Ascendant Court | Touring Absalom, Part 12 | Pathfinder Lore

foreign stranger and welcome to absalom's ascendant Court here in the Heart of the City this is the culmination of the past two days touring Rising before us is the starstone cathedral inside which lies what could be the world's most powerful artifact the gem meteorite known as the star Stone invites anyone to take its test in exchange for a chance of ascending into godhood over the city's almost 5 000 year history only four have succeeded but even one would have been enough to make this District special I invite you to join me on my Carriage as I take you on a guided tour of this final District in the city at the center of the world I am of course saving the cathedral itself for lust first we must conquer the other attractions offered to us by the ascendant court for there is much more to witness and experience besides the star Stone indeed bundled into the courts are shrines and temples to almost every known deity and perhaps even some unknown ones too every Pantheon from every corner of galarian is represented here in some capacity and with them comes a whole host of politicians priests and Prophets who together make this District a true wildcard even by absalomian standards you never know what will happen this is why I am undertaking this tour after sunset in daylight would-be Gods clamor and Shout for your favor from every corner of every thoroughfare demanding your worship or Worse your coin in advance of taking the test assuming they are not just con artists of course and there are plenty of those as well don't get me wrong even in Moonlight the ascendant court is a hive of activity but it should give us enough Liberty to get close to the district's most prominent attractions hop onto the carriage while I explain our route having entered the foreign quarter on the district's West Side I will Begin by taking us eastwards so that we can enter the Court's innermost road which surrounds the cathedral from that side then we will complete an almost full rotation clockwise around that road stopping early at the northern Bridge across starstone Chasm finally we will make our way over this bridge and admire the Grandeur of the cathedral up close where my tour of the district and indeed of the city will conclude so are you ready to begin wonderful here we go these first few rows of buildings are residential occupied mostly by the clergy of the Court's countless temples and shrines most of these properties are subsidized by some church or Embassy and those that aren't are almost exclusively occupied by wealthy patrons the ascendant court is one of the most expensive districts in the city it is not long however before you encounter your first religious site in fact in our case it is a blend of residence and Temple if you were to take the Northern Road here you would soon come across a somewhat neglected building that the locals rather mockingly call Azari Palace though officially it is termed sexolian's Temple Scion Lord toyton of housesauri inhabits the building with what little remains of his ancient and proud family as well as literally thousands of religious artifacts gathered from across the world that are associated with the god Eridan before eridan's apparent death in 4606 his church was among the world's most powerful and how cesari occupied important positions across its clergy and in absalom's political Nexus for example even today on the ascendant courts District Council representatives of the last aslanti are permitted three seats instead of the usual one and this is but a trivial fact compared to the influence of the Church of Eridan used to command even Saint sullian in whose name the site was consecrated was a member of House Azari in life thus you can imagine the devastation the family experienced when their Patron deity died and his religion collapsed they were forced to sell their palace in The Petal district and now spend most their time conducting less and less elaborate rights attended by fewer and fewer people in the name of a silenced however the value and power of the artifacts stored in their home remain impressive which has caused some concern about the apparent absence of security to protect them If instead you were to follow this same road southwards you would reach the entrance of that shining tower that looms above us here this is the Tower of twin truths and it is the largest temple to the god Nethers in Absalom Nethers is a deity of Duality particularly The Duality of magic he is said to be irreparably mad simultaneously embodying its creativity and destructiveness ever torn between saving and raising the in this way his followers believe he embodies a neutral balance between all things and in the tower of twin truths you will find a library that adheres to this principle the library is divided into two wings and the tomes that they store are reflections of themselves by this I mean that On Any Given topic the text in One Wing will argue for its affirmative or its positives while the counterpart will argue for its negatives and its failures thus it is said that the tower will always and never hold the answers you seek though it has certainly facilitated many a devil's