The Ardis Vala Mega-Dungeon (Ardisvala) is the underground setting of the Ardis Vala gesta (campaign-cycle), on the World of Archontos. Beneath the waterfalls it holds 3,600 years of history in ten main levels, fifteen sublevels, five surface sites and twelve factions.
| Type | Place (mega-dungeon) |
| World | World of Archontos |
| Structure | 10 main levels, 15 sublevels, 5 surface sites |
| Age | 3,600 years |
| Spanish entry | Mega-Mazmorra Ardis Vala |
After the Hiatus
The dungeon changed radically during the fifteen-year hiatus before the return of the Seekers:
- The domain fell under Ravenloft: misty borders, a ruby throne, the religion of Baret.
- Sir Sixto became Pope Alexander VI, supreme church authority of the Castle of the Prism.
- The Varumani were defeated; Lifts and Court have no troll government.
- Ritornello was razed fifteen years earlier by the egg bomb.
- Sortians and Priscians expanded; Heqeti and Kaliyani gained freedom; the Knights of the Scar of the Sun converge with the Pope.
- The upper levels and everything below the Court changed greatly.
Surface sites
- Ritornello / Azure Keep / Gosterwick: town and order of the Knights of the Azure Shield under Lady Alexia Basileon.
- Cliff / Waterfall / Long Stair (alternative route down), the Ruins of Ardisvala (about 30 locations, many entrances), the Great Pyramid of Thoth (main entrance) and a Watchtower.
Main levels
- The Basement: Thothian ruins, no factions.
- Howling Caves & Well of Light: priests of Thoth, the Library of Thoth, intelligent baboons (Gerrilad the Gray, Sisko, Trefko).
- Halls of Thoth: largest, most accessible level: Deino and the Beastmen with Count Skleros, goblins, the Halflings of Plumthorn (entrance thugs), Priscians, Sir Simonet, the Trocadero de Ritornello.
- Forum of Set: the resurgent Cult of Set under high priestess Stephania; Belisarius; escaped slaves Jisko Grey-Eyes, Marius Junienos, Theophrastus.
- Obsidian Gates and Midnight Road: Rudishva technology, Hall of the Forty Pillars, the Great Chasm, the lair of the alien vivisector Psalor Ki, the Secret Temple of Thoth.
- Troll Lifts and Arena: safe zones: Rudishva lifts, the neutral Inn of the Lost (Whitemane), the gladiatorial Arena (Lord Carcalus); the dangerous Frost Mother Domain.
- Court of the Thegn: seat of Varboka, First Thegn of the Varumani; the vampire Cinna Minux hides in the chapels.
- Lower Reaches: an “ultra-dangerous wild west”: Laocoon the Lord of Shadows, Oubaste (priestess of Bastet), Olaf the Bee-Whisperer.
- Floor of the Great Chasm: giant fungus forests; Walid (ogre mage chief), Celsus Torquatius (vengeance aspect of Sekhmet), Rivvep (Kaliyani sorcerer).
- Ziggurat of Kauket: 3,400-year-old Heqeti temple to the demon prince Kauket; Reepsiq, the Great Tongue, is the only diplomat.
Sublevels
- Tombs of Light, Hall of Altars, Lesser Baboon Caves, Flooded Vaults, Caves behind the Waterfall, Druids’ Retreat.
- Goblin Warrens: Great King Weskenim. Lizardfolk Caves: Skreel lizardfolk.
- Drowned Canyon and Lost Chambers of Arden: the two major connectors between levels (aquatic and historical).
- Pits of Kaliyani: Tsilliv (Consortium Twelve).
- Bastion and Citadel of the Scar of the Sun: the companions took the Bastion in the first cycle.
- Tomb of Isadora: Lady Isadora.
- Workshops of Kerbog Khan: automata; Kerbog Khan, the transformed Cerbactos Kalthetos, seeks the Arcanum.
- Beacon Chamber: Rudishva teleporters to the Obsidian Gates and the Chasm floor.
Factions
Besides those named above, the twelve factions include the isolated, unknown Fishmen. The Beastmen field about 115 soldiers; the Kaliyani are a renegade Heqeti sub-race; the Priscians, a secret order of sorcerers led by Nerub Null; the Knights of the Scar of the Sun, a vampiric order; the Varumani, a feudal hierarchy with codes of honor.
Architecture
Four traditions overlap, oldest first:
- Heqeti (about 3,400 years): alien; the Ziggurat and parts of the Court.
- Rudishva (about 3,000 years): alien, technological; Gates, Lifts, Court, Ziggurat.
- Archontean (about 1,000 years): imperial; Forum reforms, Court.
- Varumani (modern): troll changes to Lifts and Court.
Routes
The main route: Pyramid of Thoth → Halls of Thoth → Obsidian Gates (by stair, or a latrine shaft from the Basement) → down the Great Chasm to the Lifts, Court, Lower Reaches and Chasm floor. The Lifts and Court need a Varumani passport; the Ziggurat, Heqeti authorization through Reepsiq.