Fath Ringeddimple, the last child of Asob Boltaction, sat cross-legged in a meditative trance in front of the artifact door.
“Cross Attics” was the single entrance into the fortress from hell and Fath would often sit before it determined to unlock its mysteries. It glowed with the ancient markings of his ancestors, and it was the unbreakable barrier between Archcrystal and the swirling legions of demons. He would sit and watch intently as the military often cleared demons from the entrance with ruthless efficiency. The thick glass walls distorted their bodies into even wilder shapes blending into one another casting shadows from the eerie glow of the pits. The shadows danced upon the young dwarf's face, his eyes darting back and forth between the impossible shapes as they fought.
He was obsessed with the study of these artifacts which his ancestors had created. Fath himself was one of the last to create an artifact in Archcrystal, the art seemingly lost to the next generation, its inspiration spent. He was convinced there were answers within the seemingly random pictures and decorations of the founders – and it would be him that discovered their meaning. He recalled a phrase which Doren repeated to him over and over that echoed in his mind: “The Immense Design of Things”. Doren warned him not to slip back into it. Fath was convinced Doren had been touched by the gods and was being prophetic, and that the artifacts were the keys to it all. Especially the door.
Fath was a young adult now, strong and determined, but devoted like no other dwarf before him. He was dedicated to the divinity of the gods, and it was this piety that set him apart from the rest of his kin. Everyone respected and communed with the gods as it was their tradition and duty, but Fath was unique in his devotion for he actively preached their virtues in long sermons anywhere he could. He was feverish with bright-eyed conviction and a merciless gaze. Fath began decorating new temples to each god in the south district with precision and care.
He diverted what resources he could, because the king and duchess were expanding the prisons in the eastern district to deal with the many dwarves who violated production orders. The populace had stopped being able to produce all of their demands, so they were thrown into prison and a semblance of martial law had rooted within the city. Fath found that bitterness towards the established authority could be transformed into religious zealotry rather easily. He smiled as his eyes drew imaginary lines across the great door. The lines hummed and throbbed and his vision distorted. He tried to make the lines blur between demon and dwarf with his eyes, between officer and citizen, and in that moment he knew where change resided – and why his ancestors created the artifacts they did.
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Thanks again to everyone interested in the fortress. I've gotten some great feedback from all of you. I remember when the artifact door was created and thinking it would interesting if there were still dwarves centuries from now who studied this as a relic and tried to decipher meaning from it, so it's fun exploring this in the story now.
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Topic: Archcrystal: 500 years in a fortress [SPOILERS] Finished (Read 494891 times)