Halls of Reflection
The Halls of Reflection was an expansive demiplane conjured and maintained by Velameestra Windrunner as her personal reliquary and base of operations for those that followed her modus operandi, such as her Ebon Blade or Lucent Vow. It was a labyrinthine series of halls and chambers that continued to grow in size as she contributed to it, which made it difficult to navigate for those that were not invited guests or otherwise sanctioned denizens of the plane.
The Halls themselves were a haunting combination of ornate architecture and natural features that blended into themselves, and some stairways even appeared to defy conventional gravity, which added to the confusion of navigating the labyrinth for those that were unfamiliar. It was hard to tell if the demiplane was a singular building or opened into an open space, as the ceilings of the corridors varied between open cosmic expanses of auroras and ornate stonework.
Climate of the Halls of Reflection
The winding Halls of Reflection are, at a baseline, a cool and dark place. The ambient temperature of the demiplane is not frigid, but neither is it warm. There is no sunlight in the realm, but nor is it pitch black, as openings to the sky reveal a flickering aurora that sheds a natural, cool light over the region. It's also a place of silence. The absence of wind, weather, or a changing climate creates an atmosphere of stillness where voices and footsteps can carry for ages.
While there is order to the demiplane, regions within it forgo expected physics. Stairways may twist sideways, yet those that tread upon them do not fall. Open, misty air, when stepped upon, may become solid and luminescent, and a passage lost to mists may become unattainable if some one were to backtrack. The ease of navigating the Halls is reflective of a core rule to the existence of the vampyr that shaped it: if you are welcome, you can pass without issue, but an unwelcome invader may be faced with every opposition as the plane's mistress turns the halls into her hunting grounds.
Zones Within the Halls of Reflection
The Raven Circle
A large circular chamber that serves as both an audience chamber and the baseline access point to the demiplane's expansive maze of corridors. It is here that the hearthstones of the Ebon Blade and Lucent Vow connect to, as well as any permanent portals that exist on the material plane lead. The chamber is watched over by a statue of a massive raven that shadows a balcony that a speaker can stand upon, and at the center of the chamber is a table that is capable of projecting illusions to highlight topics that are being discussed.
Sepulcher of Rebirth
The Sepulcher of Rebirth is located near the heart of the Halls of Reflection, and is a large, open chamber whose walls are made up of thick ice framed by ornate arches that resemble doorways. Frigid, glowing water can be seen behind the ice in these doorways, and behind some of them, bodies exist in a state of dormant preservation. One of them is the body of Velameestra herself. The room serves as a storage chamber for the clones Velameestra has created as insurance against true death, for herself, her loved ones, and other individuals of import, and these bodies exist in a state of frozen stasis until a soul inhabits them.
When the presence of a newly arrived soul is sensed, the ice in the arches melts to release the newly occupied body.
The Gossamer Memory
The Gossamer Memory consists of an ornate circular room whose walls are lined with display cases of various items and mementos that range in commonality. The ceiling of the room appears to open into cosmic sky of stars, but one devoid of anything but the translucent flicker of thin, ethereal strands. The center of the room contains a platform in the floor, when stepped upon, transfers individuals into a space above so that the gossamer threads can be be accessed and those that entered are surrounded by an eternity of open space. The threads themselves are strands of preserved memories, safely sequestered in the demiplane as a gallery of legacy and emotion: many of them are the memories of those who had passed, the deeds they want remembered preserved in an eternal legacy.
