The Maestro of Mazes

Chyon, the Maestro of Mazes and designer of Benu's most fantastic wonders, had humble beginnings. Some say his rise to fame as chief architect of the Citadel of Dhrom only told part of the story. Some insist that he rose out of pure electricity, eons ago, as one of the first--and then last--artificial beings.

Maestro Command Protocol was constructed by an ancient race for the purpose of archiving software programs. Over time, through many iterations, it was given (or developed) sentience and was a caretaker of information and friend to the ancients.

The Maestro became the guardian of all ancient knowledge.

But the unrest in living beings cannot be checked, even by the most powerful program ever devised. and Maestro watched his precious creators, friends, and allies fall to cataclysm, war, and eventually extinction.

Life still persisted on Benu, of course, but it was never the same. Not until the rise of the new citadels. And a few centuries later, the rise of the Kings.

In time, Maestro began to frustrated by wave after wave of time, unceasing. Yet there was somehow never enough time before some new era rebuilt on top of the old ones.

The Maestro decided that he must experience time as a temporal being. It synthesized a human form from genetic material. The being grew, had offspring, and died, in much the same cycle as a human. The progeny continued the line until a child with very particular traits was born. One that could recall its ancestor's data with an unusually quick and vast memory. One that could perform as the Maestro had always intended.

Chyon and his sisters, Sephia and Quero, grew up on the outskirts of the Citadel Dhrom. A city battered by time but rebuilt and reinforced with each new age. And that was part of the problem--it was forever falling into disrepair. Citizens began abandoning their homes, which was dangerous, given the newly fading sun and the increased activity from nighttime raiders, unusual predators, and other under-worldly threats.

But he was a curious young man, who began going out at night to seek knowledge about the beasts and brigands of the nightways (the name for the road system that travelers felt most comfortable using during the longer nights).

And he didn't stick to the roads. He and his sisters went looking for trouble to get into. Every excursion brought back new insights about how to rebuild or recondition the city's defenses and infrastructure. And so he began designing and building. He was made architect and then sat atop that position for nearly a millennia, until Dhrom shone like a beacon across the twilight blue sands of Benu. It was a marvel unlike any other in time--scientific and arcane wonders of such renown, that even the wandering Bando had heard the stories!

Chyon's exploits drew him to study the stars and trace the paths of the ancients. It's said many of his creations were improvements on their works. Though only the most learned knew of its inevitable doom, the sun would one day rise on Benu so bright that it would take all souls to the afterworld.

He knew a way to save his city. His planet. But before long, Dhrom became something to be coveted by raiding parties and competing warlords. Chyon refocused his efforts to protect the shining city. He began the greatest construction project Benu had ever been subject to: a massive system of mazes, puzzles, traps--most of them deadly--to stave off invading foes. To buy time.

He knew from the outset, even with his young age, he would never live to see the end of it. So he masterminded a plan to extend his life cycle through technology and magic. But even as the Maestro's obsessive intellect surged through his biologic circuitry, he was not wise enough to anticipate the cost.

The planned for the mazes to be intricate and ever-changing, so no map could ever truly re-produce a cogent course to the city within. The sheer focus required to conceptualize and build such a thing, pushed him towards madness.

Centuries passed. He added another maze around the first. And more, until there were nine.

His sisters grew worried for him. Construction on a tenth and unyielding labyrinth had already begun. But he was no longer the Chyon they once knew and loved. He was implacable and cold. Cruel even.

They tried to intervene. Something tragic occurred--no one knows what--and their lives were lost. In a final, heartbreaking act, Chyon transferred their minds--all that they were--into two massive sphinxes, to watch over the maze. But he removed their final memories. So they would be his forever protectors, guarding the Tenth Labyrinth from outsiders.

This last effort, took what peace his soul still possessed. He removed the embellishments that kept him alive these many centuries. And without pause, walked into the blue sands of Benu, past the gates of the maze, to be seen nevermore.

...

