Friday Feature: The Vaults of sha-Arthan

The Onha word saya (literally "refuge") first appears in Tithio Vasan's The Wonders of the Past in reference to the legendary Vault of the Makers. He describes the site as "a vast, subterranean sanctuary grown by the Makers from the clay of the True World and extending downward into her very heart." According to Vasan, the Vault is found in "the desert of Jiridor in the land of Urendira," two locales lost to history, assuming they ever existed at all. Nevertheless, the Vault of the Makers plays a role in the myths of Shumatar and Kisrit, in which it appears simply as an underground trove of wealth and magic that the fabled lovers visit while fleeing the wrath of Maraztuneo. 

Later scholars, like Chejav Karaho, recount that other Vaults, whose existence are beyond question, such as the Vault of Notanan in Sivaso and the Vault of Vadvajas in Murutusel, were built in imitation of the Vault of the Makers. Indeed, Book III of the Annals of Seshaga describes how King Notanan saw the vault that now bears his name as "an act of religious devotion to the exalted memory of the Makers." Notanan's vault thus included shrines and temples, as well as tombs, redoubts, and, of course, repositories for his riches. Its construction established a precedent that was, in turn, imitated by subsequent kings of Sivaso, as well as by those in other lands.

Despite this, all that most vaults have in common is being located beneath the surface of the True World. Indeed, each is unique and representative of the history and culture of the place where it was constructed. For example, the Vaults of Mishmarayush are little more than a necropolis, consisting entirely of the tombs and catacombs of that remarkable city's dead, while the Vaults of da-Imer are more varied in nature, with their lowest reaches rumored to contain numerous entrances to the Depths – the storied home of the Makers themselves. 

With a few exceptions, like the Vaults of Mi'ishar, whose construction was begun and completed in a single generation, vaults are excavated over the course of centuries (or longer). Consequently, there is often little consistency between levels or even complexes within a single level, each one being produced for a different purpose and by a different architect. Variety is thus norm and delvers into the vaults, whether sanctioned or not, should prepare for almost anything.

[Starting Sunday, January 1, I will begin detailing the Vaults of da-Imer on a room by room basis throughout 2023, as I described here. It's my hope that, in doing so, I might give a better sense of what the vaults of sha-Arthan are like and how they might be used in play.]