Description
arrow The World
Welcome to Gaia, the lynchpin of all times and realms, its geography varied and composed of deserts, mountains, rolling plains, vast wastelands, and all the like. It seems that order in most things has been lost, and almost nothing is dependable. The sun does not always rise in the right place, and sometimes does not even complete its arc across the sky. Time seems to run at different rates all throughout this plane, and weak spots in reality called thinnies often offer no distinction between one area and the next. Relative to where you so choose to go, the world seems sparsely populated and dangerous, filled with mutants both human and animal. Vast swaths of land are irradiated from some ancient wars of technology. Relics of the old world's technology exist mainly in perverted, deranged, or damaged forms that usually threaten instead of help the last remnants of civilization. Among this all, demons and robots are to be found, and governments do not oft extend beyond the town level.
Now, come, to a land that once stood against the queers and fears of Gaia!
arrow The Crater
The only thing left of the old Warmaker lands, in what was once the Durem Reclamation Facility, is a giant crater spanning ten miles across and one mile in depth. The barren landmark is surrounded by rocky cliffs and steep inclines, beyond this lying the outside lands (Durem to the immediate west, Barton to the far east, Gambino to the north, the sea to the south, and everything in between). For all directions, this realm is torn to the brim, a basalted landscape filled with sands the color of deep rust and dotted periodically by scraggly lone trees and pinnacles of stone. A once deep blue sky is now naught but a canvas splashed with crimson and shades of black, serving as a window to other worlds and realms, for dotting it--and visible even in daytime--are planes mistaken for planets and stars.
From its bleeding skin, the earth spews forth jets of fire that run in rivers of pure flame, the sight of which will bring a passion to any fighter. The heat and rupturing nature of the expansive area will test the endurance of all, allowing for training and large-scale battles to be done here.
arrow The Forests
At the center of the wastes is a very large woodland roughly two miles in diameter. This terrain is dark and composed of jagged rocks, cliffs, and a mass of scraggly ashen trees and snags that have been smoked out and stripped bare, yielding only the shadows as their leaves.
arrow The Lake
At the center of the forests is a wide and shimmering lake. It is surprisingly peaceful for residing within such a place, bearing a silvery surface which reflects the inner being, seemingly lit perpetually by the light of some inward dual moons. Large, white spikes and pylons jut out of the embankments and in random areas. The waters are cool, so feel free to bathe, relax, or drink from this source, for its touch offers up clarity for the spirit and taking a draught will bestow upon one renewed vitality and health.
arrow The Castle
Upon walking along the beaten trail through the dead forests which runs from the south toward the north, one would come first upon a field of prismatic black roses and then a steel drawbridge thicker than any blast door which lay across a dark moat, frightening sounds and screams echoing up from the abyssal depths. Beyond this obstacle are towering ebon complexes and spires that threaten to split the empyrean skies above and are of such radiating blackness that the sunlight might not permeate it for fear of a counter-attack, the blocks and cinders seemingly composed of giant, interlocking and interwoven blunt bolts tens of feet thick for maximum reinforcement.
On the other side of the bridge is a set of a two gargantuan mahogany doors, polished and black, and nearly one hundred feet high. Strange red-and-black runes are inscribed upon the surface of the doors, and a handle is roughly five feet up and seems to serve only for the purpose of rapping on said doors. It is not recommended that one attempt to enter without granted access or prior permission, lest a horrid fate befall the soul.
Two gate-towers lay on either side of this entrance, hexagonal in shape and three stories high. The ground floor of these towers contain guard rooms, the first floor residential quarters and the machinery used to operate the portcullis and draw up the bridge by the chains attached, and the second floor used by the garrison and for weapons storage.
If one were to be granted entry, what lay ahead would be the grand hall. The walls are decorated with detailed images of glorious battles and victories and are lined with great, stone statues, the missing eyes of which seem yet somehow to peer into the very soul of intruders upon walking this forbidding aisle of crimson carpeting. After a seemingly eternal walk, one will eventually come to passages leading left and right through the walls of the castle along with a gatehouse, half-oval gates opening up upon permission to the inner ward, which is the open town square of the castle.
