Forbidden Hall

Getting all the way up into the imperial palace is a feat of its own, but getting into the emperor's Forbidden Hall is another type of business entirely. We shall not really speak on such business as it is not proper for polite company, but we shall tell you that this hall does exists and people do venture there occassionally. But not without the explicit permission of the current ruler. Only the chosen ones may enter the Forbidden Hall and return from there unscathed. But this place is surrounded by so many horrible myths that no one would really dare to venture there uninvited. Consent is key.   The imperial palace is basically a one big labyrinth that is supposed to keep all of the most important assets of the state in one protected place should a siege happen at any point in the future. Its winding halls are meant to confuse any who enter and it takes many years for the servants, maids and eunuchs alike, to memorize the most important places of the mountain palace and how to really get from point A to point B in the most efficient manner and without getting completely lost.   The precise location of the Forbidden Hall is unknown but it is generally assumed it is somehow connected to the inner chambers that are only meant for the emperor to use. Not even the empress or the empress dowager, the highest ranking women of the harem, may know its location if the emperor does not want them to. It is a secret that is kept between the current ruler and his ancestors and no one else may know about it. Some even speculate that the hall has the ability to move from place to place in the palace complex while other assume that it is some sort of a secret corridor to allow the monarch to escape from the palace unnoticed.   But unless the emperor invites you, you will never know the truth.