Baran, The Silent Tower

The Elnorian Babel Towers that once stood as monuments to the divine right to rule of those fallen Angels withstood the chaos of the Cataclysm remarkably well. Some more than others such as mighty Bel'Zanar which endures to this day as the heart of the Realms.

Baran, the Tower found in the once green and pleasant western lands of Shen, still stands proud and defiant. Visible from far it rises impossibly high like all its kin, potent reminders that for all their faults the Elnorians were great engineers blessed with knowledge beyond mere mortals. Yet, the closer one approaches Baran the more one will begin to see its defects. Great rents upon its surface expose the tower's innards, and it is tilted somewhat suggesting of subsidence within the ground upon which it rises. And of course, the Obsidian Wall that encircles Baran, a towering edifice one might consider a wonder all its own were it not for the immensity of Baran that looms beyond it. A great many watchtowers rise from the Obsidian Wall, all of them stronger on the inner perimeter, facing the Babel Tower. Indeed, all defences are stronger facing inward. The reason is simple.

They are there to ensure that whatever resides within Baran stays there.

Baran fell long before the Cataclysm. The precise cause of the fall is not something the Elnorians desired to be known so all records were expunged. All that is known is that some terrible event happened and that its ruling Elnorian went mad, its deeds so atrocious even its fellows were disgusted and driven to expunge its sins. The Obsidian Wall was raised and bound with potent wards and fortified to keep that which lay inside imprisoned. Until the Cataclysm a legion was stationed at the Obsidian Wall continuously, watching over it and ensuring nothing went in, and nothing came out. That all ended with the Cataclysm. Fortunately, the wards bound into its volcanic stone endure to this day, as potent now as when they were created. Thus, the walls remain inviolate even though the watch towers have long been empty and no patrols march upon its battlements.

The occasional party of treasure hunters will on occasion scale the walls and venture into Baran in search of treasure. And what do those who survive such ventures find therein, within that broken tower raised by Gods long ago?

They find horror. They find the restless dead, the once living denizens of Baran consigned to a hellish existence unable to escape their prison or willingly find blessed release. They face nightmarish creations of twisted desiccated flesh and brittle bones animated by necromantic power. And if they are truly unfortunate, they find an Elnorian who has transcended death and become something more, and far worse than even its more mad and debased kin.

Baran is little more than an immense barrow for the dead, a place of such evil even the Elnorians feared that which lay within. Now only the truly desperate dare brave its winding corridors and halls for though great wealth and treasure may be found within, the risks far outweigh the potential prize.