Speculum

The Speculum, also known as the Hall of Wizards, was a great hall used by the wizards and archwizards as a repository or arcane knowledge of the ancient Myth Drannor.

"Behind them, the Speculum rose up in all its majesty and mystery. As Jarial had described, the structure was indeed shaped like a dragon. An enormous horned head dominated the main entrance, its jeweled yellow eyes glowering at all who dared enter the doors below. As Caalenfaire had told them, huge boulders and other piles of rubble blocked the entrance. Fore and hind-legs projected out in high relief from the stone walls, and a curving exterior staircase formed the creature’s tail and back. The mighty beast lay curled around a large “egg”-domed room in the center of the building."

- An excerpt from Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor (novel)

Location
The Hall of Wizards was located on the aptly named Speculum Grounds in the ward of Sheshyrinnam, across the Street of the Evening Star from the Castle Cormanthor with an elven jewelry store to the east and Nightingale Court to the north-west.

Structure
Surrounded by flagstones, the three-story Speculum was easily spotted from afar for it's golden colored dome that resembled a curled up dragon with its head hanging decoratively on top of the main entrance. The Gate of Antarn led to the Altar of the Mythal on the top of the curled up dragon dome. The gate was magically locked unless they had a specific enchanted glyph tattooed on their bodies. Very few were able to create the tattoo, Anorrweyn Evensong was one of them. The altar held the gem of the weave, the heart of Myth Drannor's mythal.

Interior
The main chamber, just past the Speculum gates, was a grand hall of over shape. The walls were decorated with exquisite murals and mosaics that depicted great wizards and dragons, all intertwined in stylistic images of magic. The depictions of dragons were laid out with gems of correspondence colors for chromatic dragon kin and metals for metallic dragons. The eyes of the decorative dragons were small round windows. The hallways were reinforced with beautifully carved columns and beams, all depicting dragon tails of all colors. The enchanted sources of lights were orbs held by decorative silver dragon claws. The chamber's ceiling was decorated with a single grand mural of a red dragon and a gold dragon locked in aerial combat. Numerous arcane runes were weaved into the decorative patterns all over the walls. Statues of great and accomplished wizards, frozen in mid-spellcasting, stood along the hall's walls.

The grand call had the second level past two rounded dual stairs that went up to a ring of balconies that overlooked the mosaicked first floor. At the base of the stairs, between the two, stood an enchanted pedestal that, once touched, sounded delicate chimes and materialized a magical mirror that could scry for the pedestal users. The second floor's balconies were filled with bookshelves that held countless books, arcane tomes, and scrolls.

Beneath the hall proper were numerous underground levels, the full scope of which were not entirely known.

It was believed there was a secret, extradimensional stronghold kept by Myth Drannan wizards, the entrance of which could be found inside of the Speculum. The arcane chamber was a safe hold for their most powerful magical secrets, originally created by archmage Alaghar of the Horns, protected for years by a deepspawn, even following the city's fall into ruin.

History
Kythorn 25, 714 DR was the date of one of the last battles of the Weeping War. The Battle of Stars Shining took place around the Speculum as a swarming army of yugoloths surrounded the building. A quarter of the invading army was wiped off by a brave scribe halfling Prannith Springheels as he grabbed the staff of the magi that belonged to his dead master and plummeted into the army off the top of Speculum. As he was falling he broke the staff causing a deadly explosion. Spell-Major Josidiah Starym used his Artblade and its magics to collapse part of the building on the army, and incinerate the remaining yugoloths and himself, securing the Speculum (or what was left of it).

When the Cult of the Dragon took over the ruins of Myth Drannor, in the, they set some of their best wizards to the task of breaking into the Speculum and gaining access to the wizards' extradimensional chamber, to no avail.

Inhabitants
During the glory years of Myth Drannor, the Speculum served as the meeting hall for the city's Guild of Wizards, Conjurers, & Enchanters.

In 1369 DR, the Speculum was briefly under the Cult oof the Dragon's control. After the cult gave up on unlocking the vaults, they abandoned the Speculum. Shortly after a few orcs of the local tripe took over the building.

Through the years one of Myth Drannor's baelnorn liches Caalenfaire operated from one of the vaults of Speculum, accompanied by his floating skull aide Volun.

Appearances

 * Adventures:
 * Pool of Radiance: Attack on Myth Drannor
 * Novels
 * Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor
 * Video Games
 * Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor