SHARD
From The Hub
SHARD is an Eschaton project acronym that stands for Soul Harvested Astral Relocation Device.
Contents |
Function
All information about this device comes from Fanning, a chief engineer who was a supervisor of the SHARD project before his capture by the azrai. According to Fanning, this device is intended to open gateways to at least two other warehouse stations, one within Sigil, the other outside. For security purposes, most of the Eschaton were not aware of the physical locations of the other two warehouses, just the coordinates. The azrai have confirmed that the device functions within Sigil.
Purpose
The primary usage of the device, to date, has been the transport of illicit Iron Ring materials to and from two Sigil warehouses. These materials included everything from Black Mithril to slaves. Further intelligence by the Zactar suggests that the project is not limited to just transport, but location and activation of existing gateways.
Power
Energy from the Eschaton Godstone is harvested into a liquid form and is used as the fuel for two temporary and singularly located openings in the Astral allowing for instantaneous travel. Tremendous amounts of energy are needed to overcome Astral resistance, hence the need for the liquid, high energy fuel.
Coordinates
SHARD utilizes a somewhat arbitrary coordinate designation system to align locations astrally. Based loosely on the the theory that objects in space are or can be Geo-referenced (see Grundelthum's book on palindromic coding), planar space is given designated coordinates to which the SHARD system can map and align. The azrai have confirmation of only three locations that have been successfully geo-referenced:
- 2624s - Eschaton warehouse - Primary storage and relay point within Sigil located below the Chapel Perilous
- 1423s - Sigil warehouse - Secondary warehouse location unconfirmed
- 11226 - Headquarters - Warehouse outside of Sigil location unknown
- Two warehouses under construction - Location unknown
Implications
According to myth at least, no gateways within Sigil (or Arendur) have ever been opened that were not within the purview of the cities ruler. Speculation is that with the Lady missing, new gateways may be possible.
Current Status
Despite their best attempts, the Eschaton were unsuccessful at opening a gateway to the outside of the city. This is not necessarily because of a failure of the device, but interruption and destruction of the device by the Azrai. The project is still in operation as SHARD technicians are used to analyze any anomalous gateway, but it is unknown to what degree the Azrai destruction of the Eschaton warehouse has affected astral relocation.
It had been rumored before your travel back in time that SHARD project technicians had been making progress in opening the doorway under Grundelthum's manor by studying a "potentially parallel system." Zactar Intelligence has learned that the potentially parallel system was the Fourth Door that opened in the Chapel Perilous. Apparently one of the goals of the project had been to force open that gateway using the dream machine you encountered powered by the godstone of Zealotry. Captured members of Prisine's coterie, however, swear that the objective was to resurrect Aoskar. Regardless, intelligence indicates that the SHARD project continues to pursue "forcing" opening any of the Four Doors, though it is uncertain whether they know of any other gateway locations besides Grundelthum's Manor.
