Graviary of Shoshana

The **Graviary of Shoshana**, situated in the tallest tower of the Saberfort's Coral Palace, was the tomb of the supposed prophetess Shoshana. Built of marble and surrounded by a lush garden populated with birds, the tomb had a headstone with Shoshana's name written in the Gods' Tongue. Bonefeather, the sacred trident supposedly belonging to the prophetess, lied atop the tomb. The Graviary also contained a columbarium where the urns of deceased members of the Philemon family were kept.

## Description

The Graviary of Shoshana was located at the top of the tallest tower of the Coral Palace in Telegonus, capital city of the Saberfort. It was accessed by a staircase that wrapped around the outside of the tower. Inside, the tower was mostly full of a lush garden which included bird-of-paradise flowers and was populated by a wide variety of birds which sang at all hours of the day. The garden also contained several pathways and pools of water, and was surmounted by a large skylight. At least one statue of the prophetess Shoshana was also part of the garden décor. Gravestones were set amidst the gardens at the edge of the tower room.

Shoshana's marble sarcophagus was situated in the centre of the garden, with its rectangular stone surrounded by a fringe of grass. A high tombstone with Shoshana's name carved in the Gods' Tongue was placed directly behind the sarcophagus. One wall of the Graviary contained an extensive columbarium where the urns of generations of the Philemon family were kept. The niches were surrounded by greenery and waterfall features.

At the back of the Graviary was a small balcony that looked out on Snapdragon's Barrow.

## History

Shoshana was buried in the Graviary upon her death sometime after the Fracture, a divine conflict between the twin gods Cheline and Cheth in which Shoshana had allegedly played a vital role in fighting on behalf of her supposed mother, Cheline. She was laid to rest in her stone sarcophagus alongside an assortment of grave goods, most of which were jewellery. Her sacred trident Bonefeather was set atop the tomb.

The Graviary became one of the holiest sites on the Candlelight Sea. Nearly five thousand years after the Fracture, as a child, Princess Phaedra Philemon revered Shoshana. On one visit to the Graviary as a child, with her mother Lady Daphne Philemon, High Priestess Halea Haumea and Halea's daughter Hinalani Leina, Lani dared Phaedra to pick up Bonefeather while their mothers were not looking. The two women did turn and see Phaedra, reacting in horror, and the princess was grounded for a month. She still considered it the best day of her life.

In 5000 AF, Phaedra was murdered by the Fata Morgana, supposed servants of Cheth, alongside her friends, including Lani. Sent on a quest for a sacred relic that could resurrect herself and her crew, Phaedra eventually met Pavel Morena, a seabitten boy from the Salabay Archipelago who was roped into the adventure by Cheth due to the need for a living volunteer. While having a private audience with Pavel, the topic of Shoshana came up, and Pavel brought up her tomb. In return, Phaedra told him of her childhood misadventure there.

One week after the discovery of Phaedra's corpse on Fracture Day of that year, her corpse was returned to the Saberfort by Halea, who had in truth been dead for some time, with her corpse worn and her identity usurped by Cheline herself. Cheline had the princess' real remains swapped out for a stand-in corpse which was burned during the funeral that evening, while Phaedra's body was concealed somewhere in the vicinity of the Graviary. Silas Silenus, a former friend of Phaedra's and the grandson of her friend Caladrius Silenus, who had died alongside the princess, skipped the funeral and spent the evening gardening in the tower. He was aware of Cheline's conspiracy, having joined up in the hopes of being given the vacant throne of the Candlelight Sea, but Cheline opined to another conspirator, Amos Ellery, that there was a chance Silas might have disturbed the princess' rest.

After the funeral, "Halea" accompanied Daphne while she took her daughter's urn up to the Graviary. Amos was asked to guard the base of the tower stairs while the two women ascended. On the way up, Daphne expressed her concerns about how Halea had changed after having been summoned by Cheline, but did not guess the truth. Once they reached the Graviary, they encountered Silas, who claimed that his falling-out with Phaedra had led him to miss the event, which Daphne accepted. Cheline had telepathically warned Silas of their approach, but he had expressed that he would only have gone if Phaedra had been burned alive. Daphne brought Phaedra's urn to the columbarium, which only had one remaining open niche, and asked "Halea" for assistance placing it as it was too high up for her. Before leaving, Daphne accepted "Halea's" offer to say some prayers for Phaedra, and offered her own prayer that her friend find her own way back from what was troubling her. The plea moved Cheline enough that she let Daphne leave alive, although she had been considering killing her that very night. Silas protested, but Cheline suggested that his eventual attainment of the throne would be sweeter if Daphne was alive.

Sitting on Shoshana's sarcophagus, Cheline removed the ribbon-scarf she wore to conceal the fatal decapitation injury Halea had received while attempting to resist possession, and had Silas replace the suture, as he had done for her in the past. Once the task was done, Cheline turned her attention to the tomb. Removing Bonefeather from the lid, she ordered Silas to open it, exposing Shoshana's decayed remains. Silas was fascinated by a dead body so old, but Cheline dispassionately remarked that Shoshana was well beyond her usefulness to her. She shocked Silas by using her fire magic to cremate the remains, before ordering Silas to sweep them up once they had cooled.

Cheline contacted Silas, who had been confronted by Daphne's mother Euphemia at the base of the stairs. Euphemia was aware of Cheline's conspiracy, but their confrontation ended upon Daphne's arrival, and the mother and daughter left. Amos suggested to Cheline that she leave the Graviary out the back way: the balcony. Cheline asked Silas to fetch her cloak. He was surprised at her departure, telling her it would be nice if she stayed a bit longer because he was bored. Responding that she did not "*have* to leave", the goddess seized a jay sleeping at the side of a birdbath which she surmised to be new to the Graviary, and thus not afraid of her like the others, who were hiding in the trees. Cheline transformed the jay into another avatar of herself and left the bird with Silas to keep him company, stating she needed thumbs where she was going, but she could afford to be "authentic" in the Graviary.

Silas was shocked that Cheline-in-Halea intended to depart via the back balcony, as it was a thousand-foot drop down to the sea. Cheline dismissed his concerns, stating that her destination was on that side anyway and the night air was refreshing. Silas expressed concern that either the spires or the water would break her apart. Hopping onto the railing, Cheline told him not to worry as she knew her way around a body before leaping off. From her jay body, Cheline told Silas to stop staring. Cheline jumped down the side of the Palace until reaching the water with no damage.

## Appearances

* "Chapter 5: The Manta Princess" (In a flashback)
* "Chapter 6: The False Prophetess"

## Sources

* "Notes on the Candlelight Sea: The Saberfort"

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "Chapter 5: The Manta Princess"
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Notes on the Candlelight Sea: The Saberfort"
3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 "Chapter 6: The False Prophetess"
4. ↑ "Notes on the Candlelight Sea: The Fracture"
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Prologue"
6. ↑ "Chapter 1: King of the Red Tide"
7. ↑ "Chapter 4: Schooner of the Moon"
8. ↑ "Chapter 2: The Horizon Child"
9. ↑ Cast page