The ward is gigantic, and it is here that the main castle activities are carried out. The lake is actually at the center of this area, the castle walls having been built around it. Tents, huts, shops, manors, housing centres, and various other fortifications and quarters ranging in level of sophistication dot the cobblestone vicinity, a village within the castle. Many individuals from all over the world have quickly flocked to become a part of this simple and easy life, having established businesses and positions within the community to carry out. Baliffs alott jobs to the people and help with housing repair, barbers cut hair, blacksmiths take care of the forging of weapons of simple make, bottlers take care of the wine and drinks, carpenters aid in construction purposes, castellans serve as the resident custodians, chamberlains handle personal finances of the castle and its people, chaplains provide welfare for members of the castle garrison, clerks manage accounts and wages, cottars do any odd jobs, falconers are highly-skilled experts in the care and training of hawks in falconry, glaziers cut and shape glass, keepers of the wardrobe take charge of tailors and laundress, marshalls oversee trade and care for goods, minstrels provide entertainment and singing during festivities, reeve divisions supervise work and time management, scullions wash and clean, shoemakers provide varying footwear, squires are knights-in-training and take care of horses and weapons, watchmen provide village security, woodworkers gather wooden materials from the forest, and there are plenty of other positions and careers to provide for this life. Feel free to seek out one's own place amongst such hustle and bustle.
The castle itself is concentric in design, basically having walls within walls where initial walls are higher than outer walls to allow for soldiers fighting from the garrison to avoid hitting their fellows. The outer curtain, or walls, run rectangular about the entire area, with the moat outlying. Drum towers, similar to small gate-towers, are positioned within these walls for the purpose of housing men, supplies, and weapons alike, and for a broader place to position oneself in the defense against would-be attackers. Behind the outer curtain, the walls of which stand some one hundred feet high, is an area of grass which encircles the inner curtain much in the same manner as the moat encircles the outer. The inner curtain is simply the next set of walls, the main walls, being more than two times higher than the outer curtain and surrounding the inner ward. Halls span through this inner curtain, with windows and doors for access to the ward or the larger towers of the castle.
On the western side of the castle is one of the three main towers. This tower is home to a vast library whose subjects range from arcane arts and alchemy to histories of forgotten times of Gaia and even other worlds and planes. This is also a school for those adept in magicks and training to become knights, and in the upper floors is where meetings are held.
The eastern tower is marked by barreling smokestacks. It is home to various productions, such as the maintainment of coal for fireplaces and heating purposes and the forging and casting of war metals. This leads into the armory where large pits of fire exist, the workplace of captured enemies fit for the work of slaves. A prison lies beneath even the darkest subterranean levels of this area for those who cannot be controlled, where it is rumored that individuals are dropped into deep and nearly inescapable pits which contain the feeding grounds for vicious atrocities.
The third and final great tower is the magna turris, located in the northernmost area of the castle, at the very end of the inner ward. This very wide and very tall, cylindrical structure is the main area for those elites of Warmaker stature. The ground level serves as the guardhouse and training area, the walls laced with weapons of diverse armaments, so do not hesitate to partake in a good spar in this dojo-like arena. In the very center is an operable grav-lift, indicated by a round panel of red carpeting with golden trim, which will lead one deep into the underground escape tunnels of the crater which eventually connect to the sewers of near City Durem. Stairs are located at the bottom-right corner of the guard room, which spiral down into the basement and up to the main lobby. The floors in the lobby are waxen black hardwood. To the far right of this chamber are chairs and couches and a magnificent brick fireplace. To the far left is a bar with all of the necessities for mixing drinks and the like. In the middle is a long table for royal dining. In the far back, separated from the lobby, is the kitchen. Here are multiple ovens, each big enough to roast two or three oxen at the same time. The resident and lavish pantry full of drinks and fresh food is here. The water supply, for washing dishes and such, is piped from cisterns and all connects to the lake at the center of the grand castle. Rafters criss-cross the high roof. The stairs which lead up to this area can be followed up another floor, which is where the dormitories for the Warmakers are, each given his or her own room separated from the rest for privacy. The sleeping chambers have elaborately carved beds, outfitted with feather mattresses and silky quilts along with canopies and curtains. One more floor up will lead one to the leader's personal throne room, and atop the roof is a rooftop arena for bouts to the death.
Lighting throughout the castle is maintained through torches and chandeliers, and latrine towers and privies are located all about for bathroom purposes.
Defenses
arrow Natural
Harsh environment.
Mutated beasts and necrotic beings roam the wastes and linger in the forests.
