Grand Tower of the Merchant Mages
Situated on a high cliff overlooking the port of Naravon the Grand Tower is the headquarters of the Merchant Mages, from where they control trade routes throughout Challaria through a combination of weather management, insurance, banking and, it is rumoured by those who do not value the lives of their children, targetted piracy.
Externally an oversized lighthouse the ground floor is a public space for the registering and witnessing of contracts, wills and major banking transactions. The other areas are more tightly controlled spaces where the Mages plan and plot - and store the accumulated archives from their dealings and banked treasures.
The Mages work their power from the top floors of the tower, making use of portals linked to their key offices in other continents and their Naravon City office. The middle floor are more administrative and the lower ones more public.
Externally an oversized lighthouse the ground floor is a public space for the registering and witnessing of contracts, wills and major banking transactions. The other areas are more tightly controlled spaces where the Mages plan and plot - and store the accumulated archives from their dealings and banked treasures.
The Mages work their power from the top floors of the tower, making use of portals linked to their key offices in other continents and their Naravon City office. The middle floor are more administrative and the lower ones more public.
Architecture
A single monolithic circular tower devoid of decoration and wider at the base, and narrowing as it rises to the light chamber some 40 strides above the ground. Built of the local grey basalt the outside is painted white with a red central band allow it to be seen for a distance. These colours are even visible at night as they are phosphorescent. Internally it is again plain in its design - a deliberate expression of power by the Merchant Mages: they don't need to boast of their wealth or sophistication as these are proverbial throughout not just Naros but throughout the trading nations of Challaria. It is a style that is echoed in their branch offices and such is the Mages' repute that no organisation wealthy enough to decorate it's architecture or premises in any degree would dare to be thought to be imitating them. It is topped by a crystal dome which houses the light and provides a panoramic view for weather manipulation.
Below ground there are cavernous chambers used for the storage of deposited valuables, documents and so on. Their detail is unknown outside the organisation as any who enter them have their memories of them removed by the Mages before they leave the tower. The plans shown reflect the arrangements at the tower's semi-millenial anniversary but how well they represent the tower now is unknown, though the publicly accessible areas do still match it.
Below ground there are cavernous chambers used for the storage of deposited valuables, documents and so on. Their detail is unknown outside the organisation as any who enter them have their memories of them removed by the Mages before they leave the tower. The plans shown reflect the arrangements at the tower's semi-millenial anniversary but how well they represent the tower now is unknown, though the publicly accessible areas do still match it.
History
Built in the in the 280's the tower has always been in the possession of the Merchant Mages. The earlier lighthouse on the site was destroyed by a storm which also saw large areas of Naravon inundated and much of the documentation held by the Mages destroyed. Its 5 year period of construction, completed in 284, with no use of magic, though it has since been strengthened with various wards and magical defences. During the construction several settlements formed on the cliff top beside it but on completion the Tower Hamlets were demolished and no buildings have been built since within a mile of it.
Following the great storm of 483 which saw several ships lost, unable to safely make their way into harbour when the light failed the tower was given it's phosphorescent paint job, giving it the characteristic appearance that is now the badge of the Mages.
Following the great storm of 483 which saw several ships lost, unable to safely make their way into harbour when the light failed the tower was given it's phosphorescent paint job, giving it the characteristic appearance that is now the badge of the Mages.
Alternative Names
The Lighthouse
Type
Tower, Mage
Parent Location
Owning Organization
Nice article, and an interesting tower. :) Why where the settlements around the tower demolished? Where do the mages live?
The tower is overlooking a major harbour town perhaps 2 or 3 miles away - the demolished settlements were the ones that the builders had been using (and perhaps a hamlet). So the simple answer is that they are not that far from town. That the tower has many portals to other places means that if they don’t fancy the short journey into town they could commute from another continent. This may or may not be the subject or future articles.
Oooh, nice :)