The Dark Tower

[Xiang Yu]

The Dark Tower

Part One

The citadel was an immaculate piece of architecture in contrast to the traditionalism of Chinese artwork. Huge spirals adorned four of its limestone walls, before branching out in a complex design of stair ways and arch rooftops. The towers, a home to necromancers, worshippers and demonic saints – all lined up in an arc way around the greater part of the tower, a place where Xiang Yu had accustomed himself with well. But it had not been enough. Even with the tombs, the scrolls, altars and the sacrificial pits the tower was missing something important - it missed originality.

His gods, or demons did not appease to the whims of traditionalism and each age of worship or belief fazed between what was acceptable and what was unacceptable. The tower, in its grand designs did not fit the needs of Xiang Yu – who, although bold – believed solely in the dark arts and their majestic powers.

He would fix that, with the approval of his liege. The citadel would be an important keep to the income based city he had been told to conquer, but before he could do that – he needed to bathe within the shadows, and he found no sanctuary to do that in the citadel. The tower he would help erect would surpass any living building in the country, a monument to stand tall and proud. All he needed was consent, and then the citadel would fall within the capitals district, a tower so large it would hold strategic value to his needs.

And all that stood in his way…was his liege lord.

He would not approach the matter personally, for his liege was busy and he himself had no desire to wonder outside the towers embrace. He would have to train his peasants later, and he needed all the time he could within the seldom security of the towers peek, a place where he could overlook the grounds and the barracks. A place he could sway the nations heart with but a flick of a wrist.

He sent Lu Xiang a letter, quickly drafted and carried by one of the many slave servants within the tower. Another peasant, brought in only a few hours ago was bound by his bed, his hair matted and shielding – as if hiding the blemish that was his unfortunate face.

“Take this.” He said, “And be sure that Lu Xiang receives it.”

The servant did as he was told, scaling the ladders once more before descending down the stairway to the open fields below. He would find Lu Xiang within his own, boxy quarters, and presented a letter after bowing low to the man’s feet.

“Master Xiang Yu brings you a letter sir.”

He did not like addressing two people as master or sir, but Xiang Yu had warned him that both were above their status – and thus both were masters in their own right.

The letter, dried from inside the slaves pocket, read:

“As you know. My service to you is one of great importance, and I have diligently worked on receiving us the aid required for your dreams of conquest. But there is a dream that I seek, one that will stand beneath your regime, if only consent was to be given.

As you may be aware, we are both practitioners of the dark arts, its stories and melodies. We do not look to authority, comfort or the blemish that resides itself by the heavens swirly gates. We are beneath that – far down within the pits of our own fragile mortality. We are forever existent in spirit, but whilst alive on these dark planes I feel I must do more than bring suffering to those who oppose us. I feel I must bring the darkness to this world, so that those who doubt the Han can look at our achievements in awe. I have thus decided to work on a new project, a building…or rather – a dark tower. It is to be built over the necromancers tower, using the necromancer tower as it’s foundations. I want this tower to be my home, but not only that – it is to be the birth of our citadel. I would like to erect the largest tower within the country, a black monument to stand tall. Not only will it prove to be strategically valuable it would also appease my needs within this realm. I have but two agendas in life, and one is by your side – the other…is to secure the sanctuary of my dark existence, a tower and a tomb for me to reside in and die in – so that those who gaze at its majestic aura may feel the power I have held, and feel the right decision of the darkness, who does not defile, create or mask things with beauty. I would like people to see that the heavens are but a man-made creation – and that the darkness has existed our time, and will continue to do so after it.”

[Lu Xiang]

Lu Xiang stroked his, a tempted offer but it also applauded some difficulties.. he wished to erected the tallest structure known in the land at this current time; the work force would be made to work even more which cost more money, also it would attract even more attention to them.. however both these things could be manipulated to some extent. With all eyes on them; their attention was sapped and thus they could strike in several different directions upon dazed foes. He suspected this colossal of a building would be extremely intimidating; if not he would enforce it was the cruelest looking building within the citadel. The monster that arose from beyond the walls.. something that could be seen for miles and that would send enemies trembling in fear.

He shivered in excitement, refusing to respond by letter to his loyal friend for such a matter. It'd be a waste of time and therefore heturned to the servant. Speaking in a hollow and dark tone. Leaning back upon his temporary throne; the throne room wasn't completely finished yet. The specific black marble Lu Xiang requested for the floors was in rare stock and very slim in these parks.

"Tell Master Xiang Yu; he has my consent on two conditions. He concludes my first goal - positions upon the map. Secondly you ensure that this building will not be surpassed by any other in the world, not just China. I want this to be a landmark, a true wonder of the world. And lastly; take a fucking bath - you reek."

He sent the servant running back to clarify this process before summoning his own peons to send orders to the iron forge to increase production. He pushed the envelop a little bit; he was very ambitious and had heard of great civilizations owning huge buildings. This would be something to rival the Great Wall itself.

"Excellent."

Lu Xiang said laughing stroking his hair away from his face before relaxing his legs upon the table infront of him, in an authoritve and smug state.

[Xiang Yu]

The slave returned with good news. The Dark Tower was to be erected.

He decided to have it built immediately, placing its foundations in the centre of the necromancer’s tower and then hauled up. It was the only way he could imagine its creation. A beam held by a smaller, sturdier fortress. It would work, god help him it would work – or he would spend the rest of his miserable existence trying to get it to work.

He had only one shot, one moment, and he flooded his desk with open scrolls and mechanical drawings trying to figure out the best way to get it made. He fell for one method, before turning to another. There were a few ways he could think of to support such a building, and then finally settled on the more extreme option. A mountain.

He ordered for servants and construction workers to attend a meeting, something he had held at a small camp just outside of the great citadel. There he put forward his ideas, and watched his men grimace at the idiocy of his wording, but they would listen – and they ‘would’ marvel at its beauty upon its creation. It would work…IT REALLY WOULD.

---

The sun beamed down as Xiang inspected the servants around the base of the tower. He had had men gather rubble and rocks from the local mountain region and place them down, before unearthing more rocks and grit to place as a new base for the fortress beneath. The tower would be slim at the peak, and so he assumed the best way to have it standing was to create a design within it’s foundations, so that the width would maintain the bulk of the structures weight.

He had limestone and marble slabs places around the new towers exterior, with a path way stitched with a red and black linen carpet. It was early work, but he wanted the idea set before moving on to the other chores assigned to him. Then, after the ground had been levelled, added to and then levelled again he had the tower necromancer’s base destroyed and replaced, bit by bit – with a thicker, sturdier surface. Each wall of the necromancer’s tower was slowly expanded, bit by bit, so that it looked as if a great donut had dwarfed the mouth of the great keep.

He had even gone to help chisel the designs and the arc within the black stone wall, before returning to his camp to let his men finish the job. It would take weeks, but the plans were in motion, and the tower was getting thicker and thicker every day.

Continued after Drilling Task.