Windtracer Lore: Obsidian Armory, Part 1

A library that almost no one has ever heard of. It may also be the greatest hope for Awldor if the Great Collapse continues, or happens again.

Worldbuilding has been compared to an iceberg. Apt really. You’re building a world so you can “write what you know”. But a lot of what you’ve designed, invented, dreamed up just cannot, or will not, fit in a single story. This is one of those bits of worldbuilding.

Obsidian Armory appeared late in the first story of Windtracer Tales, but the characters didn’t stay there for long. It was only long enough for them to put some pieces together about where they needed to go. But, there was so much more there. Sadly, a lot didn’t have a place in that story. Which means it’s ripe for another story later!

With that, let’s get into the Obsidian Armory!

This one is a big one, so we’ll tackle this in two parts!

Oh, if worldbuilding isn’t your thing, no problem! The next chapter of the current story drops this coming Friday!

Obsidian Armory, Part 1

...in this library, instead of being a collection of works on the Ancient Order, the Great Collapse, and so on, it’s focused on magic, creatures, and the Deepland itself...

— Windtracer Tela Kioni, the Automatic Crystal Expedition

The far Eastern edge of the Planus Continent is known for a chasm of thick monstrous creatures, and one of the most desolate landscapes on Awldor. It’s also the home of the greatest library about magic, mutated creatures, and the twisted, irradiated underground realm of the Deeplands. A library that almost no one has ever heard of.

It may also be the greatest hope for Awldor if the Great Collapse continues, or happens again.

That library is the Obsidian Armory. Part storehouse of knowledge, part training grounds, this library is in the isolated mining town of Talabrae’s Deep along the edge of the Great Chasm. It’s a centerpiece in Talabrae’s Deep, attached to the Hunter’s Hall which acts as the town hall for the settlement.

A Deadly Purpose

A library called an ‘armory’? Well, as the saying goes, knowledge is a double-edged sword...

— Windtracer Kiyosi Valchar

The Obsidian Armory didn’t start at a library, but they also used its first incarnation as a place to preserve learning. In generations past, this building was not a library, but a fortress. The knowledge it preserved was scholars and teachers. They were refugees from dark elven and dwarven empires in the Deepland caverns that fell during the Great Collapse.

In those early days of Talabrae’s Deep, those refugees needed a safe place. A refuge to protect themselves and their people against a swarm of ravenous, twisted creatures hunting them. Some of those people refugees with them scrolls, books, and other materials. Most did not. Instead, they carried magical, martial, and other lore in their minds. Memorized and learned as part of their professions. They were the last living repository of ancient dark elven or dwarven knowledge.

The refugees, sheltered in that simple fortress, survived those Nightmare Years. With the gibbering monstrosities pushed back into the Deepland caverns, those refugees expanded the Obsidian Armory. What was once a fortress became a stout library. A cathedral to learning and study of the dark forces from the Deeplands and their murderous ways. It’s here that the Slate Watch Order performs their training and study to keep the Deepland nightmares at bay.

But it’s so much more than a library with preserved, creepy undead things!

— Mikasi Zenia, halfling inventor from Banye

This library has grown well beyond that original purpose. Local inhabitants of Talabrae’s Deep regularly visit the Obsidian Armory for study on farming, masonry, mechanical inventions, and more. Alchemists from the few scattered settlements along the Great Chasm, and even Windtracers from distant Ishnanor, have visited the Obsidian Armory. All to study and glean insight from the ancient dark elven and dwarven texts. Most leave copies of their own accounts or learning, which has helped the Armory grow.

Alterations

The alchemy lab is on the first floor. If you see a greenish-gray fog trailing out the open door... best to find somewhere else to be.

— Windtracer Tela Kioni

The Obsidian Armory has experienced several changes over the generations. Once the attacks stopped, and the refugees looked ahead toward a potential future, they realized what the Armory could become. In particular, it was the vision of the dark elven scholar Gedros Kebih, and the dwarven stonemason, Dobek Emberald, that drove the alterations to the original fortress.

They designed initial the alterations with strength and defense in mind. But they also kept in mind of it becoming a place of learning. Rooms on the first floor were expanded to develop an alchemist’s lab for study. Next, the Talabreans later converted a portion of the basement to a vault, dubbed the ‘Undercroft’. There, books or cursed items impervious to destruction were stored for study until a way could be found to render them harmless.

Later alterations would still maintain the need for defense. But these would allow additional rooms on the second story to house volumes of books, specimens, and more. After the Slate Watch Order was founded, a walled training ground was added behind the library for martial exercise and practice.

The most recent addition in the past century was a wood and briskstone hall that connects the Obsidian Armory to the Hunter’s Hall of Talabrae’s Deep. They did this to allow the Council of Twelve, the governing body of Talabrae’s Deep access to the library for meetings, and safety if necessary.

Architecture

The original architecture was a traditional dwarven stronghold. A long rectangle, it had a domed tower on each corner for visibility and support of the main walls. Two interior walls were built to provide layers of safety if the first wall was ever breached.

As the refugee camp and fortress grew into a mining settlement, future architecture leaned on both dwarven and dark elven architecture styles. There stout dwarven columns and foundations rise to meld with dark elven flying buttresses and cathedral-like ceilings.

Despite the look, the Talabreans implemented the design to support strong briskstone walls to deflect physical or magical attacks, while allowing a wide field of vision. This strength became essential as library study rooms, with additional weight in books and other materials, needed to be supported.

These architectural elements are still maintained and used. An assault from the Deepland caverns has yet to penetrate to the heart of Talabrae’s Deep. But the locals are not willing to take a chance, and see the Obsidian Armory as their ‘safe haven’ if all else falls.

Defenses

The Armory has traditional, and non-traditional, method of defense. Stained glass windows are tall and slightly thin, with arrow slits sitting on either side. These tall windows were designed for a spellcaster in mind who would need a wider field of view than an archer.

Likewise, even the stained glass is part of the defense. The Talabreans magically attuned each pane of stained glass to a primal element that is reflected in the color. When combined in the stained glass portrait, the collection of attuned glass panes acts as a mystical shield. This isn’t impervious to all magic, but just resistant and gives a spellcaster a temporary shield as defense.

All the towers are domed. This idea was based on generations of experience from building in the Deepland caverns where attacks could come from across the ground, below it, or from above. The domes are coated in a metal sheeting which can repel most average physical attacks. They simply bounce off. Just below the edge of the domes, wide doors and arrow slits allow use of dwarven ballista, dark elven dragon cannons, and archer regiments.

The Armory’s defenses also included an underground set of living quarters, complete with underground farming and water. Dark elves and dwarves didn’t stray too far from their ancestors form of agriculture. Almost half of the agriculture of Talabrae’s Deep requires a cave or cavern with an underground water source. The Obsidian Library rests atop an underground lake with ample farmland.

Talabreans keep this land tilled and periodically refreshed with fertilizer in case of emergencies. It also doubles as a place locals can study or try new agricultural techniques.

That would be Part 1 of Obsidian Armory! In Part 2, which will be in a week, we’ll dive a bit deeper and have some commentary from the Windtracer Lorekeepers on the matter!

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Now, if you’re wanting a deeper look at Hoist the Colors, take the plunge here at the link: Hoist the Colors. For Windtracer, jump over here: Windtracer: Adventures in Awldor.

Until next time!

-Kummer Wolfe