chochin
CHOChIN
MYSTERIOUS LANTERNS ALONG THE BRIDGE TO WUESTENSTAD
Along the expanse of the grand bridge to Wuestenstad, mysterious paper lanterns known as chochin swing silently, casting the battered remains of the bridge in an ethereal emerald light. Called “ghost lanterns” by the children of the nearby city of Rho, the chochin drain the already thin air of mana, which seems to congregate within the lanterns’ glow. In addition, the chochin appear to beckon and call to vampyr, those bloodmages who have succumbed to their own dark breed of Magick. Camps of vampyr routinely spring up along the bridge, which threaten the safety of the citizens of Rho. Magehunters of the Order of the Maleus Maleficarum regularly conduct raids to purge the bridge of these loathsome creatures. Removing a chochin from its perch causes the already brittle rune-laden paper to turn to dust. However, attempts to clear the bridge of the lanterns have heretofore been unsuccesful, as new chochin appear for each one that is taken down. Who creates and hangs them anew is unknown, and no one has ever glimpsed it happening. They normally re-appear over night, but some say they materialize as soon as one looks away. For centuries, Rhovian scholars have studied this peculiar aspect of the chochin but have yet to discover their origin. Some theorize that they were first hung by the ancient August King of Wuestenstad, Belisariot, using powerful binding Magicks to prevent rival mages from entering his great city - or to keep Wuestenstad mages confined within.
It is said that Mykale, the twenty-first High Mage of Selenomancy, made her way across the bridge to Wuestenstad, hurrying from chochin to chochin, drawing strength from the brumes of mana surrounding the lanterns. She was accompanied by Hunter Varro of the Maleus Malificarum and the two were said to have ventured into the August King’s Chancel itself. However on their return trip, the pair were beset by a coven of vampyr, striking from a warren hidden deep within one of the massive piers that stand beneath the span. The Rhovian legends of Dread Queen Mykale tell that the two were bitten, and Mykale became the vampyr’s queen, establishing a coven of her own within one of the central piers of the bridge. Countless Magehunters have searched out this fabled coven but none have yet found it.
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{CHOH-chin}
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