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The Enclave of the Mighty

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The Enclave of the Mighty Empty The Enclave of the Mighty

Post by Calithlin Sun Feb 10, 2008 12:42 am

-The 'Enclave of the Mighty' is and has always been an intriguing and mysterious place, it is not known at what point it was built, who built it, and how it came to be known... The fact is, no one really knows where it is, even though many have entered its walls. It appears that there are only two ways to enter this fortress of might: many just seem to appear within the Enclave whenever they are required there, or when they have proven potential for joining in the House of Might. Another means, although almost unheard of, is by simply willing yourself into the Enclave, convincing your mind, spirit, and body that you truly must enter; although in many cases this ends negatively...
-The inside of the Enclave resembles a subterranean cave which may as well be a labyrinth. The majority of its structure is composed of seemingly endless tunnels, each leading to destinations known only to a select few. Navigation without prior knowledge is nearly impossible, it seems that to get to any specific location is a test of will within itself. Due to this, there has never been a successful assault on the Enclave; in fact, most visitors who have no knowledge of the area's layout die of thirst or starvation... For the few that can actually make their way around the structure, there are a few interesting key areas:
-The Gate: 'The Gate' is one of the simplest areas to find within this underground superstructure. The Gate is two immense, ornamental doors that are mostly soot-black with glowing orange/red hieroglyphics, the hinges are rusted and don't budge easily. It is guessed that the inside of each massive door is filled with lead, due to the fact that they are extremely difficult to move. At almost all times students train at the gate (besides when people wish to go through, depending on their credentials) by pushing it in teams opposite from each-other. The teams at the end of each 'shift' who have pushed their doors the furthest are allowed to go about their normal business and perhaps gain ranks within the House. The teams who fail are left at The Gate until they can defeat another team. Because of the need for constant challenges, any visitor without proper credentials must pass a 'test' at the gate to enter (there are few areas of importance that are not passed The Gate.) The test usually consists of choosing the most able student at the time, and placing them at one side of the gate, and the visitor at the other. The test is to prove that the visitor can stand the strenuous task of pushing back the other's force on their side of The Gate. If the visitor (normally after several hours) can end up pushing their side more than the other, they are allowed to enter.
-The Pit: 'The Pit' is normally one of the most populous areas of the Enclave at most times. The Pit is an immense crater-like area within a large dome-roofed room. The room itself contains several benches that wrap around the crater, much like a colosseum. The depth of the crater differs depending on a setting of an extremely complicated pulley-system. The system pulls up/drops down an immense cylindrical platform that is just about the same diameter as the crater. When pulled up most of the way, The Pit serves as a simple arena for various activities/duels. When dropped down most or all of the way it goes below a large pool of water (which is also the source of drink within the enclave) climbing-ropes and tightropes are set up. Due to the depth of The Pit and its radius, walking a tightrope or climbing a ripe from the bottom can be extremely challenging. Although a fall (normally) will not prove fatal, it can put someone under intensive-care for up to a few weeks. Each student usually participates in at least one of the events at/in The Pit up to three times a day.
-The Wailing Ward: Aptly named, 'The Wailing Ward' is an unwillingly popular place among the Enclave. Here is where most students end up at least once a week to 'sit out' their pains. Any injured student is usually given the bare-minimum treatment to live, with absolutely no pain-killers or sleeping aides (that includes during surgery.) Written in archaic hieroglyphes on the entrance to The Wailing Ward are the words: "That which does not kill you, shall make you stronger." An interesting fact is that most students willingly go through this tortuously painful method of healing, for if you are to ask for more treatment/medication, you are swiftly demoted.
-The Sleepless Halls: This is actually the nickname for what is actually the dormitories. This area is mostly a few long hallways with stone-slabs, chin-up-bars, and small mats scattered tightly through the long hallways. Although there are a few different halls for different levels of students, the 'perks' of the higher ranking students are hardly noticeable. Each student has their own pole to exercise with, an uncomfortable 'bed' (stone slab) with a shabby, torn rag, and a mat placed on the floor for various other exercises. The reason that these areas are called 'The Sleepless Halls' is because most students, in fear of falling behind, tend to spend all but a few hours of their already short sleeping time exercising. it is uncommon to find a soul sleeping before the dead hours (2:00am.)