advocate in the taverns of the city attire itself only glows like this at night serving as a beacon to much of the city while in daylight it is instead colored like Inky smoke methus himself I should say was once considered immortal like editing who attained Divinity through great Deeds it is claimed that he founded sofas the capital of Assyrian and he remains its Patron deity to this day southwards along this next set of Crossroads leads to the Church of asmodius a rabastian for worshipers of the Prince of Darkness Beyond infernal cheliacs asmodius is the most powerful of Hell's inhabitants and the only entity within it to be able to attain a true divinity he is also numbered among the oldest of all the gods with some claiming that he is actually the oldest jointly with his possibly mythical deceased brother most Scholars reject this latter claim though and instead recognize ferasma as the oldest deity regardless as modius's worship is outlawed in many parts of the world but here in Absalom it is tolerated along with every other religion this has led to some tensions but these have principally been about political topics and not religious ones indeed that particular church is quite new having only been opened about 18 years ago after its predecessor was raised to the ground one fateful Night by of all people angry chillaxials you see despite cheliacs being a nation of devil worship it has a somewhat strained relationship with the independent church of asmodius both Revere the arch devil as their God but the very nature of interpreting how worship should be conducted has led to a great deal of Discord their holy text is the asmodean monograph and it lays out across its 1000 Pages innumerable commands doctrines and painful truths for its followers moreover it references other documents and texts not all of which are verified or even known it is the ultimate paper trail the epitome of incomprehensibly dense contracts of faith and so even minor disagreements between the church and state have escalated into hatred in recent years thus the chillaxian embassy here in the court maintains its own Shrine to asmodeus and strongly discourages its citizens from worshiping at this independent organization almost opposite the Church of asmodius is the Court's Temple to the goddess of lust trickery and Vengeance the Pleasure Salon of calistria the architecture of the temple is notably not colistrian and instead takes after the style of older's land but that seems fittingly aligned with a patron as mischievous as the savored sting now yes I know what you're thinking with a name like Pleasure Salon indeed the temple does serve as a brothel and makes most of its declared money through carnal services however to overlook the other facets of the goddess of Revenge could be a grave error and I mean that literally the majority of the salon's employees are better described as information Brokers even spies in the employee of Scion Lady diriana of House Avon star the Temple's High Priestess you may remember her from my tour of the petal District that she also owns and runs the silken Court brothel there and in much the same way but on a far smaller scale silicon court she purchased from its previous owner but here in the ascendant court is her true Temple to Secrets anything you say inside the building can and will be put to good use in the name of calistria some people take advantage of this though and disclose others sins in an effort to see them punished in sacred Revenge a ploy which does sometimes work often though they find themselves the victim of information they have inadvertently LED slip as an accompaniment to their initial accusation the salon also keeps vast wasp pipes in the roof of the temple and these descend to sting any who Bears ill will to the priestesses ah now this Infamous Stone ring is known as the Gora marox a holy place of combat for the faithful of Gordon our Lord in Iron Gorham is the god of battle and nothing more but this portfolio has proved more than enough to sustain a healthy worship ever since he first manifested Gordon demands brutal fair and armored combat so petitioners here offer their prayers by exhausting one another within the ring spectating this worship requires payment of either armor Weaponry or a warrior to wield them in the ring all of which are in constant demand from the Arenas notoriously foul tongue Thai priest the aruke delaganda before slavery was outlawed in Absalom the Gora muruks was Notorious for facilitating little more than slave fights to the death for the wealthy and its popularity has decreased significantly since slavery's abolition six years ago still the priests here continue their practices with anyone who volunteers or is paid to participate and they have always remained committed to the chaos of battle over popularity or other benefits now brace yourself we are about to cross the busiest and most popular thoroughfare in the district perhaps in the city this is the Avenue of the hopeful where would be Gods congregate to sell their Visions to the masses nowhere else will you see so many Cults of Personality packed into a single space and any of them could become the next person to ascend just imagine that for a moment