The Grand Fracture of Cierel
The Black Palace
Imperious. Domineering. Tyranical. These words and more have all been used, not inaccurately, to describe the Original known as Cierel. During the age of the Originals she controlled the widest span of territory and ruled the largest population of shay, building a great empire called Ciera that worshipped her and, by extension, the Immortals she created as her heirs. It was a cruel empire, one that treated its citizens as resources to be sacrificed for the greater good, but was undeniably far more orderly and prosperous than those the other Originals were able to build. The crowning jewel of this empire was Cierel's own residence: The Black Palace, a gigantic castle made from black marble and onyx possessed of such an intense, terrifying presence that the sky above it became stained permanently with dark clouds. The palace is located south of Augiery
When the shattering came Cierel was sat upon her throne deep in the heart of the palace. With her death so too did all the shay in her empire perish, and a huge explosion of energy surged forth across her empire and reduced much of it to rubble. Despite being the epicentre of the blast however The Black Palace had been painstakingly built to be the most unassailable fortress the world had ever seen, reinforced again and again with Cierel's own power. Although it was badly damaged the palace still stood; a hollow shell of its former self but even then still one of the most secure locations on Idalos. Emean energy seeped in through the tear above the ruins of Cierel's throne, trapped within the defences of The Black Palace's mighty walls and transforming the whole place into a fracture.
But what is a palace without its ruler? As spiteful as Cierel may have been none can deny that she possessed an extraordinary force of presence. So great in fact was her power and presence that even though she perished the shadow she cast at her feet, a mere echo of her greatness, lingered behind without her. This shadow is nothing more than the imprint of the overwhelming presence she once cast upon her empire, and empty phantom of what the empress once was made manifest by the effect of the fracture, yet is still powerful enough to control what remains of The Black Palace as its caster once did. Unable to leave the fracture, the only meaning this shadow could find in existence was to set trials and challenges to test any who came to enter the palace and lament over the fall of its lost empire for all time.
Date Opened
The time of The Shattering: 600 arcs before the end of the War of The Immortals and The Oath.
Entrance
The only entrance to The Black Palace is through the front door: an enormous gate that could dwarf even a dragon in size. Despite its intimidating presence one need only knock on the door and the gates will open by their own power, allowing anyone inside in order to face the fracture's challenges.
Foyer
Due to the fracture being arranged under the guidance of a sentient mind rather than being randomly warped by Emea's chaotic effect, The Black Palace does not quite follow the same structure of other fractures. Rather than having one foyer spreading out in every direction from the heart, the foyer of this fracture is divided into a number of distinct levels. Each level take the form of a large room in which some sort of trial will be held under the shadow of Cierel's command. These rooms change in appearance depending on the trial given, which is said to never be the same as one given to a previous challenger. If the challenger completes the trial the doors in that room will open, allowing the challenger to either back out and leave the palace or push on deeper in to find the next level.
Over the years many have stumbled across The Black Palace and deigned to challenge it, though either gave up during the first couple of levels or died in the attempt. Only one person has ever reached the third level and beyond: a Seeker acolyte by the name of Solomon. At the time Solomon was a young man who'd just managed to flee from Augiery after escaping slavery, and stumbled across The Black Palace while running from a hunting party trying to recapture him. He was not a particularly impressive individual: not a strong warrior, nor a wise scholar, and the only magic he held was a little power in attunement. What he did possess however was something that no other challenger had brought before: a keen wit. Using cunning alone Solomon was able to trick his way all the way up to the fifth level before backing out, and with the prizes he had collected from challenging The Black Palace was able to barter his way back to The Seekers and report on his experience. He hypothesised that there were seven level in total, with the final one being the throne room where the heart of the fracture waited upon Cierel's throne. Everything he learnt about The Black Palace he recorded in a book, which he entrusted to The Seekers before leaving the organisation to seek out the other six Grand Fractures; never to be seen again.
The trials one may face within The Black Palace can consist of anything at all depending on the shadow of Cierel's fancy. It could be combat, a puzzle, a game or anything else, but is usually designed to be something deeply personally disturbing to at least one of the challengers and exploit their personal flaws. The shadow of Cierel watches in each room, wryly belittling the challengers with a bossy and condescending attitude. For each level completed the shadow rewards challengers with wells of increasing rarity, and will even deign to talk to challengers and answer a few questions if they entertain her enough. However Cierel's shadow remembers little of the age of the Originals and knows nothing about where they came from before. The shadow also displays an uncharacteristic respect and fondness for Solomon, who she tends to compare challengers to, and tries but fails to hide the fact that she has a obvious soft spot for Moseke and anything relating to her: particular her followers or mortalborn.
Veins
As if the levels weren't difficult enough, the veins leading from one level to another are also dangerous in their own right. These are the palace corridors, filled with dust and the wrecked remain of ancient portraits and busts of Cierel and the Immortals she created as her heirs. These are not just mere works of art though, but intelligent emean beasts imprisoned within Cierel's image by the lingering effect of her pride. Those foolish enough to stop to rest in these corridors will soon find themselves swarmed by a small army of beings that half-emerge from out of their picture frames and drag themselves after the challenger, seeking to devour them.
Heart
The final level of The Dark Palace, believed to be the seventh level, is where the fracture's heart can be found: the throne room where Cierel herself once sat and ruled her great empire from. As nobody has yet reached this far there is no information on what sort of trial one can expect to face there, however Solomon's book mentions that during the conversations he had with Cierel's shadow she hinted that the final level was supposed to test whether the challenger is worthy of being a king or queen.
Well Information
Wells of every kind can be found within Cierel's fracture. Unlike in regular fractures however these are not found lying around naturally, but are granted as rewards by the shadow of Cierel after completing each level.
Permission
Characters can only access this area as part of a modded thread. Please ask at the PSF if you would like to explore.
Knowledge of this fracture's existence is incredibly rare. Your character must have earned a specific knowledge about its existence in a thread to know that it is real and that it is a grand fracture. This knowledge can be gained by talking to an Immortal, studying The Originals, or even just deciding to did deeper into the myths surrounding Augiery and discovering some interesting facts.
Notes
- Never one to be shy about boasting her assets, Cierel was more than happy to show off her grand palace to the other Originals and their Immortal children. Because of this any Immortal can reveal the location of this Grand Fracture. However only Cierel's heirs: Audrae, Famula, Lisirra, Moseke and Sintra, who at some point in the past called the place home and know their mother's mindset better than anyone, can reveal what the layout is like within or what trials challengers can expect to face.
- Moseke alone knows how to reach the secret level zero: a small hidden garden she once tended to back in the days when she still lived with her mother. This garden possess great healing powers that can be used to help a challenger instantly recover between levels, but can only be found once during an attempt to challenge The Black palace.
- Players can also discover the location of The Black Palace by discovering Solomon's notes. The best record is the book he left with the Seekers, however pages of his diary that he left scattered across the world during his search for the other Grand Fractures give hints as to the location.
