Sanctum
Danu's Radiant Domain
The sacred Gates of Sanctum rise from an infinite sea of holy water to incomprehensible heights. Here, justice, kindness, order, celestial grace, and mercy are the rules. Here, watchful eyes hold the ramparts against evil in all its many forms. Here, all things are beautiful.
The Seven Mounting Heavens are the planar home for mortal souls of kindness and empathy for their fellow creatures. But it is a paradise that fiends of the lower planes would conquer if they could. Sanctum is a promise of betterment and ultimate union with the powers of good and law for those worthy. So supplicants of every snipe ascend the layers, one after the other, to the ultimate height of the Heavenly City, and from thence into the Illuminated Heaven.
Inhabitants
Sanctum is home to many creatures of good, such as Seraph, Devas, Planetars, and Solars. In addition, several groups of good-aligned natives of the Material Plane have set up residence on the lowest slope, along the beaches of the Silver Sea. These creatures are often good-aligned spellcasters who have either found refuge or their peace within the heavenly plane, but may be called to action if Danu so desires.Geography
The only way to reach Sanctum is by entering Lunia, also called the Silver Sea. Visitors always find themselves in the surf of an ocean in front of the Heavenly Gates. Very few portals from other planes lead anywhere on Sanctum other than to the Silver Sea. A sequence of portals connects Sanctums seven layers. Each portal to a higher layer sits at the highest physical point of the next lower layer. Moving through the layers is one and the same as ascending Mount Celestia. But what makes ascending Mount Celestia more than just a matter of climbing is that each layer has many paths leading to the next layer. Only those who have found some truth regarding law and goodness can find the path. Thus, attaining the pinnacle involves a series of trials during which the supplicant is slowly washed of ideals that do not conform to the plane. However, there are rumoured to be nonspiritual shortcuts for the traveller who knows where to look or whom to talk to.
Lunia
The first and lowest layer of Sanctum is also called the Silver Heaven. Portals from other planes connect to Lunia at the edge of the wine-dark Silver Sea, a vast gulf of holy water. The Silver Sea is salt-free and contains all manner of aquatic life, from tiny schools of silvery fish to friendly leviathans moving in the depths. Lunia’s sky is dark but filled with silvery stars bright enough to illuminate the shore of the Silver Sea where it runs up against the beaches. The shore is dotted with citadels and redoubts of polished white stone of various architecture and inhabitants. It is here that Danu meets with Luna, during an eclipse - the only time the Silver Sea is illuminated by actual sun-light.
Mercuria
The second layer of Sanctum is also called the Golden Heaven. It is a place of thin air and high hopes, where golden light suffuses everything. Here, the slopes are tame, the valleys lush, and the streams fast-running. Plateaus and passes provide spaces for small settlements of archons and other goodly beings. Great tombs and wondrous mausoleums on Mercuria grant eternal rest to the noblest of fighters of the Malediction. Here, the inhabitants of Sanctum honour their deeds during an annual Day of Memory.
Venya
The third layer of Sanctum is also called the Pearly Heaven. The slopes of Venya are old, rounded, and occasionally laced with snow. The brooks run warm and clear, though ice often forms on the banks in winter. Terraced fields and carefully tended woodlands are common sights on the slopes. Here crops never fail, the weather is always mild, and plentiful harvests are a blessing. The realm is a combination of burrowed households, small rustic buildings, and endless fields. No large predators live in the Green Fields; moles, rabbits, and badgers are common.
Solania
The fourth layer of Sanctum is also called the Crystal Heaven. A sky that shines with the glow of burnished silver hangs above the quiet slopes of Solania. Luminescent fogs and invigorating scents shroud the valleys. Many of the slopes hold mighty glaciers above, and they remain rich in ore and precious minerals below. Solania’s peaks are home to monasteries, cathedrals, and other holy shrines. Often, these structures are the destinations of interplanar pilgrims seeking answers to questions of creation, toil, and love.
Meritonia
The fifth layer of Sanctum is also called the Platinum Heaven. The slopes of Mertion are gentle, levelling off in great, sweeping plains dominated by citadels and domes. The citadels of Mertion are marshaling grounds for paladins, celestials, and other creatures of good and law. At the head of this Celestial Host stands the goddess Morrigan, daughter of Danu and fiercest of all Paladins. Underneath the slopes of Meritonia lies the greatest forge and armory in existence: Empyrea, home of the god Goibniu and his smeltery.
Eden
The sixth layer of Sanctum is also called the Glittering Heaven. The slopes are strewn with great rubies and garnets twinkling with light so beautiful that it steals the breath at first sight. Here angels wander the gem fields, lost in contemplation of the glory of their previous lives. The Heavenly City is visible from everywhere on Jovar and from vantage points on lower levels. The city is a seven-layered ziggurat: An enormous staircase on each of its four faces connects the terraces and gemstones of profound value make up every step and every stone on the ziggurat, and all glow with an inner light. Groups of angels move up and down the stairs, but the structure is so massive that the steps never grow crowded. Epona rules from the highest point; an infinite garden filled with a maze of plants and temples of healing.
Chronias
The seventh layer of Sanctum is also called the Illuminated Heaven. Chronias is a mystery, though some say the layer is Danu herself. Those few who achieve the Illuminated Heaven never return, so no account records Chronias’ true aspect. Tales say that those who enter have their inherent goodness magnified until their essence joins with Sanctum itself. Or, if they harbour evil, their souls are extinguished and their existence is permanently erased from the multiverse. None can say for sure, however all agree it is the place at which Danu resides, only lowering herself from her throne in the most desperate of times.
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