Adytum

"Its majesty and colossus nature dims the light of the Halos, the Arks, and many great ornaments of the Forerunners. Adytum was something more pure, something with hope, rather than the characteristic arrogance of many megalithic installations in the Ecumene. For these reasons, it is less surprising to find that the Ecumene were not its original custodians." 
== History & Background ==
=== Forerunner Era ===
Following the Human-Forerunner War Adytum was one of the battlegrounds which had truly tested the capacity of the Forerunner Empire's Navy. Being a fortress world built by the Ancient Human Empire Adytum was an incomplete shield world which had been intended, originally, to act as a refugee center for Humanity during the Human-Flood War which had preceded, following the victory the structure lost attention and was only awakened again in the middle years of the war against the Forerunners to which it was refit as a battle station. 
It is unknown to what extent the Forerunner Builder Rate manipulated the original design or how much of its original makers markings remain but Adytum was one of the few artifacts of Ancient Humanity safeguarded following the war. It is unknown what secrets Adytum held to make it so valuable in the Forerunners indiscriminate destruction of any proof Ancient Humanity had existed. 
At an unknown time Adytum was passed over to the Lifeworkers to care for before its disappearance from the domains records. Notably, the monitor of Adytum is not only a forerunner A.I. but the absorbed entity of an Ancient Human A.I. as well. As an attempt to gain knowledge on Adytum's internal workings and capacity the Forerunner A.I. was unable to coerce the Human A.I. into submission and was instead directed to fuse with it, reluctantly the forerunner A.I. melded with the Ancient Human A.I. and while functional had become internally fragmented and the secrets possessed by the Ancient Human A.I. remained lost. Reluctant Shard, the born again forerunner's new chosen name remained capable enough to continue monitoring the installation however it is unknown to what capacity the monitor actually influences Adytum and how much Adytum influences Shard. 
=== Architecture ===
Adytum holds some of the most well-preserved ruins remaining of Ancient Humanity at their prime, similarly to Reluctant Shard who wages an internal war against his forerunner ancilla and his Ancient Human A.I. origins for control, the structures on Adytum struggled against the onslaught of time. Most of the ruins on Adytum are severely undermaintained and are being overrun by the encroaching vegetation. Millenia of neglect has lead to even many of the subterranean layers becoming unique biomes for the various life on the shield world. 
== Rediscovery ==
Following the discovery of the Crux Installation by the crew of the UNSC Deliverance in 2559 and the immediate retreat from the system as Created Forces closed in, it was revealed that Monitor 02A Inhibited Catalogue had imprinted upon the Deliverance's systems the location of Adytum. After fleeing the Crux Installation, UNSC Deliverance arrived at the Adytum system which prompted the emergence of Adytum which had been locked away in a Slipspace bubble.
Upon arrival the Deliverance quickly realized slip-space in the region was dissonant, trapping the vessel in normal space, likely a tool used to keep the location of the shield world secure. An initial survey team lead by Spartan Commander Chandler, Fireteam Desert and Thermal, as well as a small detachment of science officers secured a landing site for the ship outside a cityscape of ruins on the outer shell of Adytum nearby to one of its signature megalithic canyons separating segments of the shield world. With the landed Deliverance acting as the command hub, small science outposts were established within the nearby city and along the great walls of the trench. 
Research teams within the city ruins were able to quickly discern that the outer layer of the shield world was not in communication with the inner world, connection would need to be reestablished manually in order to access the inner depths of Adytum. Orbital surveys confirmed this upon noting the impressive hard light barriers located at the six evenly spaced gateways to the inner world across the shield world. 
Category:Megastructures
Category:Forerunner