ManseRelay/GemoftheFeverishMuse
= Gem of the Feverish Muse
This thick, disc-shaped stone can transform the feverish malaise of sickness and sleep-deprivation into the clear-burning fires of genius. It is a level 2 Fire hearthstone.
The Red Pagoda - Sparrowhawk
- Center
The House Seat of House Mnemon, the Crystal Palace in the Imperial City, is located at one of the most geomantically advantageous locations in Creation. One feature of the palace that attests to this is the Five Pagodas Garden. On the west side of the palace, this garden is planted in five sections, each one displaying primarily plants of one color. The north section is blue, the east section is green, the center section is white, the west section is black, and the south section is red. At the center of each section is a pagoda of the corresponding color. Each pagoda is a minor manse of the element corresponding to its direction. Such an arrangement is unique within creation, even on the Blessed Isle.
Each of the pagodas has a set purpose, and a hearthstone that relates to its purpose. For now, we will expound on the Red Pagoda.
The Red Pagoda is a pottery studio, furnished with the finest equipment an artisan could hope for. This grants any character with the Craft (Pottery) ability gains 3 bonus dice when working in the pagoda. The magical kiln at the center of the pagoda is a true wonder. Its heat is provided by bars of red jade below, and bands of that material in the walls of the kiln. These filaments glow red with Fire Essence, and their heat can be controlled either by the knob on the side of the kiln. One attuned to the manse can control the kiln's heat simply by willing it to heat up or cool down. Attuning to the manse also protects one from the heat of the kiln.
The hearthstone forms in the kiln, beneath the red jade heat-filaments. Anyone trying to reach it without some form of fire protection would be burned by the heat. Being attuned to the manse, naturally, negates this hazard.
The Study of the Healing Flame - Jarons20
- East
A small manse, littered with books and a large oak table. Manuscripts lay in disarray, many books are open and their pages lay on the floor, yet the area around the table is clean and sterile. This was once the study of a great healer thrown into chaos by those in search of his secrets, but only those attuned to the manse discover the wisdom held within. When performing medicine in the manse, the healer gains 3 die but only if they already have 1 dot of medicine to begin with. There is another table by a small fireplace and a reading chair with blank books piled in it. When the hearth is lit the pages blaze with the ancient healers’ own writing and the hearthstone grows within.
The Mad God's Tower - Kalisara
- North
A tall stone tower surrounded by outbuildings, all severely plain in design. From time to time, hammering can be heard within the Manse, and a great heat melts the snow and ice from the ground; at these times, the windows in the tower glow dull red. Those who dare to enter (only ever when the Manse lies silent and empty) have found it to be a well-equipped forge, and have sometimes returned with finely crafted works left lying about the grounds. There are stories of an insane man or god - no one knows which - who constantly strives to forge a certain thing - no one knows what - and may not rest until he does. (If a Storyteller uses this, the nature and power of the being haunting the Manse is up to them. It could be a forge-god, an Exalt, or merely a talented mortal under a curse.)
The Den of Sunken Fire - BasilTM
- West
To the west lies a small island entirely covered with a mangrove swamp. If anyone were to land on this island, the first thing they would notice was the fact that the waters of the ocean flow inwards towards its centre. The uninitiated in the ways of the sea may mistake this for a rising tide, but experienced sailors would know that there should be some turbulence as water flowing from the centre would meet the tide as it came in. They would try and peer through the trees to discern the source of this wonder but their vision would be blocked by the many branches and green foliage.
On the borders of the swamp, where ocean meets land, the water is the clear and pure blue of the beautiful seas surrounding it. The mangroves all have perfect branches and lush, green leaves. However, if anyone moves inland they soon notice that, whatever the substance that makes up this isle, the water begins to be contaminated by particles of black and brown. The branches of the mangroves begin to look diseased and then rotten, as the leaves curl and dissolve into black slime hanging from the trees. Insects begin to appear and throng around and souls foolhardy enough to disturb them. They carry a disease that brings a great fever to the brow of its host, and prevents sleep by the ache it causes in the victims head.
