Chapter: Blood Gate

I produced this diagram for inclusion in the Second Edition of The Third God, attempting to somewhat emulate the style of the Neil Gower originals

This is what you see as you leave the crater of Osrakum, once you pass through the Black Gate—the Blood Gate sitting on its ‘island’ rock

Running up from the foreground, on the left, is the chasm of the Cloaca that divides on either side of the rock. Two bridges cross to the rock from either side of the canyon floor. Ahead rises the ‘homeward’ gates between the two immense towers that form the Blood Gate. Beyond, to the left, there is a glimpse of the Killing Field

The vast canyon walls rise up on either side

These two images show how, by making the model, I refined my understanding of the structure of the Blood Gate

From above, it can be seen how its structures all sit upon its ‘island’ rock—a portion of the Canyon floor left isolated by the branches of the Cloaca chasm (1) that pass it on either side. The Blood Gate proper (2) consists of two towers (one considerably larger than the other) linked together by two massive sets of double gates. Behind the Blood Gate is a large open field (5) that is joined to both sides of the inner Canyon floor by bridges (7). The front of the Blood Gate connects to the Killing Field (3) by means of a bridge over a ‘moat’ (8). The Killing Field connects to the two sides of the outer Canyon floor by means of two further bridges (6). Rising beyond is an immense tower-fortress called the Prow (4)—note that there is another ‘moat’ between the Prow and the Killing Field.

The tower in which Carnelian takes up residence is the smaller of the two (9).

There are aspects of the Blood Gate that are best appreciated from the side. Specifically, note the ‘moats’ that isolate the fortress structures from the Killing Field. The Prow tower is wholly isolated and can only be accessed through tunnels, running deep under the Killing Field, that connect it with the Blood Gate proper. The Blood Gate is connected to the Killing Field but only by a relatively narrow bridge, and this is blocked by the vast bronze gates that are considered impervious to any attack

Note also how high the Killing Field is above the Cloaca. The dragon with its tower depicted in the second image gives some idea of scale

The Blood Gate defensive system consists of two sets of gates, a number of bridges to narrow and direct any attack and three towers. One of these, the Prow, is isolated on the other side of the Killing Field and thus behind any potential attacker. Like the other towers, it is provided with a great number of huge flame-pipes fed from vast naphtha tanks. The other two towers—one twice the volume of the other—stand on either side of both sets of doors. Both are armed in the same way as the Prow. All three towers have, besides their military engines, large residential quarters for its garrisons.

Focusing our attention on the Southern Tower—that is the one in which Carnelian and Blue take up residence—the 2nd and 3rd diagrams show the tower’s south-western (incorrectly identified as south-east in my notebook) corner. The patterning of balconies matches the military hierarchy of the Ichorian Legion. It also gives a notion of the scale of this tower and, thus, the whole of the Blood Gate complex.

I produced this sketch to give me an idea of what could be seen from the South Tower of the Blood Gate when looking back into Osrakum. If I had just ‘made it up’ I would not have imagined that this is what it would look like

It does make certain things clear. The first is just how massive the Canyon is—the Black Gate, though quite a large structure in its own right, looks like a low fence. Even from this distance, the Pillar of Heaven is still a dominating landmark—which I suppose is not entirely surprising, since it is 2km high. I was a little surprised, however, to find that the Sacred Wall on the far side of the Skymere is also visible