The Twin Towers in Brief

The Twin Towers were originally set up as a combined effort between Light and Shadow after the beginning of the Shadow Wars. During these wars, Mordeth, the one-time Forsaken, fought Dark and Light both; and won. It was only after the war began to drag on that the Light and Dark realized that they needed to band together to win. The negotiations between the two sides were mediated by those who had leanings more towards Balance than either Light or Shadow: three women of Power named Danette Galliana, Chani Moonshadow, and Frenzy Rook. The grounds of the Twin Towers are the only place in the world where Light and Dark brush shoulders without coming to blows, and this uneasy truce is strictly enforced by the Triad, those three women..

Danette Galliana was apparently killed in an attack that destroyed the Tower of Light. It has since been rebuilt, and a new Amyrlin, Arlena Yumei, has been Seated. The attack on the Tower of Light is still under investigation, but dark rumors point to Danette herself bringing the Tower down.

The Towers:

The Towers are in a large bowl-shaped valley in the Mountains of Mist. The jagged peaks of the Mountains of Mist surround the valley, opening up to the bowl in the south, spreading wide, and reconverging at the north end of the valley. There is a small lake at the north end of the valley, and a river leading out of it, flowing north and out of the valley. The towers are built on high mesas along the edge of the valley. These mesas are carved out of the three tallest peaks of the valley.

There’s a waterfall at the south end of the valley, spilling over and forming a fast-moving river as it flows south into the Lake. Once the river leaves the lake it is calm, until it reaches the Gorge in the north, where it becomes a rapids again.

The gorge is narrow, containing only the road and the river. Once it opens up into the Valley there is a guard station and a wall. Guards from each Tower man this post.

Imagine the Valley is the face of a clock. The Gorge is at the 12 o’clock position in the North. At the one o’clock position is the Dark Tower. At the Five o’clock position in the southeast is the Light Tower. At the nine o’clock position in the west is the Twilight Tower. In the center of the valley is the Academy, village, ogier grove and lake. The southern half of the valley has scattered small villages and is almost entirely farmland. The northern half is wooded wilderness.

The academy is a walled complex of many buildings and open fields. Surrounding the Academy is a small village, with the Flame and Fang inn, a grand marketplace, and other amenities common in a small but prosperous town in the middle of nowhere.