Locations/SkyspearManse

Skyspear Manse

by Moxiane

Description

Situated amongst the highest peaks of the Thunderhead Mountains lies a spire of white stone that pierces the sky, leaving its uppermost portion perpetually hidden from view below, wreathed in swirling clouds. Close up, the tower is fifty feet in diameter and encircled by a staircase inset into the stone, very steep and very narrow, that rises up and up into the clouds.

For those who make the long, gruelling walk up the spire they are greeted by a wondrous sight, a copper and gold tower shaped like the head of the spear from which the manse takes its name and, high above the clouds, it gleams in the light from the sun and the stars. Within the manse feels light and airy, the air cooled by the breezes that wend their way eternally through its halls and passages, a welcome respite from the eternal heat of the south-eastern savannah that the manse overlooks.

Special Features

On either side of the central tower that comprises the manse proper, on impossibly thin supports made of imperishable First Age materials are large (40’ across)circular platforms, edged with largely non-functional light crystals. These are landing platforms for flying machines, specifically the Caraptid-class wingboat popular amongst the more adventurous Exalts of the time. One of these lies broken far below, on the side of the mountain, having been pushed off the platform by a particularly powerful storm some three centuries past. The wreckage is largely complete, and the wingboat could be repaired, although it would be a Herculean task in the diminished Second Age.

Skyspear Manse’s other major feature is its popularity amongst air elementals and other skyborne spirits. Thunderbirds congregate around the spire regularly, and there are almost always a number of zephyrs and other minor spirits in the vicinity, Red Grinning Bear himself has even been known to appear at the manse from time to time. Any Exalt within the manse gains a +2 bonus to all dice-pools for friendly dealings with these spirits, since the alterations to the local Essence flows make them somewhat euphoric and generally well-disposed to humans.

Hearthstone Chamber

In a room at the very tip of the spire lightning dances across the walls, occasionally leaping outwards in great sparking arcs and filling the air with an electric sensation that, with extended exposure, can cause spontaneous nose-bleeds. At the opposite side of the room from the entrance is a copper pillar, split in two at the middle and in this gap, suspended in eternal lightning, forms the hearthstone of Skyspear Manse – a Lightning Rod Gemstone (Book of Three Circles p.116)

Manse Defences

The main defence that the manse has is its location, high in some remote mountains and situated at the top of the four hundred foot tower of essentially indestructible stone. The clouds that swirl eternally around the tower form its second defences, laden with thunderbolts the spirit of the manse hurls them at any with the temerity to approach it by air (any except those attuned to it, that is). Once within 500’ of the manse proper any airborne target will have a bolt of lightning hurled at it once per turn, dodging this attack is a difficulty 4 task and failure causes the target to suffer 16L damage as a result.

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