Fortress of Disciplined Enlightenment

Location: Mechanus

IMPORTANT NOTE: It appears the original entry for this location has been tampered with by an anonymous infiltrator. You don’t have to read between the lines too hard to realise this is probably the work of a berk from the Hands of Havoc. Rather than delete the entry, it is presented here in its corrupted entirety as it may impart useful information for planewalkers.

A symphony of structured precision, the Fortress of Enlightenment is Mechanus’ crowning testament to cosmic order. Its nine-sided form reflects an essential logical axiom of the multiverse (three times three), each portion of the structure a gear interlocking flawlessly with the next. From the agrarian rhythms of the justice farms to the ceaseless quill-scratch chorus in the Archival Spires, every last cog hums with purpose. This isn’t a stronghold—it’s a living engine of Law.

The Fortress of Disciplined Enlightenment squats on its own bleeding cog in Mechanus, a nine-sided hive crawling with ink-spattered clerks and law-spouting berks who think they’ve cracked the multiverse’s code. From its smokeless smokestacks to the sky-piercing spires, every inch screams order – but peel back the brass plating, and you’ll find cracks even Primus couldn’t fix. This nonagonal nightmare’s split into nine districts tighter than a modron’s sprocket: farms that grow justice-turnips, barracks full of Harmonium washouts, and the Court – a hive of circular debates where Guvners pick apart reality’s seams. The real prize? The Archive, a fireproofed maze under the cog where every law from Baator to the sign behind the bar in the World Serpent Inn gets cataloged. Don’t get lost or cornered down there – last cutter who tried had to dead-book an inevitable and three contract lawyers to get out.

Philosophy in Motion

The Fraternity of Order thrives on a singular truth: Law is the scaffolding of reality. Our scholars dissect decrees from Waterdeep tavern-brawl bylaws to Primus’ edicts, seeking the universal axioms binding existence. The Court of Codified Truths hosts daily debates where precedents are weaponised and loopholes dissected—not to undermine order, but to perfect it. Every legal exploit uncovered is a brick laid toward our ultimate edifice: the Grand Loophole, the cosmic statute granting dominion over the planes.

Leadership and Hierarchy

Factol Hashkar’s wisdom guides us from Sigil’s shadowed chambers, but here, Lady Nancias Garabutos embodies the Law’s spirit. Her rulings transcend mere judgment; they sculpt reality. When berks challenge her authority, she dismantles their claims with citations from the Tome of Eternal Precedents—a 12-ton libram housing verdicts from the Multiverse’s dawn. Recent whispers of forged edicts against her reign? Mere stress tests for our legal frameworks.

So what’s the Guvners’ game? The Fraternity of Order’s philosophy boils down to: “Find the loophole, own the game.” They’re convinced multiversal laws are just puzzles waiting to be solved, and they’ve turned the Fortress into a factory for legal siege engines. Lady Nancias Garabutos is the grand poobah – she’s one part “fair rulings” and three parts loopholes – but Factol Hashkar’s in her shadow pulling strings from Sigil. The faction’s somehow got the inevitables on retainer, probably sewn up in contracts tighter than the Fated hold their purses.

Inevitables clad in writ-etched platemail patrol the ramparts, their ocular lenses scanning for infractions and deviations. The militia—Harmonium veterans retrained in jurisprudential combat—drill in the Quadrangle of Compliance, mastering both fighting stances and legal positions. Trespassers face not just steel, but litigation in motion: Guvner lawer-mages can conjure writs of expulsion mid-air, binding offenders in chains of glowing legalese.

Patrolled by clockwork drones and indentured militia (think Hardheads who failed the charisma tests), the Fortress seems impenetrable. But whisper it – their fight-masters are bored. These blade-wagglers would trade a decade of law lectures for one good brawl in the Lower Ward. For the right garnish, they’ll even license you as an “outlaw hunter”… no questions asked if your target’s got Revolutionary League tattoos. And that, my fomenting friends, is the way in.

Services for the Lawful Inquirer

Access to the Catalogues of Enlightenment requires surviving a debate with our philosopher-automata. Present your case on planar metaphysics or arcane taxonomies; victory earns not just entry, but potentially a license to amend the Catalogues.

Vigilante permits are also available for qualified individuals—legally sanctioned tools for chaos-hunters—for every officially-stamped warrant tightens the multiversal jurisprudence.

While the Guvners drool over their loophole holy grail, their real vulnerability’s scale. Every law added to their Catalogues makes the system slower—like overclocking a modron till it sparks. Feed ’em fake statutes from Carceri’s prison-cities or Ysgardian mead-hall edicts. Clog the gears with enough contradictory “truths,” and this fortress of enlightenment becomes a prison of its own rules.

Current Endeavours

The Modron Concordance Initiative progresses: by cross-referencing their migratory patterns with Carceri’s penal codes, we’ve predicted 97.3% of rogue inevitability movements. Meanwhile, Factol Hashkar’s Cosmic Loophole Project nears fruition; early trials suggest Mechanus’ gear patterns correlate with Ysgardian duel-charters backdated by 12 millennia. Skeptics call it madness. We call it precedent.

To walk these brass-floored halls is to feel the multiverse’s heartbeat—steady, inexorable, ours. Every statute catalogued, every loophole mapped, brings us closer to the day Law’s architecture reveals its final clause. And when it does? The Guvners won’t rule. We’ll simply be the Law.

The chant’s hot: a few of Lady Nancias’ disgruntled underlings are cooking up “ancient laws” to dethrone her. Most are obvious forgeries—it doesn’t take a blood to spot the fresh ink – but it’s got her rattled. Meanwhile, the Catalogues of Enlightenment (their prized law-vault) reek of desperation. Want access? Debate a clockwork philosopher on planar metaphysics… or slip a lackey a golden garnish to “misplace” your paperwork. It seems they’re closer to cracking that “cosmic loophole” than they let on, but thanks to our sterling work, their own bureaucracy’s slowing ’em down.

Remember, cutter – the best way to break a machine? Make it follow its own blueprints.

Canonical Sources: Dragon Magazine #315 p46; #353 p52 (alliance with inevitables); Factol’s Manifesto [2e] p72 (ruler of the Fortress); Manual of the Planes [3e] p130 (short entry); Planar Handbook [3e] p166-167 (Catalogues of Enlightenment); Planes of Law [2e] Mechanus p18-20,30 (full description); Player’s Guide p26 (brief mention); Planescape Campaign Setting [2e] DM’s Guide p61 (brief mention); Planewalker’s Handbook [2e] p66 (brief mention)

Source: Jon Winter-Holt