your support to a stranger now so early in their Journey could be repaid 100 times over if they were to achieve their dream Promises of Fame Fortune and even Divinity itself are commonly traded for goods and services here however it is all too easy to become enamored with a silver-tongued mage when you forget that from the tens of thousands of hopefuls who have congregated here over the years only four have ever succeeded indeed two of these never even petitioned on this Avenue so while the payoff would be enormous the probability of a return on your investment is as close to zero as makes the matter but who knows that is the Allure of this street after all which is why it is packed with the devoted even now some have described the Avenue of the hookfall as absalom's biggest casino and it is hard to deny the gambles taken here every day now only the influential hopefuls get to petition from here those lacking any Authority or power are quickly displaced by those opposition and so the road also serves as a place of minor miracles to those in need of healing or guidance everyone is Keen to show off their talents in hopes of a larger audience those crooked monoliths there are as old as Courthouse itself and only the most likely petitioners are able to scale to their tops unhindered by the baying crowds below some claim that there remain a few Barnacles suckered to the rocks from the time before Eridan raised the island and occasionally someone will triumphantly raise one into the sky for their followers to behold you may hear the phrase as lucky as a pillar Barnacle tossed around in epsilon either sincerely or sarcastically and that refers to those melodramatic events here personally I am not convinced any Barnacles could have survived being on dry land in a busy Urban district for almost five Millennia but you never know in Absalom if you want to observe the zealous chaos of the Avenue of the hopeful from a place of relative safety and comfort then I suggest you make your way to orestiel's Ale House right on its corner here it is run by clerics of the hunter God and their ale is said to be positively divine we're beginning to wheel ourselves northwards now to complete our loop around the starstone cathedral as we do let me tell you a few points of interest that you could find nestled within the ascendant corpse Eastern Wallace which are almost all residential the first two occupy opposite sides of a single Ward located close to the border with Eastgate these are Stone Shield house and the black mask Stone Shield house serves as the headquarters for the gray Plex the ascendant courts District guard Force to serve as a gray cloak one must be two things righteous and irreligious and that's right the quite ingenious solution to policing a district packed with hundreds of different and frequently conflictual religions has been to employ only those who do not serve any deity remember that here in Galleria being an atheist does not mean to deny the existence of the Gods though you will occasionally find someone who has somehow persuaded themselves of this but rather to deny their importance to Mortals most acknowledge them as only senior Powers But ultimately consider them mortal and Unworthy of their worship to that end the Great cloaks operate as neutral Arbiters from their imposing home and numbered among the most effective guards in the city now this is partially because they deal with Divine threats just as often as they deal with mundane Wars the concentration of clerics and champions in the court guarantees a whole host of curses plagues and holy retaliations Unleashed on absalomians throughout the year the great cloaks unflinchingly and quite disinterestedly deal with all of them before tossing the accused to the Local District Court which is run by three clerics of Arvada famous for their slow yet Fair dispensing of Justice the Black Mask meanwhile is officially a high-end costume store for wandering minstrels actors and other thespian performers however it is an Open Secret in the city that this is merely a front for a branch of the Church of nagaba one of the four ascended Gods his portfolio includes poisons Secrets murder and other things scowled upon by most people ensuring that visiting petitioners make every effort to disguise themselves something with which the black masks smiling vendors are always happy to assist but the worship of noguba is partially illegal in Absalom as the religion straddles the deceptive and the dangerous you see the city at the center of the world only tolerates religions which do not demand harming a third party and norgabus so-called four aspects straddle both sides of this line so while the worship of norgaba as the reaper of reputation or black fingers is not illegal in Absalom like it is in much of the rest of the NSE the shop is nevertheless Infamous and loathed by most for its unclear role in facilitating The Cult of Father's skin saw that operates out of the puddles moreover every three years or so the Black Mask begins a flash sale of skin Soul outfits a costumes that share a striking resemblance to the uniform of the norcobarite skins or murderers no official connection has ever been proved but to most the circumstantial