The Icewell

The Icewell is a building located in the centre of the northern ice cap of the planet. It is made entirely of cured ice silver, and has been standing since well before the War of World's End. The building extends downwards all the way to the water beneath the ice cap. No one knows who built it, nor what it was built for.

Purpose / Function

While the purpose of the tower is unknown, there are a few guesses as to its origins that have been made. By far the most popular theory is that it was made for some kind of mining excursion or project, that was later abandoned as the War progressed. This explains the depth of the tower, but there is an abject lack of tunnels branching from it to prove this theory. Another theory is that it was made to access the ocean, though the cutoff of the stairs is much higher than it should be were this the case. A third theory is that it was made to mark the centre of the ice cap, though this theory fails to explain the depth of the building, an issue that is causing it to be one of the least popular theories surrounding the building's creation.

Architecture

The tower is made entirely out of ice silver, with bars made out of the metal forming the frame of the tower, and corrugated sheets of it forming the walls. The top of the building is sloped, presumably to prevent too much snow from resting on it, though throughout the years the tower has stood, this purpose has mostly failed; multiple feet of snow rest upon the tower's roof.
On the inside of the building, a set of spiraling stairs go down to almost the bottom - though the drop from the final stair to the ocean below is still alarmingly high. The staircase does not have a railing, and some of the stairs are old, sloped inwards or downwards, and not structurally sound. This makes travelling down the tower incredibly difficult - though some young norrith will attempt to descend the icewell, considering it a test of skill and courage - though the adults try their best to discourage this, due to the amount of deaths caused by attempts at this ritual.

Corner of triangular roof against blue sky by Francesco Ungaro

Type

Tower

Parent Location

Ice Caps