Gloaming Sentinel
Overview
The Butterfly Holt is a preserve in the light woodlands of southern Srodkoja, not far from the vale of Olodny. It was commissioned in Spring 381YE by the Urizen Julianna of Phoenix Reach using one of the new Imperial Wayleaves. Its creation followed an opportunity resulting from a performance of Wondrous Forests of the Night. Work was completed shortly before the Summer Solstice 381YE.
This Imperial title grants custodianship of a sinecure, requiring minimal responsibility but offering a regular income of iridescent gloaming.
The Gloaming Sentinel can purchase masks from Orathator of the Hourglass, a Thule warlock who presented an offer shortly before the Autumn Equinox 385YE. The Conclave voted in favour of Vasilmir Radovanovna Esskivic's declaration to disseminate a copy of the ritual text of Delve Deep, Beneath the Mountain to Orathor and the masks were made available to the purchase before the Winter Solstice 385YE.
Responsibilities
The Gloaming Sentinel has no particular responsibilities; they simply receive a bounty of Iridescent Gloaming from the Butterfly Holt. If the Holt were to be threatened in any way, it would be the responsibility of the Gloaming Sentinel to deal with those threats.
Powers
| Masks of the Trees and Hills | |
| 20 crowns | 1 Mask of the Dark Woods |
| 20 crowns | 1 Mask of the Deep Hills |
| 42 crowns | 1 Mask of the Dark Woods and 1 Mask of the Deep Hills |
| 42 crowns | 2 Masks of the Deep Hills |
| 42 crowns | 2 Masks of the Dark Woods |
| 66 crowns | 2 Masks of the Deep Hills and 1 Mask of the Dark Woods |
| 66 crowns | 2 Masks of the Dark Woods and 1 Mask of the Deep Hills |
Bounty of Iridescent Gloaming
The title of Gloaming Sentinel grants custodianship of a sinecure. The Gloaming Sentinel receives an income of 20 iridescent gloaming each season from the Butterfly Holt.
Masks of the Trees and Hills
As a ministry, the Gloaming Sentinel can purchase magical masks from the Thule merchant, Orathor of the Hourglass at a set price. The Sentinel decides how much money to spend during downtime from their character page. Money is removed from, and ribbons are placed into, the character's inventory when the downtime is processed.
Mask of the Dark Woods
- Form: Mask
- Effect: +1 rank for a ritual that targets a forest. The ritual must specifically target a forest, using the character who controls it as a focus. If the ritual targets more than one forest, the bonus increases to +2. The rituals known to the Empire that this affects are Rampant Growth, Verdant Bounty of the Twilight Bayou, Conclave of Trees and Shadow, and Flame and the Flood.
Mask of the Deep Hills
- Form: Mask
- Effect: +1 rank for a ritual that targets a mine. The ritual must specifically target a mine, using the character who controls it as a focus. If the ritual targets more than one mine, the bonus increases to +2. The rituals known to the Empire that this affects are Revelation of the Jewel's Sparkling Heart, Delve Deep, Beneath the Mountain, Raise the Dragonsworn Cohort, and An Echo of Songs.
Click Expand to see a description of the magical masks Orathator provides to the Gloaming Sentinel.
Appointment
The appointment, replacement or removal of the Gloaming Sentinel is made by the Declaration of Candidacy as part of a Conclave session.
The Gloaming Sentinel serves until they are replaced by another magician using the Declaration of Candidacy. The Sentinel cannot be revoked by the Imperial Synod.
Butterfly Holt
The Butterfly Holt is an area of woodland set aside not far from Olodny, several acres surrounded by a high palisade reinforced by weirwood. It has been populated by butterflies bred from carefully selected cocoons, many of them enriched with residual Night magic from the potent Empire-wide enchantment after the Winter Solstice 380YE. The butterflies are notably large, and unlike most such insects their wings are especially pale. Their cocoons are especially rich in valuable iridescent gloaming.
The location of this iridescent butterfly reserve has caused a few raised eyebrows; the forests of Varushka are by no means safe. They are home to the grim horrors the Varushkans call Wolves. They are hungry, instinctual horrors that seek to feast on living flesh. Ghouls and husks are common examples of Wolves. These hungry, bestial creatures sometimes form large groups and besiege a vale, or fall on travellers in large numbers. The primary task of the boyars and schlacta is to keep the Wolves at bay - but the boyar of Olodny has made it pretty clear they have no interest in making any particular effort to extend their protection to the Butterfly Holt.
The Sentinel is appointed through the Conclave; the civil service advised that the well worn path to appointing such a sinecure would be through the Imperial Bourse, but the circumstances surrounding the opportunity made it reasonable that it could be appointed by Declaration of Candidacy.
| Summit | Nation | Elected |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn Equinox 384YE | Varushka | Vasilmir Radovanovna Esskivic |
| Winter Solstice 383YE | Varushka | Gregor Vardovich Strascovich |
| Summer Solstice 382YE | Highguard | Terah |
| Summer Solstice 381YE | Sibella of Phoenix Reach |
Recent Elections
This title is currently held by Vasilmir Radovanovna Esskivic; it can be reelected at any summit by a declaration of candidacy. The table to the right shows the citizens who have been elected to hold this title in the years since Empress Britta died.