Locations/HalcyonPort

The Halcyon Port of Summer

by Moxiane

Description

Carved out of a sheer granite cliff on the northern coast of a small, nameless island somewhere in the vast expanse of the southern ocean, the Halcyon Port of Summer has been abandoned since its last holder was slain in a battle with the Realm Navy some three centuries ago. There are few signs as to its true age, although it predates the reign of the Scarlet Empress considerably.

It was carefully wrought, so much so that at first glance it appears as nothing more than a sea-cave with the cliff-face above it riddled with holes. As one looks closer the shadows and shapes in the rock resolve into windows beyond which lie a series of rooms. Once inside the artificial nature of the cave becomes apparent, as the far wall is a precisely constructed dock with enough space to safely moor four Imperial triremes securely within, and a wide coral staircase leads up into a large complex of barracks and quarters capable of housing almost a thousand people in simple comfort. There are numerous firing ports and mounts for heavy Essence weapons on the balconies carved into the cliff, but the primary defence of the Manse is its weather control ability.

Special Features

Designed by the same occult architect who created Skyspear Manse the altered Essence flows around the Halcyon Port of Summer have a similar, albeit somewhat lessened effect, on the local water spirits. The slight euphoria that they will tends to make them well-disposed (even the local Storm Mother is even-tempered) giving anyone in the immediate vicinity (c. 1 mile) gets a +1 die bonus to all social rolls made with respect to the local spirits and their courts.

Hearthstone Chamber

At the lowest point of the Manse lies the Hearthstone chamber, a rounded room seemingly cut from sea-blue crystal, with white accents that suggest breaking waves. Ripples of light pass continually through the walls, feeding forwards to a point just underneath the crystalline window that looks out onto the depths of the sea. At this point, the crystal walls partially liquefy and it is within this viscous fluid that the Hearthstone, a Seacalm Gemstone (Exalted p.336), forms. Anyone attuned to the Halcyon Port of Summer can cause the crystal window to give an overview of the Manse and its surrounds with a simple act of will and the expenditure of 1 mote.

Manse Defences

That this Manse was originally constructed as a refuge or military base becomes apparent when one considers its defences. Anyone attuned to the Halcyon Port and standing in the Hearthstone chamber can control the local weather conditions, changing a blissful summer's day to a raging maelstrom of wave and lightning in less than an hour, and vice versa. This costs the character between 2 and 10 motes of Essence, the greater the change the higher the cost and the longer it takes, but even the most severe alteration (becalmed to hurricane, for example) will not take more than an hour to take effect. This defensive weather extends out to a mile away from the Halcyon Port of Summer, with a mixing zone another mile around, and lasts for no longer than the character's Essence in hours before returning to same state as the surrounding weather.

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