords, who resided in colossal monuments whose mere existence empowered their lord's abilities and imposed their authority onto the surrounding lands. Rebellion was unthinkable, for a dark lord within his sanctum was nigh-invincible. Nevertheless, all of them disappeared after the first generation of god-chosen emerged. The invasion was repelled and the Usurper cast down into Obscuras. By the time the Age of Conquest came to a close all that remained were the ruins of toppled towers and the horror-filled dungeons below their ruined bases. Treasure-troves for adventurers and mercenaries to this day. The gods meant for the secrets of the Usurper to remain buried, but nothing remains buried for long. Clavicus pieced together the fragments of lost history. And using a tower specifically built for the purpose attempted to ascend to the throne of a dark lord.

The Price of Failure

Unbeknownst to the mage, Clavicus' experiment was doomed from the start. As knowledgeable as the mage was, his scholarly curiosity could not replace the ambition of a true dark lord, the unbridled need to dominate all around it. The timid historian never stood a chance. As mana flowed into the tower the stone could not withstand the sheer power it was designed to channel, just like Clavicus mind and body could not hope to contain the forces coiling through him. Both tower and mage contorted in on themselves. The tower becoming a twisted black ruin, veins of exposed mana pulsating a sickly yellow light. Clavicus himself surviving as a mere shadow of his former self. His body warped into a hideous one-eyed creature, his mind and personality shattered. Now he wanders the tower alone, cursed with no memory of his former self save for the looming knowledge that his current shape was the price of failure.

Architecture

Then

The tower's original design was a simple singular spire with a crenelated top. Small compared to the historical towers it emulated, with virtually no windows and a single entrance made of wooden double doors. The tower's purpose as a magical experiment meant it needed little consideration for defense or comfort. It's most notable feature was the stone it was build off. Constructed entirely out of the Inkstone exclusively mined from the nearby and ancient city of Darkhallow. The tower boasted four floors and a basement. The basement was bare and cold. The walls and ceilings carved with magical runes, each interwoven in a pattern designed to extract mana from the land and funnel it to the tower above. The first two floors served as living areas, where magical constructs of Clavicus' design prepared the mundane things the enchanter needed, such as food, laundry and cleaning. The third floor was the mage's library, where he kept his tomes of magical knowledge and ancient lore. In the middle of the library a spiral staircase led up, but was guarded by a four-armed sword-wielding construct. Only by answering the construct's riddle would anyone else be allowed to pass. The top floor was the mage's sanctum. His personal study and sleeping area. Here Clavicus spent the majority of his days, and it was here he attempted to perform the ritual that would see him ascended.

Now

Today the tower is a ruin. The basement is cold and toxic. The magical runes designed to harness the power now warped by that power into something uncontrollable and unpredictable. The first floor is covered in the dust of decades, the foul air within scaring away all would-be scavengers. The second and third floor are as warped inside as outside, the untamed mana destroying most -if not all- of the once pristine library. Not a clear surface remains. If not warped by the wild magic, then it is covered with manic scribblings. Alien mathematical equations and half-finished magical rituals. All scratched into wood and stone by something sharp, something desperate. The top floor, Clavicus' sanctum, would seem unblemished by what transpired. If one could pass the guardian that still stand watch, they'd find a chamber no worse for wear. Save for the magical circle still pulsating a yellow light, and the shredded remains of a mage's robes within.

RUINED STRUCTURE
199th year of the Age of Heroes

Alternative Names

The Twisted Tower

Type

Tower, Mage

Parent Location

Uncrowned Lands

Owner

Clavicus the Enchanter

Denizens

Constructs

The magical constructs that made Clavicus' fame still wander the tower's halls. Still trying to fulfill their original purpose. Animated suits of armor carry on mundane tasks such as dusting rotten tables and roasting desiccated meat over a burnt-out fireplace. Seemingly normal furniture and decorations remain in the tower's rooms, patiently waiting for foolish intruders to trigger their enchantments, that they may safeguard the master's secrets even now.

Nothic

Shuffling in the background of the plethora of magical constructs, there is the ever present presence of a hunched figure crawling on four legs. Forever peering its one giant eye over shredded books, trying to decipher its meaning. Unable to retain the knowledge it learns, it fervently scratches down its findings on whatever surface is available, only to forget it halfway as it has forgotten everything else. Deep down, it knows it used to be something more and it is desperate to return to that state. A cruel hope that stretches every moment of its existence into unimaginable agony.