Unbended:Lone Needle
The Lone Needle is the oldest building in the north. There are no records of its builders. According to legend, Aureth the Creator himself erected the Lone Needle as a lookout. From its tip, he once kept watch to ensure that the creatures of the Aether Seas did not become a danger to his first children. It is certain though that the Lone Needle was once used by the Anthair, a clan of ruthless pirates and smugglers that are considered the ancestors of the sea watchers, as a fortress. It was from here that the Anthair set sails for their numerous raids along the coastlines. The Needle’s position on an island and the fact that the central power during that period didn’t have a fleet with which a seaside blockade would have been possible were the reason that finally, under the reign of Emperor Sannassos II. (the legendary child emperor) and with heavy losses, the great bridge of Garragh was build. The bridge is regarded as one of the architectural masterpieces of its time. Over this bridge the imperial armies could now march and bring the reign of terror of the Anthair to an end.
For centuries, the Lone Needle was held by the Northern Garrison that was tasked with protecting the Northern Territories from the belligerent indigenous people. When at last they withdrew further into the Unsacred Mountains and the danger was over, so was the sentinel of the North Garrison. The Lone Needle lost its importance and even the proud bridge of Garragh was abandoned to decay.
It cannot be said with any certainty who reigns over the Lone Needle today. What is known from the accounts of adventurous travelers is less than encouraging. Apparently, the Lone Needle is surrounded by some kind of magical barrier that nothing can cross. Steel shatters, arrows splinter, and it kills instantly at a touch. There are other reports of enormous creatures that now guard the bridge of Garragh, of huge bonfires that blaze at night around the Lone Needle and of smoke pillars, red as blood, that day by day grow into the sky like giant funnels.
