Praisegems - 1104 Early Winter by cephalo

DF Map Archive:

• Home
• Development / News
• Signup
• [+] Upload Map
• Browse Maps
• Browse Points of Interest
• Browse Comments
• Recent Activity
• Favourites
• [+] Upload Movie
• Browse Movies
• Movie Comments
• SL's DF Map Compressor
• CMV Movie Editor

Points of Interest

• Δ 81. The Queen's Chamber
  The queen's chamber is filled almost entirely with gifts and treasure. Blue peacocks gently strut over piles of gold and silver coins and cut gemstones. Strewn about are some of the most amazing and valueable dwarf made creations ever known. Among these are artifacts such as Lortetherros Dolok Gashcoz the perfect star ruby and Enozalnis the raw adamantine flute. Indeed the accumulation of treasures gave the dwarves no choice but to move the king consort's bed into the hallway! The bed however, chiseled from a single massive emerald stone, is comfortable to say the least. - cephalo
• Δ 78. Throne of the Queen
  The queen's throne overlooks the main hall.
  
  This is a petrified wood throne. All craftsdwarfship is of the highest quality. It is encircled with bands of petrified wood, reindeer leather and yellow grossular. This object is adorned with hanging rings of star saphire and rose gold and menaces with spikes of malachite and pig tail fiber. On the item is an image of buckets in pink jade. On the item is an image of Tomesmastered the Chills of Thunder the raw adamantine statue of Uzol Racedcrystal in fine pewter. - cephalo
• Δ 77. Great Hall of Praisegems
  This hall is the main meeting area for the 343 dwarfs living in the mountainhome of Praisegems. The tables are white marble, the chairs are native gold and the statues are rose gold casts. The central carpet is weaved from imported rutile and pitchblende. The three bronze statues near the entrance are the remains of bronze colossi that have visited the fort. - cephalo
• ¶ 75. Overview
  Praisegems fortress is rock suspended in a basin of magma. (Download the save here.)
  It serves as the mountainhome of The Violent Ceiling, a dwarven civilization. 343 dwarves call this place home.
  
  (image) - cephalo
• Δ 74. The survival of Rovod Sabrechained the Noble Phrase of Crypts
  This is the hospital. It is well equipped to deal with most kinds of mass emergencies.
  
  The most famous patient of this hospital is the dwarf who has received a remarkable number of successful procedures, and in one case was almost fully re-assembled by the medical team.
  
  Rovod Sabrechained is an axedwarf of the legendary Mansions of Sanctuary axedwarf squad. Early in his career a goblin fired a copper bolt that by some chance penetrated his steel helm and fractured his skull. The doctors repaired the damage, but thereafter Rovod had difficulty learning things. His skill with an axe lagged behind his squadmates from then onward, but his genuine, guileless character made him well liked.
  
  The next mishap that Rovod suffered came when the first of the bronze colossi came to Praisegems. In those days the area in front of the main bridge was open to the magma chasm. Rovod was the first to approach the colossus. Rovod was able to dodge the furious attacks but was pushed back, slowly getting nearer to the chasm behind him. Before his squadmates could take the creature down, they all gasped as their friend stepped off the edge and presumably into the magma below.
  
  It so happened that the place where Rovod fell was above the bridge leading from the mercantile district to the town square! However, as the fall was a very long six stories, nearly every bone in Rovods body was broken and smashed. The medical team worked for many seasons to put him back together, and many more seasons he had to wait in traction, but he survived to fight again!
  
  Now after several more less serious injuries, Rovod's axe skill after 30 years are approaching grand master level and he has 27 notable kills. Far less than his squadmates, but quite respectable under the circumstances. Reports are that he even has a girlfriend now. - cephalo
• Δ 74. Training Dojos
  These colored mats are where the various squads of military dwarves train.
  
  The cyan mat is where the queen's guard train. They are clad in full masterwork adamantine inlaid with rose gold and black bronze. They wield masterwork adamantine battle axes with handles made of unicorn horn.
  
  While the queen's guard is the best dressed of all the squads, they are not the backbone of the fortress defense. The steel clad 'Mansions of Sanctuary', an axedwarf squadron, has been defending the fort since its founding. Though the queen herself has the most honorable single victory in battle, she is not the most formidable soldier among the dwarves. These dwarves, over 50 years have slain hundreds of enemies each, and their skills are so legendary that each among them are said to able to defeat an entire goblin invasion singlehandedly. In their steel armor they are invincible to everything save the poison from certain foul monsters which have claimed four of their squadmates over time. When adamantine was discovered they were not interested in new weapons and armor. They had learned long since to trust their lives to steel. They argued that only a fool would put down an axe that had killed a hundred foes.
  
  The red and green mats are the headquarters of the macedwarves and marksdwarves respectively. At this time they have yet to prove their worth, as none of them has earned a name. - cephalo
• Δ 73. The Empty Prison
  The dwarven justice infrastructure at Praisegems is prepared for any sort of political upheaval or tantrum spiral. However, it has never held a single prisoner.
  
  The issue lies in the nation's symbol. The symbol of the Violent Ceiling is a masterfully designed image of dwarves, of which very few examples exist. Only a dwarf with very rare skills can hope to make such an image. Many examples do exist of lesser quality images of dwarves stamped with a '*' symbol to convey the intent of a masterful design, but these are not universally accepted. This requirement that the nations symbol be masterfully designed has resulted in the slowest bureaucracy in the known world. Many prison sentences have been handed out, but the paperwork takes so long that those convicted invariable die of old age before stepping into a jail cell. - cephalo
• Δ 69. Mercantile District
  This is where the wealth of Praisegems is processed and traded at the central trade depot. It is also a major residential area with houses stacked up along the walls of the storage areas. - cephalo
• Δ 69. Town Square
  The great hall is a stately venue for official ceremonies, but for routine social gatherings the echo in that hall is unbearable as dwarves shout across scores of tables and chairs.
  