evidences more than enough to condemn this Temple the final point of interest on the ascendant Court's east side is the workshop of the famous Alchemist gerig the inspirer whose so-called liquid courage is a popular pick-me-up during long hours of physical or mental trial the secret to the potion synthesis is closely guarded specifically by an entire platoon of mercenaries from The Guild of Spears who permanently keep watch over Gehrig's alchemical headquarters and Garrick himself though is more likely to be found close to the starstone chasm where he petitions hopeful would-be Gods to endorse his potion prior to taking the test of the star Stone he offers them lucrative contracts in exchange for their Divine patronage if they succeed and many have readily accepted his demands the half elf has yet to see any of his clients succeed in their Quest but that has not stopped him from promoting his drink on posters up and down the Avenue of the hopeful and Beyond throughout the whole city and here we are welcome to the inner ring of the ascendant Court a cobblestone road that encircles the Majestic starstone cathedral in its Center separating the two is the mighty starstone Chasm said to be of a depth immeasurable by all with some claiming without evidence I should stress that it possibly leads down into the core of the planet itself it is easy to forget the Grandeur and significance of this place saturated as it is with ancient temples and Grand monuments yet we must always do our best to keep its history and function in mind because if we can do that then we will be in a better position to appreciate the unique place in the world occupied by gods and Kings it is fitting then that our first point of interest when entering from the Eastern side is the former Temple of eredon now converted into the official chillaxian Embassy to Absalom for many centuries this was the noblest and grandest of all human Cathedrals erected to acknowledge the supremacy of their Patron deity aerodyn's faithful maintained shrines officers apartments and even portals to other major temples in this sprawling complex but these were all thrown into chaos along with the rest of their Church following eridan's death then through an incredibly complex series of political Maneuvers even by Absalom standards cheliacs managed to purchase the disused site for their own Embassy and have commanded it ever since the architecture May remain the same but the decoration has changed completely with the red and black banners of the Empire waving defiantly in sight of the starstone cathedral the galaxian schemes are as endless and complex as absaloms so the site is protected in several layers most prominently a trio of elite tiefling protectors known as the Brethren guard maintains a constant watch over every entrance to the building however I am convinced there is more than physical Force protecting the heart of Chely ax's machinations in Absalom so approach it with caution as we begin our Circle clockwise note the small holes that you can see in the hobbled streets beneath us are the city's catacombs dug by aerodyn's faithful in absalom's earliest days so that they might be buried as close to the starstone cathedral as possible this confusing crisscross of crumbling corridors Now lies mostly abandoned but it has gained a reputation in recent years as a meeting point for young lovers who seem to enjoy the thrill of planning Rendezvous in hard to reach locations the official entrance to the catacombs is located a little beyond the chellaxian embassy but it is only one of many ways into the dusty dark below the district exploring it could be a useful Endeavor for you adventuring types but do not expect me to come and rescue you when your torches burn out and your Maps fail as we approach the southern Bridge across the chasm we must first pass by these stalls and Tents this is God's Market the oldest place of formal trade in the city and among the oldest in galarian there is a saying here as long as there are Gods there will always be a Gods market and indeed the marketplace has run more or less continuously for the past four and a half thousand years and shows no signs of slowing now its Merchants mostly sell religious trinkets or items important to the local churches but do be cautious because there is also no shortage of con artists walking false Goods as well the number of skeletal fragments claiming to be part of a God's material body sold here over the years would be enough to conjure an entire Army of Undead godlings so do be careful that your Merchant is a legitimate businessman and not a front for a local Thieves Guild now here at the junction with the Avenue of the hopeful lies a cluster of unassuming buildings that look completely out of place in a space as Grand as the ascendant Court indeed it is almost suspicious well it was a deliberate design Choice from the architects who were working in the name of norgeber for this is in fact a blackfinger temple his only official house of worship in Absalom famously their gold has four aspects and the one called blackfinger represents his portfolio of poison Venom and amoral experimentation in the pursuit of knowledge consequently blackfinger Temple