Hey all. Here is the long overdue and revised submission for the Water
Clock in the Imperial City. I tried to incorporate as many of the
suggestions as I could. Also, I'm working on getting drawings of it. The
only problem is that the mails were so long ago, I forgot who sent me the
offer to draw it, so I'll have to look back through old emails.


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The Grand Clock of the City of Anuire
More commonly known as "The Old Man"
Location: Park Island in Bayview section of the Imperial City

The Imperial Clock stands in the center of the Imperial Park. Standing 30
ft tall, this clock is a marvel of Anuirean engineering. Built during the
reign of Caercuillen in 795 HC (-178 MR) to commemorate the reign of Emperor
Alandalae by the Master Engineer of Anuire, Lord Riegon Biere and his
Imperial Engineering Corps.

The clock was built to utilize a constanly flowing River Maesil in order to
power it. Utilizing a pipe system which connects to the river, the water
flow of the Maesil pushes through the pipes into the base of the clock.
This water goes through several filter screens to ensure no dirt gets
through to the body of the clock. However, from time to time, maintenance
is needed.

The pipes run underground where possible (about 1.2 meters under the
ground), and through shrubbery and such where it is not. There is a pump
station with valves near the water's edge. From this, Anuirean engineers
can manually pump water from here in case the river is extremely low, or
shut off the piping if there is too much water flowing into the system

The water flows into a pool in the base of the clock, where the water inflow
turns a small wheel, which is used to pump the water up to the top of the
clock. It is believed this is done with the use of a suction pump, although
since it would be difficult to get to the actual mechanism, several theories
exist as to the actual pump mechanism.

The flow of the water goes into a large "bowl" where it is stored. This
bowl is made up of stone and can hold at least a day's worth of water.

NOTE: This explanation of the clock mechanism is based loosely on the
Gittonian Water Clock of Earth, however, there were some things I had to
change to work in a fantasy realm. Mostly, the way the clock works isn't
too important to anyone outside of engineers, so I just didn't explain all
of the mechanisms. I am only a college student and certainly don't profess
to be a hydroengineer.

The water in the bowl slowly trickles down into the mechanisms of the clock.
As the water drops, it heads into the mechanism which uses an air flow
system (yes, a vacuum is involved, but such is not impossible to make with
some tubing and air valves) that, to put it simply, divides the frequency of
the water flow and regulates it. The water is then pushed along to the
pendulum mechanism, where the flow runs in regular rhythm over the pendulum
hinge, causing the pendulum to move in a regular manner. This pendulm has a
connection to the hinge which leads to the frequency regulator, thus having
the pulses regulate the frequency of water leading to the pendulum..
literally making it a loop. The frequency regulator also, through a series
of gears, regulates the clock face. It is this which makes the clock
uncopyable in any way. Engineers have not figured out how the Master
Engineer of Anuire constructed this, nor are they sure it can be repaired by
current engineers, including the current Imperial Engineering Corps under
Master Engineer Drylnn Caderce. The designer, Lord Riegon,
suppossedly studied with dwarven artisans during his youth, and he used many
dwarven stoneworking and engineering techniques when constructing the clock.
No one can verify this though... due to the construction of the clock (a
large portion was made from one chunk of stone), many parts of the clock
cannot be opened without cutting. It was once proposed that the Imperial
Engineers cut open the clock to see how it worked, but this plan was met
with heavy opposition, for there was no guarrentee that they could "put it
all together again." Luckily, except for minor maintenance, no repairs have
been needed.

The water that flows through the pendulum then flows through filters (to
sweep any dirt that came through the system and made it this far) into a
fountain nearby, where it has a trickle drain that takes excess water back
into the river (so the fountain doesn't overflow).

As to the clock's appearance: It is mostly made of stone with some wood
trim and metal interior (pipes) with a glass see-through front, where one
can see the water move the pendulum regularly. The clock face is a normal
12 hour face of stone with hands of metal. The face has an embossed crest of
the Empire with the 12 numbers each having a lightly engraved crest under
each hour of each original duchy of the Empire (Avanil, Taeghas, Boeruine,
Alamie, Mhoried, Cariele, Elinie, Osoerde, Aerenwe, Dhalaene, Ghieste, and
Diemed). The crests of each duchy are said to be placed clockwise according
to their rank at the time the clock was made, but this is debated by
scholars (12 - Avanil, 1 - Boeruine, 2 - Alamie, 3 - Mhoried, 4 - Diemed,
5 - Brosengae, 6 - Elinie, 7 - Ghieste, 8 - Aerenwe, 9 - Dhaleane, 10 -
Osoerde, 11 - Cariele).

There is a plaque on the fountain near the clock which says "For those of
Anuire's Past, Present, and Future Who Fall for the Glory of the Empire"
alluding in part to the death of Emperor Alandalae with his soldiers in the
Basarji campaign. The clock is actually lower than the surrounding area..
it is believed this helps water flow to the clock. The depression is about
a 100 foot diameter area which contains the Clock, the Fountain, and benches
for people to sit and watch the clock in operation. People occasionally
drop flowers near the fountain plaque or into the fountain in rememberance
to lost loved ones. Also, as with most fountains, people drop in coins for
good luck. Any coins put into the fountain are gathered each night, and
they go to the temple of Sarimie (with 10% going towards the upkeep of the
clock, although this isn't public knowledge).

The clock is maintained by the Clockwork Guild of the Imperial Corps of
Engineers, who ensure that it is always set at the correct time (even though
they have never need to change it) and that the water flow is constant.
They also clean the fountain (they do not consider it demeaning work) by
making sure flower petals and coinage are taken care of as much as possible
during the early morning hours, while people slumber in the city.