Inspirational location

Overview

One of the uses for the precious material known as true liao is to create powerful true consecrations. These inspirational locations are dedicated to one of the seven virtues that fill everyone who visits them with a profound spiritual awareness. The spiritual power of the place, coupled with the stream of pilgrims who come to visit and be inspired by it means that these locations can have far-reaching effects - provided the place has a significant connection to the Way and the aura has been mandated by the Imperial Synod.

In most cases, the location will be an memorial dedicated to the legacy left by an exemplar or paragon recognised by the Imperial Synod. In this case, the site must have a significant connection to the exemplar or paragon in question. Usually this will be an actual tomb, but other sites may have a stronger connection to the figure. If the connection to the inspirational figure is strong enough then the life they led, the teachings they left behind, and the lessons they imparted will influence those who visit the location and create effects that resound through the area and beyond.

Some locations can be consecrated as sacred sites without connecting it to an examplar or paragon, provided the place has profound spiritual importance in some other way. It was possible to consecrate the Marshes of Kallevesa, because they are the ancient resting place of centuries of Wintermark's greatest heroes. In this case, the virtue chosen is usually crucial.

In all cases, it is essential to have an explicit mandate approved by the Imperial Synod. While it is a simple matter for anyone conversant with the ceremony of consecration to use a dose of true liao to create a true aura in a chosen spot, there is no stream of visitors to the area without Synod endorsement, so the impact is completely muted. A true liao consecration cannot create a significant game effect that produces an inspirational location without the express approval of the Synod.

Statement of Principle

• Creating an effective inspirational location requires a suitably worded statement of principle in the appropriate Virtue assembly
• For a memorial for a specific figure, this must be the virtue they are an examplar or paragon of
• In any case, this must be the virtue that it is to be used for the true consecration

The first step to creating an effective inspirational location is a statement of principle in the appropriate virtue assembly. The judgement must be approved either by the General Assembly or more usually by the virtue assembly of the virtue that will be used for the consecration. It is not possible to raise a statement of principle in a virtue assembly proposing that an area be consecrated to a different virtue, or in the name of an inspirational figure associated with a different virtue.

While a statement of principle calling for a place to be consecreated with true liao might be raised in a national assembly, or in the Assembly of Nine, it will not lead to an opportunity. While many inspirational figures are associated with certain nations, exemplars and paragons are seen as being important to every Imperial citizen. Furthermore, the assumption is that on matters related to the teachings and inspirations of a virtue, it is the virtue assembly whose decision matters most.

It is possible to pass a statement through the General Assembly provided that the appropriate virtue is named in the judgement, but it is much more challenging to get a greater majority than with a judgement raised in a virtue assembly.

It is not possible to create a memorial for someone who is known, or widely believed, to still be alive.

Inspirational Opportunity

• If the statement of principle passes with a greater majority in the correct assembly then it may lead to an opportunity
• A judgement for a memorial is highly likely to create an opportunity
• A judgement for a sacred site will only create an opportunity if the location is especially important
• Creating an inspirational location always requires a mandate and a single dose of true liao

If a valid statement of principle calls for the creation of a memorial, an inspirational location linked to an examplar or paragon, then it is most likely to create an opportunity. This is an exception to the normal rule that statements in the virtue assemblies are unlikely to create opportunities - there will almost always be some kind of response. To be valid, the chosen figure must a paragon or examplar who has been recognised by the Imperial Synod, and they must not have an existing memorial already - otherwise the statement will fail.

If a valid statement calls for the creation of a sacred site, a specific location that is not connected to a paragon or exemplar, then it will only produce an opportunity if the site is already profoundly significant in some way. A small sinecure is not significant enough to be a valid target - the location needs to be a grandiose commission, such as the Walls of Holberg, or a site that has great historical importance, such as the Kallevesa Marshes. Without the additional weight created by the stories of a paragon or exemplar, a site is unlikely to have a notable effect in most cases. The statement has the same chance to lead to an opportunity as any other statement of principle.

The opportunity will take the form of a mandate that could be endorsed by the Imperial Synod. Unlike most mandates, this opportunity will remain available until enacted or until the situation changes significantly. If the mandate is enacted, the named priest will need to provide a dose of true liao. Like any similar opportunity, it is possible for priests of the appropriate virtue assembly to submit an alternative mandate with different wording, but only if they do so in the same season that the opportunity is presented. It is not possible to submit an alternative mandate in subsequent seasons.

These opportunities may arise as the result of plot being run by Profound Decisions. In this case, the statement of principle is not necessary, but there will be no game effects unless a mandate defined in the opportunity is passed. While it is technically possible to consecrate an area with true liao without an opportunity or the appropriate mandate - doing so will not have any game effect.

A single dose of true liao is always required and is always sufficient. It is not possible to create an inspirational location without using a dose of true liao. Using more than one dose will not have any additional effect.