also serves as a Marketplace for a whole host of toxins poisons and their neutralizing agents that are legal for sale to the General Public indeed the business is one of the best regulated in the entire city due to the scrutiny constantly placed upon it in fact on several occasions the Alchemists employed at the temple here have developed powerful anti-toxins or restorative agents that have been used as effective medications in hospitals so blackfinger Temple is one of the more respected sites in the district of course the senior figures of the church are careful to Outsource any illegal activities to Alternative unofficial locations around the city so this has come at the expense of others then again you would expect nothing less from a deity with the title Reaper of reputation a little ways on from blackfinger Temple is the seventh Church of ioma day the youngest of the starstones ascended and the goddess of Honor Valor and righteous Justice I am a day's life is in many ways even more legendary than eridans even if just because it is more recent born in cheliacs around the year 3800 ayomide served as a paladin and champion of eredon for over three decades valiantly upholding his ideals in the face of everything from coven witches to faceless aberrations to Tar Buffon himself in this time her overwhelming faith allowed her to perform 11 Miracles immortalized now in her holy text the acts of ayamide in point of fact two of them were performed on this spot the seventh and the 11th but this church was specifically built to commemorate only the former the young Paladin besieged the starstone cathedral itself to channel its artifact's undying light onto Absalom during a terrible storm that had invited a pack of Seagulls into the city responding to her call the light of the cathedral Shone through the black clouds above and illuminated the undead Horus thus enabling the city's Defenders to dispatch them before they could cause any further Havoc today the seventh church is a Nexus for the training of ayomide's priests clerics and champions who enjoy a grueling three-year education process before being dispatched on missions across galarian unlike many of the other temples in the ascendant Court the seventh church is staffed largely by the very young or the very old of ayomide's clergy and because her tenants demand that the most able-bodied and experienced individuals are deployed to where their faith is most needed here in the ascendant Court the church is on its home territory so to speak and so does not need to defend itself strongly should the need arise however the clergy can call on the champions in trading of the tempering Hall which is situated just behind the seventh Church functioning essentially as an extension of it this is the formal training ground for the goddesses holy Warriors and the Crusaders by long-standing tradition champions of abedar irori and Shailene are also welcome to train here but the overwhelming majority of attendees are devoted to the inheritor of eridan's faithful the tempering Hall rings out with the sounds of mock combat almost constantly and it also boasts attachments that train warhounds and War Horse destriers as well no Champion is complete without a steed after all and in case you were wondering what ioma day's 11th miracle was it was the unfurling of her cloak across the starstone chasm in defiance of gravity and its own Dimensions it is said to have lengthened into a sturdy walkway for the goddess to be enabling her to enter the cathedral without using one of its Three Bridges this is an important aspect of the starstone ritual that I will expand upon glitter this next building coming up on our left commemorates instead the harsh reality for many who come to the ascendant court inside this drab Gray Building are the alcoves that constitute The Shrine of the failed a permanent and ever-growing testament to those who thought that they could achieve Divinity it found cruel deaths instead if you have the time I strongly encourage you to take a few minutes observing the atmosphere inside it can be unexpectedly heavy to the unprepared because it places the Fanfare and bruhaha the Avenue of the hopeful into sharp relief from all the Grandeur of the star Stone it has killed thousands for every one it has ascended the shrine is funded by the families and friends of those who have failed to pass the test it is attended to by atheistic masked caregivers who treat every name with the utmost respect and sincerity one among them however is not an employee of the shrine at all but rather aspiring practitioner calling himself Chandra Lord God Harvester this silver masked resident believes that even failed petitioners carried a spark of divinity within them and so he endlessly patrols the alcoves In Search of a way to imbibe enough to enable himself to ascend into a Godly Pantheon despite the sincerity of the shrine I would feel remiss as your tour guide not to mention some of the more famous names inscribed into its tablets in fact I have mentioned one already the muted God also called the unspoken one adopted for his portfolio the domains of silence and serenity and so when no communication of his success or failure was received his devoted