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"I have to imagine it's difficult to live in a tower very obviously meant as a military stronghold and not consider yourself militant. The very blood of its history screams out with the power of its past. It must feel much like residing within a dormant scabbard and ignoring the blade it was meant to house." - from the memoirs of Lewin Von Treet, Vault: the Land of Stuff and Things
City Description
City Description
The tower known as the Watch of West Fall has existed far before the elves took up residence in the forest now known as Lyr'Lowain. Of course, the name it bore before their arrival has never been known, and the moniker "Watch of West Fall" is a name born of a melancholy resignation that Core Vandal and the realms of the west are destined for annihilation. While Southern Lyr'Lowain is regarded as a place of quiet acceptance of elven kind's mistakes, this place carries a grim nihilism that goes beyond shame and strays into outright hopelessness.
The features of the tower paint a clear depiction of its intended function upon its creation. Mighty parapets allow sightlines into major crossways, it's heavily fortified, easily defensible, and there are remnants of ancient war machines whose clever construction is contrasted by their bewildering purpose and decrepit state. Whatever role the tower once served, standing majestic over the River Lyric, it is now a place filled with elves resigned to a life of blissful detachment.
Running the entire center of the tower, from its base to the very pinnacle, is a gleaming pillar of an unknown alloy. The Dwarves of Dagmar have long been enchanted with this metal, it being unlike anything they've seen or created in their mineral rich mountain ranges. Known as "Regulus," this pristine and enchanting pillar, so straight, cut perfectly in its multi-faceted design, is truly unique in Vault. Some elves believe it merely acts as the backbone of the tower, ensuring its longevity and fortitude. This would seem a perfectly reasonable assumption considering the tower's age, but being around Regulus has another disturbing property.
Any sound created around Regulus is reshaped, reformed, and repeated back to the tower in a symphonic resonance, as though the metal itself is digesting the audible world around it, and releasing it back into the world as a new translation. And that translation is, without fail, heartbreakingly beautiful. A whispered word near its base manifests finally as harmonic tone at its peak, the meaning of the word not lost within the new form. A song becomes a sonorous and soaring ballad that touches the soul in a way unexpected and pleasing.
For a people who put so much importance on music and its function, Regulus has become a coveted experience for all of elvenkind. It's one of the few places pilgrimages from the North are not only allowed but encouraged. It would be the height of sinful for such a place to be kept sequestered away.
Unfortunately, the sounds of the Watch of West Fall, as they reach out across the forests towards the River Lyrics itself, have another, more problematic, property. There are some tones, some notes and ranges, that, when played, cause all who hear it to enter a trance. Because everyone within the tower hears every sound played to Regulus, there can be entire minutes lost as everyone apparently receives a new set of directions for their lives, immediately ceasing what they were doing and begin performing a new task. Mostly, it's people moving to spots in the tower they did not intend to go, though some have admitted to receiving an overwhelming desire to polish rocks, hunt spiders, or even throw a fellow tower-dweller out a window. Because of its unpredictable nature, the tones causing this trance are forbidden, and no effort has been made to study its origin or reason.
Making better use of Regulus is Sinir Al-Qhiba, the greatest harpist in all of Vault. Sinir plays a harb fabled among elvenkind, and is always happy to tell the story of its legendary creation. The harp, known as Heartstring is a relic of incredible power, and Sinir is able to weild it where few, if any, others can. With Regulus and Heartstring together, operated by Sinir, the result is nothing short of life-changing, in the absolute worst way possible.
The song that plays every evening by Sinir is a lullaby so soul-crushing in its beauty, it literally causes those who hear it to lose hope of ever finding something so meaningful again. This has lead to a tower filled with elves who have grown dispondant with life in Vault and live only to hear this song each and every night. They've foregone concern for anything else in the world, and embraced the idea that nothing they could ever experience would ever fill them like that song. The song's name is Where Lament, Where Triumph, Needless and Needful or "Lathe ceen, Lathe cen, ceendal ceenden vay," and one will never hear it outside the halls of the Watch of West Fall.
City Landmarks
City Landmarks
The Old Hope - this abandoned research site was made by the dwarves to study Regulus but it was suddenly left deserted one day long ago. All of the materials they used for their research are still there, covered in years of dust, but whole. There are some dark rumors about what happened to those dwarves, but most believe they simply left.
Mycelium - throughout the tower are myriad fungus farms, mushrooms and moss being the primary sustenance for the tower's denizens. There are mushroom experts living in the Watch of West Fall to match any druid in all of Vault.
The Transcent - this room at the top of the tower is the home of Sinir Al-Qhiba, and also where he plays his music every day. While Sinir doesn't treat it as such, most of those living in the tower consider it a sacred place. Sinir is always welcoming of visitors.
Vayf Furnaces - in elven, vayf is a word meaning both flame and loss. One of the old contraptions seen frequently throughout the tower are antiquated furnaces whose operating secrets have been lost to history. Those who have tried to uncover their purpose have come away emptyhanded besides a feeling they are better left alone.
People of Note
People of Note
Sinir Al-Qhiba (he/him) - Elven, renowned as the world's greatest harpist, Sinir seems exceedingly happy to stay in the tower for the remainder of his life
Fen Yai'jam (they/them) - Elven, the tower's caretaker, and as such, the defacto leader of those living there, Fen sees to ensuring everyone is well taken care of
Visit (he/him) - Elven, this old elf has been using the watch tower for its original purpose for decades. He keeps watch on Demon's Hollow from the towers terraces.
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