Sequestered Tabernacle
In a valley deep in the Dehennan Mountains, between the western Dragon Coast and the Kunlun Tundras, there rests a marvel. Though it is hard to find, thanks to the dangerous, fog-shrouded crags that surround it on all sides, the Sequestered Tabernacle is a paradise in the midst of this Northern harshness.
The Villages of the Sequestered Vale
Scattered through the Sequestered Vale, a several-mile long valley rich with melt-water flowing down from the mountains around them, are a handful of hamlets and small villages. All the denizens here are adherents of the Cult of the Illuminated; in many case, those who come to dwell here have had to flee their homes when their allegiance was discovered. Many of those who grow up here - particularly if they demonstrate any aptitude at leadership - may be insinuated into other places in Creation, starting new cells of the Cult, or reinforcing those that are flagging.
In general, though, these villages are made up of good, simple people who tend to the day-to-day demands of a rural, farming life. The fields and pastures of these villages provide all the food they need, plus more than enough to supply the Tabernacle. Strong second sons are usually brought into the service of the Tabernacle, and trained as temple guardians and the rangers who guard the outer edges of the Tabernacle's territory.
The Tabernacle Manse
Solar Aspected Manse •••
On a cliff overlooking the rest of the valley, the Tabernacle is a great manse of white marble and burnished bronze. It is roughly pentagonal in shape, three stories in height and capped with a dome of sky-blue glass that can pick out and amplify the sunlight shining through it, even on days when clouds hide the sun. It is surrounded by five tall minaret-towers.
The walls of its lower level are smooth, without windows and bearing only a single door, the great white oak and bronze double doors that the great staircase up the cliff-face leads to. The upper stories are marked with bronze-railed, balconies with drapes of gauze-sheer cloth at regular intervals, allowing the Illuminated who gaze out on the village to be seen in return.
The Training Floor (First Floor)
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- Entry to the Tabernacle (1): A massive set of double doors separated the Sequestered Tabernacle from the outside world. These doors usually remained closed, but unlocked, although the possessor of the manse's Hearthstone can seal the doors from anywhere in the manse by willing them so. Those who are attuned to the manse can also cause them to lock or unlock by touch.
- The Garden Overlook (2): This promenade, which extends out over the central gardens, also boasts the staircases that lead up to the Second Floor, above.
- Initiates' Quarters (3 - 7): The bottoms of the towers are established for the use of the initiates who are going through training in the tabernacle. Each such section has a central, communal space for the use of the initiates living there, with a round table and chairs. Meals are brought to the initiates here. Around the edges of this communal living space are the small chambers, which feature a single cot, a chest for the storage of fresh clothing and hygiene products, and a small bedside table with a lamp upon it.
- Workshop (8, 15): These workshops are simple affairs, as far as artificing workshops go. They are kept stocked and ready for the creation of basic artifacts (up to Rating 3) and other hand-made goods. Each has a single, Essence-fueled forge, as well as plenty of tools.
- Scriptorum (9, 13): These rooms are stocked with all the parchment, ink of various qualities and fine quills crafted of goose, hawk and peacock feathers, as well as less-typical supplies such as sealing waxes and seals, ribbon and all the other materials of the calligrapher and illuminator's trade. Each such room offers four desks-and-seats with ample lighting to allow students their freedom of writing. These rooms see plenty of use copying books (such as the Illuminated Sutras) and practice on correspondence and treatise-craft.
- Archive (10, 14): Set up behind the scriptorums, these chambers stock some basic books, including multiple copies of the Illuminated Sutras, as well as other educational treatises, books of compiled essays and copies of important speeches and correspondence considered vital to statecraft by the instructors of the Sequestered Tabernacle.
- Dojo (11): This space is set aside for the practice of the martial arts, with a padded floor and high ceiling. The walls are decorated with illuminated scrolls that demonstrate the basics of each of the Terrestrial and Celestial martial arts styles taught here: Fallen Blossom, Snake Style, Tiger Style, Celestial Monkey Style, Ebon Shadow Style, Mantis Style, Arms of the Unconquered Sun Style, the Art of Forceful Declaration, the Art of Meditative Discussion, the Art of Relentless Persuasion and the Art of Victorious Concession. Racks hold practice versions of the weapons used in these styles: khatar, hooked swords, cesti, sai, seven-section-staves, fighting chains, tiger claws, plus a host of other, typical martial arts weapons.
- Salle (12): Marble-floored with high ceilings, the salle's only decoration is a variety of weapon- and armor-stands. Melee weapons training goes on in this room, and its floors are no strangers to spilled blood.
- Supplies (16, 24): X
- Lecture Hall (17 - 18, 21 - 22): X
- Initiates' Lounge (19, 23): X
- Garden & Labyrinth (20): X
- Thaumaturgical Laboratory (25): X
- Chapel to the Incarna (26): X
- Guest Reception (27 - 28): X
- Chapel to the Illuminated Gods (29): X
- Musical Salon (30): X
- Armory (31): X
- Waiting Room (32): X
- Waiting Room (33): X
- Armory (34): X
