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=== Appearance ===
The Fansus shares several traits with the Mansus of canon, surrounded by a Wood and located beneath the Glory. Many portions of the Fansus have fallen into disrepair as a result of the [[The War of the Doors]] and subsequent clashes between the Hours.
The Lower House's largest remaining landmarks of note are the [[The Breach ]] and the [[The Plumbing]]. After the Lower Doors were destroyed and the lowest levels of the House collapsed in the fighting, the Hour of the [[The Caladrius ]] drilled the [[The Breach ]] to allow mortals access to the Middle House as well as forcefully purge the accumulated buildup of Nowhere. [[The Plumbing ]] likewise was installed through the ruins of the Lower House to replace the byzantine and unfathomable vital functions of the House's "body" destroyed in the fightingits crippled systems can no longer perform on its own. At some point these labyrinthine chambers became the demesne of the [[The Snow-Stained]], but its peculiar relationship with the flow of time makes it difficult to determine exactly when this began.
The left side of the Mansus has largely collapsed, save for several "islands" of rock suspended in the air by webbing. This ascent, the "[[The Shattered Stair"]], is what was left after the [[The Great Serpent ]] tore the [[The Hall of Silence]], the realm of the [[The Dead]], out of the Fansus and suspended it between the House and the Histories in the form of the Moon.
Existing both separate and as a part of the Fansus is the [[The Clocktower]], the domain of the Vizier. [[The Clocktower ]] is visible anywhere in the Fansus, and depending on the time displayed upon its face, one may determine which Hour currently holds dominion over that area. [[The Clocktower ]] is also instrumental in the flow of time, and thus it is heavily protected to preserve the integrity of the time-stream.
The roof of the House on the left side is dominated by the [[The Glassgarden]], grown by the [[The Apple-of-the-Eye ]] to bask in the light of the [[The Glory]]. The right has been claimed by the Engineer, Name of the [[The Engine of Cycles]]. She has turned the area into the Array, covering it in strange machinery that harnesses the Glory's power in an effort to slake her master's insatiable hunger.
At the Summit of the House lies the [[The Gate of Crowns]]. Through this Gate all true Hours ascend as a Rite of Ascension. Their names are proclaimed by the holy Gate as they enter, and as they emerge they take on new names as they grasp Godhood.
=== History===
At the beginning of the world, there was the House. First came the [[Gods-from-Stone]], and they were followed by the [[Gods-from-Light]]. It was the First from Light, [[The Spark]], that encouraged the other Hours to join him in a grand expedition into the worlds beyond the House they had always known. He was followed by the [[Gods-from-Stone]] [[The Maker]], The Mirror, [[The Butterfly Hatching]] and [[The Elder Sister]], as well as his fellow Gods-from-Light [[The Apple-of-the-Eye]] and [[The Caladrius]]. In the Histories they discovered the Fair Folk, who were amazed and awed by the strange beings so far beyond themselves. Upon discovering these creatures so beneath themselves but fascinating and precious all the same, the Hours chose to dedicate themselves to the education and development of new forms of life.
For a time, the Hours equally shared in their mentorship and in some cases parentage of the Fair Folk. But as the Fair Folk began to gravitate to the worship of the Butterfly and the [[The Elder Sister]], the inspiration came to the Spark and the Maker to create for themselves their own race to nurture. Taking in hand the clay of the Earth and using the shared form of most Fair Ones as a model, the Maker sculpted without rest for six days straight. On the seventh day, the Maker's creation opened their eyes. In the loving embrace of their father, the First Men were born.
The other Hours at first were split on these strange, fleshy creatures their brother had created. They had no magic, no inherent power of their own. They could not store the power of the Hours like the Fair Ones could, nor did they know how to come and go from the Hours' House as they pleased. Where, therefore, lay the Value of these man-creatures?
The Hours sought to harness the power of [[Knock]], the Principle of Travel and Opening, to bestow the First Men with the ability to pass into the House. First they petitioned the Butterfly Hatching, whose primal nature ruled over the Rupturing of the World's Skin to lend them aid. But she rebuffed them. The Butterfly wanted only new sensations, new wonders. She would not burden herself with the repetitive task of tearing holes for humans to pass through each time they wished to come and go from the House. Besides, the other Hours saw the damage her power and idle whims could inflict on the fabric of reality. It was obvious: to rely on her was to court disaster.
But humanity's potential attracted the attention of another, chillier Hour of Knock. [[The Dolomedes]], the enigmatic Hour of Balance and Exchange, was at last lured from its lair in the Hall of Silence into the Histories by the Value the Maker had created. The Great Spider offered the First Men a bargain: it would weave between the material worlds and the House a great bridge. Through its power humanity would, for a few short hours every day, be allowed to leave behind its bodies of flesh and be ferried across this bridge to explore the House of the Gods. All it wanted... was them.