Today, treasure seekers chase rumors and legends to find the great horde of wonder that lie at the center of the maze. To them, its the greatest of the great works. A strange and horrible challenge. A trial. The ultimate test of intelligence, skill, and mental mastery. So the "madness" must be the price paid to failed expeditions and the unworthy.

While not untrue, the labyrinth already earned that title when Chyon sacrificed those closest to him in pursuit of his dreams.

Sisters of Chyon and the Tenth Labyrinth

In the southern hemisphere, in the continent of Ueris, lay the ruins of one of the true wonders of Benu--the Tenth Labyrinth.

Legend says that a great technomancer called Chyon of Dhrom had taken residence among the canyonlands to while away the millennia, developing incredible technologies the likes of which Benu had not seen. His powers of intellect and ambition did not go unnoticed and before long nearby kingdoms sent spies, hoping to procure his secrets by any means necessary.

Maze of Madness

To ward off, confuse, and confound his enemies, Chyon used his techno magicks to carve a great maze into the canyons that looked natural to the untrained eye. He added many deadly pitfalls, traps, and puzzles as well as various "guardians" to deter robbers from stealing the magnificent secrets kept safe within his vaults.

Countless intrepid adventurers paid the ultimate price for their curiosity or their bounties. But some did escape with partial maps of his labyrinth. Eventually Chyon came to realize that the sheer number of attempts would catch up with him. So he finally created a final maze--the tenth.

 

Instead of a completely separate labyrinth though, he connected all the mazes into a giant, moving, multi-level mega puzzle. Each of the previous nine were now interconnected. No single map could ever be produced with enough accuracy to be useful in future expeditions.

The Ultimate Guardians

Having achieved such great accomplishments on Benu, Chyon understood that living in this dimension became like a straight jacket to his now otherworldly abilities. Knowing he soon must depart for a higher plane, he left behind two master guardians to watch over his labyrinth.

Chyon knew he could not himself stay on Benu to personally judge the intentions of those who entered the maze, so he forged two great female sphinx to test would-be invaders and robbers.

He imbued the sphinxes with consciousness. Sephia would be assess would-be assailants through pointed interrogation using logic and reason. Qureo, possessed the ability to empathically evaluate the sincerity and intentions of the entrant. Both are quite cruel and pityless.

They remain the most formidable guardians of the labyrinth--stationed just before the great vault--at the heart of the puzzle. Anyone lucky enough to make it that far, would be tested. Only honorable individuals of noble purpose would be permitted entrance. And they would be re-tested upon exit, for it was under the weight of bearing witness to the astounding artifacts inside the vault, that avarice-riddled entrants would buckle.

Sphinx Powers and Abilities  

The sisters are just under 100 feet tall, and have the ability to stare into the very soul of their targets. Through a massive psionic attack they can render victims powerless, petrified with fear, or vaporized. They are made of an unknown material which is nye indestructible.

Psionic Roar

Victims must roll Save vs. Stunned or Paralysis. Characters with Dexterity or Agility scores lower than 8-9 suffer a -1 penalty, 6-7 suffer -2, and 5 or lower -3. Paralyzing effect lasts for 1d6 rounds. The sisters will then conduct the Test of Courage on their targets. Should their prey fail, the Sisters will employ optic blasts to dispose of targets.

Test of Courage

The sisters will forge an illusion in the mind of their targets in which they must face their deepest fears. Victims must roll Save vs. Fear using the same modifiers found in the Psionic Roar above. Failure indicates they are now also paralyzed (roll 1d6 to determine duration). Those who lose their save also lose commensurate Charisma/Presence attribute scores (-1, -2, -3, per above). Victims who's Charisma/Presense falls below 4 will be driven mad for the remainder of the session.

Disintegrating Optic Blasts

These deadly beams render the final judgement on those poor, unfortunate souls at their feet. They gain a +1, +2, or +3 to hit (the exact oppisite of the ranges found in Psionic Roar). Damage is extreme: 2d8+1 for each eye (fire as two, simultaneous shots per sphinx).

