[Library] The Lily-on-the-Water

[GryffonDurime]

The Lily-on-the-Water

“Knowledge is not just something to be taken and tested and tempered; it is not steel to be forged, but rather a seedling to be nurtured. Only together, as a whole, can facts and theories and philosophies and stories weave themselves into the truth: only together, do the pieces form the greater whole.” -Jesska of the Lilies on the pursuit of knowledge

The Theme:
Beyond the use of a botanical motif and the fact that each part of the Lily-on-the-Water's collection was crafted by Jesska herself, each item represents an attempt she made to connect her sanctuary to the rest of her life like one discrete organism--she tied the roots together, essentially. Each attempts to create a greater link both within the Lily itself and with anyone connected to the Lily seeking to use its power and knowledge stores. Each represents something connected directly to the Lily-on-the-Water itself; each grows with the Lily.

Table of Contents

Introduction and Theme
The Lily Itself
Treasures of the Lily
Jesska and the Gardeners

[GryffonDurime]

The Lily Itself

Crafted long ago by an ageless Lorekeeper of unparalleled power, the Lily-on-the-Water was created as both sanctuary and library, a place where thoughts and secrets could grow and flourish as living things. True to its name, the library itself resembles a huge white water lily whose petals curl inward at an angle on a great green island of a lily pad.

The Lily-on-the-Water has gathered something of a reputation, in large part due to its wandering nature: every evening at sunset, the Lily-on-the-Water is swathed in mist and disappears, reappearing in a new body of water large enough to house it. At times it has even been known to travel to the calmer sections of the Elemental Plane of Water, though the Lily will never travel to a body rough enough to endanger itself. Perhaps because of its motile nature, extradimensional travel is not possible within the Lily, and any attempts to do so (as per Teleport, Dimension Door, etc) automatically fail.

The entire structure itself was quite obviously fabricated with magic: the pad itself is not, as some might think, a single giant lily pad but instead is actually a kind of tapestry woven with countless green leaves all crisscrossed in a seamless pattern. The edges of the pad are upturned sharply to push back any waves that may attempt to crest over them, and huge, sharp-looking leaves protrude from the edge like a well-wrought fence.

The petals that make up the walls of the building itself curve and spiral inward, and once inside the library resembles a nautilis shell more than a flower. Each wall is as soft as a real flower to a gentle touch, but if attacked in any fashion, they instantly firm and take on the sheen of white marble.

As you pass through the spiraling hallway that leads to the heart of the Lily-on-the-Water, nine chambers bud off from the hallway, with a tenth chamber at its end. Each of the first six is a roughly circular chamber of at least twenty feet in circumfrance, entered through a marked archway the length of which is inscribed with the chamber’s name in Elven, Draconic, Aquan, and Sylvan; these names describe the general subject dealt with in that chamber. In order, these chambers are:

The Root Cellar - History and Divination
The Green Room - Botany and Transmutation
The Amber Room- Entomology and Conjuration
The Moss Room - Philosophy and Necromancy
The Flower Room - Psychology and Enchantment
The Walled Garden - Architecture and Abjuration


The Root Cellar is filled with the dustiest tomes of the library; not even Jesska herself attends to this archive often. At it's center is a plethora of crystals and mirrors in all shapes, reflecting images of the past history of the Prime Material plane, seemingly at random. The tops of the room's bookshelves are flush with amber trinkets, which--according to the Room's log book--were part of Jesska's attempts to create her own Cask of Rooted Amber.

The Green Room, of all the chambers save the Heart itself, seems to be the most spacious, because it's shelves line the outer edge of the room while the center is dedicated to a rather strange assortment of plants: flowers in all colors, a few seemingly stunted trees, and several ever-living butterflies. The ceiling of this room has also been enchanted to resemble a fine, cloudless day, though this illusion is somewhat transparent.

The Amber Room seems to be a continuation of the Root Cellar, as even more failed prototypes of the Cask stand in every inch of the room not otherwise occupied by bookshelves. Some of these seem at least partially functional, as they are filled with summoned creatures suspended in time. If an aggressive party enters the Amber Room while Jesska is still watching from the Cask, she will speak a command word that releases all the suspended creatures. These include four unicorns, a nixie, a dire weasel, three butterflies, and a blink dog. Each creature lasts for only three rounds and is then dismissed.

The Moss Room is dark, lit only by strange, fungal lanterns crafted by Jesska during a brief infatuation with the dark arts. Moss and mushrooms cover every shelf, and the chamber smells heavily of musk.

The Flower Room is the Moss Room's polar opposite: bright, sickeningly cheerful, pleasant in aroma to an absolute fault. Simmering cauldrons stand at the center of the room, each bubbling over with brilliant colors and floral smells. Unseen servants carry flowers from the Green Room to this chamber, constantly refilling the Cauldrons. Even still, the scent never seems to leave the Flower Room. If any of the brews are bottled and worn as a perfume, the user gains a +2 luck bonus to Charisma based checks, other than Intimidate, for an hour.

The Walled Garden is built to resemble a huge gazebo, it's boards heavy with old vines and pure, white roses. A small pedestal stands at the center of the room. If a blueprint is placed on the pedestal, a three-dimensional image of the building is rendered as a Major Image. The room's log seems to point to Jesska using this room to investigate a love of architecture.

The next few chambers attend to more mundane necessities, including a kitchen which could easily--and by the looks of it apparently has--doubled for an alchemical lab, and two comfortable bedrooms, each well-furnished with two four-poster beds. The final room at the center of the structure is the largest of any room within, easily fifty feet in circumfrence.