Now and forever the First Men, their children, and the lines of all the children born down through the ages would surrender the everlasting life the Maker had bestowed upon them at their creation. They would be susceptible to injury, they would age and be made to bear the marks of time. And, at a time the Ferryman found convenient -or should they suffer sufficient bodily harm- their physical bodies would perish, and their spirits would reside in the House forever. Some would be permitted to wander the halls and be with their gods forever. Those whose souls had taken on qualities of interest to the Spider, however, would be Claimed by it, and would reside in the Hall of Silence forever.
Victorious over the elder Hour, the Serpent demonstrated great wisdom by offering an olive branch to the Spider in the form of a renegotiation of its contract with humanity. The Spider would continue to oversee the transportation of mortals to and from the Mansus, but would never again attempt to interfere in the uplifting of mortals by the other Hours. In return, souls that died prematurely either through accidents or at the hand of another would be subject also to the Dolomedes' judgement, and it would be able to negotiate new deals with mortals on an individual basis. The Cuckoo's sister, to the Trinity's protests, was declared one of [[The Dead]], and was taken by the Ferryman to become the Pale Lady, first Name of [[Winter]].
After this incident, the Hours became more wary of mortals. The Maker went so far as to vow to never make Names again, and it became known as an abominable Crime to murder a Long to steal their power: the [[The Crime of the FNORDEarth]].
After demonstrating both great strength and restraint in its dealings with the Ferryman, the other Hours accepted the supremacy of the Great Serpent, who came to be revered as the Hour of Hours. In the stories of mortals the Mansus gained a new name in honor of its new king: The Sea Dragon's Palace, the House of the Serpent. Hall of Silence, now torn between the worlds, became known as the Moon, a monument to the Great Serpent's power as well as a warning to those that would break its holy peace.
To prove his worth to the Great Serpent, he committed the very same betrayal he had executed countless others for attempting. He betrayed and murdered Arthur, to show fealty to his new liege. His pledge was accepted by the Great Serpent, and he became [[The Vizier]], the majordomo of the House. But while the Vizier acquired the power and authority he'd coveted, to his horror he learned that it had all been for naught. With the king dead and the vizier missing, Albion was unable to effectively govern itself, let alone control its subordinate territories across the continent. The kingdom fell into anarchy and rebellion, a dark age that would last a thousand years.
Sometime during this period, the Mansus was stunned as something unprecedented occurred. A Hour... simply appeared. A new Door , [[The Silver Door]], appeared inside [[The Kiln of Progress]] as if it had always been there. From this Door emerged the [[The Silver Owl]], who knew not where she came from. The Hours wondered how this could be, for all of [[The Trinity]] denied creating her. The Owl, curiously enough, didn't seem able to even ''perceive'' [[The Sixth History]]. Some Hours argued the Owl was an invader that should be destroyed.
The next Hour to rise to the Mansus would come from [[The Second History]]. Another great king would arise from men, one who was both philosopher and warrior. His name was Adonibaal, and his unparalleled battle prowess paired with his incredible magical power allowed him to defend his homeland from all would-be invaders. Under his leadership, his country unified the Levant into a mighty empire, [[The Empire of Bayal]].
The Second History was a history blessed by the Hours, particularly the Hours of the cosmic bodies. The Apple-of-the-Eye, the Star, and the Ferryman took a benevolent interest in the History. Under their influence, the History enjoyed the benefits of fair rulers that governed justly, inspired scholars, and an unrivaled abundance of wealth. But no ancient empire was as great as Bayal while Adonibaal led it. He ruled his country brilliantly and fairly, crushing any enemies who came against them. He loved his people with all his heart, and they loved him forever.
But no king rules forever. With peace and prosperity come the freedom to discover and explore sensations. These things drew the [[The Butterfly Hatching ]] to the Second History the Butterfly grew infatuated with Adonibaal, and sought to take this mortal for her own. She whispered to the king in his dreams, promising him eternal power and glory. All he needed to do was sail east into the Sun, and from there she would give him the power to conquer the Mansus and rule forever as a god.
The king was seduced by her whispers and took his fleet and most trusted soldiers out to sea, knowing he'd never see Bayal again in this life, but determined to bring his loving rule to the entire world, as he planned to make it all into his kingdom. Once he reached the place his dreams had led him to, he found not divinity, but a trap. The Butterfly's wing beats stirred up a legendary storm, one she released into the Histories at that moment, capsizing and drowning the entire fleet so she could take their souls for herself.
