46 Biomes III - Desert and Spa Biome, Tree of Knowledge
Next up: the Desert Biome. This biome has something very important, the Bank. We are not going to spend a lot of time talking about this bank and only cover the most important things.
The bank is linked to the treasury of the Underworld. That is where Hades stores most of his evergrowing wealth. Many dangerous metals and minerals could be found there and of course all sorts of elixirs, potions and other resources that one could think of.
The Bank was as the name said, where people, but mainly gods could store goods that were valuable to them. This could include special artefacts, gold, magical objects and more. The Bank was secure and nothing in existence could enter the vaults unless Hades wanted to. It was also not limited to the Greek Pantheon. Gods from all pantheons could deposit things here and have an account. This was one of the things that cost something to use though. Most of the things in the Underworld were free for those that Hades allowed to stay here but the Bank had to be paid for.
Whenever something is to be stored it is checked for any sort of tempering or funny business. And if they are considered safe and not an attempt to enter the treasury, they will be stored.
Sorcerers and other mystical and powerful people can also have an account in the Bank of course, but to have an account can be expensive, it is the safest place in existence though, so it's worth it.
(Picture of the Bank)
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What else could be found in the desert biome?
The desert resort was the main thing that served as a hotel and place to eat and drink. It was built similar to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon but not exactly the same. It had the oasis in the desert theme. Overall there was not much to say about it. The restaurants where you could eat were located on wide balconies. You would feel like you were in some tropical jungle while you saw the dry desert just outside the resort.
The resort also offered a variety of sports that you could do in the desert.
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Let us focus on something very special to Hades. The Spa Biome. Why was this special to Hades? Because he has recreated and improved upon one of the future seven wonders of the world, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
When he said that the Desert resort was similar to the Gardens then this was the real deal and so much more. First of all, it was massive. Like close to Entertainment City massive. No matter what if it had to do with water relaxation and spas, it could be found.
Water was everywhere. You could go swimming in pools, rivers or the canal. All over you could find gardens with exotic plants and small sitting or lying areas where you were served tea and other beverages as well as light food.
If you were hungry though, worry not as many little restaurants served you whatever you wished, but most of the dishes were green and healthy. You could of course also order fast food if that is something you crave.
Apart from swimming, eating, and enjoying the scenery you also had the chance to enjoy massages that were simply ... divine. You could visit steam rooms, saunas or silent areas to sleep.
As it is custom in almost all biomes, there is also a hotel that offers guests and other visitors the time of their lives. No matter what you wished to do, there was a good chance you could get it. However, the theme of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon was always maintained. This meant that you could not get a plane flight to see the sights, but you could get a nice enjoyable boat ride through the canals and into the waters all around the biome.
Hades was very fond of this place and would probably be seen here many times. He needed time for himself and that was the best way in his opinion to spend the time.
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And now finally we come to the second-best creation that Hades has produced in the Underworld. The Tree of Knowledge.
(Picture from the outside)
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The Tree of Knowledge was fascinating for many different reasons. For one it was a monstrously tall tree that carried dimensions as branches. It was in general one giant library. The purpose of this library was to store any knowledge that entered the Underworld.
When souls enter the Underworld through the river of souls that is the entrance, their entire life and everything they experienced is copied. The Tree of Knowledge takes and stores all the knowledge of the deceased and sorts it into the respective parts of the library.
This means that entire life experiences and life knowledge will be stored. All their skills will be recorded and a 'how to...' book will be created. Should such a book already exist, additions will be created or mistakes will be corrected.
Librarians are necessary to take care of everything here. One librarian is responsible for one branch each. More would be impossible. Each branch of the Tree covers one specific topic. This could be cooking or gardening, biology, physics, maths or anything else. The more time passes, the more souls come to the Underworld, the more knowledge is recorded and the bigger the library becomes.
The habitants of the Underworld are allowed to enter the Tree of Knowledge and read in a cosy corner whilst having some tea and biscuits. Taking books outside is illegal and will be punished. Outsiders or visitors are NOT allowed inside the Tree of Knowledge. This is a very special privilege that only those whom Hades has allowed to permanently live in the Underworld.
Those who think they can get rich by copying books and then selling them in the overworld will be punished. This is a major offence that is punishable by death if proven to be done purposefully. The reason for this harsh treatment is due to the fact of what you can find in the Tree of Knowledge.
There is information about anything, also the happenings of the world. So secret business deals can be found, intrigues, history, plots and all sorts of betrayal and lies naturally as well. So using this can lead to massive and maybe dangerous circumstances.
Just imagine a president taking a look at the information that is available on all his competitors as well as enemies from other countries ... that would make him a very dangerous man and that is why only permanent residents are allowed to use the Tree of Knowledge.
There might be special circumstances where someone or maybe many are allowed a peek at something very particular that could help them. This would have to be something very important for Hades to allow something like that.
Should a book be taken from the library the book will simply vanish and reappear in its intended place.
(Pictures of the inside)
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Two branches of the Tree of Knowledge are special as they hold not a library per se, but schools. Both of those hold a subdimension in which a school is located. The first school is for children up to the College level. College and high school are located in the second subdimension.
(Picture of School)
(Picture of Highschool/College)
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The seasons change over the year and students have dorms inside the School. Taking many ideas from Hogwarts, Hades decided to make the schools alive. The school helps children either find their way to classes, stops any form of bullying or helps them in other ways.
We can find all sorts of activities to keep the students happy apart from learning. Doing sports like soccer, tennis, or lacrosse. Some playgrounds for the smaller children, Quidditch (yes he introduced the sport), swimming, practice of magic or other powers and more.
It is impossible to add everything that the schools offer but just know that they were the best of the best.
On the very top of the Tree of Knowledge, a restricted section can be found where only Hades and those he allows have access to. This has knowledge of secrets that are important to the Universe or the Multiverse, powerful magic books, etc.
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Three of Three
It is not my best work ever. I am not very good at worldbuilding. So don't go hating all over it.
No more Biomes for now.
