Location where all sanctums meet. Has a palace on the side of the ☱ Marsh Sanctum believed to be built by and abandoned by the Celestials that created Harmura. The mountain has been used for neutral meetings. Taken over by Zudaeshi.
Mountain Description 1. Octagonal Geography2. Vertical Contrast of Elements3. Atmospheric Phenomena4. Resonant Stone5. Centeredness in the World6. Portal to the Spirit RealmWhy the Celestials Chose ItPalace on Harmony Mountain Placement on the MountainArchitectural PhilosophyThe Central Plaza & Spirit PortalMaterial & AestheticSymbolic RoleLayout / Floorplans
Mountain Description
Harmony Mountain is the spiritual and geographic heart of Harmura—a singular convergence of elemental forces where the land itself seems to breathe with balance. It was not chosen by the Celestials for its power; it was born of their vision, or perhaps revealed itself to them in its quiet perfection.
Here’s what defines it:
1. Octagonal Geography
From a bird’s-eye view, the base of Harmony Mountain unfolds in a natural octagonal shape—eight long ridges radiating outward like spokes, dividing the land into eight distinct valleys. Each valley eventually birthed a Sanctum, its elemental phase aligned with the ridge from which it extends.
- These ridges act like natural ley lines, channels of energy that seem to hum beneath one’s feet.
- The Celestials saw this and named the mountain’s center the Point of Balance, where all things converge and dissolve.
2. Vertical Contrast of Elements
The mountain expresses all five elemental phases of Harmuran philosophy in physical form:
- Earth: Its immense base is solid and rich with rare minerals, housing deep caves and fertile plateaus.
- Water: Glacial streams spiral down its sides, collecting in sacred pools and narrow chasms.
- Fire: Beneath its roots, slow magma pulses—not destructive, but primordial, a source of subtle warmth and transformation.
- Wood (Wind): Forests climb its flanks in twisted terraces, whispering even when there’s no breeze.
- Metal (Heaven): Near the peak, the stone becomes pale, laced with veins of reflective silver and gold. The air is thin, the stars sharp.
This union of vertical elements means that simply ascending the mountain is a spiritual journey—through each phase, from grounding to transcendence.
3. Atmospheric Phenomena
- The weather atop Harmony Mountain defies prediction. Sometimes, clouds part only above the summit, revealing a disc of sky while the land is storm-wrapped.
- Rainbows often form without rain.
- Wind patterns circle it unnaturally, as if protecting it.
- Lightning may strike the same rock repeatedly, with no harm.
The Celestials took these as signs: this place is touched by forces outside time.
4. Resonant Stone
The stone of Harmony Mountain is unique. When struck, it chimes. When carved into temples or staircases, it seems to vibrate faintly in resonance with sacred tones. The Celestials found they could shape it not just physically, but energetically, giving rise to the palace and plaza.
5. Centeredness in the World
- Harmony Mountain sits at the precise center of the continent—north, south, east, west balanced.
- It is visible from nearly every Sanctum on a clear day.
- Old maps depict concentric rings of energy radiating from its base.
6. Portal to the Spirit Realm
In no other place in Harmura does the veil between realms feel so translucent. At Harmony Mountain’s summit is a natural convergence point—what became the spirit portal plaza. The Celestials believed this was the one place in the world where the Spirit Realm touches the land willingly.
Why the Celestials Chose It
The Celestials sought a place that embodied the Bagua—not as a symbol, but as a living, breathing structure of the world. Harmony Mountain was not only balanced, it revealed the balance inherent in all things.
- To them, it wasn’t just a mountain.
- It was the axis mundi—the pillar between heaven and earth.
- It was the mirror of the cosmos, where matter and spirit are equals.
They didn’t make Harmony Mountain sacred.
They listened, and found it already was.
Palace on Harmony Mountain
AKA: Mountain Palace
The Palace on Harmony Mountain is unlike any other structure in Harmura—not a seat of mortal rule, but a sacred artifact etched into the living stone of the world. It is ancient, predating records, carved and grown by Celestials who understood both form and energy. Every line of its structure resonates with the eight trigrams, balancing opposites and anchoring the world’s spiritual geometry.
Placement on the Mountain
- The palace is etched into the western cliff face of Harmony Mountain, where the sun sets in a blaze of gold and violet. It clings to the vertical stone like a divine bloom, held aloft by terraces, skybridges, and impossibly narrow platforms.
- It cannot be approached from the ground. No path leads up. Access is only granted via flight, spirit realm travel, or Veilwalking, reinforcing its separation from the mundane world.
- From afar, it appears as a shimmering silhouette against the sky—serrated roofs and open arches suspended in cloud and golden haze.
Architectural Philosophy
The design reflects all eight trigrams, balanced without hierarchy. Each wing or tier of the structure embodies a different principle:
- Heaven – Towers and spires reaching into the sky, with high balconies open to the stars.
