Fortress with Eyes Cast to the Sea

Rating: •••• 

Aspect: Water. 

Hearthstone: Gemstone of Solid Water

Bearer: ? 

Attuned: Sesus Talor, Sesus Nagat, ?.   

The Fortress with Eyes Cast to the Sea is the ancestral home of the Magel branch of House Sesus, standing guard over the city of Eagle’s Launch at the settlement's southern edge. Between it and the city the Yodo River flows out into the Western Ocean which bounds the Fortress to the west. Three rings of moats and walls surround the Fortress, a series of bridges placed strategically to force attackers to advance long distances under fire from the next layer of walls. The Fortress has not been placed under siege since the time of the Shogunate. The outer sections are manned by troops of the 26th Imperial Legion, sponsored by House Sesus.

The outer two layers of moats are connected directly to the Yodo river, as are the canals of the city, allowing boats to travel between the two. From the outermost wall into the mouth of the river juts a complex waterwheel system, a visual feature distinct enough to mark out the Fortress in artwork. This system conducts flowing essence from the river to power internal systems of running water, and to turn the light which glows atop the Fortress' central bastion.

The bastion itself is tall, affording angles of fire against foes attacking the Fortress or the harbour. Those Magels in residence here typically dwell within. The light at the top of the tower is a fire which must be maintained with mundane fuel, existing within a mirrored chamber that rotates to project beams of light into the sky so ships might be guided into harbour. At the base of the bastion, a massive chamber houses The Prince's Table, a piece of polished wood sculpture said to have been commissioned by Sesus himself, a series of interlocking wooden tables depicting the topography of the Blessed Isle. Each table represents a prefecture, though those who have seen it note that it is no longer accurate, failing to reflect changes in administrative borders occurring after RY306.

Colloquially the Fortress with Eyes Cast to the Sea is known simply as the 'Sea Fortress', though some in the Realm also name it the 'Nest of Vipers' due to the serpentine mon of the Magel branch.

During the Shogunate Era the Fortress was headquarters of the Daimyos of Wuchang, who participated in many of the civil conflicts over who would take the Shogunal throne. One such daimyo, Zuo Liangyu, is depicted in the play The Peach Blossom Fan.

In his younger years, prince Sesus himself resided at the Fortress between stays in the capital and military expeditions, but in his elder years he took instead to dwelling at the more secure Eyrie of Ten Thousand Eagles.