Five Harmonies Sanctuary
Situated in rural Myion Prefecture, the Five Harmonies Sanctuary stands as a monument to the auspiciousness of the Realm and the divine mandate held by the Scarlet Empress(or so the Immaculates say). Somewhere between monastery and temple-city, the sprawling Sanctuary portrays a Creation in microcosm, perfectly in line with the Immaculate Hierarchy. Consisting of five elemental manses arranged so as to mimic the arrangement of the elemental poles, the Sanctuary's geomancy is taken by the Scarlet Dynasty to be a sign of heavenly approval for the Realm, for what other nation would be so blessed with such an auspicious set of demesnes.
For centuries, pious dynasts and esteemed monks have made pilgrimages to the sanctuary in order to commune with each manse's elemental aspect, visiting each of the Elemental poles by way of safe proxy. Tradition holds that monks of appropriate aspect tend to the sanctuary's natural geomancy, as the manses themselves cannot contain the primal flow elemental essence from the powerful demesnes they cap. Long considered spiritually enlightening, the Sanctuary has seen an increase in pilgrims ever since the Empress's disappearance. Fearful monks pray to avert Civil War, while desperate dynasts hope that the Sanctuary's essence will provide an alternative to the Caul's revitalizing effect on the Dragon's Blood.
Aside from the five manses (each referred to as sanctums), the complex contains numerous dwellings for monks and pilgrims, as well as shrines along the paths connecting each manse, each an idealized step along the journey through the model Creation. Small areas are landscaped by mortal monks to resemble various satrapies, while others are recreations of allegorical locations mentioned in the Immaculate Texts.
The Air Sanctum
Located in the northern part of the sanctuary, the Air Sanctum is constantly beset by winds of varying intensity. Windmills and prayer flags cover the sanctum's jade-roofed minarets, some of them connected to occult mechanisms housed within. The monks at this sanctum always have at least one sorcerer and several thaumaturges among them to help manage and manipulate the local weather, whether that means quieting dangerous lightning storms or inciting them in accordance with certain directives from the Palace Sublime. The monks sometimes attempt to read the future using the local weather, setting out divinatory kite effigies to be blown about by the wind and interpreting fate by their flight patterns. Some kites have remained in the air for decades without being attached to a line, one, said to have first been flown by the Empress herself, has even been in flight for centuries.
The Wood Sanctum
Located in the eastern part of the sanctuary, the Wood Sanctum lies in a naturally formed depression colloquially called the Ampitheatre of Sextes Jylis. Columns of jade veined marble ring the outer edge of depression, while benches, small dwellings, and geomantic structures fill the "seats" of the theatre. The central "stage" is dominated by an ever changing play orchestrated by the manse's own essence. Countless trees and flowers grow from the earth at an astounding pace, reminiscent of scenes playing out in theatre, sprouting to full height and then withering away within hours. It is considered good luck for expectant mothers to walk amongst the plant "actors" and participate in their esoteric plays, while many an elderly citizen has passed away while peacefully meditating in the audience section.
The Fire Sanctum
The Southern part of the sanctuary houses the most austere sanctum. The surrounding environs are barren save for a few hardy shrubs and the air is constantly arid. The Fire Sanctum itself is a towering basalt structure, encircling an open air courtyard littered with ashes. In the center of the courtyard lies a great, rainbow colored bonfire. Brave monks, long adjusted to the sanctum's oppressive heat, stoke the fire with offerings to the Dragons and take embers away in glass flasks to serve as wards against evil omens. The ashes from the courtyard are used in ritual cleansings by duelists, while athletes meditate in the presence of the bonfire or dance atop beds of coals, honing their bodies to Hesiesh's ideal.
The Water Sanctum
The Sanctuary's western section houses the Water Sanctum. A great rectangular temple basin sits in the centre of the sanctum, the stairs leading down to it chiseled with excerpts from the Immaculate Texts. Miniature dragon boats containing offerings sail in the basin, the currents subtly manipulated by water aspected monks on the shore. At times, the monks arrange the boats like a great abacus and perform sums calculating the amount of time spent worshipping the gods subject to the local prayer calendar. Much like ashes of the Fire Sanctum, the water here is used in ritual purifications, with dynasts and monks bathing in the water to symbolically wash away unwanted aspects of themselves or to search for answers to spiritual questions in the depths of the reservoir.
The Earth Sanctum
The very center of the Sanctuary holds the imposing Earth Sanctum, a temple with a courtyard containing an exquisite rock garden with multi-hued sand. The resident monks meticulously trace patterns and prayers into the sand, or bring boulders that they chisel into the images of the Immaculate Dragons. Ascetics bury themselves in the sand, leaving only their heads or faces exposed, and meditate for days without food or water. In the very heart of the rock garden contains an immense boulder shot through with veins of jade, encircled with sacred rope and covered with carvings of scenes from the Immaculate Texts. This proxy omphalos is traditionally the last stop on a pilgrimage, the faithful encircle it five times(carefully covering the tracks they make in the sand) and legend has it that the sacred essence of the boulder kills any impious being that touches it.
Intrigues and Mysteries
- The Sanctuary is normally peaceful and harmonious(else it would not be an ideal model of Creation), but very recently, a most inauspicious event occurred on the grounds. Four years after the Empress's disappearance, during Calibration, a respected dragon-blood was found dead on the grounds of each of the sanctums, each discovered to have taken their own life in a manner that resonated with the manses' aspects. The monks have covered up the deaths, but the elder immaculates and their Sidereal handlers ponder what this ill omen means.
- In truth, not all of the demesnes that power the Sanctuary are natural, and not all of them are of Dynastic construction. The Air and Fire Sanctums were created by Sidereals using powerful geomancy, while the Earth Sanctum and Water sanctums was renovated from manses dating back to the Realm Before. The artificial nature of two of the demesnes(though not the involvement of the Sidereals) is a bit of an open secret in the Immaculate Order, the truth of the matter being deemed less important than the glorification of the Perfected Hierachy. In truth though, the Earth Sanctum contains a few dark secrets that the Sidereal and Immaculate censors failed to discover, while the Water manse is due for repairs that the resident Dragon-Blooded have no idea how to perform.
- The current Abbot, Tepet Asira, is nearing death, and her likely successor, a monk known as Red Fern, is poised to assume her position. Red Fern secretly harbors some radical ideas regarding the administration of the Sanctuary's surrounding lands. She plans to geomantically arrange and relocate the farmlands and villages neighboring the Sanctum as an extension of its model Creation, hopefully creating a system that spreads to the rest of the Blessed Isle. She has willfully ignored the level of economic and social disruption this might cause as well as the prospect the project's infringement on the administrative purview of the Thousand Scales and the Great Houses.
- A cell of Iselsi sleeper agents has infiltrated the Sanctuary, spying on the pilgrims and subverting the administration. They have not yet decided what to do about Red Fern, but in the meantime, they wormed their way deep into the Sanctuary's hierarchy. One has even discovered a hidden sepulchre beneath the Earth Sanctum and the pre-human relics housed within, not yet aware of the antediluvian horror that slumbers in the depths.
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