The Argent Wards

Oh, yeah, the Wards. Don't go past those, obviously, they're kind of a big deal.

— a tour guide in the Sunless City

The Argent Wards make the entire city of Limbo possible, fullstop. Don't let the squat stone walls and the couple of scattered towers and buildings built into them fool you! Without them, the city would be ravaged by the harsh winds outside, buried in red sand, and all life would cease to exist as the air rapidly becomes unbreathable. Thankfully, they are constantly maintained by the secretive Department of Silver and their skilled engineers.

Construction and Maintenance

In the beginning of sophont habitation of the plain of Limbo, not a small number of explorers and settlers died from the air and the elements. Many just assumed that building a city on this plane would be ultimately futile, as the red sand of the place would cover any home built and choke out any attempts to grow food or plants giving breathable air. But a few strong mages knew it was possible to create a large scale protective seal on the place. They worked on and spent many long years creating, perfecting, and finally casting a large-scale Ritual to build a protective dome of safe, breathable air that would resist any windstorm.
It was successful and, encouraged by the newfound safety of the realm, more and more mages began to work there. As people moved in, the dome had to be expanded so that there was enough room for their projects - and The Seven, who had begun to make the demi-plane into their base of operations. Recasting the Ritual took a lot of power, and increasing the area of the enchantment meant a reduction in the time before its next recasting. At a point about ninety years ago, the Ritual of the Argent needed to be cast continuously in order for the Wards to remain intact. That was incredibly taxing on resources, time, and the energy of the mages who cast it, and one little mistake could mean disaster for the thousands of people living there.
Thankfully, a beautiful invention by a young inventor, Hama'o of the Silver Coast, changed everything. She had been studying the Vim Rods of her homeworld of Dreandril to see if it could be adapted to the Argent Wards. To her surprise, the Magicstorm-deflecting towers of Dreandril could be repurposed to deflect more mundane clouds of dust and sand in Limbo, and they could create a strong barrier to help keep air and other necessary elements inside. She was given a hero's plot in the Sixten Gardens for her work, and now every engineer who works on the Wards thanks her daily for her hard work.

Type

Wall section

Parent Location

Limbo

Ruling/Owning Rank

Ward Inspector

Owning Organization

Department of Silver

Appearance

A large stone wall surrounds the city, made with a stark granite-like stone that matches the paving stones of the city. Above the walls is a large silver-coloured dome that arcs over the city, hence the name "Argent Wards". At one point in the wall, perpendicular to Main Street, a large grey stone building houses the engineers who work on the Wards and their required equipment.

Security

Much of the important work of the Department of Silver is kept secret for security reasons. If an enemy of the Seven were to learn the ins and outs of how the Wards work, they could theoretically dismantle them or damage the enchantment, causing untold devastation to those inside. For that reason, only the highest ranks of the Seven and the Department of Silver have access to the blueprints, ritual books and other required materials, and it is impossible to learn more than the basic information given in this article.