The Pinnacle of the Core

Above the wall of framed text are those words, painted in black and in desperate need of a new coat. There are five frames of text, total.

’What is the Pinnacle of the Core?’

’The Pinnacle of the Core is the capital of our world, where the Heroic Council holds its annual Heroic Conference. It is also the Sol Undran Hero Tower, where the heroes of Sol Undra undertake their governing duties when they are not busy saving the city from villains. Additionally, The Pinnacle of the Core is the holy place for Coreanists, who believe that they should get as close to the Core as possible every Saturday for effective prayer. You may ask yourself how all these activities can take place in one building. Well, The Pinnacle of the Core is the tallest- or deepest- building in the world! The building has two food court floors, five break room floors, and houses over one thousand offices, with each worker dedicated to Eden, Sol Undra, or Coreanism and all working in harmony. The map of the building is not public for security reasons- please check in with our receptionist if you are unsure where to go for your appointment. The food courts, however, are on floor forty-two and twenty-three.’

'Beginning of The Pinnacle of the Core’

'The Pinnacle of the Core and the Central Water Reserve are theorized to be the oldest buildings in the world. Though records of their exact age have been lost, we know that they existed when our ancestors first came to Eden, and that while the Central Water Reserve was built of very firm materials The Pinnacle of the Core was already rusting and falling apart. To remedy this, historians believe that Philip Alvez reconstructed The Pinnacle of the Core and, as oral tales like ‘Mister Architect’, left instructions for The Pinnacle of the Core to be reconstructed every milenia. All we have identified as absolutely from Alvez himself is his self-portrait. During the Alvez Era, recording methods improved significantly, so by the time Gerhard Muller began her era we have much more information about the system for the measurement of time. Although not particularly artistic, we know that Muller followed in Alvez’ footsteps and commissioned a live portrait painting, which she hung on the wall behind you. This modified tradition has been followed by every subsequent Architect of the Era, a term coined by Muller to refer to her magnum opus.

'The Early Architects'

'One milenia after Muller's project, Liliahn Nguyen picked up a pen and took up the mantle of the Architect of the Core, ushering in the Nguyen Era. While Muller accounts of Alvez’ use of glass and her own use of clay bricks, Nguyen’s Pinnacle of the Core was entirely constructed of stone. Nguyen was largely a recluse, but we know that it was their era in which the very first villains emerged- followed swiftly by the first heroes. Nguyen’s private records indicate their relief in the construction of a firm central state at last, and they welcomed the new heroes with open arms, working behind the scenes to establish the Heroic Council and serving as personal advisor to The Keeper itself. In order to stay close to the heroes and better provide for themself, Nguyen established the Architect’s Suite, a floor dedicating to housing The Architect of the Era’

’The fifth Architect of the Core is Ackley Venning, who took a relatively small role in the heroics business, only working with the Heroic Council to coordinate the design of their meeting room and personal guest rooms. The Venning Era is best known for its food and music, neither of which Venning herself was particularly interested in. Indeed, compared to previous Architects of the Era, Venning did not largely shape her era. She took the money made from The Pinnacle of the Core’s commission and retired peacefully in the Architect’s Suite with her two pet dogs. Venning’s Pinnacle of the Core was constructed largely of plain red bricks.’

'The Next Architects'

’Nikolaus Zinner was the next Architect of the Era, and much like Venning he did not interact much with the heroes. However, even after designing and overseeing the construction of The Pinnacle of the Core, Zinner continued to be an influential architect. His designs were largely luxurious, and under his guidance nearly the entirety of The Pinnacle of the Core was made of marble. He redesigned the Central Water Reserve, and additionally established Secondary Water Reserves in each city. With steady access to water, each city centralized and began to take on a culture of its own. Although Zinner only really built those reserves under the orders of the Heroic Council, his designs remain in place today.’

’One millenia after Zinner revolutionized water access, Ida Reyes reconstructed The Pinnacle of the Core out of renewable materials, like wood. Ae was also an influential architect, though most of aer buildings were designed prior to The Pinnacle of the Core and constructed after aer subsequent rise to fame. With aer architectural career soundly at its peak, Reyes delegated the construction of aer designs to aer brother, Juan, and directed aer intention instead towards public service, spending the rest of aer long and happy life establishing the Reyes Foundation, which unfortunately went bankrupt in 560 Reyes Era.’

'The Great Burn'

In 564 Reyes Era, tragedy struck. A worker on the seventy-third floor put tin foil in the microwave and, as that particular floor was made entirely of wood, it quickly caught flame. In hindsight, such a tragedy was bound to happen, as without the Reyes Foundation no one had been regularly waxing the wood of the building. Nevertheless, the loss was great. Without a physical location, the Heroic Conference took place virtually. Without The Pinnacle of the Core, Coreanists prayed on the bottom floor of the Central Water Reserve. All heroic operations moved to various offices spread across the city of Sol Undra, slowing down business considerably. The Pinnacle of the Core needed to be reconstructed, but the city had not even begun collecting the funds until 500 Reyes Era. All hope seemed lost, but the Heroic Council ran an annual design contest anyway, desperate for an innovative architect who could reconstruct The Pinnacle of the Core on a nearly nonexistent budget.

It was the fifth design contest that a brilliant graduate of Verojas College finally rose to the challenge and surpassed the Heroic Council’s wildest dreams. With his innovative use of recycled materials, Thomas Ezeral’s design for The Pinnacle of the Core was constructed in just eight months, allowing the Heroic Conference to be in person in what would have been 569 Reyes Era but was, instead, 1 Ezeral Era. As of this sign’s creation, Thomas Ezeral is very much still alive. He is the father of the Irekes Foundation’s founders, and is presently teaching architecture at both the University of Der Verde and Sol Undra Public Academy. We are assured that his legendary recycling techniques will live on in his students and be reflected in architecture for the rest of his era.