The Leyshade Cloister

Foundation and Setting

The Leyshade Cloister stands in Naath’s southwestern quarter, in a shallow basin where two lesser ley tributaries cross under firm stone. Elders chose the site for steady flow, dry footing, and a clear path from Trailhome so scouts and messengers could reach the halls without passing through crowded markets. The rooms are grown from living wood and rootstone. Corridors curve with the ground so weight sits clean and floors do not puddle. Drains along the outer walls carry spring water to the low runnels. Lantern moss is trimmed to a fixed height throughout, so light remains even for study and record work. Quiet glyphs mark door frames and thresholds. They are not for show. They signal places, permissions, and hazard levels to any trained eye.

The Cloister is the heart of the Lorekeeper caste. It holds what the city knows about stars, law, and the lines underfoot. From here, Naath sets ritual calendars, approves or denies arcane requests, and instructs other castes in safe practice. A Lorekeeper reader stands at most public rulings that touch oath, ritual, or enchantment. When the Naath Council needs sealed matter, it issues a writ naming the shelf and the keeper. In return, the Cloister sends clear answers and exact citations. The habit is old and trusted. It keeps argument short when tempers rise.

The grounds center on the Rootpool Court, a shallow, ley-fed pool used for low-risk checks, apprentice reviews, and brief meetings that do not require a full hearing. North of the pool sits the Hall of Recall. West, cut into the coolest ground, lie the Ritual Law Archive and the Rootscroll Vaults. East, where airflow is steady, stand the Resin Scriptorium and the Moldarium. South, staked to bedrock, rise the Echo Test Chamber and the open Celestial Platform beyond the trees. The Chronogrove Archive occupies a quiet fringe of standing stones and time markers along the southern edge. Each place has its use. None is ornamental.

Wardens of Rootwatch share posts with senior apprentices at the outer lanes. A Ranger Liaison logs patrols that pass near the basin and notes field signs that may affect research or safety. The Seekers visit by appointment to file reports from the wilds or to hand over unstable finds. The Lake-Wardens of Selenmere review eclipse tables and weather notes here before each change of season. The Merchant Guild rarely sets foot in the Cloister, but its envoys will call when enchanted wares or storage permits must follow ritual law. The gatehouse records all of this in a plain book, with day, hour, name, and purpose.

Custody of Knowledge and Law

The Cloister keeps three kinds of custody. The first is memory carried forward without change. The second is law that binds the city. The third is the safe use of magic within measured limits. Each kind has its own place and habit so one does not weaken the others.

The Hall of Recall holds spoken record. Elders retell events, star movements, field reports, and notable rulings at set hours. The pace is even. A bell marks the start and the end of each telling. Scribes line the wall and write what they hear on bark sheets. If a report involves a rite or a surge, a second bell calls a comparison round. Two or three trained witnesses deliver the same account. Differences are logged without judgment and settled later by cross-checking entries in the archives. The Hall is where apprentices learn that accuracy is a craft, not a talent.

The Ritual Law Archive keeps rulings, permissions, and bans arranged by field and date. There are ledgers for divination, alteration, binding, weather works, warding, and more. Trial transcripts carry the charge, the agreed facts, the responses, and the result. When a new case comes forward, a law-trained Lorekeeper and a council aide pull the ledgers, list the standing rules, and write how the new matter fits. During Council sittings, an apprentice carries sealed scrolls to the Fountain Pavilion, then returns them before dusk. Nothing is left to memory when paper will do.

The Rootscroll Vaults protect the oldest records. The rooms sit low and are cut into firm ground. Air is kept cool and even. Each door has layered locks that need a keeper’s seal and a turning key. Scrolls are sorted first by material—bark parchment, root-fiber cloth, resin sheets—then by age and topic. Nothing leaves the vaults without two signatures and a return time. A senior keeps watch while a reader studies at the bench. When a copy is needed, the scroll and the keeper walk together to the Scriptorium and back again. Some rolls go back to the founding of Naath. They show how early permits were written and how warding rules were set so the lines would not be strained.

