Stongle

The Stone Meridian
"We call upon the Stone Meridian, who shelters the many; who gives a second chance; who fuels the fire in one's eyes."
Origin	God-from-Calamity
Titles	The Shelter Adamantine The Moving City The Sky-Pearl
Names	The Obelisk The Diplomat in White The Inkblood The Minister in Black The Viceroy The Undone among others...
Aspects
Date of arrival	During the Collision
Owner(s)	worm architect

The Stone Meridian, also known as The Shelter Adamantine, The Moving City, and The Sky-Pearl, is an Hour born in the moment of greatest peril, at the apex of the Collision. It was molded into the shape most desired by the thousands upon thousands of wounded hearts. And as they begged, it shall remain, no matter what.

It is hopeful, for nothing can remain for long without hope. It brings home, shelter, and comfort to those who are desperate for it, for home is essential if one is to persist. It brings purpose for those who were robbed of it, it gives second chances to those who were misled, and it reshapes those who are beyond the reach of mercy. And, at last, it remembers, for sacrifices fade, too.

History

The Stone Meridian is a young Hour even by human standards, but it doesn't mean it doesn't have a turbulent history.

It was born as not-yet-echoes across the twelve Histories and two Manses mere hours before the Collision. When Houses touched, the servants of The Hearthkeeper of the Wyrm's House, alongside the people of the Dodekapolis, were the first to witness a new Hour emerging, answering their prayers for safety. It was at this moment they were joined by the Great Scarabeus in person, who assisted with the City's ascension to Hourhood.

Not long after its arrival, the Sky-Pearl encountered another God-from-Calamity, The Mire-Maiden. She was bloodthirsty and keen to remake in her image, and the failure to finish off The Centriole made her mindless rage burn even brighter. There was a grueling battle, and the City came on top, though at a cost.

Society and Culture

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Government

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Religion

Of course, the worship of the Sky-Pearl itself takes the center stage-- to it, faith, hope, and belief are what coal is to a forge, and what blood is to the human body. But it is not the only thing worshipped by the citizens.

The Two Hundred and One Cult

The City is full of people, and these people need to believe in something or someone. Some turn to the Names of the Stone Meridian, seeing them as its different facets, others turn to the Hours of the Twin-House. There are a lot of cults, big and small, organized and shattered

The Cult of the Obelisk FNORD

The Cult of the Viceroy FNORD

The Cult of the Undone FNORD

The Cult of the Zabbaleen FNORD

The Cult of the Hearthkeeper FNORD

Marks of Ascension

1. Temptation: Amelioration: Our world is broken
2. Dedication: Amelioration: I have dedicated myself to the betterment of all, to the best of my ability.
3. Ascension: Amelioration: F
4. Ascension: Amelioration: N
5. Ascension: Amelioration: O
6. Ascension: Amelioration: R
7. Ending: BADASS NAME: D

Internal Structure

Architecture

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Infrastructure

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Demographics

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The Divide

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The Pearl District

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The Red Quarter

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The Bowels

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The Undercity

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The Nephrite Pit

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Its Abyssal Majesty the Hole

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Organizations

The Ministry of Ash

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The Urbane Envoy

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The Parliament of Cogs

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The Collegium

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The Chitinous Office

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The FNORD

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Landmarks

The Pearl Orchard

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The Alabaster Spire

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The Tourmaline Embassy

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Its Abyssal Majesty the Hole

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The FNORD

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Citizens

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Humans

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Long

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The Dead

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The Ascended Dead

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The Parchment Beetles

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The FNORD

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Amaranthine Aristocracy

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Mansus-Spirits

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Nowhere-Things

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Names

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The Obelisk

The Obelisk's Shadow

The shadow speaks, but its words are hollow, like that of the dead in the Mansus-soil, and at the same time, they emanate an unparalleled heat. The Obelisk won't leave the Moving City under any other guise.

12

12

12

Summon a shadow of a powerful Name-emanation of the Stone Meridian

For the Obelisk to lend her power, the room must be smoldering with the radiance of Forge, but the fire must be merciful, lightly touched by Heart.

Her shadow stretches on the walls, flickering like it would behind a bonfire, but all the flames disappear the moment it appears.

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10

2

The Diplomat in White

The Diplomat in White

'...After all, diplomacy is a web of lies, intrigue, and an occasional truth, when the former fail.'

12

12

Summon a jovial Name of the Sky-Pearl

The Diplomat can enter when the ground itself moves with Heart's power, and when shown a way with the Lantern-light.

At the first glance, the Diplomat in White looks like an ordinary mortal, but there is a rhythm that cannot be resisted when he speaks, when he moves, and his eyes are deep as the ocean...

