Nobilis: The Serpent Sleeps Beneath
“In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.”
—“Kubla Khan”, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
- All about Aesthetics
- Mythical shadow of Venice
- Living in a musical
- Experiences can be shared like objects
- creativity literally flows like water
- Remnants of the old bureaucracy still in place
The Chancel Xanadu is a city full of statues and art, sitting atop an endless dark sea made of liquid dreams. Poets, musicians and artists from many worlds come to Xanadu seeking inspiration, which comes in the form of the distilled waters of the city’s river-streets. Any river or body of water can act as an entrance. All a traveller needs to do is sing certain old sea shanties while travelling on water. They need to achieve a level 3 Intention for most bodies of water (though for borderline cases, they might need higher values).
The Imperator, Mucalinda, spends most of his times swimming int he waters beneath the city, only occasionally surfacing.
The Chancel has an Auctoritas of 1, meaning that it is relatively easy for miracles to pass over its borders (either way).