The manor's underground passageways.
Part of the palace that had already been built had now been demolished. What had once been an ordinary karst cave at the passageway exit had been expanded into a massive vertical cavity. Roads spiraled downward in rings, all the way to the sea below. The space was divided into multiple platforms, each with broad tunnels extending in different directions.
At the circular opening in the center of the platforms, connected open square compartments moved slowly along. They were not fast, but they never stopped.
This was a Paternoster Elevator.
"Paternoster" meant "Our Father" in Latin—the opening two words of the Latin version of the Lord's Prayer. It had originally been given this name because the elevator operated in a continuous loop, resembling the way one recited prayers with rosary beads, carrying a certain religious symbolism.
An elevator that cycled eternally without stopping, this doorless design had emerged in nineteenth-century England. Passengers could step on or off at any floor as they pleased—provided they were quick enough.
That was no problem at all for the Banshees. Once installed, this machine that allowed rapid travel up and down became a favorite among them. When it first began operating, Banshees would often get on and refuse to get off, riding it like a roller coaster until irritated members of their kind threw them into the sea.
Well, the greatest flaw of this elevator was that it was not safe enough. Anyone who failed to react quickly enough risked getting caught in it. Naturally, the Banshees had no need to worry about that.
If one went around to the other side, one could see the elevator's source of power: a Clamorer. It merrily sang a tune only it could understand, burning pollution and driving the elevator's endless rotation.
Theus's