The Selonnet Star Baths
Despite his advancing age, Roi Celestn took his daughter's body - swollen with the child that drained her Soul - and waded out into the depths of the lake. He threw back his head, screaming at the stars that peered down at him through the shattered roof of the cave.The Selonnet Star Baths is a sacred part of the magnificent Selonnet Ice Sanctum. The Ice Sanctum is made up of a vast network of natural water canals and chambers, and is situated beneath the thédrale complex in the Lormontai capital of Cazilhac. The water in the chamber is believed to contain the Light-life of stars, and is therefore a popular destination for the sick or elderly, who believe that bathing in, or drinking, the water will heal their bodies and Souls."You took my family from me in these caves!" the Roi accused the sky. "My father, my mother, my brother and my sisters... All of them were murdered by the Celestial Messenger who made me Roi. I have never cursed you for it, or asked for anything in compensation - until this day. You will give me the life of my daughter and her child. On Renodus's Heart, you owe me their lives!"The Celestial Rhoi heard his words, and took pity on His Star-Chosen Roi. He went from star to star, ordering some to burn themselves out of Heaven's Cradle, surrendering their Life-light to the waters below. Bathing in those waters, the Roi's daughter and her unborn child were saved.
Creation
According to the Lormontai Chronicle of the Star-Chosen Rois, the Selonnet Star Baths were created during the final four years of Roi Celestyn de Créquy's reign. The Roi had been brought news that his daughter, Aurore, had grown sick in childbed. He sent orders immediately to her heart-sick husband, bidding him to bring his daughter to the Selonnet Ice Caves. By the time the princess and her entourage arrived, Celestyn had overseen the destruction of the cave ceiling above what once was called the Adélaïde Chamber. He had chosen this lake because it was the closest body of water to the decimated cellar of the old de Créquy mansion. As an infant, Celestyn had suffered the terrible loss of his entire family the night Renodus had fallen from Heaven's Cradle. It was Roi Celestyn's belief that he had died in the collapse of the cellar, along with his family, but that the Heart of Renodus had restored him to life. Confident in the healing power and mercy of the stars, the Roi demanded that Celestial Rhoi heal his daughter and her child. Accordingly to the chronicle, that gift was granted - the stars themselves gave up their Life-light for him, imbuing the waters with medicinal properties. Of course, that would not have been possible without the total destruction of the cave's original ceiling, which allowed the starlight to pierce the water.Modern Useage
The Star Baths operate to a strict timetable, separating recreational bathers and less serious illnesses from those with chronic conditions. The attendents in the cave are medically trained nurses, whose job is to help visitors get the most from their experience.To Complete:
- Order of baths
- Sleeping areas for the very ill
- Special bathing times for new moon/starlit nights?
- The fact that a cave system isn't considered a building by visitors from Raskvaeric or Kredashmi, but as the cave system is considered an integral subteranean part of the thédrale coplex, the Lormontai will fight you.
Please note: This article is not yet finished, and will be added to in due course.
Cologny, Fondation Martin Bodmer, Cod. Bodmer 135: The Baths of Pozzuoli by Peter of Eboli
by Jakob Owens
De Balneis Puteolanis''-Manuscript of Petrus de Ebulo (Biblioteca Angelica de Rome, MS 1474) by Unknown
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