The actual wastes themselves are a sea of sandwyrms, long serpentine creatures seen growing up to one hundred feet long that both breed and live in the churning sands, seemingly immune to the heat of the vast area. To the mishappening traveler, beware, for these shimmering tan monstrosities which dive like leviathan in and out of their dry ocean should not be hard to spot from the cliffs surrounding the crater.
Packs of wolves, seemingly the only natural creatures residing within the forests, lurk in the underbrush and appear much in the form of an army when the moon is full.
arrow Manmade
The actual castle is a home to both olden ways of life and strikingly post-modern technology. High-watt spotlights and machinegun turrets have been set up all about the walls and perimeter, along with clusters of other long-range and explosive weapons, usually situated atop the drum towers and battlements.
A couple hundred inhabitants reside here beside the Warmaker elite, some of which are gifted in magicks and combat styles all their own, and these men and women will not halt to arm themselves in the defense of their kingdom.
Slits line the walls for the purpose of striking against attackers from within.
The footing of all castle walls is angled, along with the walls themselves, in order to counter any threat of undermining and to cause dropped missiles to ricochet horizontally. The keep itself is round, making it difficult to undermine as well and causing ballistics to glance off of its sides.
The drawbridge can quickly be highered through the efficient system of pulleys and counterweights, of which groups of guards constantly monitor.
Murder holes line the entry hall beyond the great mahogany doors.
Vehicles are provided for those daring enough to attempt to brave the southward path through the forests which leads to the even furtherly daunting wastes. These are heavily armored, often with several inches of titanium, and can be used in mobilized defense of the guild.
There is little electricity within the castle, and therefore, most everything is battery-powered or powered by some other means. However, what electricity there is is provided by means of a generator that lies within the basement of the magna turris.
The walls of the castle, tens of feet thick and up to two hundred feet high in some places, provide not only a great physical defense but are also highly resistant to all forms of magic and weathering effects.
The depths of the moat are seemingly endless, preventing any form of undermining from outside the castle walls.
A rune system of arcane prowess has been established all about the perimeter of the castle to the edges of the moat and some five hundred feet into the air, maintaining a planar anchor. This prevents assaults of realital, dimensional, planar, and similar magnitudes upon the kingdom, and also halts all forms of teleportation within the confines of the area.
The runes inscribed upon the mahogany doors at the entrance uphold an astral gateway beyond them. Only by grabbing the knocker five feet up on the doors and rapping thrice will the runes and the gateway be deactivated. Otherwise, if one simply walks in, he or she will be instantly sucked through and gated to the astral plane, there to suffer a fate in the transitive realm of spirits and deities and to be torn apart by the forbidden.
75 Synthi wingmen patrol the skies all about the crater. These can be likened to great mechanical dragons with wingspans ranging from fifty to over one hundred feet in breadth. The creatures, like the rest of the Synthi, can sense if invaders come with hostile intent or not. The dragons secrete chemicals from glands within the mouth which jet out and contact at a distance of twenty-five feet, producing a torrent of napalm. Like the rest of the Synthi units, these creatures operate and organize extremely well in groups and can tell when a fellow has fallen.
75 Synthi footsoldiers patrol the castle, the forest outside of it, and stretch all the way out to the crater as well in the form of lone patrols. Most of these gothicly-armored giants reside deep within the armory, forging weapons with the use of their fire and earth magicks, but can and will be grouped and called to arms on the slightest indication of war.
30 Synthi assassins operate castle businesses and patrol along with the footsoldiers. These individuals usually walk about in human guise, wearing sleak black suits and hair of the same color greased back. However, they are composed of a regenerative metallic pseudo-flesh which is stronger than steel, able to contort and stretch their bodies at will or turn limbs into blades capable of rending aforementioned steel. Wherever shadows lie, these stealthy creatures can travel at will.
15 Synthi marauders lie in wait always in the form of pure shadow, lurking usually within the forests. These creatures, when materializing into their hulking true form, are always preceded by a chilling silence and seem to cast great shadows wherever they go. These serve as the juggernauts of the Synthi, providing a means of travel for the assassins while sharing in the fire and earth magicks of the footsoldiers.
Stone golems, seemingly conjured up from the very walls of the castle, patrol the lands to the very edge of the crater and stand sentinel about the forests and walls, naturally resistant to the heat and other weathering elements of the place. They seem to be able to travel wherever any solid surface lies, able to blend in with the ground and then remold to take humanoid form at will.