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10

2

The Minister in Black

The Minister in Black

'Let's make this quick, I have important matters to attend to.'

12

12

12

Summon a terse Name of the Shelter Adamantine

The Minister in Black will come when his way is paved with an act of great strife, but only if shown the hungers of the Grail he knows so well.

The Minister in Black rises slowly from the ground, enveloped in clouds of thick black smoke. His robes are soaked in blood.

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10

2

The Viceroy

The Viceroy

'Do you have any particular... itch you wish to satisfy? Though, I must ask you, do hurry-- I am a busy man.'

12

12

Summon the cheerful and hungry Name of the Stone Meridian

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2

The Inkblood

The Twister of Tongues

'Sometimes they call me the Lord-Lady, sometimes they call me the Inkblood. I am, perhaps, both; I am, perhaps, neither. Now, shall we wager on a secret or shall we wager on a name?'

12

12

12

Summon the most deceptive Name of the Moving City

The Page-Trail will hear your call if presented with Moth's yearning, but they will answer it only when given a delightful secret as a show of respect.

Sometimes, the Cloaked Secret enters the room from worrying angles, but they are always abrupt or unexpected in their coming. The Dappled-Steps loops their tongue around their neck several times, like a scarf, and their robes are patched with names and words in languages long gone.

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2

The Undone

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Other Names

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Locations

The Mansus

Carmine Grazelands

A scarred, war-torn plain, painted with the blood of Mansus-spirits and dotted with rubble. This is where the Maiden met the Pearl and did battle. The soil reeks of strife and hunger. The Mire-Maiden's minions still roam this place, waiting for their mistress to return.

The Wake

The Dodekapolis

Venice, Venezia, Venedig, Venecija, Velence, Benátky, βενετία... This city has collected many names in many Histories, but they don't matter anymore, now that they have collided with each other and turned into dust. The Lagoon is a flaw, a poorly healed wound on the skin of the world. When the clock has struck thirteen and the Sun has become two, the first spark that flared up the forge of the Stone Meridian was born here, in every city. There are twelve iterations of Venice, and they didn't quite merge together into a union of broken geometries like with the most other major cities of the world. All of them "stacked" on top of each other, become woven sideways into the fabric of space-- there is always a city, but it may soon blink out of the Wake as we know it, and be replaced by one of its siblings.

Items

Currency

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Tools

Limitrophe Screwdriver

Turn it within the wound to see the flesh seal shut. Turn it within the earth to see it come apart like poor patchwork.

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Ingredients

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Influences

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Books

The Water That Burns

A fire-damaged journal of an Italian magus, and consequently, the last Venetian doge. The later entries are filled with a feeling of impending doom, with the most recent vividly describing an apocalyptic event and the final hours of Venice.

Read 'The Water That Burns'

'...The canals that la Serenissima is so proud of are engulfed in flames as if the water itself was replaced with oil. I feel the smoke creeping towards the Ducal Palace, and I saw a cathedral collapse under its own weight in the distance. I have never seen so much fire before in my life. There are screams, screams everywhere... And, I'm afraid, at this very moment, I felt the death of an Hour...'

He goes on a soul-crushing rant about how unjust and cruel the end of the Republic is for a while, but before the feelings overwhelm him, he shares 'a secret passage of defiance that may protect the one who finds this journal.'

• Gives Mid-level Heart or Forge lore and Dread.

Rites

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Relationships

• They:
• Humming From Elsehere:
• The Briarsalt:
• The Transfinite Question:
• The Nizvestier Within:
• A Stock-Woven Watcher:
• The Fulminate:
• The King of Keys:
• The Wispy Tress:
• The Scoriantheme:
• The Modiste-and-Mannequin:
• The Zabbaleen: frend
• ---
• The Harrower:
• The Demiurge: enemy
• The Hearthkeeper: fremd
• Her Scarred Serenity:
• Mother Songbird:
• The Old Wyrm:
• TINT:
• The Demarq-s:
• The Faustian Alchemist:
• The Glorious Child: an unlikely ally
• The Chimaera:
• The Jahwian:
• The Legion Lamentful:
• The Fireside:
• The Fool's Gold:
• The Stone Meridian:
• shade:
• The Listless King:
• The Crimson Temptress:
• Little Lady Liver-Licker:
• The Clepsydrae:
• The Navigator:
• The Perditarch: enemy
• The Confectionist:
• The Toymaker:
• The Mannequin-and-Modiste:
• Its Incarnadine Virulence:
• The Unfettered: wary of
• The Sha-Apparent:
• The Welkin:
• The Abstraction:
• The Deep:
• The Tatterdemalion:
• The Ash:
• The Chainbinder:
• They:

• The Fair Maiden:
• The Mire-Maiden:

Secrets

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