Anyone who manages to push further inward will note that whatever is destroying these trees completes its job at the centre of the island. Only large beds of black slime, floating on the surface, mark where anything may once have grown. However, they will also see the source of the inland flow of water as it suddenly drops into what appears to be a pit, taking the murky debris and scum from the surrounding swamp with it. Those who brave the edge of the pit can see a drop of around 20 yards, down to where a red glow shows the water boiling into steam as it hits the surface of what appears to be a small but live volcanic crater.
In the centre of the crater is a tall structure that at first appears to have been molded naturally out of the dried materials carried down by the waters of the swamp. At the base the dried slime and sediment mold together to form random geometric shapes that gradually draw the eyes up until a modicum of order can be observed and the brave soul who made it this far starts to see that someone has given the randomness shape and form. Slowly, order is resolved out of chaos until the very pinnacle of the tower stands as a perfect, albeit narrow, pyramid. Just above the peak of the pyramid floats a disc (the hearthstone) that may be claimed by anyone attuned to the manse. They need only stand at the edge of the pit and will the disc to them and it will float to their outstretched hand.
The first time someone attunes to this manse they will get a deep inspiration to create something. It can be anything, from a weapon to a purely aesthetic work of art, from a great and lasting empire, to a perfect home. The choice of item is made at the point of attunement and never changes until they lose control of the manse. While carrying the hearthstone, and under the influence of a fever producing disease or having pushed themselves into sleep deprivation, their nature is temporarily replaced by the nature Architect and they receive a bonus die on any rolls to pursue the passion of their creation. Also, as long as they are moving towards this creation, they ignore all negative modifiers of said disease or sleep deprivation. This is, of course, all in addition to the usual recovery of Willpower from following their nature.
Other important mechanics would be to use Yellow Fever (Exalted p. 320) for the insect bites. You could add Typhus (Exalted pp. 320-321) to the blackened water if you were feeling nasty as a storyteller, although this might be going a bit far for a 2 dot Manse. Also, some kind of ongoing strength check to stand at the edge of the pit and not get washed in might be called for, unless the characters are sensible and tie themselves to trees. Again, nasty ST's might have these trees break if too many people are attached to the same one. Finally, if someone does fall in, they could struggle to the base of the manse taking one turn of fire damage (can't remember if there are any published rules for that).
The Charadrius Palace - Quendalon
- South
Three domes and seven towers rise from the southern slopes of Mount Urez, a great granite massif in the range west of The Lap. The palace stones are red granite, pink quartzite, obsidian and basalt; the style is that of the late southern Shogunate, all smooth curves and subtle scrollwork incised with elegant Old Realm arabesques.
The highest room in the tallest of the towers lies open to the sky. A family of charadrius-birds nests here, spirit birds that absorb the illnesses of men and fly up to the sun to burn those ailments away. Lepers and other victims of disease come here on pilgrimage to seek the cure of the charadrius, but the birds do not give their aid to all. Thousands of stone cairns line the path to the Charadrius Palace; each covers the remains of one who died for being denied the charadrius cure.
A circular opening pierces the roof of each dome, permitting the entry of sunlight. The Hearthstone grows from a plinth at the center of the largest dome, where it is touched by the sun at noon. Five slabs of whitest marble are set in the floor around it. Five charadrius birds lie buried beneath these slabs, slain by the power of the Contagion when they attempted to effect its cure.
Comments
Okay, here's the deal. At the beginning of each theme, someone picks a stone, either from the Wiki or a book. Each person then picks one of the five directions and designs a manse which could appear within that direction of Creation and produce the stone in question. Once all five directions have been done, someone picks a new Stone and it begins anew. This was Willows' idea, btw. -- Charlequin
We've done mostly high-level manses so far, so how about something more modest? Let's see how challenging it is to do something less grand. - Sparrowhawk
Looks like I'll have to kick this one off myself. I was inspired, and am really proud of this entry. - Sparrowhawk
I, on the other hand, am not very inspired, but I thought it was time to get it going again. Anyone else care to join in? - Kalisara
Oops, got a bit inspired myself there (and on sleep deprivation, finished at 2.30 am). Hope that wasn't overlong as this is my first entry in a relay. - BasilTM
- Not at all. It's pretty impressive. - Kalisara
Finished the fifth entry. I'll put up the next category soon. - Quendalon
- I like the Charadrius Palace. But are you going to kickstart the next one? It's been a month. - Kalisara
- back to FluffRelay.
