Kasshta Keep

All but one of the monasteries of Adar lie concealed behind a blend of psychic and arcane techniques. Kasshta Keep refuses to hide from outsiders or the Inspired. It is the de facto capital of Adar and the abode of the Keeper of the Word, who guides the kalashtar people. High in the mountains, the monastery is reached by winches and lifts. Its inhabitants include wizards, monks, and mystics; if you want to play a monk from an exotic land, you could have learned your art in Kasshta Keep.

This fabled fortress, known even in Riedra and Khorvaire as the home of the mysterious Keepers of the Word, lies in northwestern Adar. All Adarans know it as the place where the kalashtar Taratai passed from the world in her stand against the Inspired.

Carved from the heart of a mountain, the fortress has an outer face set into a cliff thousands of feet above the Kasshta River, lookimg westward into Syrkarn. Ships from the river can be ferried by magic lifts to a magically maintained lake nearly a mile up the cliff. From the east, overland routes converge to form a trail that winds to Kasshta’s great gate.

The keep is frequently engulfed by unnatural weather, such as violent storms or mists arcing with lightning.

Most of the keep’s inhabitants live in subterranean chambers. To illuminate the depths, the Keepers of the Word created magic lights that nourish people and plants as sunlight does. Other magical effects keep Kasshta’s air fresh and pleasant.

Thousands of feet above the blue-green Kasshta River, wisps of vapor dance around spires of reddish rock, maintaining themselves eternally and incredibly in the wind that blows here. Occasionally electricity arcs between them. Dark flags flutter atop four towers of natural stone carved like ancient watchers with four heads, each looking in a different direction. What seems like a sheer cliff, carved here and there with open pathways, platforms, and windows, is the ancient Kasshta Keep.

Kasshta Keep is the only monastery fortress in Adar whose location is accurately known to the Riedrans and even foreigners. Founded by the legendary arcanist Kasshta, first Speaker of the Word, the keep was built thousands of years ago, mostly carved into and under the mountains by human magic and hands. Kasshta is the seat of the Keepers of the Word and their potent magical legacy. It is also the traditional home of their leader, the Speaker of the Word.

The citadel is visible from the waters of the Kasshta River below it from a distance of several miles when the air is clear. Storms enshroud the Keep at unpredictable intervals, however, making sighting the place difficult at best. A broad beach, dock, and stairs to the keep were once located on the river. Only the slightest signs of the stairs to Kasshta Keep remain, the rest having been erased by war and magic long ago. The removal of the docks and the existence of the strange hanging mists are the legacy of the Taratai lineage members' passing at the Riedran siege of Kasshta Keep.

No roads enter Kasshta Keep. A worn trail does appear near where overland routes converge to approach the fortress's main gates. The citadel also has magic winches to lift boats out of the river or lower them down again. As a result, the keep's "port" is some 5,000 feet off the water.

Most of the people in the keep live in subterranean chambers. The Keepers of the Word created magic lights that provide nourishment as sunlight does, keeping people and plants healthy in the cool dark of the mountain. Unlike Shalquar, Kasshta has a variety of vegetables and fruits available.

Leadership: Chanaakar, the current Speaker of the Word, lives and works in Kasshta Keep. He rarely leaves. The Keepers' Council of the Wise advises him, and some of these elders actually oversee the keep's functions as a settlement. Chanaakar lives in the highest rooms of Kasshta Keep not designed solely for military purposes. Directly beneath his living quarters are the Council Chambers and the Council Hall.