The Hall of the Silver Serpent

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The Hall Of The Silver Serpent

"Iridescent marble tiles studding the most sacred of grounds, echoless footsteps in an oasis surrounded by void. The most revered symbol of knightly duty coiled regally, its crown yielding to the altar of a noble Stranger. A feeling of reverence, a feeling of silence, both born from holiness. This is the Hall of the Silver Serpent."

- Eldric Feist, Britannian Scholar

These words describe the Hall of the Silver Serpent as much as words can define a distant memory.

Through research we have learned that the Hall was once considered to be nestled deep within the underground of Castle British. These assertions have been investigated, and through recently uncovered architectural drawings we have verified that though Castle British contains a hidden vault, a hall is not buried beneath.

Then where is the Hall of the Silver Serpent? To find the true answer, we reached out to several sources. As this Hall was used by the legendary Crux Ansata, the most useful source was that of Dorna Ironfist IV, a descendant of the first leader of the Crux Ansata, the group that is said to have carved the Hall into the very essence of the void itself.

According to Ironfist, the Hall is indeed located within the void itself. This theory holds weight, as the child-king Addie ascended to the void, hand in hand with the Time Lord within its confines.

But the question then remains, how do you traverse the void and enter such a place?

Personal assistants of the King possess the strongest of teleportation and travel magics afforded by Britannian society. With proper direction, they can open temporary gates to its spot in the ethereal void.

But why can we not return once there? We have unearthed references to an object placed within the Hall by Nystul, during the reign of Lord British.

The story speaks of his travels to the ethereal void, and how Nystul was stopped by a void within a void. This story states that despite the nothingness of the void, he was taken back by a small spot that was not only physically null, but also created a silence of both magic and spirit.

Nystul was said to have been both intrigued and fearful of this small patch of total nothingness. So much so that he fashioned a prismatic orb made from pure caddellite, and trapped the empty spot within. He then placed this orb within the confines of the Hall of the Silver Serpent.

My scribes and I are in agreement, this orb is the cause of the disruptive force preventing magics from functioning within the Hall and its surrounding areas.

Though the area will likely continue to be inaccessible even if the orb is removed, a feature the scribes have called "scarring", the orb itself likely still retains this small spot of nothingness.

By historic accounts we can confirm these effects do not extend beyond the Hall itself, meaning the radius is quite small. But should the orb be brought into Britannia, surely there would be ways to amplify its ability to suppress magics, both divine and arcane.

- Research compiled and summarized by Halister Marner of Moonglow in the year 424.

The Hall Of The Silver Serpent - Post Discovery Notes

The moment the King's scribes opened a gate into the void, there was a palpable feeling of silence. A small group of us numbering no more than 10 stepped into the Hall of the Silver Serpent.

Initial observations confirmed my previous hypothesis. The Hall sat within an intense nothingness, and my connection to my Goddess was nearly severed.

Teleportation magics did not function, nor did advanced incantations or holy petitions.

Through cracks in the walls we could only see the blackness of the void. The Hall truly exists within the void itself. Ironfist was correct.

Stepping across the strangely immaculate marble floors, we made our way into the mouth of the Hall. The emblem of the Silver Serpent stretched up, as if petitioning us to free it from its stone prison, its citrine studded eyes pleading for life.

Where the altar once sat, there was nothing. Chairs and seats still lined the mouth of the Hall, and the greenery that the Crux Ansata meticulously placed had fallen to disrepair.

Though the Hall did not resemble its glory days, there was still a powerful feeling of history. You could almost feel every event and every memory pulsing through you, like an energy that defied even the emptiness that permeated our surroundings.

With some assistance we located the destroyed remains of the altar, carelessly dashed in a corner. Moving the broken stones aside, a sudden wave of absolute nothingness rushed from a crevasse in the marble tile.

Reaching in, we removed Nystul's Orb. Immediately I felt as if my soul had been severed from my body. It was a horrible feeling. In that moment I felt no emotion, I recalled no fond memories, no pain, no love. My very existence was.... silent.

Wasting no time, we had the orb removed from the Hall. Its home was no longer here, and its purpose was elsewhere.

After the orb was removed, more basic teleport magics began to function again. The scribes may have overestimated the amount of "scarring” the orb caused. We can now return to the Hall as we please.

Looking out through the cracks in the walls into the void itself, I can’t help but wonder if Danica, Adamu, and Charlotte are out there somewhere, happy together as a family and free from the demons that haunted them so persistently throughout their lives.

In whatever place Adamu, Danica, and Charlotte now reside, I hope they know we will continue where they left off, because the Hall has been reclaimed by the Crux Ansata once more.

Perhaps this is a new start.

- Research compiled and summarized by Commander Halister Marner of the Crux Ansata in the year 424.