- Earth – Stone courtyards and foundation rings dug deep into the mountainside.
- Lake – Crescent-shaped domes filled with still water reflecting the heavens.
- Fire – Cantilevered walkways of translucent goldstone, glowing with light.
- Thunder – Carved horn-like arches with sharp edges and echoing chimes.
- Wind – Open latticework structures shaped like swept banners, whispering in constant wind.
- Water – Runnels that bring mist and water across every surface, cascading into small pools.
- Mountain – Thick-walled sanctums carved directly into the cliff, silent and solid.
These structures are arranged in a mandala pattern, expanding outward from a central plaza.
The Central Plaza & Spirit Portal
- The plaza is circular, ringed by slender white obelisks representing each trigram.
- At the center is the Spirit Portal, a still pool that mirrors the sky perfectly, even when clouds blot it out. When active, it glows with shifting light and pulls air toward its surface.
- No one touches the water. The stories say that even the Celestials bowed before stepping in.
Material & Aesthetic
- Materials shift subtly between wings: marble, basalt, cloudstone, skyglass, and glowing pearl-like inlays.
- The color palette blends sky tones and mountain hues: pale blues, soft grays, golden whites, deep midnight tones, moss green, ember orange, and ocean black.
- Lanterns burn with spirit-light, hovering near entrances. Murals and reliefs along the walls depict mythic moments: the birth of the eight sanctums, the shaping of mortals, the sealing of the spirit veil.
Symbolic Role
- This palace is not ruled—it rules nothing, but all Masters acknowledge its sacredness.
- When Zudaeshi seizes it, the act is not just political—it is spiritual desecration. Her presence warps the flow of energy and begins to poison the spirit realm.
- Its inaccessibility reinforces its mystery. Most mortals will never see it. Many doubt it exists.
Layout / Floorplans
The palace is on the west face of Harmony Mountain. It is exposed to the open air on the west, north, and south, but the east is dug into and embedded into the mountain. The lower levels are dug into the mountain and are windowless.
Enter the complex by flight or spirit portal. The spirit portal is central in a grand circular plaza. One set of stairs leads down into a Harmony Chamber below the plaza, and one grander set of stairs on the east side leads up to the palace itself.
There is a grand porch before the grand entrance doors.
The exterior doors lead into an ante-chamber. All major rooms (audience chamber, banquet hall, ball room) have an ante-chamber at the primary entrance. This is a way area between the exit and entrance of the room. It also has doors to the service hallways. The idea is the ante-chamber can be closed, the Harmonarch can enter from the service hallways, and then be officially announced and enter the main room undisturbed and with pomp and circumstance.
So the primary entrance to the palace has an ante-chamber with one set of grand doors on the exterior, and one set of grand doors leading to the grand entryway. There are doors on either side leading to the service hallways.
Go through the entrance ante-chamber and enter the grand entryway. It is large, tall, open, filled with light. It has two stair cases leading up to the second floor. It's interior mirrors the spirit portal plaza seen outside, with a reflection pool where the spirit portal would be.
On the far side of the grand entryway (east) is the entrance to the anti-chamber of the Chamber of Reflection. Left (north) and right (south) are large hallways.
The Chamber of Reflection is mostly embedded into the mountain and windowless, except for being topped with an octagonal dome, with each of the 8 sides having stained glass representing the 8 trigrams. The east and west walls support the dome along with a row of columns to the north and south, forming a central square in the space. The room continues to expand to the north and south creating wings to the room separated by the columns. Two exits to the service hallways are in the north and south sides of the east wall.
Further east beyond the Chamber of Reflection is a network of service hallways, rooms, green room, stairwells, etc, all carved from the mountain.
The first rooms to the left (north) and right (south) of the grand entryway are identical to each other for the purposes of public use (the grand public rooms). One is usually set up for dining, the other is left usually open for arrangement as the occasion requires. They each have grander doors with ante-chambers that link the rooms up with the service hallways.
The grand public rooms are on the open side of the palace with windows on the west. Opposite them on the east side are windowless drawing rooms for various bits of entertainment of varying sizes. The north and south stairwells are located in this area as well.
The hallways continue and lead to outdoor spaces to the north and south of the mountain.
There's probably another set of grand public rooms accessed down these hallways, making a total of 4 for the palace (two in the north, two in the south)
Second & Third floor
The second and third floors to the north and south are suites of rooms with private bathing chambers. The west rooms have windows and the east do not.
At least one suite has a terrace overlooking a public access pavilion.
Has a fancy staircase to the third floor, and a service staircase connecting service halls.
First Basement
Primary service areas, like kitchens, storage for banquets, etc. Primary access through the north and south stairwells, but have other staircases throughout to get people into upper rooms.
Second+ Basement
Other service, storage, and misc rooms. The abandoned library is down here.
Subbasement
The dungeons.
The Caverns
The mawdrake pit.