The Great Mechanism

== General Description ==
The great mechanism is a large tower at the centre of The Ring, located in the north west of Ferra. It reaches high into the clouds and is surrounded by a large trench, now filled with water. 
=== The Tower ===
The tower itself and surrounding structures are build from a brow-greenish rock not native to Ferra. Very few people ever made it into the tower itself and returned and of the ones that returned, stories of cold, wet and silent halls originate and yet, while the mechanism seems to lie dormant, there are still flickers of life amongst the stillness. Small gears still turning, valves still controlling the flow of some unseen pipe, doors still opening when people draw close. While it was estimated that the tower itself must be at least 60 floors high, based on the height of the first floor and judging the size of the visible foundation, recently an expedition by the Laurian Empire disproved that notion. Flying high with the brand new airship "Golden Skies" the expedition reached penetrated the thick cloud cover and saw that the Great Mechanism reaches far higher into the sky, their vision only being blocked by another blanket of clouds, far higher than clouds should be able to form. However the expeditions original goals of exploring the higher levels of the tower failed as there were now openings for them to access to interior and the structure seemed to be impervious the cannons of the "Golden Skies". To this day, the higher floors of the tower remain a mystery as no one is known to have ever reached another floor, either turning back on the first floor or never returning.
=== The Trench ===
There are twelve evenly spaced bridges over the trench, all of which are still usable though in various stages of deterioration. Each of the bridges is guarded by a great golem, silently and unmovingly watching outwards until someone approaches, when it suddenly springs to live, unsheathing a great flaming sword. While some people have made it past the golems, none have ever dealt significant damage to these guardians let alone destroy one. It is noted that once someone reaches and enters the tower, the guardian seizes its pursuit, returning to its post.
Though the trench as been filled with sediment from the Silent Flows, its artificial origins are still discernible. Smoot solid rock walls and enormous gears still linger in those cold still depths. The four rivers running between the trench and The Ring seem to have once been part of the trench too, similarly walled off by smooth stone walls and filled with gears but most of that is lost now below thick blankets of sediment.
=== The Ring ===
From the rivers flowing from the trench to The Ring, it is assumed that The Ring to is part of or at least related to the great mechanism. What is known is that the Ring is much much deeper than any lake of its size should be and it is said that none have truly ever seen the bottom of the lake.
== History ==
Not much is known about the great mechanism or its history. It was here when the Old Empire arrived on Ferra and judging from its style, manner of construction and age it was not built by any of the Lizardfolk Kingdoms either. They do have myths and legends about it. Some say, the great mechanism is a great sword, stabbed into the planet by a god to destroy the planet for some unknown reason, while others believe it to be a test and path to the realm of the gods, all those who manage to pass through being blessed to be minor gods or immortal agents of the gods.
It is however generally accepted that the great mechanism was built by someone else, perhaps even before the Lizardfolk as a race evolved. Who they might be and why they built it is a mystery to all, but what is known is that no other such construction has been found yet and no culture or races has comparable styles of construction.