Undying Pyre
Ervenian Era, 1051 AB
The Undying Pyre is a world-pillar of living flame encircled by vast, stepped calderas, an endless crucible where faith is tempered and dross is burned away. Heat is doctrine here: it scours falsehood, anneals conviction, and remakes those who endure.
Economy and Exchange
Offerings are Fuel Tithes (rare oils, resins, flamedance gems), Work-Heat (hours of labor at civic forges), and Quench Rights leased to embassies. Exports: sanctified flame, oath-brands, fire-hardened arms, ember-silk, phoenix soot. Imports (licensed): ores, clays, glass sands, spices, and legal coolth.Security and Hazards
The Cinder Guard, who are Eternal Flames with salamander cohorts enforce the Pact of Heat.Forbidden
Unlicensed water/cold magic, oath-tampering, theft of sanctified flame, and shielding that mocks trial intent. The common dangers include falling slag, purgefire sweeps, and zeal-surges that ignite unsecured gear.Customs and Rites
Oath of Firewalking
Bare-foot across ember tiles; each step speaks a line of service. Hesitation scorches, resolve cools the coal.Promethean Vigil
At night, there is a silent watch before a brazier; the flame mirrors one imperfection to be burned the next day.Crucible of Names
Every ten-days, a chosen name is spoken into a flame; if the fire takes it, the bearer may rise a terrace in rank.Ashfast
At Zenith, there is no shade, no drink; a thimble of saffron brine ends the fast with a shared blessing. Extinguishment Exile (censure): Offenders are doused with ritual steam—banished to the outer rim until their ember rekindles.Geography
Notable Locations
The Undying Pyre
A miles-wide, sky-high column of conscious flame; audiences and revelations occur in its petaled flares.Terraces of Tempering
Endless steps of trial: Humility, Endurance, Obedience, Zeal, Mercy-in-Fire, and beyond.Ember Basilica
A cathedral-forge where sermons are hammered into plaques and quenched in scented oils.Scoria Stair
Pilgrims ascend for the Oath of Firewalking; each landing bears a maxim in glowing runes.Phoenix Cloister, Pure Flame Abbey and Salamander Dojo
The three monastic precincts, each teaching a different grammar of flame.Anvil of Coals
Judgment dais; contracts are heat-sealed here, and the perjured brand will not cool.Crucible Sea
A vast lava lake used for ordinations, worthy candidates walk its skin of slag before dawn.Furnace Mirror
A sheet of heat-hardened glass that reflects one’s future only after a sacrifice hurts to offer.Coal Gate
Primary Oath-Gate; its flames read the tongue and the tremor of the speaker, not the words alone.Spark Vault
Reliquary of extinguished torches, phoenix ash, and the first lamp ever lit in Kossuth’s name.Travel and Access
Pilgrims arrive by Ember Roads (magma barges guided by salamanders), Ash Thermals (updraft corridors from the Plane of Fire), or Oath-Gates, standing flames that part only for those who recite the Oath of Firewalking without flinching. Accredited envoys can transit via the City of Brass through chartered Lamp-Gates bearing a Pyre Seal. Movement within the realm follows Processional Spirals: clockwise to ascend (trialward), counterclockwise to descend (rest and study). One thing for sure that the Eighteen Pyres is tied to that location with a portal.Localized Phenomena
Purgefire
Gold-white tongues that burn lies first; truth spoken within their glow is cool on the lips.Brandwind
A dry gale that briefly outlines oath-break scars on the faithless.Furnace Chorus
Bridges and rails vibrate; those holding a vow hear a guiding note, the perjured hear only static.Ash Oracles
Whirlwinds of scented ash that form sigils in answer to worthy questions.Heat of Heart
Strong emotion measurably raises ambient heat; rites require composure to keep surroundings stable.Trait Type |
Description |
|---|---|
| Gravity | Normal. Air is thin and superheated; updrafts are common near chimneys and firefalls. |
| Time | Normal. |
| Shape & Size | A metropolis of continental ambition; districts accrete, sink, or are remelted and recast by decree. |
| Morphic Traits | Hierarchically morphic. The Grand Sultan and viziers can reshape plazas, streets, even skyline with ritual edicts; lesser efreet may refashion their holdings with licensed forge-rites. |
| Elemental Energy | Fire Dominant. |
| Alignment | Neutral. |
| Magic | Fire, heat, binding, oath, metallurgy, and smoke/illusion are enhanced. Water/ice, cold, and plant magics are impeded; large conjurations of water require a Quench Writ or are instantly fined, seared, or both. |
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