The Monastery of Blood
Light and shadow, as much as stone and mortar, were used to create this huge
hall. Enormous blocks of marble shape the frame in which the sun's light is
displayed. Pouring down in radiant streams from the heavens above, it dances
over stained glass windows, sending cascades of crimson into the space below.
A clear division can be seen of the different functional areas of this place,
each in three of the four cardinal points: dormitory, library, and chapel.
(Blue Aura) A baptismal font of clear crystal is filled with the sacred blood.
Look North:
A chapel area is delineated to the north by rows of pews, an altar and font.
A wide carpet of crimson leads up the aisle, thick and lush.
Look East:
To the east, a simple dormitory area is found, providing living quarters to
those who have given their oath. Cots await occupants, each with a square
locker at its foot. The hospitality is without luxury, but that is not the
focus here. Obedience to the Thrice-Born and learning of His ways, is.
Look South:
A wide set of double doors provides a barrier to the south.
Look West:
To the west, a library holds the lore of a trio of lifetimes. Maps, scrolls,
and books line the six sets of shelves, which bracket between them a set of
four magnificent portraits. Each is carefully illuminated and obviously held
in high honor. In front of each portrait is an open book. (Look portrait1,
look book1)
Look Up:
Far above, the vaulted archway of the ceiling can barely be seen. A small
ebon spider has woven a web between two of the supports. It pauses in its
labor and observes you, silently.
Look Down:
The floor of the monastery is the same veined marble as the walls. Leading
the way to the chapel area is a lush expanse of crimson carpet.
LOOK Painting1:
An elegant, dark haired, crimson eyed half-elf gazes back at you from the
first portrait. The background is the shattered land of Sanguinna: This,
the Ascended Lord of the Kindred Vampyric, Khore. It was He that gave the
Thrice Born His first Rebirth, this favor won through the completion of a
quest and a life-long goal.
LOOK: painting2
The giggling visage of the Goddess of Chocolate beams out from the second
portrait. Bliss was the center of Rufus' world for many years, and a big
part of his development. Her luscious curves are carefully reproduced in
the painting, and her eyes seem to twinkle. It was she that taught Rufus
the value of family and the joy of the hunt.
LOOK: painting3
A lovely elven woman with crimson hair streaked with a single lock of white
gazes out at you from the third painting. Blood-daughter to Khore, Clue was
the second Goddess that Rufus gave his allegiance to and His second Rebirth
was at her fangs. She taught Rufus the essence of cooperation and the goals
of the group over the needs of the individual.
LOOK: painting4
A sultry raven-haired creature gazes lustfully out from the fourth portrait:
DarkClaw, in all of her sanguine glory. The fourth Goddess worshipped by the
Thrice-Born, DarkClaw taught him of passion and the sacredness of the Blood.
It was on Her fangs that He died and was renewed a third and final time.
LOOK: book1
The book is open to a page that reads:
Take wisdom from the example of Lord Khore. Be silent when anger would twist
your tongue. Speak with grace, or not at all.
LOOK: book2
The book is open to a page that reads:
Take wisdom from the example of Lady Clue: Stand by your brothers and sisters
within the Monastery, above all others. Give them your truest loyalty.
LOOK: book3
The book is open to a page that reads:
Take wisdom from the example of Lady Bliss: Never forget that each day is a
gift and live it to the fullest. Revel in it.
LOOK: book4
The book is open to a page that reads:
Take wisdom from the example of Lady DarkClaw: Remember that the Blood is
sacred. Those who spill it show their folly. Hunt them unmercifully until
they learn the error of their ways.
LOOK: altar
Behind the font, on a raised platform, is an altar. Unlike the rest of the
Monastery with its pale marble, this object is a dark obsidian. Words have
been carved deeply into its surface, but the way the light falls, they are
difficult to read without effort. Upon the altar's surface, a glowing vial
of crimson liquid rests for the one strong enough to earn the right.
LOOK: words carving
Three words have been carved into the altar:
- Courage - Determination - Knowledge -
Gazing at these words, you somehow know that they are the three values that
the Thrice Born requires in any who would serve as His Ordained.
LOOK: light shadow
Sunlight pours in the many windows of the monastery, the crimson glass giving
the light a bloody glow. The streams of illumination intermingle with shadows
cast by the structure of the building, making a weaving of unearthly beauty.
LOOK: vial
A glowing crystal vial is filled with crimson liquid, waiting for the one
strong enough to earn the right to drink it.
LOOK: marble
The marble of the building is a pale color, streaked with veins of crimson.
LOOK: windows
The arching stained glass windows are all the same: a crimson rain pouring
down from the heavens.
LOOK: dormitory
To the east, a simple dormitory area is found, providing living quarters to
those who have given their oath. Cots await occupants, each with a square
locker at its foot. The hospitality is without luxury, but that is not the
focus here. Obedience to the Thrice-Born and learning of His ways, is.
LOOK: chapel
A chapel area is deliniated to the north by rows of pews, an altar and font.
A wide carpet of crimson leads up the aisle, thick and lush.
LOOK: library
To the west, a library holds the lore of a trio of lifetimes. Maps, scrolls,
and books line the six sets of shelves, which bracket between them a set of
four magnificent portraits. Each is carefully illuminated and obviously held
in high honor. In front of each portrait is an open book. (Look portrait1,
look book1)
LOOK: locker
A small footlocker rests at the base of each cot, waiting to hold the belongings
of those who will give their oath to Rufus.
LOOK: cot
Utilitarian and plain, this cot provides no luxury. It's barely big enough for
one, much less two.
LOOK: maps
Maps of the world stretch out before you. Many - quite nearly most - of the
areas have been marked in red.
LOOK: scrolls
Each scroll is bound by a blood-red ribbon, and bound with a seal. If they were
to be opened, their creator would surely know...