The Psychomanteum of Siamun

Mages, philosophers, and priests alike wax poetic on the psychomanteum of Siamun, the perfect geometries that amplify yet contain raw, pure mana-the stuff of magic itself. A cult exists dedicated to it's sacred geometry and perfection, none of which have seen it, and the Psychomanteum Siamun is a byword among magicians for power. It is legend among the scholarly set. For all this, the psychomanteum is a mystery. Siamun left no designs, merely a description, and that in the orders he issued to build it. He modified it heavily, so much so items did not fit in chambers designed to be their vault.

Architecture

The psychomanteum is constructed of cedar and unworked stone, preserved by the very forces invoked to bind Abaddon. It matches no known architecture, but is a style unto itself. For all the reverence in which it's sacred geometries are held, no maps exist nor do the Vestals tending it answer any questions regarding it's interior.

History

The wizard-king Siamun erected this magnificent temple atop the sacred mount of Fortress Pax at the behest of his father. Siamun devised the architecture personally, guided by dreams, developing the psychomanteum into a perfect construct, one that amplified his power so he forced peace on the world through his reign aided by an unparalleled control of spirits and elementals that still evokes awe and mystery. After Siamun's death, the psychomanteum was kept pure by mystics loyal to his lineage who held the place secure until Endingir destroyed it and took the populace as slaves. Refugees who fled south kept it alive in oral tradition until they, too, were taken as slaves by Iranshar. Generations passed until a slave told the Shan of Iranshar the story, and he sent men to analyze the ruin that another could be constructed. They began the laborious task of restoration, but had not yet finished when Alexander recruited the entire workforce for his armies. The mystics, or another priesthood claiming their legacy, finished the restoration, but without Siamun, it was simply a place of preparation and attunement to the divine. The Empire laid claim to it but it went unused until centuries later, when the Dowager Empress Helena set her home here, remote enough for safety. She was blessed with prophetic powers and was able to reconstruct Siamun's design, amplifying her divinatory prowess so she became her son's greatest advisor, and began directing Imperial spies and assassins from here. The psychomanteum was retained as a curiosity until the Empire faced invasion from the armies of Agade, Iranshar, and Djibril. The basileus prepared himself here, likely the most powerful practitioner since Siamun himself, seizing the power of a fortuitous alignment of stars to trap Abaddon within the structure.

Type

Temple / Church

Parent Location

Golgotha, the Place of the Skull

Owner

Basileus of the Empire

Owning Organization

The Council of Kings