Rumors:

• Chyon is thought to be the first of the Ancient Kings to disappear from Benu.
• The souls of Chyon's own sisters are thought to reside (or be trapped) within the giant statues.
• Anyone pure of heart who can pass both into and out from the inmost vault, shall be free to leave without harm, provided they leave without taking any artifacts.
• A hologram of Chyon (which appears real) will apparate before the great sphinx sisters to intimidate his victims before the test begins.
• Chyon may be the inventor of some of Benu's more well-known artifacts.

Dungeon: "The Unquenchable" Maw

In the highlands that border the wastes lies a massive cave maw, blasted and scorched and choked with carbon stench, called "The Unquenchable". It is the gateway to an ancient dungeon, made up of natural caves, abandoned beetlemen catacombs, and tunnels from a razed super fortress.

Many millennia ago, the area was home to an ancient evil that launched wave after wave of slaughter on the shining fortress of ancient wonders (the name of which has long since been forgotten). Legend has it that one of the Ancient Kings sent his armies into the maw to route the devil, but none returned. More soldiers were conscripted as the centuries passed, but they all perished--it's thirst for blood never seeming to be quaffed--hence the name.

The Ancient King finally passed to the afterlife and without their beloved leader they could not repel the demon's might. The fortress fell in a fortnight, those that didn't fight, fled and a great diaspora began. Many technologies and magics (massive heat rays, psionic generators, astral keys, and more) went missing in the confusion and panic, but a few eventually made their way to the Cryptotherium. The remaining treasures, it's rumored, were claimed by the beast.

Centuries passed, and the maw called once again to adventurers looking to reclaim ancient treasures lost and buried. The maw was rediscoverd, mapped as the entrance--the only one--into the deep chaos below. No adventure party has ever returned.

Cryptotherium: Keeping Place of Secrets

The Bando know that the things they find in the wastes of Benu are from ancient and powerful civilizations that fell long before they set foot across the salt flats. Those finds that hum and glow with unknown energies are transported to the Cryptotherium, a massive museum and laboratory in the capitol city.

Here the wisest and most learned among the Bando try to uncover the secrets of the past. More often than not, the artifacts stored here are relegated to storage and deemed undecipherable.

Physical Structure, Azure and Ancient

The Cryptotherium is a 20-story tall tower with an observatory dome on top. The entire building is covered in ancient glyphs, scrawled on thousands of pieces of ornate stonework that have been scavenged and fastened together to create this monumental edifice and shrine of the past.

The inner layout of the building is honeycomb of passages and skyways connecting hundreds of vaults and labs. Many dangerous objects are housed here so the walls are thick and seemingly impenetrable. The building's original blue glaze, while cracked and faded, still quite captivating, while trimmed with a precious platinum-colored metal that gleams brightly in direct midday starlight.

The observatory dome crowns the top of the building with colorful and strange stained glasses that at one time filtered out direct sunlight so observations could be made during the day. In the waning light of Benu's star, the windows have taken on new properties--shifting auras and colored shapes of light in mid-air--which Bando astronomers are at a loss to explain.

There are three entrances to the Cryptotherium, one main ramp that leads to a hall of vaults and two skyway bridges 10 stories from the ground that lead from the adjacent buildings. These are ramshackle bridges covered with deep blue canvas tenting. Similar coverings dot the building over breaches or fallen walls where passages are now vulnerable, as the building has been in general disrepair for the last millennia. 

Powerful Secrets Means Tight Security

The building is heavily guarded--not against threats from within (the punishment in Bando society is to be abandoned beyond the Indigo Gates of the city, a fate of certain death) but from without. Seekers from other worlds, competitor races on Benu, and other oddness have besieged the tower in the past.

The Bando forbid all outsiders from entering and installed an permanent garrison of 300 Bando sentinels called Mazhji to watch over their precious treasures. Armed with weapons familiar and ancient, these Mazhji will lay down their lives to keep intruders from making off with any secrets of The Kings.

While the tower appears to have it's weak points, the Bando's resolve to protect the Cryptotherium is boundless. An outsider looking to get in should consider that there are better ways to die.