The Obsidian Gates and Midnight Road form the heart of the Rudishva legacy in the Ardis Vala Mega-Dungeon: ancient Rudishva areas warded against many spells, sealed by nearly impenetrable gates. The Midnight Road was a transit route toward the first Sigil.
| Type | Place (mega-dungeon level) |
| Builders | Heqeti, Rudishva, Archontean |
| Spanish entry | Puertas de Obsidiana y Camino de Medianoche |
Description
The Obsidian Gates are 20-foot valves of enchanted obsidian with two keyholes made for giant hands. Heqeti chambers are scattered across the level; the Rudishva built the whole Midnight Road and its accesses; the rest is Archontean tombs.
Notable areas
- Hall of Forty Pillars — an aura of magical despair; leads to the Gates.
- Great Chasm — the dungeon’s colossal central shaft, crossed by the Sundered Span (Imperial Span), and the Great Pillar linking the Troll Lifts, the Thegn’s Court and the Chasm floor.
- Lair of Psalor Ki, the mad Rudishva vivisector.
- Secret Temple of Thoth, corrupted by Oziman, “avatar of Thoth”, in truth a type III demon.
- Rudishva Forge, Armory, Cloister / Transportation Hub; Troll Pits, where new varumani were bred; the degenerate Varuda tribe.
- A high-security vault holding the pale green spiral horn that Reepsiq needs to summon Kauket. Only the AIs RAJ-750 and AKL-600 know the access code.
Figures: Gog, an exiled lesser varumani; Killik, goblin “big boss of the wet caves”; Psalor Ki; Oziman; Priddy of Archontos, an Archontean sorcerer.
Access
Routes lead to the Cellar (via the privy hole), the Halls of Thoth, the Forum of Set, the Troll Lifts, the Thegn’s Court, the Lower Reaches and the Chasm floor; internal teleport nodes T1, T2, T5–T9, T12, T15; and the sub-levels (Goblin Warrens, Flooded Canyon, Kerbog Khan’s Workshops, Lighthouse Chamber).
The empty Road
No faction controls the Midnight Road; even surviving Rudishva barely know how to enter. If the companions open a route, the varumani and kaliyani will occupy it at once. Anti-magic wards cover the whole Rudishva region: teleport and passwall fail.
The Circuit and the many Sigils
There are many Sigils: worlds lodged in the zodiacs and constellations. The Midnight Road was a transit route to the first, hence warded and empty. Sigil is one and many at once, a mystery not to be resolved.
It follows that the origin of Sogol — Sol or Logos, Sigil refounded — is “surely” in Ardis Vala: most probable, not proven.
The two keys were to enable something in the Midnight Circuit, not yet known (see Dual Key).
Open questions
Plausible, unproven readings:
- That the first Sigil is a “mother ship” with built-in teleporters.
- That the Rudishva nodes (T1 to T25 known) are fragments of that system.
- That the Beacon is a component or echo of the same machine.
- That the Crystallization of the Machines broke the link between the Road and its destination.
- That the green horn and the AIs’ codes serve both to summon Kauket and to reconnect with the first Sigil.
History
The Seekers of Ardis Vala entered the Obsidian Gates. Psalor Ki enchanted the party, left his mark on Marguerite and kept the egg. The Secret Temple of Thoth was possibly visited, in connection with the death of Numa Pompilius.