The Resin Scriptorium fixes knowledge so it does not decay. Apprentices learn to grind mineral into powder, heat resin to the right pull, and seat etched pages on steady frames. Scribes pour the ink into shallow cuts on bark or cloth. A second reader checks each page before it is sealed. Finished volumes receive a title plate and an index strip, then go to the vaults. Books made here carry legal weight. When the Council asks for the law, the scribe brings sealed pages marked with day and hour, so no one can claim the record changed between room and ruling.

Study, Practice, and Service

The day begins before dawn. Lantern moss is trimmed. The Echo Test Chamber is checked and cleared. The Moldarium lists overnight growth. Paths are swept, benches wiped, and measuring vessels rinsed. After sunrise, the Hall of Recall opens for the morning telling. At midmorning, young scholars report to the Moldarium to tag samples and learn safe handling. Others go to the Chronogrove to set date tabs on seedpods, check sundials, and replace mossline markers. A third group sits with an elder in the Archive to practice pulling case boxes, checking seals, and writing clean summaries.

The Moldarium supports craft, medicine, and law. Fungi gathered from ley-rich soils grow in separate trays, each tagged with place, date, weather, and collector. Lorekeepers test which strains make stable ink, which resist rot, and which bind well in wraps used to dampen arcane effects. A set of samples is reserved for simple salves used by Wardens and Seekers. The library of growth records often settles disputes in market hearings about the source of a potion, wrap, or page. The Moldarium teaches patience, note discipline, and clean hands.

The Echo Test Chamber is a stone dome with three exits, a safety trench, and a watcher’s booth. The floor bears grid marks for range and spread. Castings are logged with spell name, intent, materials used, and officer in charge. When a working is unstable, the chamber is cleared and a test ladder steps the effect up in small measures. Old rites are rebuilt here from notes to decide whether the city will allow them. Nothing from the chamber is taken as rumor. Every result is copied to the Scriptorium or filed in the Archive with failures marked in the same hand as successes.

The Chronogrove Archive and the Celestial Platform hold the city to time. Stones mark solstices, equinoxes, and eclipse paths. Shadow lengths are measured each season against fixed posts. At night, the Platform is active. Star positions, moon phases, and faint lights are marked on clean boards and then entered into the star calendars. During rare events, the Council orders a full watch with sworn observers. Tables made here guide planting, harvest, festival dates, and court calendars, and they warn the Wardens when ley surges are likely.

Service reaches beyond books and tests. The Cloister trains oath-takers so public witnesses speak clearly and keep to fact. It writes simple guides for merchants who use lawful charms so their measures do not foul the lines. It keeps a small healing bench for Wardens after long patrols and issues signed vouchers for field medicine. It reviews maps delivered by Seekers, marking routes that cross sensitive ground as closed or restricted. When the Council plans a city rite, a reader checks the hour and season against the tables and posts the best time so the streets do not strain the ley.

Boundaries, Security, and Notable Places

The Leyshade Cloister maintains strict order to protect its work. Weapons are surrendered at the gate, no spells or glamours are cast within the archives, and food or smoke are forbidden near records. Visitors wear access tags, and apprentices follow a firm code covering speech, conduct, and record care—broken rules mean lost access or dismissal.

The Rootpool Court handles minor disputes and simple divinations, resolving small matters before they reach the Council. The Ritual Law Archive is the busiest hall, where students study old rulings, verify seals, and prepare one-page briefs that guide council judgments. The Rootscroll Vaults, colder and older, store Naath’s earliest laws and permits; access is tightly controlled, with each document handled under watch. In the Resin Scriptorium, scribes carefully seal new records in resin under even heat, while the nearby Celestial Platform hosts quiet night observations of stars and leyline shifts.

Together, these spaces uphold Naath’s balance—preserving truth, measuring magic, and ensuring that knowledge serves law and safety. The Cloister’s calm, precise order allows the city to act with confidence, knowing its unseen foundations are observed and maintained.