Centenarian Gate

First Appearance and Context

The Centenarian Gate is referenced when the workings of the great mechanisms within the Mynster are described, alongside the periodic gates coupled to the liturgy and clockworks. In that account, its actuation is tied to the motion of a dodecahedron counterweight as part of the same system that powers other gates and add‑ons.

In conversation during preparations for Apert, a Decenarian fraa refers to it as the “Centenarian Gate” and notes it is expected to open roughly ten years after the Decenarian Apert—likely only once in his lifetime. He also describes being summoned to the Upper Labyrinth that separates the Decenarian and Centenarian maths, where a grate allows a Hundreder to question him as part of their preparations for their own rare opening.

Structure and Features

The Century Gate is integrated into the Mynster’s central works via the Præsidium’s pillar‑mounted auxiliary weights. Specifically, a dodecahedron of black volcanic stone (raised incrementally during winding) is the actuator for this gate; when the clock dictates, its descent opens the portal. The gate is one of a matched set: a cube weight opens the Year Gate, and an octahedron opens the Decade Gate. A larger cycle is also noted for a millennium gate governed by an icosahedron weight. Together these forms ride on rails fixed to the Præsidium’s pillars, rising a little with each winding and descending at their appointed intervals to drive the respective gates.

Relationships and Functions

Within the concent’s central complex, the Century Gate belongs to the family of periodic portals driven by the great Clock. Maintenance and inspection of the underlying gear‑trains, chains, and rails are described as the responsibility of the Ita. The gate’s role is mechanical and calendrical: to operate on the hundred‑year cycle defined by the clockworks, in parallel with its yearly and decennial counterparts. In practice, it marks the rare opening associated with the Centenarians and their hundred‑year Apert.

Current Status

In the described period, the dodecahedron weight associated with the Century Gate was observed high on its rail, consistent with a long cycle before its next actuation. No further behavior of the gate itself is recorded beyond its inclusion in the periodic system.