The Dulcet Empire

From Changeling Venue

1 Conditions
2 Structures
3 Residents: Past and Present

Sovereign: The Choir Empress
Chronology: Unknown. Time progression alters at Her whim.
Size: Unknown. Distance shifts at Her whim.
Population: Constantly in flux. Estimated in the hundreds.

Conditions

Being in The Dulcet Empire means being in one of the most alien landscapes and conditions in all of Arcadia. Time, space and normal boundaries have little meaning, and the flora and fauna in this place simply are not duplicated anywhere else. The entire Empire is a unique work of art, carefully manicured by changeling servitors.

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Physics

She and the land are one. At a moment's notice, the rules governing any given situation can change on Her whim within the confines of the empire. However, this oddity transpires far beyond the conscious whims of its ruler. At any given moment, ideas and emotions can become powerful weapons for those who can anticipate their use as the The Choir's mercuricual priorities shift back and forth. By the same token, the mightiest blade or hardest alloy can fail given Her fleeting moments of mindset. It is an uncertain place that shifts and progresses or not based upon Her willingness for it to do so. Indeed, the world really does stop and wait for The Choir Empress.

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Terrain

Locked in a perpetual combination of vibrant Spring and waning Autumn depending on the plant type or place in question and Her feelings at the moment, the land itself can almost seem to contradict itself. Many have noted lightheadedness and conditions befitting high altitude steppes or highlands, carved deeply by water into ancient crags and waterfalls that spill into rivers the disappear into underground caverns and move elsewhere. The rivers themselves seem to come from nowhere and go nowhere.

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Weather

Almost always, day and night seem non-existent in favor of a dusk or moonlit twilight. Indeed, strange glows emit from all over the land in unexpected places--sometimes even people and objects--creating an eerie sensation for the uninitiated. As with so many other things, the weather directly correlates to the feelings and whims of The Choir Empress and can change at any moment. A faint breeze usually carries through the entire Empire, carrying upon it the words of idle tongues.

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Structures

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The Palatial Resonance

At the center of The Dulcet Empire is an ancient palace not fitting any architectural medium that one would recognize. Nestled about its base are numerous bureaus and residences of stone and crystal that bear much the design, connected by tiers of steps and ringed with deep crags and majestic waterfalls. This is the seat of the The Choir Empress Herself, where all are brought at least once in their lives for presentation at Her court. As with all things, the nature of this palace changes; it can seem endlessly huge at times, causing visitors and longtime residents alike to become lost within its confines, while it can shrink hallways and collapse rooms unseen by viewers to allow someone to cross from one side to the other. Music is always barely heard somewhere within the structure itself, causing more than one individual to become mad with the seeming repetition. Changelings have been known to stop up their ears due to the constant harmony assaulting their senses. Volume recedes or builds up unexpectedly and sound travels in peculiar ways, causing more than one gossip in a tucked away alcove to be heard clearly in a banquet hall on the opposite end of the palace. It is here one will inevitably find creatures from every "corner" of Arcadia: visiting keepers, privateers, harriers, envoys...even the occasional renegade has visited in desperation.

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The Pyramidal Gardens

In the outlying reaches of the Empire are numerous, structured gardens honeycombed with elaborate sculpture and wooden cottages. It is here where the land is cultivated by the many a changeling for the purposes of art or harvest. Plants of a variety seen nowhere else grow within these gardens. Indeed, some believe that each garden has an indigenous plant found nowhere else in all of creation itself...not even a neighboring garden. It is in this way that many of the gardeners, like other facets of The Dulcet Empire's society, maintain a grueling competition for recognition by The Choir Empress and Her court. Despite this, or perhaps even because of it, a rare few will work in the gardens in order to reside on the edges of the Empire, just out of reach of the razorsharp politics of the Palace. The edges of the Empire have a far more relaxed feel to it, with rules sometimes smoothed over or even ignored blatantly for the sake of convenience of living or even a semblance of sanity.

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The Woven Forest

Bordering the rocky crags, crystal mines and magnificent gardens lies an expanse of resonant trees whose branches seem braided together with overgrowth. Breezes constantly move through here unless silenced by the The Choir Empress Herself, causing vibrations within their confines...and a song that plays and changes with time. Touching one or more trees at the root or trunk will alter the song to a resonance in keeping with that person, and no two individuals can call up the same melodies; that resonance draws upon the stuff of that person's soul. This "natural music" affects the pleasure centers of sentient minds, releasing mild endorphins and becoming mildly addictive over time. It is therefore restricted to occasional visits and renegades. It is also the only way in or out of The Dulcet Empire, and many a deadly, eldritch creature has found its way into these strange hinterlands from other reaches of Arcadia to escape or to prey upon the hapless traveler...or both. Nevertheless, composers seeking inspiration will sometimes obtain the permission of the court to venture to this wilderness to "awaken their inner harmonies" by studying the songs made by their touch upon nature. Legend even speaks of The Choir Empress sending one of Her splinterselves to this place to bless a struggling artist or to simply sit in contemplation over a matter and enjoy the solitude.