Kar-Thal: Difference between revisions
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=== Surn's Refuge === | === Surn's Refuge === | ||
[[File:Kar-Thal_-_Grand_Hall_01.jpg|thumb|Inside Kar-Thal]] | [[File:Kar-Thal_-_Grand_Hall_01.jpg|thumb|Inside Kar-Thal]] | ||
Surn's Refuge is a district focused on contemplation and public ceremony A cavernous sanctuary filled with mineral chimes and natural spires. The city's most sacred public rituals take place here. Citizens come during '''Cycle Days''' to attune themselves to subterranean harmonics and consult resonance-oracles. | [[Surn's Refuge]] is a district focused on contemplation and public ceremony A cavernous sanctuary filled with mineral chimes and natural spires. The city's most sacred public rituals take place here. Citizens come during '''Cycle Days''' to attune themselves to subterranean harmonics and consult resonance-oracles. | ||
=== The Stonesteps === | === The Stonesteps === | ||
The Stonesteps are the place for trials and Initiations. A dangerous spiraling stair carved from obsidian-glass along a vertical chasm wall. Used for trials of endurance and rites of passage. Only those seeking to join the ranks of Rite-Keepers, Stonewardens, or the city’s ritual classes are permitted to ascend. | The [[Stonesteps]] are the place for trials and Initiations. A dangerous spiraling stair carved from obsidian-glass along a vertical chasm wall. Used for trials of endurance and rites of passage. Only those seeking to join the ranks of Rite-Keepers, Stonewardens, or the city’s ritual classes are permitted to ascend. | ||
=== Tarsu-un === | === Tarsu-un === | ||
Tarsu-un is the district with quarry access and the miner clans This district lies closest to the city’s outer quarry networks and is inhabited by stonecutters and tunnel shapers. The dwellings here are more utilitarian, with marked clan-stones above entrances. Known for its practical dialect and unadorned architecture. | [[Tarsu-un]] is the district with quarry access and the miner clans This district lies closest to the city’s outer quarry networks and is inhabited by stonecutters and tunnel shapers. The dwellings here are more utilitarian, with marked clan-stones above entrances. Known for its practical dialect and unadorned architecture. | ||
=== Stone's Hold === | === Stone's Hold === | ||
Stone's Hold is a defensive stronghold and logistics hub. Located around the '''Lithic Gate''', this fortified district houses the city’s [[Stonewarden]] barracks, storehouses, and defense infrastructure. Earth-[[osia]] patterns are embedded in its floor to allow rapid reinforcement in case of seismic or spiritual intrusion. | [[Stone's Hold]] is a defensive stronghold and logistics hub. Located around the '''Lithic Gate''', this fortified district houses the city’s [[Stonewarden]] barracks, storehouses, and defense infrastructure. Earth-[[osia]] patterns are embedded in its floor to allow rapid reinforcement in case of seismic or spiritual intrusion. | ||
=== Varen-Kelun === | === Varen-Kelun === | ||
Varen-Kelun | [[Varen-Kelun]] houses the diplomatic and external relations A recently adapted district, housing visitors, traders, and emissaries from beyond Terasil. Built from contrasting stone patterns to subtly express Orasian dominance. Ritual interpreters and echo-linguists serve as mediators between cultures. | ||
|Notable Locations==== The Gates of Origin === | |Notable Locations==== The Gates of Origin === | ||
The sole entrance to inner Terasil and thought to be the home of Oras himself. This sacred valley has been sealed off by the Gates of Origin for centuries. The Gates are believed to never have been open. | The [[Gates of Origin]] are the sole entrance to inner Terasil and thought to be the home of Oras himself. This sacred valley has been sealed off by the Gates of Origin for centuries. The Gates are believed to never have been open. | ||
=== '''The Great Hall of Oras''' === | === '''The Great Hall of Oras''' === | ||
The central chamber of governance and ritual. Its basalt columns and echoing stone acoustics are said to resonate with the voice of Oras himself. Here, the Council of Stone deliberates under the watch of ancient statues carved from the mountain's heart. | The [[Great Hall of Oras]] is the central chamber of governance and ritual. Its basalt columns and echoing stone acoustics are said to resonate with the voice of Oras himself. Here, the Council of Stone deliberates under the watch of ancient statues carved from the mountain's heart. | ||
=== '''Tarrakul | === '''Tarrakul Arhun''' ("The Rooted Temple") === | ||
[[Tarrakul Arhun]] is a sanctuary built around a massive column of uncarved stone, considered a raw conduit of Oras’s essence. Silent ceremonies are conducted in its shadow, with worshipers pressing their foreheads to the stone to receive visions. | |||
=== '''The Ashlar Vaults''' === | === '''The Ashlar Vaults''' === | ||
The [[Ashlar Vaults]] is a tiered archive of knowledge and law, composed of memory-stones and carved tablets. The Vaults are maintained by the Lorewardens, who chisel updated records and guard ancient civic decrees dating back to the city's founding. | |||
=== '''Hall of Binding Echoes''' === | === '''Hall of Binding Echoes''' === | ||
The [[Hall of Binding Echoes]] is a secluded chamber where oaths are sworn and ancestral pacts sealed. The acoustics preserve and repeat vows whispered into the stone, allowing them to echo across generations. | |||
=== '''The Lithic Gate''' === | === '''The Lithic Gate''' === | ||
The fortified threshold into Kar-Thal, constructed from interlocking slabs without mortar. The gate’s architecture is designed to shift subtly with seismic vibrations, rendering it unbreachable. Guarded by Earthbound Sentinels | The [[Lithic Gate]] is a fortified threshold into Kar-Thal, constructed from interlocking slabs without mortar. The gate’s architecture is designed to shift subtly with seismic vibrations, rendering it unbreachable. Guarded by Earthbound Sentinels | ||
|Culture and Society=Life in Kar-Thal is governed by a distinct rhythm—slow, deliberate, and steeped in ceremonial precision. As the seat of the [[Council of Stone]], and indeed directly ruled by the council, the city embodies the most formal and conservative expression of Orasian values. Every civic process, from decision-making to public labor, is measured by ritual intervals and guided by ancestral precedent. | |Culture and Society=Life in Kar-Thal is governed by a distinct rhythm—slow, deliberate, and steeped in ceremonial precision. As the seat of the [[Council of Stone]], and indeed directly ruled by the council, the city embodies the most formal and conservative expression of Orasian values. Every civic process, from decision-making to public labor, is measured by ritual intervals and guided by ancestral precedent. | ||