Ameder Vaults
It will be a repository of glories, filled to the brim with artefacts from across the globe! ...When it's finished.The Ameder Vaults are one of Amonost's most brilliant jewels, serving as a resplendent (or perhaps gaudy) demonstration of the small Valathean nation's immense wealth.
Vault Halls by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Amonost itself is founded on the backs of two immense trade families run by the families of Amonost and Zinneder, now split into the ruling family of the nation and the state-sponsored Zinneder Trade Company.
The idea of the Ameder Vaults was put forward in 5976 as the nation's hundred-year anniversary approached, with hopes that the Vaults would be constructed in time for the anniversary celebrations to allow the small country's populace and flow of tourists to witness some of the weirder and more wonderful of its rulers' collections.
Unfortunately, the road to progress has been particularly rocky. Though some sections of the Vaults have been completed and opened to the public, the majority of the planned works are still underway over a century after they began. The construction, at this point, has become part of the attraction, with tourists invited to participate in construction workshops and massive events thrown in honour of new sections finally opening.
Purpose / Function
So rare is it for such power to be placed where anyone could touch it...The idea for the Vaults as a semi-public repository of Amonost's more intriguing artifacts was first raised by an architect of the Amonost royal line in 5976. A panel had been gathered across the small nation to determine what should be done about their hundredth anniversary, and while festivities were a given, many of the citizenry wanted to create something permanent for the future.
Though a monument was the standard idea, the suggestion of a museum was far more interesting. As both a museum and a place to safeguard knowledge and artifacts, the Vaults would serve as a monument to Amonost's strengths.
Some areas of the vault could be dedicated to the history of their people, stretching back even before the nation's founding, some could be dedicated to the different trades practiced throughout the nation, and the largest and most significant would be well-protected displays of the rare finery and magics that had been gathered over the previous century.
As plans expanded, ideas for what the Vaults could represent changed alongside them. Soon, it was decreed that not only would it represent all of Amonostic culture, life, and history, but they would also leave room to represent other nations as well.
Though these areas would be well-separated, the international exhibits would serve as ways for glimmers of other cultures.
Endless Works by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Defenses
Believe it or not, but security's been a lot harder to maintain since they invited tourists into the construction sites.Naturally, any vault in a world with magic is at risk of robbery - and with the length of the construction works ongoing, there have been many attempts and setbacks in the vaults' security. The safety and security of the Ameder Vaults has been the highest priority of its architects and their sponsors since its conception, for without the items in the vaults, there would be little reason to their existence. Thus: though the jewels and cultural heritage shown within the vaults are impressive, its defences are a true world-class gem that, were they able to be told to others, would stand as an example for others to follow.
Security's Tight by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Not only did they invent the role of securimancer, meaning a mage specialising in specifically securing vaults and the like, but they have also been prolific in inventing new security mechanisms and magics to expand on the Vaults' safety for both treasures and tourists.
While the majority of the vault's security details are highly classified, those that have been breached are often shared throughout the magical world as a way of allowing others to innovate on what was already created.
Some of the known measures present in the vault have included the promotion of young dragons to security roles (which has been rather challenging for the vaults to keep quiet, given the loud nature of some dragons), the invention of a spell that traps anyone attempting to teleport into the vaults into an illusion of them whilst their body is sent elsewhere, and an alarm system that is specifically inaudible to anyone not registered to the vaults' own security system.
High Security by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Artifacts of the Vaults
Some of the better known artifacts on display in the vaults at the moment are also some of the more dangerous. While the majority should be enjoyed by visiting, here are two as a taster! The Durstinauv Axe is a cursed battleaxe found in the depths of a bog in Amonost's north by a farmer with no martial skill. The axe's furious personality swiftly possessed the farmer and caused him to go on a bloody killing spree, with each blow dealt warping his body further until the farmer turned into a second cursed weapon: a sickle, this time. Though the second weapon was destroyed, the axe was retrieved by a cleric with the wherwithal to protect himself against its potential curse prior to picking up, preventing its bloody reign. The Neruithe Goblet is a chalice carved from a glowing unidentifiable gemstone. Rumoured to have been produced as an offering for a god of magic, it is so heavily enchanted that attempts to discern its effects render the caster permanently blind with glowing eyes. Using the goblet causes effects that depend entirely on the one drinking it: after the first individual was healed of all their ailments and the second was incinerated beyond the capabilities of resurrection magic, the goblet was locked away in the vaults. It was gifted to an adventurer in the past, and was traded to Amonost in return for two other artifacts - which ones, and indeed which adventurer, are not known.
Durstinauv by Hanhula (via Midjourney)
Oh now this is a fun one Han, a vault for the truly interesting, perhaps a little deranged, and most definitely dangerous magic artifacts. Thus is its construction ever truly complete what with needing to always be up to date for security, in a world of magic, of near limitless possibilities. A fantastic piece, wonderfully written. I love the two artifacts you teased too, the Axe in particular catches the eye, such an interesting curse. Why did the farmer become a sickle. What is the curse specifically, how does it work. Would it turn others into weapons based on background or profession from before they'd picked it up? So many interesting aspects to that tale, so many questions. Wonderfully written, and a place that could also be a hell of a heist story/one off session. :)