followers generously assumed this to mean the former although no cleric operating in his name has ever demonstrated Divine Powers his cult lingered around Absalom for many years after his death over time this evolved into little more than a petty Thieves Guild whose headquarters I discussed as we exited the puddles in a similar vein there was once an enthusiastic petitioner known as Village The Unwanted he claimed failure to be his domain and died immediately by failing even to cross the chasm and reach the cathedral Beyond now his cult claims that any other outcome would have been anathema to his Divine portfolio and although it quickly dissipated people will occasionally leave a few copper pennies at his Alcove here in an effort not to attract his attention and finally a Mystic calling himself zimpa of the dreaming year once amassed quite a following in the ascendant Court he claimed to have slept for a whole year and in this time discerned that the starstone chasm could only be crossed through the power of Dreams confident in this conclusion he stepped into the empty air protecting the cathedral and died quite vocally to gravity soon afterwards he is remembered now instead by a new title the zimpa of the screaming fear just across the street from the Shrine of the failed is the Temple of The Shining Star the largest temple of Sauron Ray in Absalom because their goddess embodies healing honesty and Redemption the clergy of the temple is almost universally respected throughout the city indeed this Temple dispatches squads of clerics and paladins daily to seek out the city's poorest and most desperate to offer healing services in the name of their deity these so-called Dawn angels are a beloved sight to many including the grand Council who will often call on The Shining Star to assist with any outbreaks of disease in the city the design of the temple itself is quite fascinating you can see it has numerous minarets and Towers painted white to reflect the Sun but what you may not immediately be able to appreciate is how they are positioned precisely to reflect the sun's Rays every single morning these are redirected to that enormous Sundial before it called The Mark which high priestess siren Lady zedashir of house changed uses to Herald a new dawn each day this is always a cause for celebration to summon Ray's faithful it means the beginning of another opportunity to bring the goddesses Holy Light to the dark places of this world now here is a Grizzly establishment this is pitview Pub strategically located in full view of the most popular spot for starstone aspirants to tape their godhood or death trial it is also a gambling Den can you guess what they bet on indeed I understand the Pub's proprietor has actually excavated underground tunnels that cut into the wall of the chasm so that patrons can enjoy the sight of misguided petitioners plummeting to their deaths for a few seconds longer to call this place distasteful maybe an understatement I am sorry to say that it is neither Redeemed by its drinks which are heavily diluted with slot water nor by its pies which I am convinced contain rat meat all in all you would do well to avoid this place unless you enjoy witnessing the final moments of your fellow Mortals if you are looking for a more respectable Tavern then I would instead encourage you to wander just a little farther to the northernmost Bridge of the chasm and find a seat in Cadence Hall a temple Tavern to The Accidental God in my tour of the foreign quarter I concluded my discussion of the Pathfinder Society by commenting that its successes all stemmed from only the second most famous night of drinking in Absalom well Kate and kalian God of Bravery freedom and of course alcohol has secured the most famous knight 35 years before ayomade was even born the human cell saw Kaden Kaylee was drinking at a Tavern in the ascendant court with some friends he was an Infamous mercenary at the time but not for cruelty or ruthlessness as you might expect but rather for being so committed to his principle of freedom for all sentient beings that he refused to complete contracts he had signed if they were to interfere with it regardless his profession mattered little when his friends who were utterly drunk dared kalien to undertake the test of the star Stone without same night with no preparation never want to turn down a challenge the cell sold himself completely inebriated accepted nobody was more surprised than Caleb himself to learn three days later he had not only survived the test it was Dustin but somehow actually returned as the world's youngest deity unfortunately for future petitioners he had no memory of how he had managed to do this because he was too intoxicated to retain well anything really let alone something as abstract as memory his first Divine act it is set was to Grant Divinity to his beloved Mastiff Thunder and this brings us back to Cadence Hall which was constructed in honor of the ascended success although this iteration which was opened sometime in the last decade stands on the original site it is in fact the 17th version of the same the priests believe in uninhibited carousing you see and so Cadence Hall has a habit of being accidentally