-The Bellowing Chasm: Down past The Pit, deep into a long downward tunnel is a large dome-like room. At the top of this room are several large, equally-spaced holes that circle the top of the dome. These holes lead into grander divisions of rock underneath and around a large majority of the tunnel-systems of The Enclave. Any sound louder than a normal conversation will carry through a large portion of The Enclave, which is why the room is normally empty. At the base of the room sit about (depending on occasion) fifty to three hundred large, ornamental drums, each with two heavy mallets. During the early mornings there is a ritual called 'The Rousing' in which the drums are beaten loudly by 'The Masters of Will' as to wake everyone within the entire structure. The drums also normally cause the chambers to rumble slightly as well, which causes movement through the area to be slightly more difficult. On most occasions, and especially on certain days of remembrance (aka reenactments) the drums are played in the sound of The House of Might's anthem. The 'Requiem of the Deserving' is a fast-paced and low beat that recognizes great conquerors and mighty heroes who have passed on to the afterlife.
-The Great Archives of Occurrence: This 'great archive' of information is extraordinarily interesting to many visitors. Normally it is odd to see members of any house other than The House of Might to be within these walls, but the Archive is another story. The Archive is a large cylindrical room filled with countless bookshelves, in their own countless sections... but it is difficult to find many books within The Archive, for The House of Might stores most of its information differently. On nearly all of the shelves are countless glowing dodecahedrons, each one stores a certain 'event.' When activated, all willing participants near the small dodecahedron, or 'Object of Occurrence,' basically play out the event. Anyone participating in this unique 'forced reenactment' will see and feel whatever their 'character' saw and felt during the event. For safety, the events have been 'modified' so that if someone happens to kill another in the 'occurrence' they wont actually kill participants during the reenactment. For the sake of privacy and to not disturb others, there are special rooms where most use these objects, separate from the main archive area. Due to this fascinating way to literally 'do history' there are quite often several scholars of other houses here to visit. It has been proven that utilizing this means of receiving the past is far more effective for memory, and the history is not up for debate, because you see what actually happened. Due to the fact that some are uncomfortable going through history in this way, there is still a fairly large amount of normal books within the archive.
-The Hall of Achievement: This immense hallway is one of the deepest places of The Enclave. This area appears out of place with most of the rest of the cave-system, its tile floor practically acts as a mirror in the dim torch-light, its walls are covered in neat tapestries and reliefs. Every ten or-so meters next to either wall are life-sized statues depicting specific events and challenges. On the base of each statue is one to twelve names (depending if the competition was one on one or team-based.) Not surprisingly, "The High Lord" is written on at least one out of every three statues.
-The Illimitable Throne: Through the large archway at the end of The Hall of Achievement is 'The Illimitable Throne.' The Illimitable Throne is both an unspeakably huge room and an actual throne. The room opens up as one enters, and after about eighty feet there is a huge drop into an almost unending trench that appears as long as it is deep... none are actually sure how long it goes before there is a wall. Besides a few sparring rings and some torches the room is surprisingly empty. In the center of the room, just at the edge of part of the cliff, is a long, wide stone path that leads high up to a small plateau. The plateau is just large enough for about ten people and the enormous throne. The throne itself is said to be the only one of its kind; for it allows whoever to sit in it to see within their mind every path and room within the Enclave, essentially making sneaking and sabotage a fools errand. Surprisingly, even with all those images within their mind, those who sit on the throne (while wearing a specially crafted magical ring) are still able to think just as clearly, if not more, than they normally do. Although it is an enormous throne (over nine feet tall itself), some might say that it is too 'plain' because of its mostly-unimpressive looks. The dusty-black stone of the throne appears to at one point have been covered in interesting golden-plated designs, but after eons of wear and aging they are barely visible; only a few lines and marred fragments of the once-intricate design remain. The only other interesting aspect of the throne is the softly orange glowing of ages-old symbols upon its surface.
-It is doubted that any single traveler who has not been within the Enclave for at least fifty years has seen it all, so far no discernible entrance/exit has been found. So far, the only way to leave is either if you willingly go through 'the right of away' (a short ritual preformed by any high ranking house-member) or if you will yourself out after defeating at least one student of the house in any challenge.


