Cabalist of the Hollow Stone
Overview
The Cabalist of the Hollow Stone is an Imperial title created by the Senate in Winter 383YE to oversee Marshstand Skerry following the conquest of Ossium. The position of Cabalist is an unusual sinecure, producing crystal mana and vis each season. The skerry is in the murky marshlands of the Drownbark Forest, in Ossium.
Responsibilities
The Cabalist has no particular responsibilities; they simply receive crystal mana and vis produced in Marshstand Skerry. If the skerry were to be threatened in any way, it would be the responsibility of the Cabalist to deal with those threats.
Powers
Seasonal Income
The Cabalist gains custodianship of a sinecure. Each season they receive 3 crystal mana and 3 measures of vis. In Spring and Summer, this vis is vital honey, aligned with the Spring realm. In Autumn and Winter, the vis is instead heart's blood, aligned with the Winter realm.
Appointment
The title is selected by unanimous decision of the Varushkan senators at the Winter Solstice. If a unanimous decision cannot be reached, the title may be appointed by the Imperial Senate instead.
The title can be held by any Varushkan citizen. The Cabalist serves until the next scheduled election. They can be revoked by the General Assembly, the Varushkan National Assembly, and by the Assembly of the Nine.
Marshstand Skerry
Marshstand Skerry is a low rock that used to be tended by a ghulai of the Bone Serpent. It has apparently been abandoned since the territory was first invaded - allegedly since before the Webwood fell. The rock is surrounded by decades or perhaps even centuries worth of bones from creatures - some of them clearly humans or orcs - drowned or interred in the marshy waters to rot. The place has a poor reputation - it is considered to be haunted and known to be home to especially large, viciously bloodthirsty insects similar to mosquitos with vicious barbed proboscises.
The stone is the centre of a conflux of magical tides, and the heart of a rare dual-natured regio that shifts between the Spring and Winter realms. In the middle of the stone - pretty much at the point where the portal at the heart of the regio could be opened - is an apparently natural hollow that slowly fills with valuable liquid over the course of a season. In Spring and Summer, when the marsh is fecund and breeds insects in disturbing profusion, the thick amber liquid that forms in the hollow takes the form of warm honey - vis from the Spring realm. During Autumn and Winter, however, as the weather worsens and the insects die or slip beneath the waters to hibernate, the waters become dark and chill and the viscous red liquid that fills the hollow takes the form of Heart's Blood - vis of the Winter realm.
The magic that produces the spring and winter vis is somehow tied to the bones that surround it, slowly sinking into the marsh. Each Summer and Autumn, an actual blood sacrifice is expected by the "spirits" that oversee the regio, If it does not take place, the vis does not flow in the coming season. They are keen to explain that the ghulai mostly sacrificed cattle or deer, but that occasionally they would "make an example" of a rival by drowning them in the waters of the stone. They rarely sacrificed slaves - allegedly they were too valuable.
It's not clear what purpose the sacrifices at the stone involve; there doesn't seem to be any innate element of "worship" involved. It's also not clear if these sacrifices are responsible solely for the production of the vis, or whether they are somehow tied to the dual nature of the regio. Again, the most likely source of information about the sacrifices would be the eternals involved. If they are related to the vis alone, it might be possible to renegotiate them should the custodian of the hollow stone find the prospect distasteful.
Dual-natured regio such as this are not unknown, but they are rare within the Empire. Most regio are associated with only a single realm, and often a single eternal. Here, the regio was somehow shared or contested between the Spring eternal Arhallogen and the Winter eternal Agramant. Which, to put it mildly, was somewhat problematic. During the Spring Equinox 384YE a discussion was had between representatives of the Empire and Wise Rangara. Shortly after the meeting a request was made by the Eldest that the magicians of the Imperial Conclave pass a Declaration of Concord politely ask her to take up residence as patron of the stone itself. During the Summer Solstice 384YE the Conclave passed the Declaration and the Ancient One took up residence shortly after.
| Summit | Elected |
|---|---|
| Winter Solstice 385YE | Vasili Zoryakovich Zverokaz |
| Winter Solstice 384YE | Lutobor (Lut) Branislavovich Glinka |
| Spring Equinox 384YE | Lutobor (Lut) Branislavovich Glinka |
Recent Elections
This title is currently held by Vasili Zoryakovich Zverokaz; it will be reelected at the next summit. The table to the right shows the citizens who have been elected to hold this title in the years since Empress Britta died.