The Great Wall is a mile-high barrier of fused granite that stretches across the horizon, separating the lands of mankind from the untamed Wilds beyond. Older than any kingdom and predating all written history, it has always stood as mankind's shield. To most, it is simply the Wall—a constant presence, unchanging and unquestioned. Only in the current age has a single gate been opened, marking humanity’s first true step beyond its protection.
Millennia ago, the Wall was raised by giants who took pity on early humans, a fragile race facing extinction in a world shaped for far larger and deadlier creatures. Their colossal golems shaped mountains into a seamless barrier, sealing humanity away from the Wilds so it might endure and grow. When the work was complete, the golems sank into the earth, their bodies slowly claimed by stone, soil, and forest. The giants departed, leaving behind a mercy mistaken for destiny.
The Wall was built not to conquer, but to preserve. For countless generations, it had no true gate—only an unbroken line of stone. Mankind lived safely within its shadow, never knowing who built it or why. Over time, myths arose: ancient kings, forgotten gods, or lost magic. The truth was forgotten entirely. The opening of the Great Gate transformed the Wall from a boundary into a choice, one that now defines the age.
The Great Wall rises nearly a mile into the sky, its gray granite surface sheer and seamless, broken only by immense towers at irregular intervals. Each stone block is larger than a house, fused without visible seams or mortar. The Wall ignores terrain entirely, cutting through mountains, valleys, and plains alike. Its upper reaches vanish into cloud and mist, while its lower foundations disappear into the earth, where buried remnants of ancient golems still lie, indistinguishable from the land itself.
The Great Gate is the only sanctioned passage through the Great Wall. Built into an ancient seam within the stone, it serves as the sole crossing between the Kingdom of Thalossa and the Wilds. What was once a sealed termination point of the golems’ work has been transformed into a massive fortified complex—part relic, part fortress, and part administrative chokehold.
The Gate was not carved open but unsealed, revealing a passage that had never been meant for regular use. Over generations, the Crown ordered fortifications built around it, turning a breach into a controlled threshold. Today, the Great Gate Complex functions as a military stronghold, customs station, quarantine hub, and symbolic boundary. Every expedition, caravan, and army passes through its stone corridors under strict oversight.
Inner Gate: Heavily fortified portal on the Kingdom side, set deep within the Wall’s thickness.
Ascending Way: A long interior passage of smooth, ancient granite, shaped without tool marks.
Midway Bastion: Open inspection platform where traffic is halted, searched, and regulated.
Outer Gate: Heavily controlled exit opening onto the three great roads leading into the Wilds.
From afar, the Gate appears as a vast stone scar in the Wall, surrounded by human-built towers and ramparts clinging to the granite face. The gates themselves are enormous slabs of reinforced stone and iron, marked with functional engravings rather than ornament. Within, ancient fused stone gives way to newer masonry, iron portcullises, and sealed side chambers. Above it all, the Wall continues upward, indifferent and immense.
Permanent garrisons of the Order of Dawn and Crimson Standard
Mage Guild inspectors regulating magical activity
Integrated beacon signals linking all three great roads