Manse of Unyielding Mahogany
Rating: ••••• Aspect: Wood. Hearthstone: Stone of Loyalty Attuned: ?
Background
The Manse of Unyielding Mahogany is of ancient construction, its origins and history lost to the mists of time. What is known for certain is that it predates the days of the Shogunate, the expertise displayed in its geomantic construction beyond the capabilities of savants in the present age. It is also known to match forms seen in wood-aspected war manses elsewhere in Creation.
The known history of the Manse can be guessed at through the legends of Bushan, which point to a fortress towering over the island’s jungles, defended by brave heroes during the Great Contagion. Older tales tell that the fortress fell, and as it was sundered Bushan’s volcano god erupted from the earth and struck down the invading Fair Folk, but the Immaculate Order vehemently disagrees, holding that the heroes of the fortress were Dragonblooded, who held against the Fae to the last, protecting the people of Bushan just long enough for the Scarlet Empress to rise and save Creation. The disruption of dragon lines caused by the Fair Folk triggered volcanic activity, and the deity who gained the new position hid the Manse for his own private use until he was slain by a righteous Immaculate monk.
The latter story is the accepted orthodox truth in the present day, and evidence provides some support: when archaeologists from House Peleps first found the Manse, it had suffered significant damage, on top of which a lava flow had covered over a significant portion of the structure. Under such circumstances, the Manse was unable to form its hearthstone, until significant excavations and repairs had been undertaken by Peleps architects.
Unfortunately for House Peleps, the Manse was transferred to House V'neef by order of the Scarlet Empress along with the satrapy, a severe blow to a significant investment. Records were destroyed and the manse looted of anything that could be removed before their departure... it is unknown just what was taken, and indeed the destruction of records meant House V'neef was not even aware that the manse existed until its own surveyors happened upon the site a scant few years ago, beginning a second restoration effort that continues to this day.
Layout
The Manse of Unyielding Mahogany is circular in shape. Its outer rings were once occupied by barracks, drill yards, and other facilities to support a garrison and its equipment. The outer walls and buildings have been destroyed in the centuries since they were constructed, leaving nothing today but fertile soils and ruined fragments, along with a few geomantic conduits that still run through the underbrush.
An inner wall survives for the most part, though the hardened remnant of a large lava flow penetrate it on its northern side. Five large gates penetrate the wall (the northern gate rendered inaccessible by hardened volcanic rock), leading into an inner garden, which might once have been tended but which has grown wild in the years the manse was left in disrepair. Near the southeast gate, wooden buildings and fences have been erected to form stables sufficient for carriages, carts, and 25 horses.
The manse building itself is located on the other side of the garden ring, its large domed structure covered in vines and moss, concealing the significant armour making up its walls. A single large gate provides entrance into the fortress. Past the gate is a large vestibule, with a second set of doors on the other side. Two corridors run parallel to the room’s sides, with firing slits allowing archers to attack invaders who penetrate the main doors.
The corridors of the Manse curve and twist, root-like, between various areas, but the layout of rooms is more even. There is an outer ring of ten large chambers, serving the needs of a fortress garrison: five are dormitories, each with bunks and lockers for 48 soldiers as well as a small private room with two beds and two desks for junior officers. One is a medical bay, well-lit and kept sterilized by the Manse’s essence, with twenty-five beds, a surgical chamber, lockers for corpse storage, and an office for the medical officer. One is a training chamber, containing automated dummies and targets for practice of melee and archery, as well as treadmills for endurance training, the chamber keeping records of performance for specific individuals and reporting them to the Control Room. One was likely an armoury, with shelving and lockers for storage of weapons and armour. One is a mess hall with attached kitchens, benches and tables capable of seating fifty at a time. The final chamber is a brig, containing two large cells capable of housing ten prisoners and two small armoured isolation cells for single prisoners, as well as an interrogation chamber and jailor’s office. Visibility into the large cells is through the heavy metal bars, while the individual cells can be monitored through adamant peepholes.
A second ring inside the first houses further chambers: the largest is a theatre, with a stage and seating for up to a hundred. A retractable table and chairs in the stage indicate it may have served as a conference room for smaller meetings as well as its larger theatre functions. A storage room and pantry are also found within this ring, containing special chambers for the storage of foodstuffs which seem to keep such material preserved indefinitely. A set of interconnected rooms in this ring serve as servants’ quarters, providing family chambers with five beds, and sharing a single large sitting room. Quarters for middle and senior officers are also found on this ring: twenty are comfortably sized, with a bedroom, study and sitting room in each. Five are larger, with three bedrooms, a nursery, a large sitting room, and two offices. A system of heated communal baths are also located here. Finally, two opulent guest suites can be found in this ring, though their splendour is now stripped and much diminished: each consists of a large bedroom, a sitting room, a private dining room, an office, a library, a private bath, and an exercise/meditation chamber.
A third ring lies within the second, consisting of five greenhouse gardens. Each garden is environmentally controlled by the manse to reflect optimal growing conditions in one area of Creation: North, South, East, West, and the Blessed Isle. Adamant ceilings allow the light of Sol to enter each greenhouse… unfortunately they have not weathered the passage of time very well: the ceiling in the North garden is entirely covered by the hardened lava flow, those of the East and West gardens partially so. Additionally, the adamant in the East garden seems to have been shattered by some terrible blow, leaving the garden open to the outside.
Within this garden ring can be found the control room of the manse. A balcony circles a sunken chamber, stairs descending to the control room itself. The lower part of the control room includes displays indicating the status of those manse systems whose functions have been restored, as well as holographic maps which can display either the layout of the manse and position of all currently within it, or the surrounding island... the latter map is inaccurate, displaying an island without central volcano and with differences in coastline, though it seems to display the two manses of Handae in proper position relative to itself. In the center of this chamber, a crystal lattice rises like a tree from floor to ceiling, emitting a throbbing glow: within this lattice is a small platform upon which the hearthstone of the manse forms.
Attached to the lower control room are the chambers of the commander’s quarters, sealed by doors that open only for the hearthstone bearer. These quarters contain a large bedroom, a sitting room, a private dining room, an office, a library, an exercise/meditation chamber, a private bath, and a large heavily armoured vault. The vault remains unopened, with no visible lock and no sign it responds to commands from the manse or hearthstone bearer.
Unless overridden by the control room or the manse intelligence, internal doors open automatically and lights activate in the presence of visitors.
Sentience
The Manse of Unyielding Mahogany contains a complex artificial intelligence... it is able to operate the senses and functions of the manse, as well as accessing records built up during its history. Though self-aware, it does not draw distinction between itself and the Manse, and seems motivated to obey the bearer of the hearthstone.
Unyielding Mahogany is unclear as to its own origins or much of its history, perhaps due to damage inflicted on its crystal lattice. It knows it fought in many great battles, and suffered significant damage. It often complains that local dragon lines are out of place, that essence from the surrounding network of manses is failing to arrive, and sometimes seems to believe it possesses heavy armaments, though none can be found in the manse at present.