  The best place in Praisegems for good conversation and relaxation is Urdim's pub at the heart of town. Urdim specializes in classic dwarven brew made from underground crops grown among the houses nearby.
  
  The focal point for the town square is a fountain in front of the ducal palace to the southwest. (Follow the stairs up to examine the duke's digs. He is a fairly spartan fellow. Likes tin... nuff said.) - cephalo
• Δ 67. Magma Workshops
  The magma workshops at Praisegems are in a chamber that is actually submerged in magma. Pressurized magma is pumped from the center of the earth and enters the forges little by little through four specially designed valves so as not to flood the chamber. The heat of this room puts the dwarves into a euphoric state of connection with the earth from which inspiration can more easily flow, in addition to plenty of um... perspiration. - cephalo
• Δ 58. The Story of Queen Goden Raremirrors the Braided Relief
  This bridge pictured here spans an underground cavern and leads to the burial places deep underground. Once known as ‘The Span of Horrors’, the following story will reveal how it became to be known as the “The Span of Victory”.
  
  In the year 1050, Goden Raremirrors was selected as queen of The Violent Ceiling in the traditional manner of drawing lots. Though the monarchy was officially an inherited office, such a succession had never taken place, for the dwarves of the Violent Ceiling were a cursed people who had previously known only defeat and extreme poverty. Over the thousand years of their existence, The Violent Ceiling could count nearly a thousand different kings and queens, some dying at the hands of invaders, but most through starvation, none of them leaving a surviving heir to the throne.
  
  The founding of Praisegems, also in the year 1050, was the event that finally broke this cursed cycle. The new queen was hidden away at an unknown location for 43 years while the dwarves built the new fortress that would change their fortunes. At the site of the new fortress, the dwarves discovered riches beyond anything they could imagine and created wondrous artifacts from the rarest gems and precious metals. When the new defenses were tested against numerous invaders and deemed worthy to serve as the new mountainhome, the queen was brought out of hiding to take her place on the throne.
  
  During her time in seclusion, the queen had taken an interest in military affairs, chasing the dream of reversing her people’s legacy of defeat. Soon after her arrival she took command of a squad of axedwarves and began her training and also taking a direct hand in the defense of the fort. She immediately gained the respect of her subjects by leading from the front, landing the killing blow against forgotten beasts on two different occasions along with various goblin rabble during separate invasions.
  
  The bridge leading to the tombs was designed to be inaccessible to the cavern dwellers and thus provide safe passage to those paying respects to the dead. For some unknown reason, attracted to perhaps due to the wealth of Praisegems or by the noise of its activities echoing through the caverns, unimaginable horrors began to accumulate over the years in the caverns below the fort. More and more frequently one or two of these forgotten beasts would come below the bridge and menace any dwarves seeking passage, often trapping large numbers of dwarves in the burial gardens through their fear of these beasts. To the queen, these frequent disruptions represented a shameful nuisance.
  
  She prepared herself for battle and ordered the miners to delve into the caverns from a place outside the gates of the fort. When they hesitated for fear of loosing these horrors upon the world she spoke these words:
  
  “Nåst Lirukïngiz mïkstal tholoram, Lirukïngiz ud mïkstal ágoram!”
  
  “I will show you that the Violent Ceiling owns the deep world, and how it will soon own the world above!”
  
  The miners knocked down the last wall, and the queen entered the cavern alone. Beyond her mediocre skills with axe and shield, she was also aided in this battle by two magical artifacts; the adamantine battle axe Thazor Lûk and the adamantine shield Ertalzethruk. The images on these artifacts depicted various defeats in the history of the Violent Ceiling as indeed one could recall little else to record. Nonetheless, these arms were of a quality never seen, and it could be said that Goden Raremirrors carried all of the power of her ancestors into battle that day.
  
  Soon after the queen disappeared into the darkness, terrible roars and thundering footsteps shook the earth. For four days and nights the sounds of a ferocious battle echoed throughout the entire mountain. The longer the fury continued, the dwarves were moved from a state of mourning their queen to one of hope beyond hope. How could she endure for four days among those beasts? When the din subsided and the queen emerged from the darkness, the dwarves counted no less than eleven enormous forgotten beasts dead at base of the tunnel!
  
  After the battle the queen has retired somewhat from military duties. She took a husband and produced two heirs for the Violent Ceiling. Everyone is full of hope that they may yet see a proper succession of royal authority. Whatever the outcome, she gave the dwarves a gift that could have hardly been imagined, a victory for the ages!
  - cephalo
• Δ 49. Hall of Champions
  These engraved tombs are reserved for dwarves who earn a name fighting enemies of the Violent Ceiling. When they pass they will guard the queen in the afterlife. The entrance to this place is framed by waterfalls on both sides.
  
  The queen's coffin is a somber black jet artifact called "The Granite Mists". You may wonder why a jet coffin would have such a name, but 'Granite' in this sense is meant to convey new beginnings in the afterlife, as 'Granite' is the first month of the year.
  
  The floor of the queens tomb is engraved(unofficially) with a masterfully designed image of dwarves, which is the symbol of the Violent Ceiling. - cephalo

Related Maps:

Praisegems

• 1104 Early Winter [R]

[+] Add a map to this series.

No related entries found.

Map details:

• Fortress Name: Praisegems
• Map Year: 1104 Early Winter
• Author: cephalo
• Submitted by: cephalo
• Date Added: 12/07/2011