The Verdigris Tower

"We record the stars, we command the skies. The mysteries of the world will be laid bare before us."

~the Curator of the Tower

The 'children' of the Viridescent Hare are the most blessed of all sky mages - only they can peer across the winds of time, to glimpse both past and future. They seek to comprehend the deepest principles of the world, by shutting themselves out of it to find what they call 'the cyclic dream'. To this end, the Copper Conservators conduct experiments on controlling the weather itself, and gather their power to piece together the visions that they see. Whether the Tower's vision is still the same as that of its founder, though... that is a question that these enlightened few have ignored.

Nothing New Under the Sun

The Jade Tower is the creation of an Exalted - Freya, the Viridescent Hare. Whether she had biological offspring or simply blessed some of her followers, Freya granted certain ikayal some of her own power. Their eyes opened to the winds of time, these 'children' aided her in the Tower's construction - a structure of copper and marble, meant to be a place they could pursue their studies away from the world's turmoil. It is protected by a storm wall which stops anyone not given one of the Conservators' tokens in to the Tower's location.
But when the Viridescent Hare vanished without a trace, her 'children' were left alone to pursue the world's secrets...

Chronos in Axis

The Tower is constructed upon what is essentially a giant glass clock face, which records the hour of day on the outer portion and the motions of celestial bodies on a dark inner wheel. The twelve Segments of the Tower are constructed in different sections of the outer wheel, corresponding to the twelve hours on a clock face, and accumulate or detach over the course of a day.

• At midnight, only the First Segment is above ground and active; this part of the Tower hosts dormitories and kitchens.
• Between midnight and midday, the First Segment follows the hour hand of the clock, gaining a new layer every hour. Each new Segment is placed on top of the preceding one through a combination of ingenious mechanics and Exalted power. The Second through Sixth Segments have to do with celestial studies, while the Seventh through Twelfth Segments focus on time and the weather.
• From midday onwards, the Tower then slowly deconstructs. As is fitting for sky mages, the Conservators must keep time in their studies, and leave the topmost Segment before it is removed from the Tower.

Kairos in Aspectus

"The moment when all begins to align or collapse. The instant before calamity. Only then may we open our eyes in unison, to sharpen our farsight. This is kairos. This is our Mother's will."

- a section of the Conservators' Oath

It is exceedingly rare for runes to be limited within their Wyrpaths - for example, a mage following the Ocean Wyrpath should be able to cast any of the runes linked to it. But the 'descendants' of the Viridescent Hare are the only sky mages who can, albeit with extensive preparation of their minds and bodies, use the farsight, tempo and stasis archrunes. The most powerful of these in theory - the farsight rune, which offers glimpses of the temporal stream of an object or person - only allows the caster to view select time periods. But together, they can divine entire histories, or possible futures. This is the primary function of the Verdigris Tower: bringing all these 'children' together to pool their power.
Of course, this is also one area in which the Conservators of the Tower exercise extreme self-restraint. They revere their gift from the Viridescent Hare, and so they only gather for readings during times of great unrest. The fall of the great ikayal nation Arwifal, the failing of Axu's Obelisks, the disappearance of their patron Exalted - only when the need is great do they dare to expose an entire thread of the winds of time. This is known as the Principle of Kairos, and it governs every aspect of the lives of these 'children'. Precision and timeliness are of utmost importance.

Type

Tower, Mage