Spiral Tower of Jogpu
You see it first as your Zatasian galley sails towards the city of Jogpu. The seabirds and clamouring crew don't prevent you from taking in the marvellous sight; the entire port is dwarfed by the gigantic cone-shaped spire, as if it were a spearpoint trying to pierce the sky.
You see it again when you walk towards the centre of town. You suddenly find an solid stone wall, and you look up...and up...and up...Made of a polished white rock wrapped with little green vines like veins, it towers so far up into the sky that you can't see the top from your position on the ground. You crane your neck higher, and you think you make out a balcony way up top, but you look again and it has vanished.
You see it one last time as your galley sails away. As you look at it longingly, knowing that you'll have to brave the Sea of Tears once more to get home, you swear you can see a bright yellow flash. A small ornate wooden box lands on the ground in front of you, and, opening it, you find an intricate golden key. A small note is attached:
You are awaited at your earliest convenience by Perjig Bavaris, the Archamge of Jogpu. You have been selected to receive a great boon...
Purpose / Function
The Spiral Tower fulfills multiple purposes. It is firstly a gigantic library, where nearly every book made in Orkanis (and many from other worlds too) finds a home on its shelves. As such, it is a great centre of learning for those searching knowledge.
Secondly, the Tower is the main base of operations for the Archmage's own personal army, The Bookkeepers. They are the librarians of the building and also conduct the Archmage's search for new and exciting books in the world at large.
Lastly, it is the personal residence of the Archmage himself, and so he spends most of his time conducting experiments and practicing spells and reading in the higher chambers of the Tower.
Architecture
The Spiral Tower is built from meticulously polished stone, fitted to the point where no mortar holds the gigantic tower together. Instead, its vine-covered walls are held together, locals say, by the Archmage's titanic will and deals with various demonic creatures. Those who have tried to probe the kind of stone or discern the kind of magicks used to hold the tower together have often suddenly received cryptic summons to the Tower...
History
The oldest references to the Spiral Tower date from the early centuries of the Third Era. That would make the tower over a thousand years old, but that doesn't match the lifespans of many of its denizens, especially the Archmage. Like many aspects of the Tower, anyone who tries to investigate that kind of information has been sent strange ornate boxes saying the Archmage wants to see them...
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