Deius Castle

Deius Castle is a great, ancient fortress situated on top of an island of rocky earth. It is capable of levitating and flying through the air at minor power wielder speeds. Though these qualities make it a fantastic marvel of the world already, Deius possesses a rich history and is filled with mystery that the people of Earth have only begun to reveal.

Deius Castle is the home of Ciel Deschaine. Due to her status as a Knight Companion of the Order of the Compass, the castle's owner has recently turned the edifice into a staging platform for the Order. This represents a symbolic return to the castle's roots, as well as a stalwart pillar of hope for the people of Cardinal. The castle's most popular role, however, has been host to the Tenkaichi Budoukai -- the World Martial Arts Tournament -- where fighters of superhuman strength come from all over Earth and certain stretches of the galaxy to compete for fabulous prizes, fortune, and fame.

History

The floating isle's history dates back to long past times, when the tribes of men first began to coalesce and unite with demimen. During this time of powerful magic and war, a circle of legendary warriors were brought together under the banner of Lord Arturas Lizardcage II, who assembled the Circle of Heaven, and united Human craftsmanship with Demihuman natural magics to create the most fantastic structure to ever grace the planet; Deius Castle. The Circle of Heaven, as legends read, went on to defeat many of the evil spirits that drove the civilizations of Cardinal to war, using the travelling castle as their safe haven, mode of transportation, and headquarters. Aboard its mass, entire regiments could be transported more swiftly than was previously possible.

As Cardinal enjoyed a long age of peace, partially due to the actions of the Circle, the legendary warriors grew older, and eventually raised families. As time sapped the strength from the aging Heaven's Circle, they tutored new legends to replace them, often bringing their own children up in expectation of filling these roles. Deius Castle never saw such excessive use as it had when the original Circle of Heaven sought to vanquish all evil from the northern lands. Though the tradition was held strong through several generations, over time, the descendants of the Circle fell prey to attrition, as epic wars ceased in favor of politically delicate situations, and the only real monsters to vanquish sat on thrones and praised the legend of the Circle through bare, lying teeth. Soon, only three of the original twelve families remained tied to Deius Castle, which, more often than not, spent time grounded rather than flying.

The final remaining member of the Lizardcage family, Sir Jacob Lizardcage, pleaded to the other enduring families to join him in one last quest, away from the lands of Cardinal, which largely felt their tales were best left in the past. He planned to trek south, across the great oceans, where the castle spirit had spoken to him of a restless, imperiled civilization that needed their help. Tragically, the two other families could not justify a trek away from Cardinal; time had diluted their loyalties and attached them to material possessions, for even in the Cardinalian renaissance, there was nothing even close to Deius -- being associated with such a spectacular relic automatically brought one fame and respect. So, unwilling to let his ancestors' names be soiled with laxity, he cast all others out of the castle except for himself, and sent it south, across the ocean. He was not heard from again for hundreds of years, and soon, the legend of the Circle of Heaven was forgotten in Cardinal's ears. No one -- not even historians of D'hennex -- can verify whether Jacob managed to reach the southern continent, or if he had done anything of note there. What is known, however, is that he did not die as a mortal man should.

In recent history, the castle seemed to mysteriously appear out of nowhere atop a volcano in the western, mountainous province of Cardinal. Inside, Jacob Lizardcage remained, not a day older than how he had left, though by that time, there was not a soul who remained who could identify him as anything more than a lord of an unusual flying castle. Jacob called out to the world to resume the Tenkaichi Budoukai tournaments, which had recently been sabotaged by terrorist activity, and rife with power-wielder-spawned problems. 2004's tournament was successfully held there, and during the awarding ceremonies, the grand champion, Alothin, was gifted full ownership of Deius Castle, under the condition that he continue to honor the tradition of the Budoukai each year so long as it was his. Sir Jakobb Lizardcage, then easily more than 300 years old despite his appearance, was dragged off to Hell by strange, shadowy creatures, hinting at the dark, unaccounted times the last remaining blood-member of the Circle of Heaven endured on his voyage beyond the seas.

Alothin, who was and is the owner of the mega-corporation Empirical Industries, make great use of Deius Castle, as he not only took up residence inside, but trained his elite 5th Group Specialists, or the Psionic Militia, as their moniker was given. Deius Castle was connected to Empirical's Portal Network, allowing visitors to access it from any major city in Cardinal, including those who could not fly. It was given powerful anti-teleportation protection, following an assassination attempt during the Etiquette of Reform saga. The Castle's presence soon became synonomous with Alothin's, whenever he conducted major operations on Earth, though it also became a popular sparring arena for power wielders, as it is exceptionally durable and adaptable for the purpose.

