Chapter 5 - Damenburg Castle

Damenburg Castle, a huge and imposing structure that is located inside the deepest, darkest and most chilling forest; On the periphery of the castle, dark mountains frame a valley that lets a breeze of spectral sound flow.

Delimiting the castle's territory, there is a robust solid stone defensive wall, capable of resisting any type of attack, be it mundane or magical; Thanks to the great anti-siege engineering that was used in its construction together with the powerful enchantments that were used, they make the walls of Damenburg Castle practically indestructible.

Inside the impassable wall is what gives this place its name, the Damenburg Castle itself; a structure of a combination of designs between the classic Gothic architecture of the Middle Ages in conjunction with an outstanding style of the Renaissance period, combining both architectural styles in such a way that the only word to describe the place is ...

Impressive.

The entire northern section of the complete, inside the wall is a grove, a relaxing natural area composed of an Artificial Lake, Hedge Walls, beautiful Gardens, a very well-kept Greenhouse, a Grotto that is connected with the deep sections of the Castle, and a small Farm Field, this grove reflects the beauty layers of being created by nature.

Four interconnected tower-shaped buildings form the periphery of a huge building in proportions, these were the four towers.

The Royal Chapel; place of worship and prayers, the religious center of the castle and places where the events that involve this practice take place; In all the definition of the word, the tower that forms the Royal Chapel is a miniature cathedral, its splendor and beauty can easily be described as touched by the hand of God.

On one side large windows show the images of beautiful angels bringing light, hope and salvation to the faithful; on the other hand and as an opposite reflection of this, equally imposing windows grant the images of powerful demons carrying darkness, suffering and devastation against the heretics who dare to challenge them.

But all these figures pay homage to a much greater and exalted one.

The bearer of light and darkness, the giver of life and death, the one who can bestow maximum prosperity or absolute destruction; His figure is reflected in the largest and most important of the windows of this place; in one of his hands she holds an orb that floats slightly, while in his other hand she firmly holds a staff from which six points protrude from its upper part.

As an opposite reflection of the Royal Chapel, is the Tower of Magic and Science; Its high peaks on stormy days are capable of trapping and conducting the electrical energy produced by lightning, this is mainly due to a channeling and energy storage system found in the subsoil of this tower, the electrical conduits used by this place they make those days, the tower produces a spectacle of lightning and sparks.

Being a pinnacle of research and innovation, the Tower of Magic and Science has all the necessary facilities to carry out its function; from the most basic chemistry equipment, to the most complex incantation tables for magical research, through cells and cages used to conduct less ethical experiments; all this for the sake of magical and scientific research.

As a reflection of the perpetuity and permanence of time and death in this world, the Clock Tower rises; in its constant movement that echoed in a click, clack, click, clack, marks the passing of seconds, minutes and hours; its precision in timing is worthy of the finest clockwork ever designed.

Its structure is solid, it does not have any cracks or imperfections in its masonry; its wrought iron roof, the bell tower and the frame that makes up its internal structure are capable of supporting a set of 8 15-ton bells.

The tower is based on a concrete base 20 meters wide and 4 meters thick, with a depth of 5 meters below ground level. The four clocks that make up the tower are located 70 meters high.

As part of the building there is an elevator that facilitates mobility within the structure, its operating mechanism is truly simple, requiring only a levitation charm to move the elevator.

To illuminate such an imposing structure, a series of energy-efficient LEDs provide all the necessary light, which together with its antique style, highlights the perfect balance between ancient and modern.

Each side of the clock is formed by a 7-meter spherical iron structure that contains 312 pieces of opaque glass, like a stained glass window, some of these pieces can be removed to check the hands of the clock, the frames of the spheres are golden.

Inside this four-sided chime clock the organs of an ingenious machinery are hidden; Three suspended weights are connected by steel cables to a barrel and a series of gears, which in turn are wound on a coil.

The whole mechanism works by the most primordial of forces, gravity. When the weight falls, it supplies the energy that activates the watch.

