Arbiter of the Four Winds
Overview
The Envoy to the Disciples of the Tempest Jade Maiden is an Urizen Imperial title initially commissioned in Summer 382YE. While work began on restoring the Temple of the Four Winds in Morrow, it was interrupted by the invasion of the Druj. The orcs sacked the building site, slaying a great many sword scholars in the process. The project was halted, and did not resume until the following year following the liberation of Peregro. The reconstruction was completed shortly before the Summer Solstice 383YE.
Responsibilities
The Envoy serves as envoy to the sword scholar sect associated with the Temple of the Four Winds in Peregro. Now fully restored, the temple there is dedicated to the pursuit of Wisdom as seen through the lens of the teachings of the first sword scholar, Sulemaine, the so-called "Paragon of Blades". The Envoy is expected to liase with the sword scholars, and present their philosophy at Anvil and to the Urizen people as a whole.
Powers
Bounty of Liao
The sinecure provides eight measures of liao to the Envoy each season, to be used as they see fit.
Voice of the Sword Scholars
The Envoy supports the congregation of the sword scholars, and recieves 16 votes in the Imperial Synod. They may use these votes in any appropriate assembly, following the normal rules for votes provided by a Sinecure.
The Labyrinth Sword
The Envoy of the Four Winds is the legal custodian of the Labyrinth Sword, a relic believed to be associated with Sulemaine herself. If an individual loses the title, then the sword must be given to the new Envoy to the Disciples of the Tempest Jade Maiden. The sword is a unique artifact and cannot be replaced it is is lost or stolen.
Appointment
The Envoy to the Disciplpes of the Tempest Jade Maiden is appointed at the Summer Solstice by the Urizen National assembly.
The title can be held by an Urizen citizen. The Envoy serves until the next election, or until they die, step down, or are revoked. They can be revoked by the General Assembly, the Urizen National Assembly, and by the Assembly of the Nine.
Temple of the Four Winds
The Temple of the Four Winds was originally constructed in Peregro long before Urizen joined the Empire. It was destroyed during the purge of the sword scholars that took place in the reign of Emperor Giovanni, but the ruins remained a place of pilgrimage for the sword scholars,. It was especially important to the Disciples of the Tempest Jade Maiden sect, the largest of the surviving fellowships. Its reconstruction was initially commissioned with the encouragement of the surviving sword scholar sects Spring Equinox 382YE.
The Druj completed the work that time and the enemies of the sword scholars had begun, further ruining the dilapidated structure. When the work finally resumed, the temple practically needed to be rebuilt from the foundations upward. Very little of the original temple remains, and what little was preserved now stands as part of the gardens that surround the spire, an austere reminder of hidden dangers and the vicissitudes of fate.
The Temple consists of a slender tower, surrounded by quiet shrines and contemplation galleries. At night, the entire temple is illuminated by lanterns decorated with sword motifs, whose soft glow also reveals intricate scrollwork that cover the white granite walls depicting tiny white flowers.