| abstract | - It was built in -1800 IC by an unnamed Dragon Emperor that united the entire civilisation of Grand Cathay in this great task in order to change the destiny of his nation forever. It was completed in under a century, and is an impenetrable fortress wall, a quarter of a mile high (from Nan Gau in the west to Wei-jin in the east[1a]), that spans league upon league across the border of Cathay. In this way Cathay protects itself from Chaos invasion.[2a] Less than three centuries later, the World's Edge Mountains were riven by earthquakes, sending much of the Dwarf empire into jeopardy. Sections of the Great Bastion collapsed as well, allowing rampaging northern tribes to spill into Cathay.[2a] During the year 1310, another series of earthquakes caused part of the Great Bastion to collapse. A truly colossal invasion ensued as scores of the battle-hungry Kurgan tribes that roamed the Eastern Steppes flooded into that rich and ancient empire. Hordes of Chaos Warriors battled legions of terracotta automatons attempting to shore up the Great Wall with their own clay bodies, mutated War Mammoths gored and trampled whole regiments of one-horned Ogres, and in the skies above Daemon Princes duelled with bejewelled Gold Dragons. The Cathayans ultimately blunted the invasion, but not before the Chaos horde had carved a bloody path into the heartland of the orient.[3a] The Tower of Ashshair is a Cathayan outpost to the northeast of the Great Bastion that overlooks the Silk Road and the mountain passes coming down from the Mountains of Mourn. From this jade-green tower of magical stone the servants of the Dragon Emperor survey the great road and keep watch for signs and portents of woe and threats from distant lands.[4a]
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