Ascension's Steps
Expansive and monolithic, Ascension's Steps is truly a landmark to behold. Spanning the base of the Tower, these extensive reconstructed ruins hold the center of Teimor, Citadel's capital city-state. The repurposed ruins mark both the beginning of mortalkind civilization on Oara as well as the beginning of mortalkind's salvation. Every ascent begins by first passing through Ascension's Steps: the Tower's ground floor.
Purpose / Function
Ascension's Steps' original purpose is believed to be the societal center of Oaran civilization shortly after the arrival of mortalkind on Oara's surface after being casted from the High Place. It is one of the oldest known buildings constructed. Scholars believe it was used as a capital building by early mortal civilization before it fell into ruin for one reason or another.
The new purpose of Ascension's Steps in this modern era is the act of being a buffer zone and staging area for cloudcatchers preparing to go on ascents. Just past the office complexes utilized by the Updraft and the security beyond that lies what cloudcatchers refer to colloquially as "Level Zero," or the ground floor of the Tower. This is because the entrance to the Tower has been open since time immemorial and all manner of monstrous creatures have managed to escape the Tower's confines and call the cordoned off area their home.
Alterations
As time progressed, additions and repairs were made to Ascension's Steps. The oldest part of the ruins rest at the center most point at the base of the Tower. These ruins are constructed out of an as of yet unidentified metallic alloy theorized to be the same that makes up the Tower's material. From there, additions were made over the millennia comprised of both wood and stone. Though the majority of the wooden portions rotted away over time, the stone has remained in earnest. Wooden parts were replaced with either fresher wooden additions or with the application of stonework and concrete. Chips, cracks, and breaks in stonework were also repaired as time progressed to ensure that the additions made by Citadel's ancestors would remain structurally sound.
Perhaps the newest and most intricate additions made to Ascension's Steps are the facilities built and inhabited by the Updraft. These facilities include entry areas where writs of ascent are presented, staging areas for cloudcatcher teams, offices for Updraft members, supplies storage, and an inner ring of protective measures to defend against whatever might lie in wait on Level Zero. In order for one to gain entry into the Tower, they must firsts cross Ascension's Steps. In order to begin the climb toward the prestige of being a cloudcatcher, one must face the baptism of Level Zero.
Architecture
The architecture of the inner ruins are almost alien in comparison to Teimor's overall architectural design. Though the city-state is the oldest in Citadel, there is just something about the design and construction of the metallic ruins that scholars of the Conservatory simply can't place. Mandrites of the Steeple marvel at the "heavenly design" of Those Above. Regardless, the building itself is quite expansive. The region referred to as Level Zero is almost like a ship construction dock. The ceiling rises close to a hundred feet, and the space between its inner walls and the outside of the Tower's base are open enough that fields and hills of the strange environment attributed to the Tower's interior spill out.
Past the defensive measure taken by the Updraft in the additions and restorations the stone architecture takes on a classical Citarii appearance. Students of architecture can pick out the early designs implicit in the twenty foot tall murals plastered across stone walls while pillars mark the entrance into each and every room. One clerk of the Conservatory remarked that walking from the Updraft counters towards the interior of Ascension's Steps was like walking through eras of history one hallway at a time.
History
Modern scholars of the Conservatory believe that shortly after the Contrition - mortalkind's casting out of heaven by Those Above - the appointed Saints led them through the dangers of the Tower to their place of exile: Oara. It was here, just outside of the base of the Tower, that the mortal races began to establish the roots of their civilization. Believed to have been called Tayvoria in ancient times, Teimor sprouted from the seed that was planted at the base of the Tower: Ascension's Steps. Though the metallic alloy that makes up the oldest parts of the building's innermost parts find no explanation, this theory is widely accepted by both Archaic and Archimandrite.
Since then, the ruin's building has grown further and further outwards from the base of the Tower. It has served as the center of the city of Teimor since time began and has since been co-opted by the Updraft and Guilds for use in ascents.
Founding Date
~23AC
Alternative Names
Level Zero, Floor Zero, the Staging Area
Type
Megastructure, Land based
Parent Location
Owning Organization
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