Vorhi Alestrani
Blind Brawler
Name: Kivi Apua (stone of help in old Palawan)
Image Source: http://photo.blog.sina.com.cn/photo/1771750633/699ac4e9gc5b7dc76e2f8
The credited artist is Shuxing Li. Keep in mind that romanization may make me all kinds of wrong on this name, but it's all I've got.
Intent: For Vorhi’s order of force-fu vigilantes to have a cool temple. After all, where would an archaeologist found a secret but a cool temple?
Classification: Monastery. The temple serves as both a hidden fortress and a place of meditative worship.
Location: Cerea
Affiliation: Vorhi Alestrani as leader of the Seala Kasi, a sect of heroic vigilantes.
Population: currently, about 20 initiates inhabit the premises, including Vorhi himseli. This number may grow in time.
Defenses:
The largest defense of the area is the terrain itself. Situated in Karst Topography guard by cliifs and waterfalls, the hewn and lacquered base stands to be accessible only through a few narrow caves and mountain paths, nearly inaccessible by most vehicles, and hard to find from the wild-life filled skies. The large trees in the courtyard provide aerial camoflauge.
The walls themselves are hewn stone, painted with wild red dyes to match the sunsets that flicker thorugh the mountains for hours on end. The nearest landing platform for ships is a small hangar almost seven miles away, and the safest way to approach the area is by boat until you reach the stairs at the base of an adjacent mountain. From there it’s a 1200 foot climb through a winding path with a few bridges. Due to Cerea’s relative dislike of technology in the wildlands, the Hangar is sparsely occupied with a few small speeder bikes and a landing area for smaller ships.
The inner sanctum has two entrances. The Master’s entrance is accessible from the dormitory via secret passage. The Disciples entrance is accessed through a booby-trapped hallway, including snare traps, pressure plates, flame tunnels, the “spiked rollers of DOOOM!,” and a section of false floor that drops into the river running through the temple.
The large towers around the main facility have mounts upon which heavy blasters could be put, but the facility is not powered to do so. There is a shield generator and power system in the Inner Sanctum (The structure closest to the large statue in the picture), which can be activated in case of death from above.
There is, below the building, a large, cavernous chamber with a rvier runnign through it a windows to let in air and light. This area is used for small amounts of farming and fishing, to help lessen the amount of outside food needed.
The structure is built with Cerean teak supports, and has withstood the test of time quite impressively.
Points of Interest:
Aside from the grand stairwell, the base itself is a large castle-like structure with a large, open courtyard filled with sand almost two feet deep, with small paved walkways. The sandpits serve as both training areas and meditative halls.
The dormitories are a small set of humble buildings accessed by bridge from the main complex (to the right in the above picture). They contain housing for up to a hundred people, as well as some basic kitchen facilities. The infirmary is in the main complex.
The main area includes a training hall, multiple meeting rooms, and one temple serving as a library of archaeology relevant to Teras Kasi, the Seala Kasi, and Vorhi’s training and discussion. One of the building’s most advance rooms is a holo-projector and sparring droid equipped “battery room” where people train quite impressively in Teras Kasi forms.
The inner sanctum contains several rarer artifacts, including the various manuals of the Seala Kasi, the writings of Naead Fisto, and Vorhi’s own datacron. If he ever builds a holocron, this is likely where he will leave it.
The statue itself is of the master who established this monastery, Binon Hafu, a Sarkhai Follower of Palawa who trained in these hills for twenty years, building a stone monastery with his own two hands.
The two large towers near the gate are continually billowing out steam, as they are actually connected to geysers within the lake that allow for steam and heat to be channeled through the building. Smaller huts in front of the gate are used as meeting and reception areas for visitors.
Description:
Eight years ago, Vorhi found this site while working on archaeological theses concerning the migration of Teras Kasi monastics from Bunduki. He has since stored some of his wealth here, and used the building as a refuge. He’s working on restoring the temple to its former glory, although it’s virtually unknown at this time.
Vorhi wishes to use this base to re-found the Seala Kasi.
History:
Binon Hafu, Sarkhai Follower of Palawa, arrived on Cerea in 1374 BBY, training as a martial artist and itinerant farmer. She had no interest in technology, and after explaining his desire to learn from Cerean nature as other Palawa initiates had learned forms from native wild-life, she was given permission to roam about the land, with escorts.
In a few months, he developed a series of maneuvers based on the movements of the native Aryx, including the Aryx, strike, a blinding kick designed to work agility over force.
Eventually, after three years of working and staying on the planet, the council of elders agreed that she could found his own monastery, but again with supervision from Cerean workers and overseers.
In accordance with the Cerean ideals of pursuing a lasting balance with nature, Binon built a monastery using native stones from the river bed, hewing them bare-handed and heaving them upon the temple, painting them with mineral-based dyes and hand-fire enamel, using only local materials in the construction of her grand palisades.
Binon’s fortress then became known as Maalattuu Kivi—the Painted Stone. It was a place where she taught visitors, both Cerean and from abroad, her techniques and masteries, sharing her knowledge with the other followers of Palawa.
Shortly before the Separatist Crisis, the Epicanthix invaded Bunduki, and many Followers of Palawa fled the planet. A few hundred of these refugees begged the Cerean council of elders to use the Painted Stone as a refuge. The Cereans agreed, but only on the condition that no foreign technology be used.
Sadly, when the Gulag Plague assaulted the galaxy, the temple itself succumbed to the illness, refusing medical aid, as they had sworn an oath. No foreign technology—even if that meant not bringing in doctors knowledgeable in human anatomy.
In 600 ABY, the temple was found again by a team of archaeologists working with the Palawan Brotherhood. The findings were kept quiet, however, save for a few Masters of Teras Kasi and Cerean government officials knowing the story. The asters renamed the monastery Kivi Valoja—the Stone of Oaths.
In 826 ABY, Vorhi Alestrani found manuscripts detailing the location of the Temple and its secrets. Undr cover of being a merchant, he snuck into the Cerean wildlands and began restoring and examining the site in secret every few months, adding it to his work on Palawan rituals.
It is now 837 ABY, and Vorhi has been forsaken by the CIS, now christened the ASA. Renaming this temple the Kivi Apua—The Stone of Help—he aims to rebuild what matters most, and make it a place of meaning to the new Seala Kasi, the followers of Naead Fisto. He's been smuggling new tech, and bringing in his own students.
Links:
Karst--The type of landmass shown in the drawing, kind of.
