Tower of Aetius

The Tower of Aetius is the grand project of former Emperor Joseph Aetius. It was built upon the sacred Mount Pavonis, incalculably tall and reaching into the heavens, forged from the bones of the old primal Ymir. The tower is the source of great interest to humans and divines alike, and responsible for the calamity known as 124.

Many mysterious around the tower remain; the following is only what's known currently.

The Greatest Monument

Physical Description

The tower of Aetius is a pale white, stronger than any material that can be salvaged in the mortal realm, crafted through magics long since lost. There have been no successful ways to pierce it from the outside. The tower, while enormous and rising to the skies, is impossible large on the inside compared to the outside and its geometry does not conform to physical laws. If one flies high enough they can even see the top, almost half a dozen kilometres into the sky, seemingly unremarkable and revealing no secrets.

The Mysteries of the Tower

Entering the tower betrays its true form. The first floor is a verdant field surrounded by a small ocean with several rune gates present. These rune gates represent the means to travel through the tower (detailed later). There are several in place for floors 1-10, where the tower is more stable; in these floors humans of old once settled, though they have now become closer to spirits, as the veil between Eternia and the Netherworld is thin. These early floors are simple to access though still potentially dangerous.

The true climb of the Tower starts at floor 11 and beyond. The final floor number, according to Misfortune, is 150.

The Spirit World

The secret of the Tower of Aetius and its magnificence is easy to witness, though impossible to fully comprehend a 'how' or 'why'. Every floor in the tower seems to link to a completely different biome; some floors are just a room or a hallway, while others can span across unfathomable distances too great to even settle in Meranthe. These massive, spanning worlds are intersections of the spirit realm; evidence of this is most clear from its inhabitants, which are oft spirits, and the nature of the realms which draw parallels to the major spirit realms. The Tower of Aetius is, potentially, the greatest source of convergence known across Meranthe, allowing access to parts of the netherworld in a controlled manner.

Scholars continue to argue over the logic and, perhaps more importantly, the purpose of the tower. It is believed that Joseph Aetius had become entranced with learning the mysteries of the world, divining the nature of Eternia and its deepest secrets- a quest which he must have failed in. That, or he had become so great that he no longer needed to return.

History

Joseph Aetius

Not much is known about the creator of the tower, a figure who's name has fallen into the realm of myth within Meranthe, to the point that some doubt he existed at all and it was a mere pseudonym for one of the primordials. It is said that with one of Enarr's descendants, Aeacus, he freed Meranthe from vassaldom of the great empire of Aen and led for decades. In this time he would begin to build the tower. While not renowned across the world like Arthur Pendragon or Mikhael and Elaide, Aetius is recognized as perhaps the greatest mortal man of Meranthe.

When the tower was complete (or at least construction was no longer obvious), Joseph stepped through into it, never to return. Combined with the disappearance and rumoured death of Aeacus, the empire of Meranthe slowly dissolved back into city-states over the decades as the next in line was unable to match the legacy of his forefathers.

The Tower Through The Ages

Throughout recorded history, the tower has been the subject of study and searching. Parties have gone through to collect great treasures, though kingdoms in the past did not delve too deep as the dangers became too great. In the early days, nephilim and the direct descendants of the primordials also visited the lower areas of the tower, cautioning against advancing much further.

Great companies and heroes did over time march into the bowels of the tower, grinding up floors by the dozens, even reaching 100 and beyond- but none had come so far as Lightgarde, at the dawn of the second age.

124

At the behest of Good King Alfewynn, Delphina led the charge through the tower, though Aphros and Vdalion also did their utmost. Floor after floor they cleared, advancing at a breakneck pace over two years, until they were finally reported as entering Floor 124. They were not victorious. The few survivors from the 124th floor provide little detail of what occurred other than a jumbled nightmare: All present lost their lives, and those that survived were too scarred of mind to go on much longer. This calamity, known simply as one-hundred and twenty-four, sent a tsunami of unstable magical energy from the tower throughout Meranthe: Earthquakes, floods, and storms followed, dealing major damage to many cities, towns, and villages. It is theorized that for a moment the spirit realm and physical world connected.

This convergence of planes was for a split second, yet the power it unleashed enough to shatter Meranthe's nations.

The Renewal- Floor 11

In 2001, the demigod Misfortune provided crucial information to allow a return to climbing the tower of Aetius. Specifically, the location of Floor 11. Dive into the ocean, swim deeper than any man might hold their breath, search for the light- and move into the darkness, opposite it. Here you will find the runegate.

Climbing the Tower

Mechanics

A party only has access to tower floors as high as the highest floor taken by one of its members.

When activating a runegate, the tower of Aetius will transport the party through a random floor up to ten levels higher than the activated gate. For example, activating Runegate 11 would take you anywhere from 12-21. If that party landed upon and 'completed' floor 15, for example, the next time they arrived they would activate Runegate 15 and move from 16-25.

Each set of ten floors has its own guardian and followers. A party may or may not meet the guardians directly.

While each set of ten floors correlates to one slice of the spirit realm, the contents can be vastly different. For example, in the volcanic fumes of Ifraheim one floor might be almost entirely lava, marred by great slagging molten golems, while another could be a cozy village nestled within a mountain complete with hotsprings. Not every floor is hostile. If a floor is peaceful enough, however, one may find it has been overtaken by residents that invariably create complications or become hostile.

Dungeon Master Guide

To run a tower of Aetius event, a DM should keep in mind the spirit realm it is located in and its guardian (listed below). They have a large degree of creative freedom of what goes on in each floor unless that floor has already been explored; if uncertain, run your idea past an admin.

Dungeon masters should create their own rewards and loot that suit the floor they are imagining, rather than accepting requests from players. The exception to this is if the player has some in-character connection to the Tower and that floor in particular.

Events in the tower can be standard or expedition length depending on the expectations of the party. Expedition level events are typically more dangerous, longer and provide more rewards.

The tower of Aetius should grow progressively more dangerous as groups escalate, with an ever present chance of death. Once floor 100 and above are reached, however, there is a drastic increase in stakes- all floors above this point are expedition tier events and multiple deaths would not be uncommon. These are some of the most dangerous events that can be found in Meranthe.

When a DM completes a tower of Aetius event, they are expected to fill in the details of their floor in this wiki page. A template is provided at the bottom of the page. They do not go into the details of the event; just a brief description of the floor, and who the event was run by in case a future DM wants to ask questions.