Last edited by on Tue Feb 12, 2008 8:25 pm; edited 1 time in total
Calithlin
Calithlin
Council Titan
Council Titan

Number of posts : 56
Age : 32
Location : Everywhere and nowhere...
Registration date : 2008-01-16

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The Enclave of the Mighty Empty A Day in the Life of a Student of Might...

Post by Calithlin Tue Feb 12, 2008 7:55 pm

-Bustling students throughout the corridors of The Enclave of the Mighty are always on the move. Each student eagerly prepares themselves for their next challenge, as long as they have finished their current task. Everyone but the highest, most secure students, are always on the lookout to achieve some favor or prove their worth... it is their sole purpose; to live and die by contest. As students advance in rank their daily lives change faintly as well.
-The Hopeful: 'The Hopeful' are the newest and most inexperienced members of The House of Might. They are called such due to their mostly optimistic nature, although, many do not realize how much of a challenge their daily lives will become. An average Hopeful's daily routine involves waking at the sound of 'The Rousing Drums,' then heading straight to The Gate. After one of the teams of Hopefuls have won, they are sent to the storerooms to move in/out supplies for the remainder of the day. Those who perform well after a few days are considered for advancement in rank when needed. Although, this does not happen for many of the less-than outstanding students. These students usually end up competing in specific challenges to prove themselves and gain in ranks.
-Attendants of Might: Attendants are those students who have proven themselves powerful enough to surpass most other Hopefuls. Attendants are normally given more meaningful tasks and more freedoms within The Enclave. Attendants usually start their day similarly to the Hopefuls' days; they travel down to The Gate at the sound of The Rousing Drums, and stay there until they are successful in defeating another team. After this, they are normally found around The Pit. The Pit is where they can truly 'show their stuff' to the higher-ranking members of The House of Might. After hours of training, when the platform is finally raised to 'arena' level, Attendants often challenge their 'higher-ups' until they themselves can finally climb ranks even higher. Every few hours of competing at The Pit, Attendants shift among themselves as to who will be working the pulley-systems.
-Champions of Might: Champions are given far more freedoms within The Enclave than their lower ranking brothers. Since by now, Champions have proven that they are considerably 'mighty' enough to know how to take care of themselves. Champions are often spoken of as if they were homeless, mostly because they travel throughout the corridors of The Enclave at nearly all free times. It is the duty of the Champions to essentially 'give others something to do.' They really are only allowed so much freedoms due to the fact that they are constantly hungry for a challenge, this means it is common to see Champions in any part of The Enclave, giving the newer students someone to measure themselves up against.
-Masters of Will: Masters of Will aren't necessarily the 'strongest' members of The House of Might. Often they are given their roles for their amazing mental willpower, and in some cases their magical affinity. Due to this they aren't normally required to engage in such strenuous tasks as participating at The Gate, but it is not unheard of them doing so. Normally the Masters of Will are forced to sleep very little, to prove that they can bare the strain on their minds. Due to this, they are the perfect candidates to sound The Rousing Drums. Each morning, after their short (one and a half hour) sleeping period, a large number of these Masters travel to 'The Bellowing Chasm' to beat on the hundreds of large drums located within that echo throughout the entire structure. The sound within this room during 'The Rousing' period is practically unbearable, only one who can center themselves enough to shut out nearly all sound can remain standing by the end of the routine. It is common for several of these Masters to go deaf if prolonged to these sounds up-close without proper training. After their time in The Bellowing Chasm they normally spend the majority of their days within the The Great Archives of Occurrence. It is very rare for any of the Objects of Occurrence to be taken out from the room, so with enough Masters knowledgeable in many of the subjects they can bring the history out with them. This allows them to act as a sort of 'quick reference' to a long topic, which makes them extremely valuable. Also, such ability to store such vast amounts of knowledge can be extremely stressing on the mind; therefore some Masters attempt to compete with each-other in how much information they can retain. It is common to see these members of The House of Might to act as negotiators or advisers to The High Lord in their free time.
-Again, none are quite sure when and how these roles were created. It seems just as likely that they were slowly created from tradition and necessity. Whichever way they were founded, the system of ranks seems to fit the area quite nicely, however peculiar it may seem.
Calithlin
Calithlin
Council Titan
Council Titan

Number of posts : 56
Age : 32
Location : Everywhere and nowhere...
Registration date : 2008-01-16

Character sheet
Fantasy:
Sci-fi:
Wild:

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