FrivYeti/SoralsMonument

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Soral's Monument

Fifty years ago, Soral's Monument was simply a small rest lodge owned by a prominent member of House Cathak, Cathak Kinna. Kinna was a general in the Cathak legions, and was blessed with a prominent marriage to a Dynast of House Sesus and a beautiful, talented son. Kinna loved her son Soral deeply, and doted on him without pause, while pushing him to martial excellence and proudly bragging of his accomplishments. On the day of his Exaltation, she had her hunting lodge destroyed and replaced with a new monument to his triumphs, which she assured him would be thick and plentiful. She imagined him one day replacing Cathak Cainan as leader of the House, forging a reputation that would last for millenia.

It seemed that Kinna's beliefs would prove portentious. Soral placed top of his class in primary school, winning several competitions and awards. He graduated best of his year from the House of Bells, with even more awards to his name. Success after success followed, accompanied by a meteoric rise through the ranks, and in R.Y. 763, at the tender age of forty, he won the tremendous honor of being appointed Second Dragonlord of the Twenty-First legion, second only to the taimyo himself. Soral hurried to Thorns to report for duty. One year later, he was dead.

Now, his monument has all the joy of a tomb. Kinna cannot bear to enter it, nor can she imagine giving it up. Instead, posession has passed to her second son, Cathak Honorious. Honorious is a competant Dynast, but he lacks the drive and talent of his brother and he is well aware of it. He visits the shrine often, to be with his brother in spirit if not in flesh, and many of his friends worry for his mental health.

The shrine itself was once a remarkable thing, a single-story edifice sprawling across its compound, with hallways forged of deep orange stone, carpeted with rich Southern weaves and filled with portaits and trophies from Soral's career. Only the east wing of the monument is filled, however; the other three wings lie empty, waiting for triumphs that will never happen. It is likely that, if the Realm survives, it will one day be replaced by a hall dedicated to some other person or persons, but for the time being it remains as it is, a half-finished tribute to glory.

Game Mechanics

Manse Level 1
Drawbacks: None

Powers:

Comfort Zone (1 pt): The temperature within Soral's Monument remains perfectly balanced at all times, and the trophies and exhibits displayed there never suffer from excessive dampness or similar problems.

Magical Conveniences (1 pt): Soral's Monument is filled with portraits that can be drawn upon by the Manse's owner, provided he simply lays a hand across them and focuses on the scene he wishes to draw. Cathak Kinna felt that this would save time and allow Soral to more accurately depict his many victories.

The Manse's Hearthstone is a Memorial Iron (Oedanol's Codex, pg 92). Cathak Honorious uses it to remember his fonder memories of his brother.