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The Tower of Rue

Constructed as an integral part of the southwest corner of the city wall of the ancient city of Yoreheim, the Tower of Rue is also known as the Red Tower (presumably at one point it was painted red) although it now matches its sister tower, the Tower of Woe, in being a weathered slate gray. The tower is very tall, and it is said that on a clear day, it can be seen from as far away as Greytf'ld'd.

The Red Tower was a combination of temple (the tower overlooks the altar of Escargoth) and fortress of learning, as well as being a center of commerce. It operated peacefully for more than ten thousand years, but then in the first half of the 11th millenium, the tower was magically sealed from within when the city of Yoreheim was sieged and destroyed by Re-reformists acting under the rallying cry of "heresy!" shortly after The Sundering. Immediately after the fall of Yoreheim, the site became the location of the total eradication of the Re-reformists by the forces of Zonard.

Zonard, although having had many offspring (some even human), had left no clear heir, so when he died, his armies were left leaderless. It is unclear how a captain with-in his auxiliary guard named Damien Darkhorn got control of thirteen regiments of Zonards elite forces, and perhaps just as unclear why he was marching on Yoreheim, or why he was so angered when he found the Tower of Rue was sealed.

After Yoreheim fell, the towers remained and were considered important cultural ruins in Shulk, much like the pyramids of Egypt. Few can now gain entry into the Tower of Rue, and the method for gaining entry is arcane knowledge possessed by only a select few. The many secrets locked within remain shrouded in mystery.

Behind the Creative Process

Interestingly, at the heart of this tale is one of the many examples of fanon turned canon. The city of Yoreheim was originally created as a flavor element by Carl 'Twang' Cowen, who penned the tale of Wroclaw Cengant. Yoreheim was then picked up as a setting in the P&P RPG adventure pack Greatass Campaign with magical dinkums. Due to popularity, future Realmworlds Publishing tales took advantage of the settings (the tower appearing briefly in The Million Years End). Unfortunately, Twang remained uncompensated for his contribution to the lore of Battal, and is now dead.