The Great Unlearning, and the ruined Tri-Towers in the Ash
In the western center of Atma’Zae, the bent and skeletal remains of what was once a city of higher learning lies abandoned, broken and cursed under a hazy and poisoned sky. Those that dare to gaze upon the remnants of the Ash Crossroads speak of the sight of gloriously colorful and enigmatic ruins. Stabbing ever skyward, three decimated towers still arise from the embers of a capital city which was contaminated by volcanic powder and shook by a series of earthquakes not but four decades previously. These are the Towers of Magick, Industry, and Insight. Now resting in the desolate, nothingness of the Ash, the books of the Realm’s history are piled messily in fields of stacks below the Tri-Towers. It is rumored that so much as the delicate touch of one’s fingertips can turn these fields of books to hovering cinders, for their information is forbidden and forever better unlearned. Once known as Qraeto, this once-city is best left entirely evaded by travellers seeking to avoid the loss of their sanity, and their very lives.
The Tri-Towers once represented a delicate balance of illusion and devices, a place where the Ancient Gods first placed the Tomes of Foundation into a mound that became a great tower by men in the Enlightened Age. The southern and northern towers stood for the concentrated magic of the South, and the impressive and innovative industrial technology of the North. Written knowledge, and the application of this knowledge was vital to this city’s identity and was stored in the tallest and most ancient tower, the Tower of Insight. Only dedicated scholars, magickal bards, holy paladins and ethereal mages of the Realm were allowed access to study in the Tower of Insight. All through the Enlightened Age, cultures of the North and the South waged a cold and then hot war for control over the Realm. When this war reached its very peak, two twin-volcanoes thought to be inactive suddenly spewed molten lava and smoke. Mount Eden of the Northwest, and Mount Eve in the Southeast suddenly came to life once again, and covered the World in an ashen shroud that permanently concealed the Three Suns and the Moon.
The Ruins of Qraeto still sparkle, as the shattered stones and stained-glass ruins bend the light of the region’s aether into constantly changing neon hues that still make the city appear alive and active. Those that dare to amble through the Ash Crossroads have reported intense nightmares just before, during and months-after their journey through this region. To stay in this province for a mere fortnight is to go gradually mad, and then suffocate and perish beneath a visually stunning and toxic atmosphere. Over the millennia that defined the Age of Enlightenment, ten God-Kings and five God-Queens ruled the Realm, educated by great anthologies, technical manuscripts and magickal reference books of spells and incantations carefully stored and catalogued in the Tower of Insight. For when the Ancient Gods faded into irrelevance, and there were no longer any immortals to worship, humankind began to worship their own reflection. In that vanity and egocentricity, we were borne into current times, the Days of Ash.
The Remnants of Atma’Zae: The New and Once-Great Settlements of The World, After the Nemesis.
Lore Entry # 2 (click here for art)
