Bunker

Advanced Pre-Historic Hideouts

Table of Contents

• Age & Perception
• Purposes

Never in recorded history has anyone known anything regarding the origins of these ancient structures. Who made them? What's their purpose?

— Albrecht of Weisse, 1212 AA

Various structures with thick and sturdy walls, sometimes even reinforced with a steel of a far superior quality than any contemporary smith could get their hands on, dot the landscape of Lethea. These ancient bunkers are built into mountains, dug into the depths of the earth in secluded groves, and some are even miraculously established at the bottoms of vast lakes and seas. Whatever they were designed for, their purposes seem to vary and the conditions in which they are now in range from nearly uninhabitable to pristine, unscathed by the passage of time. Other such bunkers are locked away behind imposing and seemingly indestructible metal doors which have yet to be breached.

Age & Perception

The age of the bunkers has intrigued scholars for as long as people have been able to write. Some of the oldest examples of writing mention several of the bunkers, a few of which still stand today. Evidence suggests that there were some back in the Lethean Bronze Age who regarded the bunkers as holy structures built by the gods. Those who these deities found worthy enough could break open the doors and claim the riches inside. By the end of the Bronze Age, perceptions of the mysterious structures shifted.

People started regarding them as cursed deathtraps inhabited by vile monsters. Why the shift in perception occurred is unclear, but several signs suggest that either the bunkers contained dangerous devices or that the aberati claimed them as their lairs. That late Bronze Age view of the bunkers has remained unchanged in certain parts of the continent, especially among the inhabitants of the Rahigina. The rest of the world feels mostly indifferent about them. People who are aware of the bunkers' existence and live near one generally avoid going near there as they fear that such structures might attract unsavoury folks.

by Mohnish Landge

Purposes

Despite many of the known bunkers having vastly different layouts and equipment, one thing they all share is their defensive value. The thick walls and the formidable steel doors allow whoever's inside to outlast any conventional attacks, as long as they have the supplies to feed themselves. That seems to have been one of their purposes — defending its creators and serving as a strange and mysterious pre-historic fort.

Type

Bunker

Materials

Most bunkers are built from bricks made from whatever stone is present near the bunker, but then there are some that use a completely different and alien material. A type of stone that seems to grow back once damaged, similar to how a wound would heal on a living being. Often the bricks and the strange organic stone are additionally reinforced with sturdy steel beams and bars.