burnt To The Ground by an other enthusiastic crowd still the priests simply build another one and begin the carousing all over again so nobody really Minds a night of drinking in Cadence Hall is said to rival the night of drinking undertaken by the God himself prior to his Ascension but regrettably all subsequent drunken dares to follow in his Wayward footsteps have ended in fatality it seems this rather Niche portfolio has now been completely claimed we have two more points of interest before we can cross the chasm the building at the back of this Ward is the first a former Temple of eredon called the of holies it serves as the seat of the ascendant quartz District Council although it predates the very concept of District councils by quite a wide margin the group is called the Chamber of episteels and it formed from representatives of almost two dozen different religions anybody who can demonstrate that they reside in the district and practice an unrepresented religion may be approved to join the chamber and this in turn offers significant power because with the exception of the Church of Eridan which is permitted three there can only be one representative per religion the new mark of the chamber however is different from Representatives by tradition he is a rudrani wise man and by law they must be an atheist for much of the same reason that only atheists are permitted to join the ranks of the gray cloaks currently the position is held by one sindoi of the Thousand poems who was not once voted for or against any motion put forward by the chamber which he has led for decades He commands the respect of the clergy and common folk alike of the district and he has a well-earned reputation for fairness and reasoned wisdom yet the influence of the Chamber of ecclesials is dwarfed by the power of this penultimate building before us this is the Bank of Absalom from here interest rates are set loans to whole countries are authorized or rejected and the endless trade flowing into the city is financially regulated despite this being the bank of the whole city it is almost exclusively run by the faithful of arbedar whose portfolio overlaps with banks and City trade almost entirely nevertheless the bank of Absalom is not the center of abadar's religious worship in the city that honor is held by the Vault of arbitar located in the ivy District large Banker broke law of Breville has managed to uphold neutrality when dealing with most customers although eyebrow raising loans to the Church of abadar have been known on occasion however criticism has been levied against him for neglecting the needs of indigenous populations by devaluing their own currencies for being chaotic and too local the banker has so far not deemed to respond to these criticisms however and his major backers seem happy to keep it that way for now the bank of Absalom has never been more successful even managing to recover from the sudden loss of the slave trade with stunning rapidity but here I am discussing International banking when you are surely more interested in what we have been circling so slowly let us delay no longer this final point of interest in Absalom is also its most important we shall now Traverse Kaden kalian's Bridge across the starstone chasm to behold the starstone cathedral this radiant White Palace with its Towers reaching into the sky is without question the oldest building in the city it served as the god evidence personal Abode long before the first Immortals stepped foot into Absalom its towering silhouette is not the tallest structure in the city but its Central position commands the skyline like no other and it is visible from almost every street and corner it is so recognizable that it is sometimes used to represent the city as a whole even marking the backs of absalom's gold talents that circulate worldwide the starstone cathedral might just be the most famous building in galarian and we stand before it now the starstone itself is a reasonably small gem meteorite that inhabits the innermost chamber of the structure and accessing that room is in fact the only requirement for somebody to take its test everything else that I'm about to explain was devised by Eridan as discouragement and security he spent his entire mortal life searching for The Secret of divinity and worked tirelessly to prevent anyone else from accessing the fruits of his labor without a struggle first of all we must ask ourselves what actually is the star Stone how can a rock that fell to gallerian ascend Immortal into godhood by what mechanism is this achieved well all we have to answer these questions are ancient texts many remembered only in Legend So we must consider their claims carefully nevertheless according to these documents the star stone is a combination of extra planar materials aberrant magic the Flesh of the planet and most importantly the blood of the Goddess akavna the deceased aslante deity of the Moon and righteous battle it is said that she sacrificed herself to prevent the original meteorite summoned to galarian by those who sought to purge it of all life from achieving its objective while the resulting Devastation was still fatal to much of the world's Empires and peoples it failed to