Balance's Retreat
Description
Ancient Times
Sheltered on three sides by mountains and on the fourth by a long and harsh land called fittingly, the "Alley of Swords", Balance's Retreat was truly a place of solitude, where one would withdraw from the chaos of the greater world and seek what inner harmony existed in the self.
Records suggest that the huge structure called the Balance's Retreat was created long ago by a group of people now unknown. What purpose it served in the past is a matter of much conjecture.
Modern Times
When a young noble of Morek went on a journey to Pian en Luries, he stopped in Balance's Retreat. As part of a lingering promise to Edelstein Greenburie, Garret Artemesia vowed to create a haven in Balance's Retreat so that the principles of Shadovar would be preserved. Such a promise, however, is known to few except those two. Upon reaching the fortress, however, he found that there was a lone hermit sitting on the front steps to the giant building. Garret would note that the man seemed to be at peace with himself, and, upon making eye contact, felt that the old hermit saw through his entire being. The young noble stayed in Balance's Retreat for two days, learning a bit about the structure, which he noted looked nothing like anything seen in Morek, Pian en Luries, or the then Shadovar islands. He left without gaining much in the way of creating anything, but only received the cryptic request from the hermit to cross through the Alley of Swords. As recorded in his journal: "The old man (I wonder how old he really is) only pointed to the southeast, where I, from my vantage point, could see the Alley of Swords. There were no words exchanged between us, but I could understand him clearly: 'Pass the Alley of Swords, and should you live to see me again, there will be much to learn'. And so I went."
In an unpublished report written for the Council of Morek, Garret noted that he only observed a hermit in the fortress, and that otherwise, the building was in good repair, and that it was only a shame that it was agreed upon to lie within Lurian borders.
