 A Cube of Foundation with Burin writing Cube of Foundation, Middle Magic: (A) Antharia Jack, 931 GUE Tech Painting, 1067 In Walking Castle, 1067 |
When the foundations of the world were laid down, Eru created seventeen small, featureless white cubes, which were the physical manifestations of the elemental powers and forces that hold the universe in place. The cubes and the forces were merged in a way that our knowledge no longer comprehends. The cubes were further linked through some unknown mystical process to six legendary pools. The exact nature of these pools remains unclear even today; tradition has left only vague information concerning two of these magical bodies of water, the Pool of Stasis and the Pool of Eternal Youth. When the making was done, the cubes were hidden away so that their powers could not be tampered with. Almost all of these were placed upon Zork.
Tradition also has it that Eru grew distrustful of his children, the Implementors, who had grown haughty, and kept certain things secret from them. The first was the knowledge of the Cubes of Foundation and their final locations; for The One knew that should one Implementor grow too powerful, the cubes could be used to undo all of Eru’s work. For the one who had power over these cubes could change the very structyre of the universe. He instead revealed their powers and resting places to a prophet named Fizbin, who recorded them in the Sacred Scrolls.
In 398 GUE, the fallen Implementor Belegur sought to gain possession of these cubes, but fortunately did not even swipe a single one into his inventory.
In 931, One of the seventeen mysterious Cubes of Foundation (the one containing the essence of Middle Magic), briefly fell into the hands of the scoundrel Antharia Jack, the hard-up owner of a casino in Port Foozle, after winning it in a Double Fanucci game. A short time later, Lucy Flathead, who arrived from the future year of 1067 via one of the time tunnels, won the Cube from Jack in a game of “Strip Grue, Fire, Water.” As, enigmatic artifacts are wont to do, the cube disappeared back into the mists of obscurity after Lucy fled the casino in the bowels of a walking castle. After visiting the future, this cube returned to its proper placement within the time continuum and was able to be gathered with the other sixteen in 966.
Unfortunately, in that year, the evil "shadow" of the Head of the Circle of Enchanters gained access to five of these cubes. Almost immediately he was able to affect great changes in the workings of magic by perturbing those five. In order to seize control of the universe, he was able to trick the Head of the Circle to unknowingly gather the remaining twelve cubes from all corners of the known world, and beyond. This shadow-being then attempted to meld all of the cubes into one, in order to give him power over the forces of the universe. The Head of the Circle was able to prevent this from taking place, but he was unable to prevent the alteration of the cubes in such a way that destroyed the fabric of magic.
An elaborate network of time tunnels had been constructed before the end of the reign of Lord Dimwit Flathead, for the sole purpose to restore magic to Zork in the instance that a tyrannical anti-magic despot should have eliminated it, which was the case in 966. For magic to return, it was required for three magic artifacts to be brought together: a specific Cube of Foundation, the Coconut of Quendor, and the Skull of Yoruk. Each of these magic objects carries with it a part of a lost Rune of Abjuration, a sort of master magic spell woven in Old Speech between the three artifacts. When the three powerful magic objects were recovered at last, the Rune would summon Y’Gael back down from the Ethereal Plane of Atrii, and their essences would be freed, and magic would return to the Empire.
In 1067, Lucy Flathead, seeking to restore magic to Zork, used a time tunnel to return to 931 to gather the proper Cube of Foundation from Antharia Jack. AFGNCAAP placed this cube into a nook halfway up a radio tower on Flathead Mesa along with the Coconut of Quendor and the Skull of Yoruk in their respective places. The Skull of Yoruk, being the receptacle of deep magic, went in the glass dome at the bottom. The Cube of Foundation, being the container for middle magic, went in the nook halfway up the tower. The Coconut of Quendor, being the symbol for high magic, went in one of the balls of the wind gauge thingy at the top of the tower. When AFGNCAAP cast MAXOV upon the tower to bind the energies, a blast of powerful magic hit the top of the antenna. As the three magic treasures were combined according to the prophesy and the wisdom of Y'Gael, she was summoned down from Atrii. The resultant blast threw AFGNCAAP, his totemized companions, and the Grand Inquisitor from the tower while sending a shockwave of magic across the land. Thus this Cube of Foundation placed an essential role in the restoration of magic and the dawning of the Second Age of Magic. Afterwards, this Cube of Foundation was returned to its proper time so it could be discovered in 966.
It is hoped that no future generations will choose to gain control over the Cubes of Foundation. The first such attempt, described already, brought an end to the entire First Age of Magic. The next attempt might lead to the destruction of the entire universe as we know it.
Each of the seventeen cubes has a specific element associated with it, and an interior room manifesting these properties which can be entered with a BLORPLE spell. From within, an number of one-way exits lead to various destinations all across Zork. Every cube has a relationship to a unique animal, which can be discovered by placing a selected cube into a special gold box. (Note: The Dragon Cube is only rumored to exist, and may in fact not actually be one of the Cubes of Foundation)