The Monastery of Elemental Balance
The Monastery of Elemental Balance is built around four huge standing stones, atop a plateau beside Lake Tiryki.
It should come as no surprise that the location of the future monastery remained a secret for as long as it did. In fact, the four standing stones would have likely remained undiscovered were it not for a band of tortles that chanced upon the location after a particularly violent typhoon led them very, very astray from the river’s path they had been following, deep into the inhospitable jungle and farther up than they had ever climbed before. When the storm cleared, the tortles found themselves at the top of a sheer plateau, with no recollection of how they had arrived there.
A little exploring later produced some curious observations— the elements atop the plateau were behaving in a highly unusual and erratic manner.
Here and there, the ground flowed like water, the air burnt like fire, water would harden and shatter like earth, and fire floated past them in a bright and sizzling fog of heat.
Seeking to understand what was going on, the tortles studied the site and built a monastery around it, eventually developing techniques to calm the unruly elements. (As a happy side effect, they were also able to eventually escape the plateau.) To this day, they accept disciples and teach them to control each. The monks in training learn to influence these elements and at the same time are influenced by them, bringing them in tune with nature.
The steps of the cliffs that lead up to the monastery are not hewn from the stone, but drawn out of the earth itself by the monks as they climb to the summit. At its top, winds as disordered as the steps themselves swirl around in a frenzy, and only abate at the hands of experienced disciples, who can will them into a gentle breeze.
What the monks don’t realize is that the standing stones are in actuality the gravesite of a long dead god. Unquiet in his death, the god’s influence upsets the balance of elements. If someone could remember the dead god’s name, perhaps he would be able to move on peacefully to his final rest. Unfortunately, the chances of that happening, given that no one alive remembers his name, are slim.
The dead god doesn’t mind the monks and is content to let them do as they will. In the meantime, Quomek waits to be remembered...
It should come as no surprise that the location of the future monastery remained a secret for as long as it did. In fact, the four standing stones would have likely remained undiscovered were it not for a band of tortles that chanced upon the location after a particularly violent typhoon led them very, very astray from the river’s path they had been following, deep into the inhospitable jungle and farther up than they had ever climbed before. When the storm cleared, the tortles found themselves at the top of a sheer plateau, with no recollection of how they had arrived there.
A little exploring later produced some curious observations— the elements atop the plateau were behaving in a highly unusual and erratic manner.
Here and there, the ground flowed like water, the air burnt like fire, water would harden and shatter like earth, and fire floated past them in a bright and sizzling fog of heat.
Seeking to understand what was going on, the tortles studied the site and built a monastery around it, eventually developing techniques to calm the unruly elements. (As a happy side effect, they were also able to eventually escape the plateau.) To this day, they accept disciples and teach them to control each. The monks in training learn to influence these elements and at the same time are influenced by them, bringing them in tune with nature.
The steps of the cliffs that lead up to the monastery are not hewn from the stone, but drawn out of the earth itself by the monks as they climb to the summit. At its top, winds as disordered as the steps themselves swirl around in a frenzy, and only abate at the hands of experienced disciples, who can will them into a gentle breeze.
What the monks don’t realize is that the standing stones are in actuality the gravesite of a long dead god. Unquiet in his death, the god’s influence upsets the balance of elements. If someone could remember the dead god’s name, perhaps he would be able to move on peacefully to his final rest. Unfortunately, the chances of that happening, given that no one alive remembers his name, are slim.
The dead god doesn’t mind the monks and is content to let them do as they will. In the meantime, Quomek waits to be remembered...
Type
Monastery
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