Night Spire

The Night Spire of Naaros is the largest tower in the Doomlands of Naaros, where Agarash's former throne room once stood. It was also the site of the final battle between the Elder Magi and their allies against Agarash in 3572 MS.

History

See also: Naaros: History

Due to the vigilance of the gods Kai and Ishir, Naar was unable to send his forces through a Shadow Gate into Magnamund. However, this did not stop Naar from sending material from other planets and Planes of Existence into Magnamund. Long before the Age of Chaos and Agarash's arrival, Naar created a rock, constructed from matter from the Plane of Darkness as well as Kagonite, from another planet, and imbued it with his power. This rock travelled across space and arrived in Magnamund during the Age of Chaos. This rock, named the Pillar of Doom, crashed into what was a fertile plain, vapourising the sea, land and people within seconds, and creating a massive chasm. The Pillar of Doom served as a way for Naar to channel his power directly into Magnamund, summoning the slaves that would eventually build Naaros. The Night Spire contains the core remnant of that Pillar of Doom. Agarash himself was later born from Naaros, and he made the Night Spire the centre of his empire and his throne room.

In MS 3572, the Elder Magi fought a desperate battle against Agarash in the Night Spire. Scaldar, an Elder Magus, attempted to use the Scarlet Flame against Agarash, destroying his physical body, but Agarash managed to survive, and even take control of the Scarlet Fire, causing untold destruction not seen since the Draconic Holocaust. However, Agarash and Naaros' depravity had been so extreme, reality itself had become warped in Naaros, with the fabric keeping the Planes of Existence separate becoming weak. Agarash's wielding of the Scarlet Fire was the trigger to shatter this fabric, creating a pocket dimension of pure pain, called the Pit of Eternal Pain. This Pit captured the tortured souls in Naaros, together with Agarash and many of his forces in Naaros, and since the pocket dimension lay outside of the dimension of time, they were destined to relive their tortures at that moment forever. The collapse of the dimensions caused the top floors of the Night Spire to shatter, destroying much of Naaros. Some of the upper levels of Naaros were preserved, with a dimensional anomaly causing some of the debris to float in mid-air, in defiance of gravity.

In MS 5103, during the events of The Dusk of Eternal Night, the Naarvakim converged upon Naaros, intending to open a Gate of Doom to the Pit of Eternal Pain, by causing a powerful explosion to reshatter the dimensions, and then sacrificing a powerful figure to be exchanged with Agarash to release him. They successfully opened such a Gate, and Blazer, under the possession of the Shasarak (with the Naarvakim thinking he was on their side), sacrificed Grey Star, releasing Shasarak, rather than Agarash as the congregation expected. Then, depending on the actions of the player, Agarash was released, either by Grand Master (cast inside by Shasarak and Blazer) or Blazer (who sacrificed himself to prevent Grand Master from falling inside). Upon returning, Agarash summoned the Vaag to attack the Kai Monastery on the Isle of Lorn. Grey Star, who had been released from the Pit of Eternal Pain either by Shasarak (cast in by Grand Master) or Blazer (sacrificing himself), teleported themselves and Grand Master to the Isle of Lorn to flee.

Appearance

An illustration of the Night Spire is available in The Dusk of Eternal Night, §125.

Not much is known about the appearance of the Night Spire prior to Agarash's defeat. This section is based on The Dusk of Eternal Night, long after that event.

External appearance

Externally, the Night Spire was a rotten steel structure, although still imposing, and held together through heat and Naar's power. The lower floors stand above the lava in the Chasm of Naaros, giving it an intense temperature.

After the defeat of Agarash, the upper levels of Naaros were shattered by the energies creating Agarash's jail, the Pit of Eternal Pain. Nevertheless, the dimensional scarring held some of it in place, with its stones floating in mid-air, in defiance of gravity.

Lower floors

The lower floors have chambers of immense height, and various shattered stairwells allow access to the next floor. The staircases leading to the upper floors were used by creatures of various sizes, but mostly larger than a human. As a result, the steps have handholds for smaller creatures.