The central weight, controlled by a pendulum with a three-pointed star, is what operates the hands.

Every two seconds, and thanks to the force of gravity that pulls the corresponding barrel, the pendulum is released, making the gears turn.

The system is adjusted using coins on the top of the pendulum. Adding coins alters its center of mass, effectively making it less long. This has the effect of increasing the clock speed by 2/5 of a second in a 24 hour period.

The other two weights are responsible for ringing the bells that mark the quarter hours, these bells are seven different which sound together giving a harmonious tune, each one is made of a different magic metal being these, Cold Iron, Mithral, Adamantite, Uru, Celestial Bronze, Meteoric Steel and Marine Silver, on the other hand, the last bell made of 15 tons of Orichalcum is the only one that is touched every hour, marking the end and the beginning of an hour.

The bells are struck by hammers moved by cables that come from a small upper space in the clock room and the bell tower, where various mechanisms control the movement of the bells to make each one ring.

If the Royal Chapel symbolizes religious beliefs and faith in a superior figure; the Tower of Science and Magic the tireless effort to progress; and the Clock Tower the constant passage of time and how finite existence can be; the last tower, the Torre del Arte, represents the expressions of ideas, emotions and a vision of the world, through various resources.

The very structure of the Torre del Arte is a symbol of its very expression, being reflected in Architecture, which is considered one of the most important fine arts.

Each floor of the Torre del Arte corresponds to a different type of art, these being Architecture, Sculpture, Music, Dance, poetry / literature, Cinema, Photography, Comic / Manga and Videogames.

Give it the naturalization of this building, every 24 hours it internally remodels itself to change the places that each floor occupies, giving the meaning that all the arts are equally important in society.

But the real gem is the Main Building, the one to which the four towers are attached, the real Damenburg Castle, although simply calling it a castle can be insulting, given that Damenburg Castle is more like a citadel or a city entirely made up of a only building.

Containing all the facilities to fulfill all the wishes of a supreme lord, the building houses the most luxurious of the rooms, the best dining rooms, the most complete libraries and the most relaxing bathrooms; a staff comprised almost entirely of hundreds of thousands of android maids served as domestic staff throughout the castle.

And although the naked eye Damenburg Castle is impressive, it is equally impressive that which cannot be seen with the naked eye, since hidden underground, below the castle is a large complex of crypts, tombs and dungeons that make up a network of virtually endless corridors and rooms.

But beyond the catacombs are the depths, which contain a complex Sewerage System and a waste processing plant that recycles 100% of the waste, a complex Labyrinth carved out of the very rock, connected to an Underground Canal that It circulates for miles, linked to multiple Submerged Caverns that run even deeper into the earth, leading to what can easily be described as the Evil Nest, the lair of one of the most powerful beasts in the Castle.

In the depths of Damenburg Castle, was the throne room, pillars support the vaulted ceiling, beautiful chandeliers hang from the ceiling providing all the necessary lighting, a luxurious carpet runs the way to a golden throne raised on 13 steps that separated it from the rest of the throne room, the back rose eight feet, behind the throne was a stained glass window that allowed the passage of natural light giving the place an aura of divinity, that was the throne of the Dungeon Master.

And on the throne of the Dungeon Master was the one who carried that same title, a humanoid figure dressed in an elegant white robe with golden edges, on his ring fingers were rings with great magic power, to his left was a staff floating. matte black whose upper part culminated in six points in which a powerful crystal of power was embedded.

His face was totally pale and had sharp features, his ears were pointed, his hair had a hue that could easily be mistaken for platinum strands, on his head was a three-pointed crown that proclaimed him a supreme lord and on the the back of his head a black halo that emitted the purest light showed his divine power.

His eyes were pools of absolute darkness, his sclera was as black as the darkest night, but in the center of that darkness was a point of purple light shining in total darkness.

The one on the throne was Zark Ar Zatho, the Dungeon Master and overlord of Damenburg Castle.