The Stone of Echoes

Hall of Burnt Memory and Bound Vigilance

The descent is steep and narrow, carved deep through the knot-veins of Oakvein's oldest roots. The light fades to a crimson hue, filtered through sap-stone and embers that never fully die. At the base lies a solemn vault—low-ceilinged, lined with walls of cracked bark, scorched ironwood, and etched ash. Broken banners hang in still air, their colors faded to ghosts. Runes glow dimly along the floor and walls—wards against shadow and necromancy. A weight settles on your chest, not of danger, but of memory.

Vigil of the Unforgotten

The Stone of Echoes is Oakvein’s militant memory, a chamber not of glory, but of grim resolve. Overseen by Loremaster Avinor, it serves as the final repository for records of war, cultic uprising, and catastrophes that once threatened elvenkind.

It is not spoken of lightly. Here, the dead are remembered not for how they died, but for what their deaths tried to prevent. Within these roots, the echoes of lost cities, betrayed pacts, and broken gods are kept—sealed, bound, but never forgotten.

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History and Lore

The Stone of Echoes was formed during the waning years of the Hateful Wars, as Avinor sought a place where the burden of knowledge could be carried without infecting the spirit of Oakvein’s more sacred halls. It was Oakvein itself that guided him—twisting one of its deep anchor roots into a hollow of scorched bark and vine-fused iron.

From then on, it became the resting place of war relics, cultic warnings, and soul-bound contracts too dangerous for casual remembrance. Avinor calls it “the conscience of the clan”—a place to remember the cost of ignorance and silence.

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Function and Role in Oakvein

• Preservation of Cultic and Martial Memory
  Contains detailed accounts of the Temple of Elemental Evil’s first rise, the Ur-Flannae dominions, and various Vecnan incursions.
• Tactical Consultation
  Used in private war-council sessions among the loremasters when responding to arcane, planar, or cultic threats.
• Binding and Ward Maintenance
  Maintains glyph-locks, soul bindings, and ash-wall rituals that keep ancient curses or fragments of evil suppressed.
• Memory-Watch Rites
  Once a year, Avinor and select guardians conduct a Vigil of the Whispered, a night of silence in remembrance of those whose stories were too terrible to pass into song.

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Key Features and Spaces

✦ The Ironroot Reliquary

An array of weapon racks and ceremonial cases containing weapons and relics from historical elven battles—some still enchanted, others corrupted and sealed.

✦ The Wall of Ash-Testament

A long stretch of scorched bark into which names, runes, and cult sigils have been seared—the only record of those who summoned or opposed darkness.

✦ The Glyph-Hearth

A central brazier of ever-burning coldfire where Avinor performs binding rituals, often inscribing warnings in flame-runes before sealing memory-scrolls.

✦ The Mirror of Second Death

A black obsidian pane sealed into the rear wall. It reflects not a person’s form, but the moment they would betray themselves if left unchecked. Used for judgment and reflection, never lightly.

Sacred Duties and Traditions

• Vigil of the Whispered: Held on the anniversary of the fall of the Temple of Elemental Evil’s first uprising. Silence is kept for 12 hours while memory-crystals are reviewed.
• The Recalling of Flame: Ritual wherein the names of ancient cultists are spoken aloud to test the containment wards on their soul bindings.
• The Flame-Naming: A controversial rite allowing a dying elf to record a warning for future generations, even if the act corrupts their soul’s return to Arvandor.

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Adventure Hooks

• A burnt relic begins to smolder again, its glyphs rewriting themselves to match those appearing near Hommlet
• A sealed soul-binding ruptures, leaking shadow into Oakvein’s leylines—Avinor suspects Vecna influence
• A false prophecy scroll has been planted in the Stone's archive; it mimics Faeluneth’s hand
• A cultic dream fragment stored within the Mirror begins reflecting images from the Second Temple’s crypts

Stone of Echoes by 3orcs

Key Figures and Roles

Avinor – The Ash-Minded Vigilkeeper

• Role: Loremaster of Histories of Collapse and Cultic Memory
• Function: Maintains the archive, counsels on threats of corruption or war, oversees soul-bindings
• Personality: Stern, grim, quietly compassionate, treats memory as sacred truth

Torindrel the Ashsinger

• Race/Class: Elf Warlock 5 (Sehanine pact)
• Role: Reciter of Forbidden Names, guardian of the Mirror of Second Death
• Personality: Calm, precise, lost several family members in the first uprising

Gellor Windshard

• Race/Class: Elf Fighter 6 / Arcane Archer
• Role: Keeper of weapons, overseer of ceremonial duels and testing
• Notes: Has faced remnants of cults near Nulb and lives with a scar from a dark pact gone wrong

Type

Great hall

Parent Location

Oakvein

Owner

Avinor

Owning Organization

Clan Enlanefel