Tomb of Rassilon
The Tomb of Rassilon, also known as the Tower of Rassilon or the Dark Tower, was a large tower in the Death Zone on Gallifrey.
Layout[[edit] | [edit source]]
The Tower had three entrances: a front entrance, a door on the roof, and access from caves below. This was described in a poem that was well-known in Gallifreyan culture. (TV: The Five Doctors [+]Loading...["The Five Doctors (TV story)"])
The tower contained a crypt where the physical remains of Rassilon lay, with this being the actual Tomb of Rassillon. At the side of the Tomb were Immortals who had won the Game of Rassilon. (PROSE: The Five Doctors [+]Loading...["The Five Doctors (novelisation)"]) There was a secret Matrix door behind the Tomb which led to Rassilon's sub-Matrix and could be opened by the Ring of Rassilon. (AUDIO: Zagreus [+]Loading...["Zagreus (audio story)"])
There were a variety of obstacles and booby-traps which made the journey into the tower complicated. One trap involved stepping on tiles that coincided with the mathematical concept pi. (TV: The Five Doctors [+]Loading...["The Five Doctors (TV story)"])
The tower also contained a chamber known as the Shame. (PROSE: Secrets of Time Lord Victorious [+]Loading...["Secrets of Time Lord Victorious (short story)"])
History[[edit] | [edit source]]
During Borusa's Game of Rassilon, a party of Cybermen failed to recognise the danger of the chessboard trap and were destroyed by lightning-like bolts.
The Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith avoided these traps by making their way to the top of the tower by climbing across a wire. The First Doctor was able to work out the puzzles and pass through them. The Second Doctor encountered an illusion of his former companions, Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot. He recognised this as an illusion because the real Jamie and Zoe had no memories of their travels with him.
The First, Second and Third Doctors made their way to the tomb. After establishing a link for Borusa to transmat over, Borusa brought the brainwashed Fifth Doctor along with him, but the first three Doctors pulled the Fifth Doctor over to their side. Borusa, having tricked the Doctors, took the Ring of Rassilon, falling for Rassilon's ploy, and was trapped within stone. (TV: The Five Doctors [+]Loading...["The Five Doctors (TV story)"]) By some accounts, it was some time before he was given his freedom. (PROSE: Blood Harvest [+]Loading...["Blood Harvest (novel)"], The Eight Doctors [+]Loading...["The Eight Doctors (novel)"])
There was a secret door in the Dark Tower which led to the Matrix and could be opened by the Ring of Rassilon. Rassilon possessed Leela and used her to lead President Romana II into a Matrix Simulation of the Dark Tower. (AUDIO: Zagreus [+]Loading...["Zagreus (audio story)"])
Seven incarnations of Iris Wildthyme once faced Morbius in the Tomb of Rassilon. (PROSE: The Scarlet Empress)
During the Last Great Time War, Rassilon housed his possibility engine in the Tower, which was made from a retro-evolved Borusa. He visited the Tower frequently to ask Borusa advice on how to proceed with his actions during the War. (PROSE: Engines of War)
The Twelfth General rescued the Twelfth Doctor from Rassilon teleporting him in the tomb, since it was the safest place on the planet. When Rassilon found them, the Doctor opened the door to face him. (COMIC: Supremacy of the Cybermen)
References[[edit] | [edit source]]
During an encounter with Cthulhu, (PROSE: All-Consuming Fire) the Seventh Doctor realised the presence of the Great Old One left him feeling the same he had at the Dark Tower. (PROSE: White Darkness)
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