Clockwork Castle

The **Hludovech Castle**, commonly refered to as the **Clockwork Castle**, is a small fortification located deep in the Onyx Mountains. It is well known by the local populations near the mountains as a strange construction, inhabited by lesser automata stuck in the role of keeping the castle centuries after its original inhabitants died.

Life in the Hludovech Castle began around two hundred years ago, built by a very successful merchant family from faraway Gvilderstaaten, according to the latest fashions from that province. Heavily inspired by Qadashian technology, all kinds of machinery and conveniences were later added to the manor; and over time it instead came to be called "Clockwork Castle".

The long dead lord of the castle left behind him a handful of loyal automatons, who to this day still clean and sweep the floors of the castle as if their lord was still there. The only way to reach the Clockwork Castle is through a series of complex caves from the south, so that explains why very few people have ever gotten the chance to witness such a marvel.

## The Lost Castle in the Mountains

The origins of the castle can be tracked all the way back to the expansion of Azan through the Onyx Strip. Trying to reach the eastern seas, the Azan Empire occupied a strip of land north of the Onyx Mountains, entering in conflict with the Gökmavi. While the conflicts between Azan and the Gökmavi were sparse, the tensions between them were constant due to the competition for the salt trade, as well as the massive importance of the strip to the azanese economy. As such, Azan built many fortifications throughout the strip in case of conflict, to resist the nomadic raiders behind tall walls. After the Azanese Civil War, many of these fortresses were destroyed or abandoned, since the Gökmavi’s nomadic ways saw fortifications as pointless vulnerabilities that could be starved to death by raiding actions. The fortress that would become the Clockwork Castle would remain abandoned, only serving as an occasional hiding place for thieves and bandits. It would not be until 2.951 ABE when it became occupied again.

**Johrn Van Hludovech**, was the ninth son of August Van Hludovech, head of the Hludovech merchant family of Gvilderstaaten. Johrn Van Hludovech was educated in trade and economics, just as the rest of his brothers, but unlike them, he did not show a talent for the profession nor did he develop a particular love for it. Instead, from a very early age, he studied engineering and physics, seeing the application of scientific methods for the construction of simple machines, usually hiring wizards to power them, something that greatly annoyed his family. However, many said that Johrn Van Hludovech suffered from bouts of obsession and compulsions, giving him bouts of unhinged behavior that could become dangerous to those around him. After an incident where he nearly burned down the family’s holiday palace, he was exiled from Gvilderstaaten, though he was allowed to take a decent stipend so as to not end up a beggar. He then went to Nanakinor, where he began searching for places to develop his engineering interests. He was hired by the Archeological Society of Azan, who at the time was studying the remains of Qadashian technology. The society thought that a bright mind like his could solve the mechanisms used by the ancient Qadashians to make some of their forgotten pieces, most of them having degraded to a high degree.

Johrn was given access to the Society’s archives and some pieces, and he began his dissertations about these strange peoples and their technology. He was fascinated by the achievements of these ancient people, and wished to replicate it. His brilliant mind read all that had been written about Qadash, and he even partook in an expedition inside of the Handprint Desert in search for archeological remains. However, he soon began experimenting with the technology, trying to dissect it to not only understand it and replicate it, but to improve it. This greatly perturbed the Archeological Society of Azan, who ended up expelling him, accusing him of going beyond his tasks and damaging irreplaceable artefacts during illicit experiments. Unperturbed, Johrn planned to continue his experiments, with or without the Archaeological Society of Azan. One night, he managed to enter the Academy of Archaeology of Azan, stole many of the qadashian artefacts and started a fire in the building to distract the society from the robbing. This is believed to have destroyed hundreds of documents, remains and studies about Qadash and its technology, setting back the studies of the Archaeological Society of Azan in unimaginable ways.

Having been branded a madman and a criminal, Johrn ran away from Azan and nearby allied territories, ending up in the lands of the Gökmavi. There, he would live for a decade in the city of Tsa'agan. There, he worked under a different name in the salt business, using his engineering knowledge to make machines to improve salt extraction. However, in 2.951 ABE, he was somehow recognized and had to flee for his life. He would end up in the Onyx Mountains, where he took refuge in one of the abandoned azanese forts he found by chance. Once there, he found that the old fort was in surprisingly good condition, and what was better, the nearby lands had enough resources to sustain him. Seeing this as a sign of good fortune, he set up his base of operations there.

Details about what happened next are unknown. What is known is that, when the fort was discovered again by a group of gökmavi herders, the place had been turned into something completely different. The nearby locals who went to investigate this strange place found it crawling with lesser automata, machines without sentience and programmed to do only menial tasks. Many had humanoid shape and appeareance, while others had strange forms suited for their purpose. However, all of them showed great inspiration from qadashian technology. The locals thought the place was cursed with abominable and unnatural entities, but the news of this discovery ended up reaching the Archaeological Society of Azan, who sent some of his members to study the place. There, they were able to confirm that these creations were indeed inspired by qadashian technology, but rebuilt from scratch. When the archeologists tried to enter the mansion, the automata blocked the entrance, saying that only the master could grant access. Not wanting to destroy the machines trying to enter by force, the Archaeological Society of Azan set up a program to study this strange place. They have also conjectured that, since it has been decades since the discovery of the Clockwork Castle and no living person has seen coming out of the fortress, Johrn Van Hludovech must have died long ago. And with the death of their master, there is no one to give permission to outsiders to enter the mysterious place.