The Scion's Sanctuary

Written by Archivist Renna

General

The sanctuary is believed to be the location of Scion's Circle leader. The place is very sacred to the scion people, but why is a mystery. Our records are very limited on anything referencing this place, but we do know it exists. We have some educated theories on the matter.
The location is certainly important the scion people. In all accounts, the leader of the Circle will remain there to protect it. No other member visits the sanctuary, but the others might have a clue about its location. It is also said that the ground is magically touched and breaths of power. What this could mean is that there is an object or creature of great power residing there. Another theme is that it is original scion architecture. It's suggested as well that it was used by many of the scion's social elite. The site used to be traveled by many. Many documents point to a pilgrimage to the sanctuary for some sort of purpose. None of them however state the reason why they traveled there.

The Pilgrimage

The pilgrimage has been documented thoroughly other than where is leads which is odd. A pilgrim set upon reaching the sanctuary would first travel to the nearest Scion's Glade to rejuvenate. The process normally involves resting in the water, but in the pilgrimage, one transforms into their true form to bath in the waters. Why they do this is unclear, but upon bathing for about an hour, they take the blessings from a holy man of sorts. This was likely before the Scion's Circle was founded, so the guardian would not be present. Once this ritual was competed they make the next leg of their journey.
This part was the most difficult and least documented of the journey. It's believed they travel in the direction their heart takes them just as they would to find a glade. This was not successful all the time as it would lead the pilgrim to various parts of the world for no rhyme or reason. In many cases they would never find it and return yearly to repeat the process. Since scions have long lives, they have multiple opportunities to eventually locate the sanctuary if they still wished too.
If they were successful in locating the sanctuary, the journal or account usually stops there. In all accounts, the pilgrim would discover the place and mention someone there to greet them and guide them the rest of the way. It then just stops abruptly. We don't know why this occurs, but this happened in all ten of the accounts we've found.
From what we know the sanctuary is not dangerous as in a few cases the journal was given to us by a family member who wanted to donate some old tomes. When we approach individuals, who claim to have been there avoid us and will leave town. Even with the Imperium Legion "arresting" possible witnesses, they always seem to escape right before we can question them.

Theories

The following theories were made by the archivists here at the Imperium Archives whom are trying to piece together why the sanctuary was so important.

A Grand Tomb

A common theme among the literature is that the place was once very populated until some sort of event. It could be a tomb of a powerful scion which the local monks entombed there. If this is correct then it was protected for many years, until the collapse of scion culture a few thousand years ago. The Scion's Circle is about the same age, so they may remain as guardians over it. This would make sense when we take into the accounts of the pilgrims who traveled there. However, if this was true then why did they stop and why can't we find it?

The Source

There is a mystical source of energy called the Source. The Source is a pool of raw magic that is believed to be infinite. No one knows the actual location of the source, but it's rumored to be protected by a powerful creature. If the Scion's Circle knows of its location, then they would want to protect from "getting into the wrong hands." This would correlate with the magically touched landscape referenced around it. If this is true then another possible clue to its location would it would have to be a Scion's Glade. The scions would be able to find it easily while being able to conceal it. Since their bodies need to regenerate with raw magic, this could have once been the location to do it. However, this would beg the question on why would they stop the pilgrims? The Source has never been discovered, so the connection to a once heavily travel location is also unlikely, but maybe the Source was moved there after it's abandonment.

A Religious Site

The scions have always been odd to people. They were once dominate all across the world, but now they are few and scattered. The sanctuary might have once been an old religious temple from what the literature presents. This would make sense do to the social elite that once traveled across the continent to visit. Whatever they did worship, it's be long forgotten now. This would fit easily with the collapse of scion society thousands of years ago and why the pilgrims stopped coming. Of course, the question remains on why the Scion's Circle still protects it with their duty to "protect on the world." It doesn't make sense in that scenario, but they have always been aloof to us humans.

The 1^st Scion's Glade

A common fact among the Scion's Glade is the water loses it's proprieties when removed from the pond. The Archives have mapped all known locations of the glades and have found no spatial correlation to each other. This begs the question on how did they come to exist? In every instance of a glade, they have the same properties. There is little variation. It could be that the sanctuary was the first glade where the water retained its properties when removed. This could be the method of how the other glades came to be. It would also explain why the glades eventually fade and the sudden creation of new ones. The leader of the Scion's Circle travels all over the known world, so this wouldn't be unrealistic for her to spread the water. While it could simply be "magic," it wouldn't account of how new ones appear while another fade away.

The Battlefield of the Never Ending Crisis

We know nothing about the Never Ending Crisis other than that it happened. The Scion's Circle has been dedicated for all of history to prevent it from happening again. This could be the very reason not to revel the sanctuary to the public. Whatever happened was extremely devastating. We believe that if this was true then it would hold an incredible power that could be used for great evil. This could mean that the Scion's Circle still remembers what the Crisis was about. However, this would not make any sense with the vast number of scions that once visited the sanctuary. This could mean that the battlefield was once sacred to the scion people as a memorial, but was lost during the final conflict of the Never Ending Crisis. If this was true, then the other theories could also be attached to this one. If the Scion's Circle was truly hiding the battlefield, then something happen that was so inconceivable that they still have to keep it from us.

Architecture

We have little on what kind of architecture it uses, but we can piece some similarities together. For one, it's a stone structure, likely a dark or soft grey stoned used. Stone is probably not polished, and statues litter the building and ground. The architecture wouldn't be very complex and would be very worn down. While the literature depicts it in ruins, there are some temporal conflicts which makes them unreliable. However, it is likely to still be standing since the Circle still uses it. It's rumored that the inside is made of the finest metals and jewels as well. We at the archives do not believe these rumors. It would be more likely for there to be crystals to decorate the structure instead. This would fit the literature on scion architecture better.

"I've studies this for months and came up with nothing. No hint to its current location. Maybe someday we will make a break through or the Scion's Circle will finally revel it to us."

— Archivist Renna

General

Type

Acropolis / Citadel

Parent Location

Unknown

Owner

Farnora

Owning Organization

Scion's Circle

Related Plots

• The War of Despair

Internal Reception

A Grand Tomb

Head Archivist Octavian +
Archivist Glenhook +

The Source

Archivist Renna +
Archivist WaveSail +

A Religious Site

Head Archivist Octavian +
Archivist Glenhook +

The 1st Scion's Glade

Archivist Glenhook +
Archivist Renna +
Archivist WaveSail +

The Battlefield of the Never Ending Crisis

Archivist Renna +