Pinnacle of Mercy
Rating: •••• Aspect: Earth. Hearthstone: Guardian Gem Bearer: ? Attuned: The Golden Lord, Chejop Kejak, ?.
The Pinnacle of Mercy, located to the east of An-Teng, is the highest peak in the Fire Mountains which divide the dry deserts of the central South from the humid jungles of the Southwest. It is the dwelling and sanctum of the Golden Lord, god of An-Teng, whose temple-manse sits at the very top of the mountain and delves deep within it, containing thousands of prayer alcoves and meditation cells where penitents can come to offer worship and beg the Golden Lord's attention. When he receives guests, the Golden Lord does so in his full regalia within the grand Chamber of Audience, whose every inch is covered in Gold and Ivory that glows with an internal light, as does the god... the only thing in the chamber which is not radiant is the guest.
The journey to the top of the peak in order to reach the temple entrance is hazardous, the path long, steep, and winding. This natural challenge is further supplemented by the work of minor spirits bound to the manse, commanded by the Golden Lord to allow only those truly seeking justice to succeed in the ascent.
In addition to these spirits and the Golden Lord, the Pinnacle is home to a large number of priests who devote themselves to its maintenance and offering prayer to their god. Those who visit or dwell in the Pinnacle, even if not members of the Golden Lord's priesthood, finds their behaviour changed by the place. Prayers to the Golden Lord coat the golden walls, and without active effort those within find their mouths whispering prayers to the Golden Lord. More powerful still, it is impossible for any save the Golden Lord himself to commit any act of violence within the Pinnacle: those who begin to attempt such a thing find themselves suddenly afflicted with unendurable pain, forced by bound spirits to descend the slope and never allowed to return, the pain fading only after they have passed from the mountain.
Local legend says that the Pinnacle mountain was once a great Dragon, known as 'Grandfather', transformed to a mountain for eternity by the Golden Lord. If a geomancer were ever to examine the Pinnacle closely, they would know that the potency of the place exceeds what should be possible for a manse of this power... the reason for this is that the legend is true, at least in some sense.
During the First Age, the lesser elemental dragon of Earth Goukaen was invited by the Dawn-caste Solar Daring Flame to keep him company in various ways. Goukaen refused, enraging Daring Flame, who called upon his Exalted allies including Shining Righteous Word, who was constructing a great manse atop the Pinnacle of Mercy. Together, the Exalts felled and bound Goukaen beneath the Pinnacle, where the dragon would remain "for as long as the rule of the Solar Exalted should last, as long as the light of Sol should touch the mountain, and until Daring Flame’s own bow and should be broken as a sign of his forgiveness". Goukaen has been entombed ever since, rendered nearly powerless as his energies are drained to fuel the manse above. The dragon does, however, still retain some small reach, able to send visions through the ground that can sometimes reach the dreams of those sensitive to his emanations and sleeping with heads against the earth, including Earth-aspected Dragonblooded vacationing in An-Teng. Should he be freed, the effects on the Pinnacle are hard to predict, and his rage against the Solar Exalted, and all others he feels betrayed him, will be great indeed.
