The Beacon

The Beacons are specially created towers that house divine radiance to help heal and protect those that have been or may become corrupted by the Corrupting Sickness of The Darkness. The idea for the tower came from The Beacons of Hope themselves when they journeyed into a parallel world where The Darkness had won and corrupted everyone and everything in their path. The tower itself is powered by the divine light of Nalena, Goddess of Twilight and the radiant light keeps those that live in its shadow safe from the sickness.

"Structures that represent the light and joy of Arrasgoth, the antithesis of the corrupting forces of The Darkness."

— Alfyn Weis

The feeling of being within the light of the Beacon is something that is to be experienced to be believed. Unlike other magical or chemical healing, the radiant light of the Beacon gives off the feeling of being embraced by the gods themselves. Depending on which cleric has blessed the fire, the radiance feels different. The very first tower's healing in the parallel world felt like the cool rush of the breeze in the middle of the night, but the tower in Inham Farms, blessed by Tasdia, Goddess of Nature, feels as if you are being wrapped in the softest of green grass.

Defences

Though the towers are seen as undefended to the untrained eye, a lot of the towers have been created with protection in mind. The tower itself gives off a lot of radiance and feels unsettling to those of an evil persuasion, as well as providing a radiant type of sickness to those that are undead. The towers are normally defended by those that work the flames, such as clerics and paladins, but they are also protected by the townsfolk. It is also believed that they are protected by the gods themselves so it is rare that any go there that have violent or subversive intentions.

Purpose / Function

The tower itself is a place for keeping the soul safe, first and foremost. The Darkness is known for corrupting the minds and souls of those it touches, giving them the Corrupting Sickness that can be difficult to extinguish, even with the strongest wills and biggest hopes. The tower produces radiant light and healing consistently within a 10 mile radius of the base of the tower. The radiant light keeps hope running in the souls of those that live nearby it and help to keep the people immune from the Corrupting Sickness.
Those that are affected by the Corrupting Sickness of the Darkness can be brought to the Beacon for healing. The constant presence of the divine radiant fire can help reverse some of the psychological damage and help the person start to have hope in their soul. However, if the sickness has become too progressive, even the radiance of the divine light cannot heal them.
Though the tower does not normally house people, those that tend to the tower normally live around the base of it. Any that are receiving direct healing from the radiant flames are kept up on the roof with a cleric at all the times. Most of the towers are built within the middle of settlements to provide radiant protection from the sickness to all that are nearby. Most of the towers are custom built so are only used to provide this protection, healing and shelter for the Corrupting Sickness.

Architecture

The actual structure of the base of the tower is nowhere near as important as the top of the tower. The towers are built out of whatever is available in the area they are built, whether that is stone, metal or wood. They are built with a way of getting in from the bottom of the tower all the way to the roof of the tower.
The roof of the tower is the specific part of the Beacon that has a design that must be followed exactly. The centre of the roof has a circle of stones, about ten foot in diameter, with a brazier in the middle. The brazier must be lit at all times for the tower to give off the radiant power, and the brazier must be magically charged by a cleric. If there is no divine magic from a god put into the fire, the fire will just be like any standard fire and will give off no healing energy.

“I’ve seen what The Darkness can do to the strongest of people. I thought there was no hope for them. Now with these Beacons, there’s at least some.”

— Emrys Ddraig Sy'n Ddu

A ritual circle of runes must be carved into the stones surrounding the brazier by a sorcerer or wizard for the fire to continue burning with divine energy. A cleric is needed to tend to the fire every dawn to keep the fire going. Any one other than a cleric is unable to keep the fire burning.
To reach the roof, there are a variety of ways that have been used, depending on the location, the resources and the build of the people building them. The majority of the major towers have ladders that move through the middle to give quick access up and down, however there are other ways that have been used to reach the roof such as custom built spiral staircases and enchanted teleportation circles.

History

The history of the Beacon is an interesting one. The very first Beacon was in fact created out of a lighthouse in Banshaw Edge, but in a parallel world to this one. The Beacons of Hope were sent into this alternate world in the hope of them finding a way to protect their current world and it was here that Emrys Ddraig Sy'n Ddu discovered that the divine energy of the one remaining god, Nalena, Goddess of Twilight, could heal some of the despair and corruption that had seeped into the people there. Though it was nowhere near enough to be a complete cure, it is enough to keep hope burning.
Returning to their own world, they were quick to start building their own towers in areas of importance: Inham Farms and Purgatory. The ideas of these towers began to spread through Arrasgoth itself and soon other cities and large towns began their own construction of the towers to help keep the people's souls safe from the Corrupting Sickness. It was discovered whilst making the towers that any cleric who worships one of the Arrasgoth Pantheon is able to create the radiant fire that is needed.

"Life is like a good glass of ale! The more you have, the happier you can become and, yes, there are times when it is empty, but you can easily fill it up again. Then, if you include others with their ale, the enjoyment increases and then the party really gets going. But like all good parties, when the bell tolls for last orders, it must end, but at least it was fun!"

— @Harlin

Founding Date

There is no definitive date for the creation of the Beacons due to being first created in a parallel world and multiple instances of the tower created at different times.

Type

Tower