Hadrian's Tower

The rumored location of the first key to defeating the Witch-King Balor.

From The Histories and Peoples and the Near Wastes
"In the early years of the Galahain kings, many campaigns were conducted against the beasts and wild folk that dwelt in the dark places of Avalon. A great venture was launched in 12 AAV under the command of General Hadrian. A warlord from Caerlyon who had served in years past alongside King Galahad at the Emerald Plains of Llyr, Hadrian was tasked with pacifying the Wyvern Wastes and extending Avalon's borders to the fabled North Sea.

Hadrian was well-chosen for the task. He was a respected commander, known for his unorthodox tactics and ability to quickly adapt to changing battlefield conditions. He was also a potent warrior, skilled in both the sword and spellcraft. While these traits would undoubtedly serve him well in the vast unknowns of the Wyvern Wastes, his appointment was no doubt political as well. Ambitious and well-liked in the capital, he was a man that could have posed a threat to the succession in time. The king was wise to set Hadrian's destiny in the distant north, and whatever the motives, Hadrian set about the task like a man possessed. In a few short years, he had carved a deep swathe into the Wastes.

At the peak of his conquests, Hadrian set about building the tower that would bear his name. Built at the northernmost part of his expansion, it was meant to serve as a bastion, a fortress and a foundation for a permanent city. For the next twenty years it would be Hadrian's campaign headquarters and personal home. It was the tower's infamous dungeons, however, that became most renowned back in Avalon. Holding the most dangerous foes, monsters and magical threats encountered in the conquest of the Wastes, rumours spread throughout the kingdom of the horrors hidden beneath the tower. It was even rumoured that Hadrian turned to magical experimentation upon his prisoners, seeking more devastating weapons to turn against his foes.

Hadrian devoted nearly 40 years to the conquest, yet never achieved a lasting pacification. Year after year orcs would re-emerge from the wilderness, monsters would return, and outposts would disappear into the night. As Hadrian's resources dwindled and support from the capital for further conquest waned, the general was forced to lean ever more heavily on dangerous and reckless magic. In his final years, it was rumoured that the tower's magical energies were the only thing keeping Hadrian alive. In the Bleak Winter of 60 AAV, the general died, and was entombed in his tower.

Without Hadrian's leadership and strength, the Wastes quickly began reclaiming what was taken. Within a generation, the city the general had envisioned was abandoned, and soon only the tower stood to mark the legacy of the would-be conqueror.