General

Taen Ihuig is a mountain top monastery, built surrounding the second highest peak of the Velinde Mountains. It is home to a monastic order, dedicated to martial arts, as well as the study of dragons, their history, abilities and ways to defeat them. It is the childhood home of Sardielr Koskides.

Description

The monastery is a sizable complex built on a stone foundation with wooden framed buildings. The roofs are curved upwards, extending past the building walls and come at a point near the top. Many of the multi storied buildings have concentric roofs, becoming smaller with each following floor. Dark red, almost black clay tiles line the roofs. The outer wall of the complex stands at 5 meters tall and serves more as protection from wandering wildlife and the strong winds, than any deterrent against an army. The architecture is unusual for the continent, and most of the budlings are adorned with a variety of draconic inscriptions and depictions. The exact age of the monastery is unknown. Withing the walls the complex comprises of 2 main areas, separated by another wall - the Outer and Inner Sanctums.

The Outer Sanctum is accessible the all, including outsiders and is where most of the day to day activities take place. The Inner Sanctum is where the masters reside with their favoured students. Any monk who has spent more than 20 years at the monastery can access the Inner Sanctum at will, requiring explicit permission otherwise. Finally, outside the monastery walls, is the Grandmaster's Garden, constructed at the very peak, at the base of which the Monastery is build. It is accessed only by the masters.

Just outside the outer walls is a teleportation circle, used to bring in supplies. It is not often used by the monks themselves who are expected to complete the ascent up to the monastery by foot.

Outer Sanctum

The Outer Sanctum, is the are immediately following the main gate. It is made up of a few buildings surrounding an open central area. The buildings include sleeping quarters for the newcomers, a large kitchen, as well as workshops, where the monks of the Four Elements work creating arms tools and clothing for the residents of the monastery. Multiple training dummies and sparring areas are interspersed between the buildings. Finally a small study hall, where children are taught basic education exists.

Most of the day to day life if the monks takes place here, from training to construction work and cooking. Any visitors are provided a place to stay and fed before being sent on their way.

Inner Sanctum

The Inner Sanctum exists past the inside wall. It has fewer buildings than the Outer Sanctum, due to its lower number of people living here but has the same basic amenities one can find in the Outer Sanctum, just at a smaller scale. The centerpiece here is the large library, where manuscripts, recent and ancient, are stored and protected. Numerous draconic artefacts are on display here and the walls themselves depict scenes from history.

Next to that is the building where the 3 masters who lead the schools reside and and finally the grandmaster's home.

Grandmaster's Garden

Near the very peak, is the Grandmaster's Garden. A small walled of area, which seems supernaturally protected from the elements. Despite the near constant blizzard, fruit trees grow bountiful near the edges of the garden, giving the whole location an air of tranquility. Amongst the neatly trimmed bushes and the arranged flowers, at the very centre of the garden is stone pedestal, atop which floats a single small stone, darker than the night itself - the Voidstone.

Society

Purpose

The monastery is a place of study and training. The importance of dragons cannot be overstated, but there is a wide range of opinions on them. They are seen as objects of adoration, emulation and extermination. While many believe that much can be learnt from their strength, as members of the ultimate species, others see it as the ultimate test to face off against them.

All members are taught martial arts, in ways that can sometimes be seen as brutal. One example is member of the School of Shadows, who undergo a week long stealth training in the mountains, where they need to survive on their own while avoiding detection by the fauna, including roaming bands of Yetis. The training received however, is not just physical. Monks are taught the Draconic language, as well as the Draconic Mythology. They are expected to learn about all of the types of dragons and their habitats and typical mannerisms.

Structure

The monks of Taen Ihuig have a very structured society. People who join, might do so for a number of reasons - seeking answers, self-improvement or simply having nowhere else to go. It is not uncommon for monks to take in abandoned children that the find in their travels and bring them to the Monastery. Many who join only do so for a few years, other choose to stay, but either way, after passing the initial training a monk is assigned to one of the 3 schools of the monastery:

• The School of the Open Palm
• The School of the Four Elements
• The School of Shadow

Each school is headed by a different master, who answer directly to the grandmaster. The masters are the most powerful members of their respective school, who have reached the highest proficiency with the style of ki they study. They together with the grandmaster and a select few are aware of the additional purpose for the monastery's construction - the protection of an ancient artefact, one of the 4 Voidstones.

School of the Open Palm

Headed by Master Sothora – a towering Goliath woman, this is the largest school in the Monastery, focused on hand-to-hand combat. Monks from this school train their bodies above all and serve as the defensive force for the Monastery and the farming village of Aloburg, north of the mountains, where most of the food for the monastery comes from. Hunting and gathering is mostly done by those of the Open Palm. Master Sothora's grandfather, a close friend of Grandmaster Eledor, used to head the school before her. It is said that his strikes were powerful enough to fell even giants in a single hit.

School of the Four Elements

Headed by Master Ilmane - a tiefling of red colour, they handle most of the maintenance and construction activities. Members can be found forge the weapons, preparing the food, extracting the water from mountain springs, protect from avalanches, expanding walls and building more structures. Despite their seemingly mundane roles they receive martial training and they contribution is not to be underestimated as they are the backbone of the monastery making life possible.

School of Shadow

Headed by Master Deimon Koskides - a Green Dragonborn about 2 or 3 generations away from a pure colour, this is the smallest of the 3 schools. The School of Shadow could be seen, as the offensive forces of the Monastery. Unlike the Open Palm who await threats and defend from them, the shadow monks exist specifically to seek potential threats out and eliminate them. They often work as spies for outsiders, as a way of learning both the secrets of those who they are spying for and those that they are spying on. This allows them to detect any potential danger to the Monastery early. They are the most active monks outside the monastery.

Master Deimon is the one who raised Sardielr and Fostod and gave them his last name. A kind man on the outside, he is ready to kill without question for the good of the Monastery and raised his “sons” the same way. He named both of them after dragons that his ancestors told his stories about. Thus Sardielr was named after the Ruby Dragon. They both lived in the Inner Sanctum with permission of the Grandmaster, but not in Deimon’s personal quarters, instead in the shared ones with the other monks from the school.

Notable People

History

It is unknown when exactly the monastery was constructed. Its true purpose is to serve as a permanent layer of defense for the Voidstone. It has been headed by Grandmaster Eledor for as long as any of the members can remember. It currently exists as an independent settlement within the territory of Medora. It's status as such is guaranteed by King Estavere Beaumont, as a favor to Sardielr Koskides. It engages in a trade deal with the nearby village of Aloburg, which serves as a main supplier to the Monastery, in exchange for protection.