Edit Settlements in the Sanctuary Vale Page: Orak-Thun

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{{Ancestral Spirit Infobox |Name=Orak-Thun |Image=[[File:Orak-Thun - General 01.jpg|center|frameless]] |Represents=Enduring selfhood through geological time |Realm=Terasil |Location=The outer spine of the [[Citadel Mountains]] }} {{Ancestral Spirit Sections |Introduction='''Orak-Thun''' is an [[Ancestral Spirit|ancestral spirit]] believed to be the first sentient mountain, whose awareness emerged before the rise of mortals. Unlike other spirits that move through the world, Orak-Thun is the world—rooted, vast, and unmoving. According to [[Orasian]] myth, it achieved consciousness not through divine spark but by enduring the passage of time without breaking. Though it once spoke, shaping laws and paths with its voice, Orak-Thun has since fallen into a deep silence, now existing as both myth and geography in the Citadel range. |Domain and Manifestation=Orak-Thun’s domain is identity without motion—the preservation of self in the absence of change. It does not manifest as a figure, sound, or event, but as the totality of its form. Pilgrims speak of the feeling of being watched from within the rock itself. Geologically, Orak-Thun is a distinct peak within the Citadel Mountains: unusually symmetrical, seismically inert, and surrounded by weather patterns that seem to avoid its summit. |Cultural Significance=To the [[Orasians]], Orak-Thun is both ancestor and origin. It is said to have named the first paths of stonecraft and defined the lines of early Orasian society. Its enduring presence is cited in philosophical traditions that emphasize patience, internal integrity, and the refusal to be shaped by passing forces. No stone is ever taken from Orak-Thun’s body, and no structure is built upon it. The mountain is treated as sovereign—entirely itself, beyond stewardship. |Legends and Accounts=One legend claims that Orak-Thun once spoke to a council of Orasian elders during the early Age of Erosion, uttering a single phrase that redirected the city of [[Kar-Thal]] to its current location. Another tale tells of a [[Minthari]] pathfinder who vanished during an expedition, only to reemerge decades later, claiming he had stood in the mountain’s memory and returned unchanged. Even today, seers claim that Orak-Thun’s dreams shape the subterranean flow of stone beneath [[Terasil]]. |Depictions in Art=[[File:Spirits_-_Art_-_Orak-Thun_01.jpg|thumb|''Where Stone Refuses Shadow'' by Laren-Suv]] Though rarely depicted in figurative form, Orak-Thun appears frequently in Orasian visual tradition as a symbol of stillness and continuity. Most representations focus on **shape, weight, and silence** rather than image. Stonecarvers often embed asymmetrical outlines of Orak-Thun into civic halls, not to display reverence, but to acknowledge unchanging presence. Lorewardens record entire harmonic sequences inspired by its contour, some of which are played during silence rites in [[Surnaketh]]. No Orasian artist has claimed to represent Orak-Thun directly—only to echo its shape or absence. To depict it fully is considered presumptuous, as its identity lies beyond all interpretation. |Ritual Practices and [[Osia]]=Orasians and stone-bound Osari make pilgrimages to the foot of Orak-Thun in silence. Rituals involve sitting for cycles of breath, listening for “the inner echo”—a meditative [[attunement]] with the mountain’s presence. Osia practitioners believe Orak-Thun grants rare insight into naming osia, the deep art of fixing identity into stone. Names spoken aloud near the base of the mountain are believed to take root in the land itself, never forgotten. }} [[category:Terasil]]