Consecration Effects

• An opportunitiey to create a memorial will include the known locations linked to the inspirational figure that could be chosen
• We will not normally list the explicit effects of a memorial in advance but the location and any other choices in the opportunity will be crucial
• If we provide an opportunity to create a sacred site we will include the precise effects of the consecration

If the original statement of principle calls for a memorial for an examplar or paragon, then the opportunity will list any known locations that could be used to create a viable memorial for them. For example, the recent consecration of an inspirational tomb for Adelmar the Lion idenified three different locales that would serve as a memorial to the ambitious exemplar, each offering a different form of inspiration to the faithful. Members of the virtue assembly could submit an alternative mandate for a different location, but this will only have be accepted if the chosen site has a strong connection to the historical figure.

The opportunity may include hints and suggestions but it will rarely provide explicit details of what the exact outcome will be. The consequences will only come to light if the consecration goes ahead. For example when the inspirational tomb for Ratibor was consecrated in Temeschwar, it led to a set of options the Empire could take up. The outcome may also be more introspective in nature - the consecration of the Maze of Zoria helped transform the place into a quiet sanctuary for pilgrims of Wisdom whose effects were mostly felt by the Guardian.

A memorial will always attract pilgrims from across the Empire, and sometimes beyond, who want to learn more. It can also encourage people who already possess little-known or significant information about the individual to come forward. In the past, the construction of a memorial has lead to an interest in relics of a new exemplar's life, to examination of and emulation of their heroic deeds, and to the formation of sodalities dedicated to pursuing their legacy.

In some cases the opportunity might include other costs, or require a commission be completed first. A grand structure built of white granite and weirwood that would contain the tomb and serve as a place of worship for the faith is common but not always required. For example, the opportunity to consecrate the Silent Sentinel as a memorial to the paragon of Vigilance of the same name included an additional opportunity to construct an inspirational shrine to further enhance the effect of the true aura.

If the original statement calls for a sacred site to be consecrated, then it will not normally create an opportunity unless the chosen site is particularly significant. If that happens, the opportunity will be different - the civil service prognosticators will be able to provide much more explicit guidance, providing detailed information on the exact effects the consecration will have.

Known Locations

Many records were lost when Emperor Nicovar destroyed the great libraries of the Empire. This coupled with the problem that the Empire is a vast land that includes large areas of dangerous wilderness between civilized settlements means that it is certain that the location of some inspirational tombs has been lost over the centuries. Without suitable protection these places may have been destroyed - but in theory some may yet endure. No inspirational location has been known to fail through age, since the power of true liao withstands the ravages of time, so it is possible that one day some or all of these lost tombs might be found and reclaimed.

Memorials

A memorial is an inspirational location dedicated to a renowned exemplar or paragon.

Inspiration	Virtue	Location	Notes
Atuman	Ambition	Necropolis	The tomb stands on the cliffs, and is rarely visited by any save Highborn pilgrims.
Cora Holdfast	Loyalty	Reikos	A tomb in High Chalcis overseen by a Claviger appointed by the Loyalty assembly.
Isenbrad	Wisdom	Hahnmark	An inspiration tomb was created in the Runegrott in Hahnmark and serves as the focal point for Wintermark's Runesmith's Law
Lepidus	Pride	Bastion	The tomb stands near the Basilica of Seven Doors and is a site of pilgrimage for dedicates of Pride.
The Little Mother	Prosperity	Bastion	The first chapel of the Little Mother in Sarvos is an inspirational tomb and site of pilgrimage.
Ratibor	Ambition	Temeschwar	Ratibor'sGate, the old prision, serves as a place of pilgrimage and is overseen by a Watcher
The Sentinel	Vigilance	Casinea	Built in the foundations beneath the Highborn Silent Sentinel and overseen by a Castellan
Zemress	Prosperity	Madruga	The remains of the Basilisk,Zemress' ship, in Calvos serve as a place of pilgrimage for dedicates of Prosperity from all over the Known World.
Zoria	Wisdom	Miekarova	An ancient maze in Mieriada, said to have been once the home of the ancient sorceress, is overseen by a Varushkan Guardian

Sacred Sites

A sacred site is a location that was already significant in some way that has been consecrated with true liao without dedicating it to an exemplar or paragon.

Location	Virtue	Details	Notes
Kallavesa Marsh	Pride	Kallavesa	Following a unique opportunity a grove at the heart of the Kallavesa Marshes was consecrated in the name of the heroes who sleep beneath them.
Walls of Holberg	Wisdom	Holberg	An opportunity arose to consecrate a gallery atop the Walls of Holberg that apparently lead to several miraculous events there.
Three Watchers	Loyalty	Morrow	When the three great statues commemorating the Highborn defence of Urizen against the Druj were created, the accompanying opportunity allowed a powerful consecration to be created

Further Reading

Core Brief

• Assembly
• Cardinal
• Judgements
  • Appointment
  • Challenge
  • Change of Doctrine
  • Inquisition
  • Mandate
  • Recognition
  • Revocation
  • Rewarding
  • Sanction
  • Statement of Principle
  • Veto
  • Writ of Consecration
  • Writ of Excommunication
• Member of the Synod

Additional Information

• Synod Positions
  • Conscience of the Senate
  • Gatekeeper
  • Tribune of the Synod
• Religious Crime
• Imperial Theology
• Inspirations
  • Paragons and Exemplars
  • Known Exemplars
  • Signs of the Paragon and Exemplar
  • Schools of Thought
  • Inspirational Location