More than three years after Alothin first received the Castle from its previous owner, he deemed fit to suddenly, and without warning, gift the castle in its entirety to Seshuesi Suemn, a Fey creature from another dimension who established a strong working relationship with Alothin. Though few power wielders and fewer civilians knew of the Magite, she had served in the maintenance of the castle, and was one of very few, hand-picked individuals who were permitted access to Alothin's secret, doorless, inner-most sanctum. The reason for the castle's exchange to the Magite was never fully clarified, though Alothin stated that a future commitment on his behalf made the transaction necessary. It was also hinted that Seshuesi possesses a peculiar innate connection, or compatibility to the magics of Deius Castle, possibly allowing her to access its powers more readily than he could. Seshuesi has announced that the Tenkaichi Budoukai will still be held, as planned.

However, the Castle has once more changed hands. Ciel Deschaine has taken up ownership of the castle, through equally vague means as with the transaction between Seshuesi and Alothin. Deius has since then become the staging headquarters for the Order of the Compass.

Facilities

Given Deius' ability to shift its internal form, some of these facilities move from place to place, or simply don't exist at times, by the inscrutable desire of its master.

• Arenas: While they exist during the remainder of the year, the arenas of Deius see their greatest use during the annual Tenkaichi Budoukai tournament. During that tournament, they tend to hold a constant description: calf-height rings of tiled stone, one hundred fifty feet in diameter, with an additional twenty five feet of grassy ground around that before the stone walls are found. They are open-air, and spectator stands have been installed for other fighters to watch their colleagues combat. Powerful force fields protect spectators from stray shots (and from interfering with the fighting) without hindering their view.

• Cafeteria: During the Tenkaichi Budoukai tournament, Deius Castle supplies the basic nutritional requirements for all participants. A free cafeteria provides an excessive amount of food gratis, although it has never received high praise for taste, more often being described as bland at best. The notable exception lies in its produce -- perhaps not a surprise, given the amount of Nature magic inherent to the castle, the produce of the cafeteria is always abundant, fresh, and of high quality.

• Gymnasium: Deius, as a popular place for power wielders to train, holds a considerable amount of exercise equipment, suitable for use by power wielders. There exist weights that, rather than being filled with a dense filler material, use gravity manipulation to multiply their actual weight hundreds or thousands of times over, challenging even the strongest of power wielders. There are treadmills capable of running at speeds exceeding a thousand miles per hour, allowing even very quick power wielders to press their cardiovascular systems. There also exist areas for gymnastics, containing equipment such as balance beams, floor mats, and most anything else that could be desired.

• Infirmary: Given that the vast majority of visitors to the Castle come to fight with other visitors, injuries inevitably happen. Aethaen D'Argente is entrenched here as the chief medic of the Castle, and with his legendary talents, is always close at hand to wipe away even dire injuries. He is reputed to be able to snatch back life from the very jaws of death -- and in extremely dangerous matches, has been seen to 'tag' participants with some sort of ki energy in advance, which he claims gives him more ability to heal them should the worst happen.

• Restaurant: More recently, Deius Castle has added a restaurant to its facilities. Unlike the cafeteria, this does require payment -- and it's not cheap, given the high quality of food, surroundings, and service. Almost all employees are low-level psions or mages, but there are also a significant contingent of mortals. Also unlike the cafeteria, the restaurant has a sizeable selection of alcohol.

Defences

The Castle has no obvious defences, beyond its powered inhabitants. However, this is not entirely true. It is proof versus most forms of espionage by dint of its ability to shift its dimensions and internal design, rapidly adapting to whatever needs there may be -- for the annual tournament, there are a vast number of rooms constructed for the fighters, along with fighting arenas, training rooms, courtyards for relaxing, a large cafeteria, and other such things. These disappear after the tournament, as the castle shifts back into other forms to suit its lowered population. As well, it is magically shielded against techniques of far-seeing, preventing persons from remotely spying on castle activities. There have also been eyewitness accounts of the castle firing green beams of energy at targets, such as when Alothin fought with Gekijou, the Chorus Shen'Ihr, in the desert (this occurred during the Etiquette of Reform saga), so neither is it easily defeated by force of arms.

Metaphysics

The Castle is an intensely magical structure. Every iota of it is laden with potent energies of natural magic. At its core is the concentrated collective spirits of an entire natural forest, causing its walls to drape with vinery, resilient and regenerative grass to grow wherever the sun may strike, and all manner of floral arrangements. The castle has a certain consciousness, and those who walk its halls tread inside a living being whose walls shift and morph subtly to guide its occupants to where they ought to be. Since Ciel adopted the castle, some of its overly lustrous flair has dwindled. However, the castle still retains most of its beauty and greenery.

The highly energetic nature of the castle itself clouds the senses of those within it or attempting to sense throughout its walls. While not overwhelming, the powerful energies can cloak the energy signatures of power wielders, even at a relatively short distance, so long as some stone lies between the sensor and the sensee.

Those capable of accurately enumerating power levels typically put Deius Castle anywhere between one hundred and two hundred kilorads of magical power, though it has been known to fluctuate strongly from time to time.