Without Adonibaal to lead, Bayal came to be ruled by the council of magi. These sorcerers, while well-meaning, lacked Adonibaal's wisdom and foresight. They quickly broke the promise they'd made to the king, and shared their knowledge of magic with the common people. For a time Bayal prospered, but the people soon began to become ''too'' comfortable in their belief of themselves as a superior people.
Meanwhile, the [[The Cuckoo ]] was enacting a plot to rise to power in the Mansus. Weaving a great web of deceit, she gathered many religious sects to herself, throughout the histories. Through her lies, she convinced them they were praying to a Hour of love and joy, one that would watch over them forever. With a twisted, Butterfly-backed ritual, the cults all tore holes in reality simultaneously and rushed through, convinced they would be united with their god forever. But the only thing waiting for them on the other side of the portals were claws, beaks, and serrated teeth. To a man they were slaughtered, butchered so that their faith could be harvested.
For the Cuckoo sought not their worship, but the ''object'' of their worship. She wished to create a beautiful new Hour, so she could steal its power for herself and escape her wretched state. High above the Wood, the Gate of Crowns ''screamed'' in pained acknowledgement of a new Hour's twisted birth.The blood of the Dead and dying called out for a savior. And, finding no savior, formed one. And so the first of the [[The Gods-From-Blood]], [[The Peacock]], was formed: The Hour of Love, Life, and Excess. The Cuckoo attacked the Peacock, in an effort to devour it alive. Despite being torn asunder and collapsing, the Cuckoo was shocked when, midway through her meal, the Peacock sprung back up and fled into the Wood, reforming as he went.
The newborn Hour lacked any memories or identity of his own beyond his purpose. He was never human, but neither did he have the benefit of spending millennia exploring the House. To better understand humans, he observed the Histories. Upon laying Eyes upon the prosperity of the Second History, the Bird chose to become one of the patrons of Bayal, so that he might learn from the mortals as the mortals learned from him.
But word of the ritual that had allowed mortals to physically enter the House did not die with the cultists that had performed it. A great conclave of occultists gathered, eager to enter the House for themselves in order to avoid alerting the Hours to their immanent arrival, they spent many years revising and refining the spell. They found, in time, the secret to calling upon the inherent power of [[Knock]] Principle without invoking an existing Hour, something they believed would allow them free passage to and from the House.
At long last, they enacted their ritual. Like many Rites, the ritual they performed was powered in part by blood sacrifice. This time, however, something was different. By calling on such an intense degree of [[Knock]] without the observation of a Hour to regulate it, a great amount of power was gathered in one place. This power reacted strangely with the blood of the sacrifices, and took on life of its own. While it is questionable whether or not the resulting entity that sprung from the altar and entered the House and the magi's stead was composed of the spirits of the sacrificed, or if the ritual had taken from the sacrifices a soul of its own, one this is certain. It was volatile, powerful, and focused on a single purpose: to go where it willed.
The Hours, caught by surprise by the newcomer in their midst, were unprepared as it rapidly broke through [[The Glass Door]], then the FNORD Door, until it stood before [[The Chitinous Door]]. [[The Butterfly Hatching]], undefeated in her command of Knock, rose to challenge the creature. To the shock of all the All-Opener was opened herself by the newcomer that never broke stride as it charged through her, rending her asunder. FNORD
Bayal, meanwhile, began to stagnate. With everyday citizens regularly practicing magic and occultism, Bayal became a superpower its neighbors and rivals could not hope to match. However, with that sense of superiority came complacency and excess, just as Adonibaal predicted. The Bayali civilization's cultural development screeched to a halt, too focused on their own pleasure to focus on anything else.
Adonibaal could not see, or maybe refused to see, how his people were changing, so focused he was on establishing his own power within the House. To Hours like the Peacock and the Ferryman they gave all they had to give for tastier food, finer wine, and inspiration for ever more profane works of "art". Many of Bayal's advances became lost, their inventors trading the very ''idea'' of them to the Ferryman, so that they could never again be learned. As the Bayali lost their reason to excess, the Peacock "learned" more and more about humanity's desires. To this day the argument of whether the Peacock corrupted the Bayali or the Bayali corrupted the Peacock.
Even the council of magi were not immune to the corruption, and as the years went by the original members passed into the Mansus, they were replaced by a loose-knit cabal of hedonists and jingoistic patriots. This group and their followers made up the composition of a movement calling itself [[The Church of the Second Flood]]. They believed that as they shared the same blood as a now-diving being, it was their right to do whatever they pleased. Why, then, should they be bound to the covenant that their foolish ancestors made a thousand years ago?
