The Basalt Citadel

Rules

Performing the Ritual

Performing this ritual takes at least 10 minutes of roleplaying. If the ritual is cast using the Imperial Regio it requires at least 5 minutes of roleplaying instead.

During the ritual the casters must be in a strong Winter regio.

This ritual targets a specific region. During the performance of the ritual the casters must name a region within the target territory which has the ruins or ruined quality.

The ritual may target a region in a territory which is under Imperial control (that is, which is eligible to appoint a Senator) when cast from the Imperial regio. To affect a region in a territory that is not under Imperial control, the ritual must be performed at a regio within the target territory.

This ritual is an enchantment. A target may only be under one enchantment effect at a time.

Effects

The ritual targets a single region containing extensive ruins. Over the course of the next few days, a powerful enchantment settles over the region which conjures a monolithic citadel of black basalt from the ruins that offers protection to armies belonging to the force that controls the area.

The magical structure mimics the effect of a 2,000 strength fortification in the enchanted region. The fortification helps determine victory, and if the region is attacked it may inflict casualties. Unlike a mundane fortification, the magical fortification does not absorb any casualties itself. A region may only contain one fortification, regardless of whether it is magical or mundane in nature.

The effect lasts until the start of the next Profound Decisions Empire event.

The ritual draws on the power of the eternal Sorin.

Option

Any caster who has mastered the ritual may choose to substitute dragonbone for crystal mana when contributing to it. Every 2 measures of dragonbone spent counts as 1 crystal mana when contributing to the ritual. If this option is used it must be explicit that the dragonbone is an offering to Sorin by at least one of his recognised names.

There is no particular assurance associated with this ritual. Rather, should those who wield it do so arrogantly, without due respect to the one whose power there are granted, they will incur the Tomb King's enmity. He will, as is his wont, give them a chance to recognise their mistake, and make restitution for their error. If they fail to do so, then the Lord of the Bone Crown will begin to shift matters so that they bring destruction down on themselves. Do not perform this ritual should the Solitary One be under the enmity of the Imperial Conclave. To do so would be to insult Sorin. There will be no other warnings given, Empty One.

A peculiar note in the ritual text

Assurance

This ritual draws on the power of the eternal Sorin. As with any ritual that binds an eternal to respond in a certain way there is likely to be an agreement that certain behaviour will cause it to become nonfunctional. The details of the agreement with Sorin are unknown. If this clause of the agreement were to be transgressed however the ritual would either become useless, or the eternal would be freed from the requirement to provide a citadel. While it is certainly possible for the eternal to empower the ritual again should the assurance be broken, it would require a new set of negotiations and there is no guarantee that it would work the same way it did previously.

Description

The ritual was codified at the Lyceum under the auspices of the Dean of the Lyceum, Simargl the Empty One, who was also responsible for proposing it for inclusion in Imperial Lore during the Winter Solstice 383YE. It is not clear who did the original work from which the ritual was developed; presumably whoever did so also negotiated the use of Sorin's power.

There is speculation that this is not the first time the ritual has been codified and is unlikely to be the last. Indeed there is some anecdotal evidence that a ritual very similar to this was used once or twice in the distant past. Drawing as it does on the power of Sorin, the Basalt Citadel has apparently appeared in one form or another in a number of sources, in many different places. As a ritual that draws on the power of ruination, loss, and defeat it has been argued by some of the magicians who worked on the codification that there may be something in the essential nature of the ritual that makes knowledge of it fade away over time and be forgotten. Indeed, some theoreticians consider it appropriate that it was codified and included in Imperial lore in the wake of the peculiar memory altering mists that bedevilled the Empire at the end of 383YE.

Similar to the Frozen Citadel of Cathan Canae the ritual causes an enchanted fortification to manifest at a strategically significant location chosen by the magicians. It can only be evoked in an area that has a symbolic link to the Wasteland – a place that has been ruined by enemy aggression, or by cataclysmic misfortune. The magic of the ritual, guided in some measure by the spirit of Sorin, weaves a structure from the energies of the Winter realm, and the ruins among which it is summoned. The core of the citadel is composed of black basalt, but additional materials drawn from the nearby destruction are always woven into the structure. Often it takes the form of a solid castle in the early Highborn style – almost an oversized chapterhouse – but it may also appear as a dour Varushkan structure with grim spike-topped walls and heavily fortified gates. There are some notes, apparently taken from fragmentary texts referring to a similar magic, that the ritual may occasionally call forth a great stone ziggurat, or a vertiginous tower surrounded by a high wall. These fragments refer to them as "echoes" of structures in the Silent Kingdom – the domain of Sorin - brought to the world by the will of the Dark Lord.

