The Cauldron
The Cauldron was the common name for the site where Balri's most advanced spells and mechanisms were created.
History
No official name is known to exist, though the leaders of Balri never made any attempt to conceal that there was such a site. Things like the battle golems, crystal blades, and many of the more advanced forms of psionics were reputed to have been developed there. It's reputation and the number of innovations attributed to it led to the phrase "Fresh from the Cauldron" spreading from the military into common use amongst the citizens of Balri.
Although it's existence was no secret, the location was kept hidden even during the days of the races alliance, with not even those who worked there aware of where it was. It's secrecy was maintained through using magical teleportation to move people and goods in and out, with the circle pattern counted as a state secret. Various attempts were made to locate it during the age of the empire by both elves and other races, but there were no reliable reports of it being discovered. Amongst both historians and those seeking wealth and power, it is considered to be the ultimate hidden site, and fortunes have been spent trying to locate it.
Projects
Crystal Blades. When the leaders of Balri first began putting resources into developing psionics they found that there was a need to develop new materials to help psions focus their powers. Various crystals were found to have a certain resonance with the psionic arts leading to the development of these blades. Battle Golems. While Balri had it's psions to counter the mages of Empire of Trem and the priests of the Holy Kingdom of Caresnas, they didn't have the armies to deal with the Kingdom of Filishar or the free cities to the south. In order to overcome this, the Cauldron was tasked with creating a form of golem that was suitable for warfare, and above all cheaper to make than the existing golems. The researchers succeeded and production of an army of the battle golems was begun. Before Balri could unleash the might of it's new army, the secret to how they were produced so cheaply was revealed, and the wide scale protests from the populace (and the threat of an alliance between the northen countries) put an end to the project. Project Dreadnaught. Originally conceived as a successor to the battle golems, this project sought to develop a specialised golem for use in sieges and dealing with the largest of monsters. It was shelved following the uproar over the battle golems, but concerns over the power of the heads of the colleges of magic led to it being restarted, albeit with a less controversial souce of power.
Emblem of the Cauldron by Tanai Cuinsear
Type
Laboratory
Owning Organization
Related Report (Primary Locations)
Related Report (Secondary Locations)