extinguish the spark of Life interestingly texts derived from these original sources also claim that eredon's Divinity was not so much granted by the star Stone itself as it was by the existing Gods who could Channel their power through the meteorite like a conduit I suspect only ferasma knows the truth but there is no denying that passing this ultimate test is a pathway to Divinity for Immortal of course first one must actually reach it which eredon insured would never be an easy task to put it mildly the first challenge of this broader test is also the only one that is known for certain one must cross the starstone chasm without using the existing bridges in a way that has never been achieved before this latter stipulation is what prevents every petitioner from Simply hiring a wizard to levitate them across increasingly creative ways are trial every year with a recent attempts including using a tightrope enchanting a rug to carry one across and being fired from a cannon across the gap some but not all who pass this first trial away into the cathedral will then open leading to the first of many rooms designed by eredon to prevent the Unworthy from reaching his prize the contents of these rooms are not known indeed I suspect they are quite unique for each petitioner we do know that they are almost all awarded against extra dimensional magic or magic that would otherwise permit entry to the starstones chamber teleportation will not work there moreover we also know that they are filled with a seemingly infinite supply of creatures hazards and magical traps that must be defeated or avoided and increasingly creative ways to progress and finally we know that eridan's trial is not linear the inside of the cathedral is a shifting Labyrinth of rooms and many failed petitioners never find their way through them we know these things because contrary to popular belief it is possible to fail eridan's portion of the test and retreat with your life intact this in itself can be a nightmare for only the most skilled Navigators can reliably find their way through the cathedral's rooms but exits are available the confusion has arisen from the fact that the actual test of the star Stone the trial thrust upon Mortals who get too close to the meteorite is fatal to failures anyone who reaches the final room either dies or ascends into godhood the majority of casualties are actually inflicted by eridan's dungeon before reaching it over the years a few of the strongest petitioners have almost reached the starstone room but refused to enter in fear of what they beheld within and aborted their trials these reports corroborate each other and describe a surprisingly modest room with a blue huge gem on a small pillar in its Center surrounded by the skeletons of countless failed petitioners all still reaching for the item that slew them if you would like to take the test of the star Stone there is no shortage of hungry audiences eager to support you many of them would sincerely love to see you ascend into godhood and then reward them for their faith but far more would prefer to see you fail preferably in some spectacular and entertaining manner well stranger this concludes my tour of the ascendant court and indeed if the city at the center of the world I hope I have commanded your attention successfully over the last few days I have imparted to you 60 000 words about the history politics religions and life of this beautiful city transcribing my tour would take over a hundred sheets of paper at home I am sure would occupy the scrivener's Guild in the 4A logos for some time and all of this was undertaken to explore and bear witness to the unique culture of what I consider to be galoreans most interesting City thank you for joining me and I hope you find your fortune here whatever that may be as for me I am not yet done with Absalom oh no there is much more to come in a few days I will leave this city to explore some of the other settlements that dot quartos all of which fall under the authority of the absalomian state while the city at the center of the world is certainly the most important place on the island it is hardly the only one worthy of discussion and Adventure however before I depart I am going to be giving a number of short lectures at the Learned pig in the wise quarter the first is scheduled for tomorrow evening and concerns the political structure of Absalom I have discussed on several occasions with you throughout this tour the role of the grand Council are the no marks the shadow War and the noble houses that keep it all moving however I have not covered this in a way that is comprehensive tomorrow night I will be amending this so please do join me if you wish to learn who the big players are the roles they hold and their relationships to one another if you ever seek public office here then I strongly encourage you to attend if not then perhaps I shall see you when I Venture forth from Westgate sally port towards Atari I understand it has become quite a popular tourist destination of late whatever you decide I thank you once again for joining me and wish you good health in the days to come well until then

2023-04-22 06:44

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