Darak-Kel
| Darak-Kel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Kar-Thal |
| Function | Governance and Ritual |
| Notable Locations | Grand Hall of Oras • Kel-Vorun • Tharakul |
Darak-Kel, known as the "Echo Seat," is the political and ceremonial heart of Kar-Thal. Anchored around the sacred Great Hall of Oras, it serves as the core site of governance, oath-making, and ancestral continuity. This district is regarded not merely as a seat of authority, but as a resonant chamber through which the will of stone is interpreted and enacted.
Function
The district functions as the locus of civic decision-making, ritual pronouncement, and intergenerational stewardship. Within its halls, the Council of Stone deliberates beneath ancestral effigies and memory-stones. Major legal and ritual decrees are inscribed upon oath-steles, which are ritually harmonized to preserve civic memory through resonance.
History
Founded at the inception of Kar-Thal, Darak-Kel has remained unchanged in form and function for centuries. Darak-Kel resists alteration as a deliberate act of continuity. It has borne witness to every major oath, law, and proclamation since the city's founding and served as the ceremonial axis of the Duranthi, whose legacy continues through its stone-bonded traditions.
Notable Locations
- Grand Hall of Oras: The central chamber where the Council of Stone convenes. Its basalt columns are tuned to amplify spoken words, allowing declarations to reverberate across the chamber.
- Kel-Vorun: A secluded chamber used for the sealing of ancestral pacts and high oaths. Designed to capture and repeat vows whispered into its walls.
- Tharakul: A series of terraced platforms carved into the bedrock, used for public pronouncements and ritual ascents during times of civic renewal.
Cultural Practices
Access to Darak-Kel is tightly controlled. While the inner sanctum is restricted to officials and oath-bearers, citizens may gather in outer halls to listen to resonance-broadcasts of council proceedings. Speaking within Darak-Kel follows strict cadence traditions, with silent intervals observed between statements as a form of civic respect.
Ceremonial roles here are hereditary, passed down through stone-oaths. Echo-scribes maintain the oath-steles and ensure that no declaration is made without acoustic transcription.
Bibliography
- Stone as Witness: The Ritual Architecture of Kar-Thal by Lorewarden Evasul
- Chronicle of the Echo Seat (Ashlar Vaults, Record Layer II)
- Resonance and Rule: The Rituals of Darak-Kel by Lorewarden Vem Taarak