Mockery

Purpose / Function

The mockery is a connective area between the Silver Key and the labyrinth under Hothaaz's skin.

Design

Infinite Stairs

Coming down from the Key, is the mockery's most defining feature: its staircase.

— tour guide

From the top of the case, the stairs curve around like a nautilus shell; appearing to shrink the deeper you look. However, the radius remain consistent for leagues when one actually travels that far.

1. Abode

A maze of white cubes of various heights under a perpetually black sky

2. Pipeworks

Pure white tunnels snaking into each other only distinguished with contrastly black shadows.

3. Powerhouse

A net-zero energy zone full of black and white spirals intersecting one another in a 4D lattice.

4. Chancery

A classical maze made of grey panel walls, and back and white checkerboard tiles for the floors and ceilings.

5. Auberge

A white winding walkway with similarly pitch white rooms alternating along either side at equal distances.

6. Dark World

A pitch black environment interspersed with white 'trees' scattered about.

7. Depth Pools

A lattice of infinity deep orbs of water separated from each other by white pathways.

8. Caves

Black honeycomb structures that stretch beyond the horizon under a white sun.

9. Suburbs

A dark place composed of regular black buildings with a white interior.

10. Wheatfields

A field of free-floating stark white stems of uniform length that stop just short of the ceiling and floor.

Entries

Hike Trail

Starting at the 13th level of the Blade, a steel reinforced access tunnel turns onto the top of the staircase from where hikers begin their walking descent.

Purgatories

These are moving illusions that appear flat against the mockery's walls like a projection on a screen. While most are impossible to pass through, a few act as labyrinthine gates that can be opened and closed via an elaborate lock and key.

Sensory & Appearance

Swirls

Mockery's fleshy walls feel like sand paper to the touch. It also carries beige and grey stripes that ripple around the apparent endless staircase in illusionary energies that can disorient if they are stared at for too long.

Denizens

Information Brokers

Kodama

Bug-like species resembling a human face that tend to follow walkers within the mockery.

The Mancer

A jealous humanoid who might provide healing services in exchange for taking action on his behalf.

Angels

A grayish moth-like creature that flies in the open space, away from the stairs, who seems to be knowledgeable in contemporary things.

Hazards & Traps

Distortions

Distortions are purgatories closed to entry or exist. But rather than bouncing off its surface, a person or thing would temporarily become incorporated into the image before being thrown right out.

Them or their stuff would be changed in some way. Nothing dangerous mind you.
In fact, people knowingly do it for a laugh. Even though it expressly forbidden by Iodex.

— Walker Explorer

Special Properties

Bottomless

There is no end to the mockery.

— common saying about the infinite staircase

The mockery is a pillarous chasm that comfortably links the top stable floors to the spiraling stairs. It continues downwards connecting the unstable ones as well, without their associated dangers.

Alterations

Rifts

These are impressionable changes that occur on the mockery's wall. They appear as cracks that reveal imagery taken right from the distant memories or distorted dreams of person(s) walking by or who have walked by; to become fixtures to the mockery.
Some rifts, for however long they remain, become distance markers for how far a person has walked. It might be:

A window overlooking a cobblestone street
A pool's reflective surface
A shadowy pedestrian sidewalk covered in fog
An empty workout room
A bird's-eye view of collecting clouds
A devastated landscape

Type

Room, Common, Stairwell/Staircase

Parent Location

Silver Key

Included Locations

• Stratum Floors

Connected Rooms

• Lurker Threshold
• Stratum Floors