Difference between revisions of "IFoundSquirrels/DragonArchOfKeialaMaya"

Revision as of 01:16, 6 April 2010

The Dragon-Arch of Keiala Maya is a crystal bridge whose seven spans trace a serpentine line over a low rocky Western reef. Built to appear carved from ice and frozen wind and inlaid with blue glass and copper, the bridge's eight towers appear from a distance to be hovering very slightly just over the sea. The copper oxidizes with the swell of the seas, which then wear away the patina with stinging spray, so that the inlays are always intricately patterned with green. Built at the height of the Shogunate, it was meant to be a base of operations for a sorcerer's exploring vessels; one of the bridge's curves shelters a small harbor, and the top of the spans contain comfortable living space as well as storage rooms. An observatory takes up much of the very top level. Certain rooms in the fifth tower house a sizeable library.

During the height of the Shogunate and the centuries following, the manse was inhabited continuously by a series of Western sorcerers. Its history came to an abrupt break, however, when the Great Contagion struck down every inhabitant of the place. For the next several centuries it lay empty, its books moldering and its harbor gradually silting in. The manse was barely touched by the Faerie invasion, unscathed in the subsequent fights, and hardly noticed the rise of the Scarlet Empress: it was lost to history.

Then, two years after the breaking of the Jade Prison, a Solar Exalt called [[[IFoundSquirrels/DragonArchOfKeialaMaya/AdamantFern]] | Adamant Fern]] came upon the manse. It was completely intact, with even some of its furniture remaining. The library was mostly ruined, its books gone to dust; but a few remained, and one of them taught her a spell to restore the rest. She decided that she liked the place, and settled in to restore it and make it once again a home. Later, after she met Daughter of the Amber Melody [her circle's Eclipse], the two agreed to share ownership of the manse; both are attuned to it, and each carries one of its two hearthstones.

Hearthstone

The Dragon-Arch produces two hearthstones -- a Neverdrown Opal and a Jewel of the Flying Heart.

The three-dot [[[IFoundSquirrels/DragonArchOfKeialaMaya/HearthStones]] | Neverdrown Opal]] is a perfect sphere, light-blue and opaque in color, which seems to be hollow. As it turns against the light, green, silver, and purple opalescence shimmers over it. While it is attuned, the bearer need never worry about breathing: the stone sends trickles of Air Essence into her lungs, allowing her to she can hold her breath indefinitely. Fern carries this stone, set into her Spear-Thrower of Exalted Prowess.

The one-dot Jewel of the Flying Heart is a reddish wedge that adds +1 to its bearer's Dodge DV and +1 to any Melee attack made with the item into which the stone is set. Amber bears this stone.

Mechanics

Air Manse •••• (8 Creation Points)

Features:

• Subtle Breath of Sextes Jylis (2 pts): the manse is comfortable no matter the weather, with the added ability to become very uncomfortable on command.
• Password Activations (1 pt): certain phrases in Old Realm.
• Archive (2 pts): the library. Its specialties in Sorcerous Research (Occult), Engineering (Lore), and Western Geography (Lore) offer the benefits of a 3-die Specialty to characters using it for research.
• Magical Conveniences (1 pt; 4 conveniences): blue glass shelves in the library index all items placed on them (and there's room for much more than just the Archive's books), bringing the information up on request at a central reading-crystal. This crystal can scan and store up to (Rating x 200) maps or other single-sheet documents: one need only place the document face-down on the crystal and give the password for the manse to save it forever. In all rooms of the manse, the upper walls and ceiling begin to shed a cool blue-white light whenever someone enters.
• Glorious Halo of Heshiesh (2 pts): the manse can display on command any document it has saved, as well as produce other images; Fern often commands it to overlay various maps, producing a valuable and detailed chart of most of the West which can zoom, pan, and place markers on command.