The Selonnet Ice Sanctum

When the Celestial Rhoi threw down the stars from Heaven's Cradle, the largest star - the fiersome Renodus - tore the very earth asunder. For three days, it seemed as though nothing but devestation had been left in the wake of that celestial firestorm. Finally, the pitiful cries of a babe had led rescuers to uncover the Selonnet Caverns. After clearing the smouldering rubble, they discovered the remains of the de Créquy mansion. Its occupants (the lord and his family, and all their staff) had taken shelter inside the cellar. On Renodus's impact, it had collapsed into the caverns below. The rescuers found the mewling babe, who was found grasping the Heart of Renodus in his tiny fist. This was our sign: this was our Star-Chosen Roi, renamed Celestyn de Créquy for the glory of the Stars.
Of the thirteen people who sheltered within that cellar, none but the babe survived.

— An extract from The Chronical of the Star-Chosen Rois

The magnificent Selonnet Caves are a vast network of natural water canals and chambers situated beneath the Lormontai capital of Cazilhac. These caves are considered sacred in the founding myth for believers in the Guiding Stars, so much so that during the thédrale's second period of construction, man-made canals were created to link the temple of worship with the natural waterways below. The Selonnet Caves are therefore considered to be an integral part of the thédrale building complex. Officially, all excess entrances to the caves have been closed off, limiting access to the public except by passage through the holy thédrale proper. Tourists and worshippers alike are welcome to access the caves - for a humble price.
In the modern era, the canal maps are separated into spiritual and leisure tours. During the winter months, the latter includes access to the wildly popular Selonnet Ice Sanctum.

The Ice Sanctum

The Ice Sanctum is one of the cave system's most dramatic chambers. Measuring roughly 86 by 68 metres, the flooded chamber plays host to many popular events in the Cazilhac social calendar. In the warm summer months, the Sanctum is a popular destination for courting couples and their champerones, who use the hire boats to marvel at the stalactites and stalagmites.
In winter, the lake inside the Ice Sanctum completely freezes over, allowing for the most fashionable of Lormontai sports to take place: ice skating. The Lormontai are fiercely competetive skaters, and it is considered a matter of national pride for any citizen to challenge a Raskvaerii to a competition of speed or intricate movement. The importance of the Ice Sanctum to social wellbeing of the capital, that the chamber has played host to many key political and diplomatic events. In recent years, it became the stage for the official celebrations celebrating the engagement of the previous Kredasene König, Faustus Schwannraelen, to the Lormontai princess, Anaïs de Créquy. The Kredasene monarch won the approval of the court by taking part in a traditional game of ice hockey, despite his unsteadiness on his bone skates.

by Timo Volz

by Nathalie Buss

An Image of Ice skating from a Psalter by Oxford, Bodleian Library MS. Douce 5

"Medieval Hockey". Book of Hours, Les Heurs de Romme, for Philippe Pigouchet. Paris 1498. by Simon Vostre