Glantri Pyromancer Stronghold
by RobinThose passing through the gate towards the Elemental Plane of Fire in the GSM Dependance must however travel 67 miles South east to reach the Glantrian Pyromancer Stronghold (as located on the awesome map of Havard), even though the Flame Geyser can be seen from here. Originally there was a gate in the former location of the Communal Magic room (currently 35’ above the Griffon Stables but this was made unreachable due the Fire disaster caused by the Fire Elementalists in 875AC. The gate does still exist, yet it is extremely hard to open it, as it needs a stable flame to open the gate; an almost impossible feat 35’ in the air.
Since the the Fire Elementalists moved to the GSM Dependance (892AC), they have to use this manual route. Some mages use Teleportation from there, yet most mages do not have such acute knowledge of a location in the Pyromancer Stronghold, and have to walk/jump (or fly). Eitherway they need guards to safely reach the Stronghold, as many enemies regularly attack the Stronghold and those within.
Erected around the single Flame Geyser, located on the very same location ass the city of Glantri on the Prime Plane, this steel and solidified magma and flame construction resembles three gigantic (335’ tall) blades on a large seemingly circular stronghold, with three hexagonal corner castles holding the base of these blades. In between these castles, three powerful barbicans and a wall of battlements is placed.
The whole structure seems to concentrate the very magical energy of this Plane into a powerful stream infusing the whole area, and even permeating into the Prime Plane in Glantri. This excess energy feeds the Elemental Fire nexi and gates to the Elemental Plane of Fire in the whole nation of Glantri.
This Flame Geyser is actually a reaction of the Plane of Fire on the magical energy drain from the Sphere of Energy (to which the Plane of Fire is aligned) due to the Nucleus of Spheres’ alteration by the Immortals in 630BC and thereafter. The Immortals created a breach between the Prime Plane and the Plane of Fire, on the location of the Nucleus of Spheres and some minor adjustments to the Nucleus of Spheres to enable this. The Nucleus absorbs this energy by its Dilithium crystals, converting it with Radiance into magical energy, but in effect also spreading this altered energy over the Prime Plane Mystara. As such it might appear the Flame Geyser expels fire into the Plane of Fire, yet this is a mere reaction of the immense amount of energy from the Sphere of Energy sucked in through the breach, violently expelling any excess back into the Plane of Fire.
It was a great surprise when in 1009AC the Flame Geyser suddenly flickered, then collapsed and ended. The Pyromancers, not knowing they took energy from the Sphere of Energy drained by the Radiance were dumbfounded, and could not discover what did really happen, why the geyser stopped and how to reignite it anew. For all experiments and research, they could not even locate the breach, deep “underground” in the Plane of Fire which was the cause of the Flame Geyser, as it had been collapsed into itself. As they had no contact with Energy Immortals they never learned why and how this happened (and even if they had , these Immortals would not explain). They continued the research many months to find solutions. And even though this was easier, as no one in the Plane of Fire coveted to possess the Flame Geyser any longer, and no wars needed to be fought, they still could not resolve the issue.
Until one moment in the year 1013AC, a minute breach opened, consumed some experimenting pyromancers and the Flame Geyser bursted into life anew. This was the moment the Radiance no longer drained from the Sphere of Entropy, but from the Sphere of Energy again. A similar but reversed effect happened in the Realm of Night (see adventure M5 Talons of Night) on the very same location, where an Entropic geyser in the middle of the Necromonger capital (Night’s version of Glantri) suddenly were deprived of their energy influx they gained in 1009AC. The Radiance somehow drains from the Sphere of Energy again. Nobody knows how, why or by whom—yet clever Thanatos is suspected; “Death can’t die, and always live to kill or try” was one of his favourite sentences after the discovery of the renewed drain on Energy.
The Pyromancers were over enjoyed, the Plane of Energy inhabitants too; new wars were ensued to try to gain possession of the Flame Geyser.
DM note; no matter who controls the geyser, they can’t influence the effects it has on the Radiance, and with that on the Prime Plane. However, they might be able to increase their use of magic on the direct area in the Plane of Fire, create magical weapons, and new spells, which might have effects on Plane of Fire inhabitants travelling to the Prime (or other) Plane. In 1750AC the Radiance finally explodes violently, also permanently destroying the geyser of flame and most of the Pyromancer stronghold. The balance will finally be restored.
The map of the Pyromancer Stronghold I created today (in one go from 05;30 to 23;30), and actually went way better than I had ever expected. The art I derived the idea from is interred into the map.