Regardless, there is something monolithic about the Basalt Citadel. It has a metaphysical weight to it that makes it seem much larger than it is; as if it is sometimes more solid than its surroundings. Heavier. The garrison is always composed of silent skeletal warriors who patrol the walls and light the beacons in response to an enemy sighting. They are not alive, but neither are they dead – rather they are eternal warriors drawn from the Silent Kingdom alongside the citadel itself. They are not under the command of any mortal, but they will fight alongside mortal defenders who wish to use the citadel. Only a small number of skeletal soldiers are called forth by the ritual – the cyclopean walls and massive gates provide the bulk of the defence offered by the basalt citadel.

The fortification is extremely resistant to damage; siege engines find it exceptionally hard to damage. In some cases, troops assailing the citadel have found that their supplies have turned rotten or become inedible overnight, or that their water barrels contain only dust making a siege even harder. There is even some reference to siege engines and ladders breaking or being ruined simply by proximity to the walls! These effects are irregular, but highlight the cold, seeping influence of Sorin's barren kingdom – something that might prove dangerous if the basalt citadel is raised too often within the confine of a single ruin. Over multiple performances, it is possible that the taint of hunger and thirst will taint the territory around the ruins, potentially forever.

Common Elements

A map makes a good focus for the ritual, especially if it is obscured during the casting with dust or ashes. The transient nature of the enchantment can be symbolised by creating a map from sand or painstakingly drawn with salt or ash as part of the ritual – creating the symbolic representation as part of the performance reinforces the idea of building a citadel. The events that led to the ruination of the target region can also inform the ritual; referencing them as part of the performance will strengthen the magic.

This ritual should invoke Sorin by at least one of his names. The names of famous builders, especially those who built castles, tombs, mausoleums, or memorials may also be included – but only if they are dead. There was some discussion at the Lyceum as to whether invoking the name of Empress Aenea the Builder – or indeed the Imperatrix Lisabetta who oversaw a program of castle-building before her disappearance – would be considered heretical or idolatrous. No firm conclusion has so far been reached.

Sorin is often depicted as wearing a crown of bone; as part of the performance of this ritual, a symbolic coronation resonates with the Winter magic, and with the eternal whose power it channels. If the ritual is to be performed in an Imperial territory, the presence of the recognised Senator of that territory is appropriate as an additional anchor to the magic. There are some notes that claim the most effective way to incorporate the Senator, and reinforce the Law of Dominion, would be to use blood magic to bleed them nearly to the point of death, resonating with the suffering experienced by those caught in the ruination. This might be especially appropriate if the destruction is something that the senator themselves was in any way responsible for. In the same way, if the area has been ruined very recently, it would be apt to use an Imperial general who took responsibility for the destruction. The ritual requires neither participant to be willing, but of course the consequences for using an unwilling subject in a blood magic ritual are likely to be far reaching. Interestingly, no scholar at the Lyceum will admit to making these suggestions about blood magic, never mind writing them down. Indeed, there was a great deal of discussion about leaving this slightly unsettling recommendation out of the ritual text entirely - and yet here it is.

It is important not to neglect the circumstances which allow the citadel to form in the first place. Recounting the events that led to the ruination of the target area could form a significant part of the ritual, at least as significant as the petition to Sorin to allow the citadel to be drawn forth. Special attention should be paid to the suffering that led to, or followed on from, the destruction that makes the area suitable for the ritual.

As with all such rituals, if dragonbone is to be included to help channel the magic then it should be explicitly presented as an offering or tribute to the King of the Silent Kingdom in some fashion. Such gifts should never be presented as payment – doing so risks angering the eternal, regardless of the success of the ritual.

Sorin is strongly associated with the rune Naeve, which is the fang of hunger and ambition, and the rune Verys, which is strength and might. Both resonate well with the performance of this ritual. The Oak is A astronomantic constellation that resonates best with the Basalt Citadel – things endure – but the fact the ritual relies on the use of ruins means that both terrible red eye of the Wanderer, the awful inevitability of the Drowned Man, and even the resigned acceptance that things can be difficult presented by the Mountain would both empower this magic.