The Emerald Spire

A large ruined fortress made of green, tempered glass stands in the Echo Woods of south-central Cantica, a half-day journey from the town of Fort Inevitable. Crumbling foundations and the bases of once-great towers are all that remain, standing in a blasted glen where no trees grow. What little still stands clearly shows scorch from whatever weapons or magic destroyed it ages ago. The green rubble itself bears no moss or plants upon it to mark how long it has stood there in ruin, suggesting powerful arcana was melded into the material itself; the fact that no light at all can pierce the gloom within the confines of the wrecked structure supports this. The glen itself is avoided by animals and all but the most foolhardy of adventurers: a well-known local rumour states that mysterious rifts open periodically in here, regurgitating unspeakable monsters and stealing unwary explorers away who are never to be heard from again. Whether these are planar anomalies or something linked to the tower itself is uncertain, but it makes for a convenient defense for those who would escape the law or other pursuers. Goblins in particular tend to make short-lived strongholds in the surface ruins.
The true nature of the ruins lies deeper: in the center of the ruin stands a pillar of Conjurer's Crystal, a powerful arcane reagent that was used heavily by the ancient Valparisans to power their magi-tech. This pillar, the Emerald Spire, pierces deep into the earth as it spans for miles upon miles into the Underdark. Ancient cellars wrap around its length allowing access to the crystal, though ancient traps and local monsters make this a less-than-simple task. The upper floors of the cellar have long ago been remade by short-lived locals or passing monster tribes while the deeper ones seem to have been consumed by planar instabilities causing them to be flooded with water or lava, making them all but impassible. The very deepest floors are unmolested by anything but time and still retain their original designs and furnishings, showcasing the sensibilities of their ancient Valparisan designers. 
These ruins are all that remain of Dahn Shalast, the capital of the Valparisan empire in southern Dionisia, ruled by the Magelord of Conjuration Sasien Tol L'ren. The vast cities and infrastructure that had once been built around the central castle have been obliterated by war, time and periodic local catastrophes wrecked by hopefuls underestimating the Spire's potential. Indeed, it seems that the Spire is routinely scrubbed from the historical records of local governments, militaries and academic institutions following catastrophic accidents; the area has been recolonized from scratch numerous times over the centuries. 
Locals often refer to the ruins as the Emerald Spire, though that is more accurately the name for the massive crystal growth within the wreckage.
Category:Cantica
Category:Landmark
Category:Dionisia
Category:History