Maintained by Shrine Archivists of the Dawn
Asorai was not carved.
It was stirred.
When the divine Lance rose dripping from the formless sea, the droplets hardened into islands. They were never meant to be uniform. Each carries a different echo of creation.
What follows are the most spiritually significant locations known in this age.
The largest and most stable island.
It is said the first hardened droplet became this land. Soil here is deep, patient, and generous.
A massive vermilion gate overlooking the eastern sea.
No shrine stands beyond it — only open sky.
At sunrise, the gate hums faintly.
On certain days, shadows fall in three directions.
Pilgrims believe this is where the Light of Open Sky first touched mortal ground.
A sprawling irrigation network maintained by village folk.
The channels mirror unseen spiritual lines beneath the soil.
If offerings lapse, blight spreads in geometric patterns.
Farming here is an act of ritual continuity.
A neutral gathering site where clan leaders convene.
There is no throne.
Only standing stones.
Oaths sworn here are believed to bind spiritually, even across islands.
A violent chain of coastal islands where survival shapes culture.
Sea pacts are necessity, not faith.
A blade-shaped promontory perpetually struck by lightning.
Embedded in its stone are shards of blackened metal not of mortal forging.
Storm-forged swordsmen train here to “hear” the rhythm of the sky.
Some vanish during tempests.
Half-submerged during high tide.
At low tide, lantern light can be seen beneath the water.
Fisher clans insist the shrine still receives offerings.
Occasionally, nets return filled with intact ceremonial charms from the depths.
A cluster of jagged rocks that whistle constantly with wind.
No ship may pass safely without ritual acknowledgment.
Ignoring the wind-song results in shattered hulls.
A primeval forest where spirits are not hidden.
Yokai courts exist openly.
Humans tread lightly here.
A forest glade where wooden masks hang from living trees.
Each represents a pact once made.
Some masks whisper.
Those who awaken spirit bonds often do so here.
Removing a mask without permission causes the forest paths to shift.
A fox-aligned spirit court hidden behind layered illusions.
Nine floating lanterns drift above a still pond.
The number of lit lanterns indicates the court’s disposition toward mortals.
When all nine extinguish, hunters vanish.
A vertical stone monastery carved into a cliff face.
Wind never ceases here.
Those who climb without invitation are turned back by unseen force.
Few are accepted for training.
Where the boundary to the Root Below is unstable.
Volcanic. Fractured. Spiritually dangerous.
Legends are often born here — or end.
A valley where ash falls upward.
Flames burn cold at night.
Those who survive exposure here sometimes awaken changed.
Shrine guardians monitor the region but rarely enter deeply.
A collapsed shrine gate leaning over a black fissure.
From below, faint tide-like sounds echo.
Approaching too close induces visions of drowning in shadow-water.
Some claim voices whisper from the depths.
An outlaw settlement built on hardened lava.
Here:
Relics of impurity are traded
Ash-marked warriors gather
Shrine edicts are ignored
It is neither lawless nor lawful.
It is transactional.
Not an island.
A phenomenon.
On rare nights, a shimmering line appears across the ocean’s edge — brighter than moonlight.
Sailors call it “The Raised Plain.”
No vessel has reached it.
None know if it is distant realm or illusion.
Scattered across multiple islands are unstable pockets where the Root Below presses close.
Symptoms include:
Cold flame
Rot without decay
Time distortion
Reflections behaving independently
These zones are watched closely by shrine guardians and spirit mediators.
They are increasing — slowly.
But not urgently.
Yet.
The Pilgrim’s Spine — mountain path linking shrines
The River That Forgets — water erases written ink
The Stone That Rings — emits tone when an oath is broken nearby
The Whispering Salt Flats — voices carried from sea storms
The Fallen Lance Reef — believed fragment of the original stirring spear
Asorai is not divided by kingdom.
It is divided by breath.
Each island:
Has its own spiritual climate
Maintains independent shrine networks
Responds differently to corruption
Politics are secondary to ritual stability.