Aulenor
Guys, I found this red rock hidden in the cart. It’s kind of hot.
Aulenor, one of the seven known gemstones belonging to the Blood of Denemor, was considered among the holiest of relics of the Cult of the Divine Manuel until its theft from the Tomb of Manuel II in 652AFE and its eventual desecration after the temple was overrun by entities from the Shadowlands.
Significance
Aulenor, similar in function to all known bloodstones, is allegedly a solidified drop of blood from the goddess Denemor. Ensconced in his imperial tomb of the Divine Manuel II Aristenos and was the conduit by which he channeled his divine magics to answer the prayers of his faithful. Its theft and eventual desecration have left those calling upon the Divine without answers and his priests without access to the magics he granted them.
History
First entering the annals of history in 130AFE when it was discovered during the excavation of a ruined structure on the estates of the ruling Aristenos dynasty in eastern Akantha, Aulenor is the last of the known bloodstones to have been discovered. At this time, the bloodstone shared few of the characteristics of the others, as it was radiating none of the energy its counterparts were known to radiate, but was recognized and sent back to the capital for further study. The excavations were carried out during the final months of Manuel II Aristenos’ reign to construct a tomb suitable for the basileus’ remains, which, when combined with the fact that the bloodstone radiated such energy during the hour of Manuel’s death that it melted the silvered case in which it was held, led many contemporaries to associate the newly found bloodstone with the deceased, whom they claimed had ascended to divinity.
As shrines in honor of the man-turned-god were erected, Dimitrios Zenōn authorized the grant of the bloodstone to the Cult of the Divine Manuel. During the reign of his nephew, the zealous Nikolaos Zenōn, criminalized the worship of what he called the "Manuelist heresy", and tore down shrines throughout the city. The early keepers hid Aulenor and smuggled it out of the city in a ship headed for Assepon. Carrying Aulenor with them, the keepers wandered through the Ardhéan deserts before the Tomb of Manuel II was completed and secured in western Achenae. They brought the bloodstone to the newly finished sanctuary, and Aulenor was placed in an amulet worn by the Divine's material remains deep in the tomb's ossuary in 196AFE.
The stone remained there in repose until the Minters assaulted the tomb and removed it from the ossuary. Hidden in an ox-led cart, Aulenor was en route to be smuggled out of Achenae when it was discovered by the Four, who returned it to the tomb before cleaning it of its shadowy residents. Since the time, the stone remains inert and in the possession of one of the Four.
The Roof of the World
Aulenor was housed in the Tomb of Manuel II for more than four centuries. Construction of the hilltop monastery began in 163AFE, to provide a sanctuary for the faith's relics during the persecutions of Manuelism under the basileus Nikolaos Zenōn.
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