Margaret Weis - Amber and Ashes

The gods found a world in which sorcery and mysticism was flourishing, traditional magic almost forgotten. The Orders of High Sorcery, founded in the Age of Dreams, were now disbanded; its members were either dead or scattered. The gods went to work to reform the Orders. They forbade Dalamar the Dark from entering the Tower of High Sorcery that had once been in Palanthas, but which he had removed to Nightlund, and they left that Tower hidden until they could determine what to do with it. They set about working to ensure the future of the one habitable Tower that remained at Wayreth. In this, as they had been in the past, the gods of Magic were united.

Except for Nuitari the Black.

The god of dark magic still seethed with rage over the deception of his mother, Takhisis. He felt her betrayal keenly. Though still united with his cousins in the bonds of their magic and dedicated to magic’s cause, he wished to ensure his own power and his position upon Krynn.

The shattered Tower of Istar provided him with the perfect opportunity. Working with two powerful Black-robed disciples, who were unknown to the world and to the other two gods, Nuitari cast the incantation that would not only restore the Tower but redesign it to suit Nuitari’s needs. He had determined that the Tower of the Blood Sea would be a bastion of dark wizardry.

Nuitari knows that his Tower cannot be kept secret from the Conclave and the other gods forever, but he hopes to keep the fact that it has been rebuilt concealed for as long as possible, until he can build up his strength and make his Tower impregnable.

Meanwhile, the powerful, holy, and profane artifacts that were not destroyed in the Cataclysm remain hidden in a secret location inside the Tower, watched over by a powerful guardian.

The Tower of the Blood Sea looks much like the original structure, retaining the deceptively delicate, crystalline walls. When light somehow penetrates the deep ocean water, it gives the Tower a mesmerizing beauty; its translucent and reflective surface attracts the creatures of the sea, who constantly circle its structure.

The main physical difference between the Tower of Istar and the Tower of the Blood Sea is to be found on the Tower’s dome. The faceted, crystal walls of the Tower are capped by an orb of black marble, very different from the “bloody fingers” of the original design. The dome is crowned with a circlet made of red-gold intertwined with silver, with a black void at its center. The red-gold honors Lunitari, goddess of neutral magic. The silver portion gives homage to Solinari of the white moon. The black void, central to the crowning circlet, represents Nuitari, who claims the Tower as his own.

Fish, sharks, dolphins, whales, and octopi swim about the Tower, either eyeing it curiously, or not appearing to give it much notice, as if it were just another coral formation. Some fish, fooled by its translucent crystal, bump into the walls or fight with their reflections. The exception to this is the black void within the circlet atop the Tower’s dome. Though the creatures of the Blood Sea might swim near the red-gold and silver circlet, they instinctively keep away from the black void, as they instinctively keep away from poisonous plants and deadly traps.

Unlike its counterparts, the Tower of the Blood Sea has many windows of clear crystal, though they are visible when a lamp is lit inside the walls. If many such lamps are lighted, the Tower resembles a field of stars sparkling in a night-black sky. Currently, due to the fact that there are only a few people inhabiting the Tower, only one or two rooms may be lit at any given time.

The central doorway into the Tower still exists, but is buried under tons of sand and debris. The servants of Nuitari created a new means of entrance and egress—a magical air lock. The wizards created a special chamber that allows them to catch fish and to come and go from the Tower. The air lock is a cylinder created between portions of the crystal wall. At the magical command, a porthole in either the inner or the outer wall starts to swirl and then becomes insubstantial. Upon speaking another phrase, the second porthole does the same. The chamber may be filled with water when the portholes are opened and can be drained when both magical portholes are closed. The portholes are cleverly disguised to appear to be part of the crystal wall. The only time the portholes are visible is when they are swirling open or closed. There are no markers or other symbols to identify their location. The wizards have designed a fish net that is decorated with lights to attract fish to their location. The rope net is concealed by illusion magic until the wizards activate it.

A large, winding stairway is the central feature of the Tower’s interior, very much like the staircase found in the Tower of Nightlund. Histories report that a magical light source once glowed brightly in the center of the shaft, to light the way of those ascending or descending the stairs. That has not yet been restored and the staircase remains perilously dark. The private chambers of long-dead Istaran mages lie abandoned on the eastern side of the stairwell. Two of these rooms, located about mid-level in the Tower, have been recently cleaned and are now furnished with comfortable beds. Black robes hang in the wardrobes, and each room has a small writing desk. These are the personal living quarters of the Tower’s two new occupants.

Small laboratories, work areas, and scroll archives are located on the west wall. When the Kingpriest seized the Tower and turned it into the Hall of Sacrilege, these rooms were turned into storerooms that held the minor idols, altars, and artifacts blessed by the various gods. Eventually, all the gods, with the exception of Paladine, were represented in this chamber, including the healer, Mishakal The objects blessed by the gods of Light were stored in the chambers located in the Tower’s upper stories.

Those of neutrality were placed in the central rooms, while the unholy relics of the dark gods were stored in the Tower’s lower levels.

Only the most minor artifacts are still located in the storerooms. The wizards have carefully cataloged and removed those artifacts of significant power to a secret chamber located beneath the Tower—a chamber guarded by a fearsome protector.

The Hall of Audience, now empty, holds Nuitari’s throne. Here he holds meetings with the two wizards he has brought to work within the hidden Tower. The Laboratory of the Highmage has also been restored to limited functionality, though currently it holds crates and boxes that have yet to be unpacked.

The Chamber of Eyes was once known throughout the Orders as the pinnacle of achievement for scrying magic. The original implements of this magic were either removed or destroyed before the Kingpriest claimed the Tower, but Nuitari has placed in their stead an item more powerful than even the Istaran mages would have dared dream—the God’s Eye.

Now that one of the gods has prematurely learned of the Tower’s existence, Nuitari must accelerate his plans to populate the Tower with loyal followers. He alone knows the secret of transporting wizards far beneath the depths of the Blood Sea and, although he has presumably found a way to control Chemosh, Nuitari knows that if one god has discovered his secret, others will follow. The foreboding black void located inside the circlet atop the dome is thought to be involved in the process. The only two wizards known to have survived the perilous journey have nothing to say on the subject.

Basalt is probably not the dark dwarf’s original name, but he has used it for hundreds of years and has, by now, forgotten whatever name he was given. The dwarven wizard of the Black Robes serves the god Nuitari and is one of the two caretakers of the Tower of the Blood Sea.