One chamber at this level has a large basalt door, far beyond the size of a human, with thousands of runes engraved on each panel, and a lock of pure Kagonite sealing it. This chamber once stored the Lorestones that Agarash captured, and here, he and his strongest lieutenants attempted to destroy them. This chamber is a circular hall, with a seven-point star coated in demonic runes, with bowls at each star's point, which once contained the Lorestones. As the Lorestones could destroy most Agarashi, Agarash was forced to store them in this room, and these floors became shunned by the Agarashi. It was also here where the Elder Magi stole back the Lorestones.

Middle floors

From the lower levels onwards, more debris caused by the same dimensional anomaly of the upper floors floats in the chambers. Beetle-like Agarashi work busily, restoring the damage. The upper levels are increasingly used to spawn new Agarashi, the walls covered in mucus membranes and larvae. The floors are also more populous and better-maintained the higher one goes.

At one floor, a chamber covered in eyes serves to protect against intruders. Intruders are set upon by imperfect releases from the Pit of Eternal Pain.

Upper floors

Main article: Pillar of Doom

Beyond this watch room, the walls revert to Kagonite. A corridor eventually leads to the remnants of the Pillar of Doom, which has had stairs carved into it, leading to the top floor of the Night Spire. This chamber contains statues of the Children of Agarash, looking upwards in reverence of their leader, Agarash — even the most feared Agarashi that almost conquered Magnamund were but servants to a greater power. The monolith emits a dull grey light, casting shadows on the statues, making them seem alive. Residues of evil power float around the monolith, and potent psychic residues allow those gifted in the Mindforce to understand past events leading to the creation of Naaros.

Prior to the summit, the staircase leads to various other floors in the Night Spire. Climbing the entire staircase is an arduous task for a human: The steps were designed to be climbed by creatures larger than a human, meaning that a human would have to use their arms to climb the steps, estimated in the hundreds. As such, it is an arduous task, even for a Kai Grand Master. The psychic residues

Agarash's personal chambers

At the top of the staircase, various corridors lead to Agarash's personal chambers, although in MS 5103, the Naarvakim have repurposed parts of this floor to prepare for their ritual to bring him back. This floor contains the following chambers:

• A smithy where Agarash may have forged legendary weapons such as Tephrael (Landbreaker) and Zâsh-lagor (Soulspear). A supernatural flame also used by Zantaz to forge his weapons for Naar's forces blazes here.
• A crypt where Agarash stored the bodies and souls of various creatures he and his forces exterminated. In this chamber, Agarash summoned Death itself, embodied in the form of a Deathlord: Ixiataaga.
• Agarash's personal jail and torture chamber. In this chamber, the Naarvakim have stored Drednurash the Mindscourge in a vat of Korlinium.

Before reaching the throne room, one must enter an antechamber. Immense heat has turned the statues of the Lords of Evil within to melt, and the walls have become glassy. Here, the Naarvakim are able to summon incomplete entities from the Pit of Eternal Pain.

Agarash's throne room

Agarash's throne room is an immense domed chamber, far larger than most cathedrals or temples in Magnamund. The crown of the chamber is supported by jet-black obsidian lines to the walls, with each section coated in glass that emits an evil red light. Various warriors, from the battle against Agarash, are frozen in place, with their remains melted by heat, and fused in twisted agony. Various victims are impaled from protrusions of the pillars in the throne room, and are kept alive by dark priests as they writhe in agony, to power the Naarvakim's ritual, akin to the Nengud-kor-Adez.

Agarash's massive throne sits in this chamber, far taller than most creatures, and may be the very tip of the Pillar of Doom. The throne contains seven cavities (two of which have glowing gemstones in them), with flowing scripts on the outside.

In the gamebooks

The Night Spire is only visited once, in The Dusk of Eternal Night. Here, Grand Master will discover they are too late to foil the Naarvakim's plans, and will witness not only Agarash's return, but the return of Shasarak, and the unwitting betrayal of their fellow Kai Grand Master, Blazer, who was possessed and turned into an unwitting pawn of Shasarak. Agarash will then send the Vaag to attack the Kai Monastery on the Isle of Lorn, and Grey Star will teleport himself and Grand Master there, evading capture by Agarash's forces in Naaros.