The Heart of the Lily, as this room is apparently dubbed, is the only chamber that has two floors. The first is a modestly furnished foyer, bounded on all sides by bookshelves that contain volumes which have no relation to any of the other rooms: they tend to be either fictional tales or personal journals of Jesska and her associates. At the center of the chamber, upon a pillar of ivory carved into the shape of twined vines, rests the library’s index. The second floor--which is inaccessible except to those who can unlock it--is the personal bedchamber of the Lily-on-the-Water’s creator, the “late” Jesska of the Lilies. In purely mechanical terms, the idea is synergy: the more information and knowledge the library has, the stronger/more valuable each of these becomes.

[GryffonDurime]

Treasures of the Lily

The Lilykeeper’s Codex [Mundane Object]
A finely crafted book but utterly mundane, the Lilykeeper’s Codex is a thick volume of fraying linen pages bound in green leather and traced with the library’s pervasive floral patterns. The book is simple enough to understand, divided into three sections, each marked with a fixed bookmark: the first lists every volume in the library by name, the second by topic, and the third by author and by means of divination Jesska of the Lilies ensured that there is not a single text in the entire collection lacking a title or author. The Codex is, however, written entirely in a strange combination of Aquan and Elven; anyone seeking to find a specific book, subject, or author must first know both languages and then make a Decipher Script check (DC: 15) to discern the tome’s general location in the stacks. The Codex may not be removed from the Heart of the Lily because of spells placed upon the Chamber, not the book.
(Craft: Bookbinding Check DC 20 + Profession: Librarian Check DC 30, Base Price: 2,250)

Jesska’s Traveling Tome [Wondrous Item]
A frightening thin book bound in a sturdy wooden cover, Jesska’s Traveling Tome contains only about thirty pages and is small enough to fit in the palm of an adult human’s hand. Developed to assist the Lorekeeper on her long excursions away from the resources of the Lily-on-the-Water, the Traveling Tome is directly connected to the stacks in the library. As a standard action, the owner of the Tome may open it to a blank page and ask a single question. The page opened to then fills as if inked by an unseen hand, copying a page from a book in the Lily regarding the question. This information may be used to grant a +5 bonus to any Knowledge check about a subject which is covered in the Lily-on-the-Water, but each page provides this bonus only once and if all thirty pages are filled, the book becomes useless.
(Craft Wondrous Item, Commune With Lesser Spirit, CL: 5, Aura: Weak Divination, Base Price: 22,500)

Sutra of the Lily’s Fold [Epic Wondrous Item]
A scroll wound between two large ivory handles, the Sutra of the Lily’s Fold unfurls to reveal something like a mirror, but thinner than paper and infinitely flexible. With a thought, the Sutra’s owner can focus on a single object he knows to be within the Lily-on-the-Water, and as a move action he may reach in and pluck it out. Items to be transported in this manner may be of any length--the scroll can unfurl to unnatural lengths equal to any of the chambers of the library itself--but may be no wider than a little over a foot. People are viable targets for this effect, but whoever reaches into the Sutra must be able to pull the target out of their own power.

If the Sutra is left open for more than a turn, haikus will begin to float over its mirrored surface, each one detailing a single different item in the Lily until every single item has been detailed, at which point the haikus will begin anew.

Players may step through the window created by the Sutra themselves, but it may not be taken with them.
(Craft Epic Wondrous Item, Gate, CL: 17th, Strong Conjuration Aura, Base Price: 3,060,000)

Jesska’s Limitless Librum [Major Artifact]
When one has accrued as many spells as Jesska of the Lilies, keeping spell books on hand becomes quite a task. To that end, the Lorekeeper crafted one single spell book of utmost power, and through her magic she entangled it with the whole of her library, the Lily-on-the-Water. While holding this book, any Arcane spell caster may spend a full round action to call a spell from the stacks of the Lily by expending an arcane spell slot of the necessary level. A caster may use a higher level spell slot to produce any Metamagic effect they are capable of. Spell cast must be on the caster’s Spell List.

Jesska’s Limitless Librum acts in lieu of any arcane focus a spell cast from it would require up to 100 gold. Anyone other than the book's owner who touches Jesska’s Limitless Librum must make a Will Save (DC: 20) or face the effects of a Geas/Quest placed upon them to return the book to the Lily-on-the-Water. An arcane caster who resists the effect of the Librum may undertake an hour long ritual to attune themselves to it, effectively claiming ownership of it. Once attuned, the book entangles itself magically to the owner; anyone capable of detecting magical auras will quickly notice that strong tendrils of power link the book and the owner. The owner may call for the book as a free action; it appears instantly regardless of distance or any kind of interrupting force, including effects that prohibit teleportation or antimagic fields.

The Lily-on-the-Water contains spell books detailing every spell listed in the Player’s Handbook except those from the Evocation school. Any spell book placed in the stacks adds its contents to the potential spells that Jesska’s Limitless Librum may contain.

The Folio of Earthly Delights [Wondrous Item]
Delighted by her success with the creation of the Limitless Librum, Jesska sought to put her technique of entangling to new, more palatable ends. In so doing, she crafted the Folio of Earthly Delights. Each page is a delicate creation of spun sugar, but the book can be handled casually without risk due to Jesska’s reinforcements. Every recipe contained in the Lily-on-the-Water--and the Lily contains many recipes gathered over the course of several lifetimes--is contained within the Folio. Once a desired recipe has been found, the owner need only ask the book for it.

Once chosen, a recipe's page will tear itself from the book and begin to fold itself over and over, in the fashion of origami. Once reduced to a single, tiny, papery mote, it unfolds again in an instant, the desired meal appears on a plater of heavy, reinforced paper, glazed and hardened to resemble china but still very flexible.

The Folio of Earthly Delights may only be invoked three times per day.
(Craft Wondrous Item, Polymorph Any Object, CL: 16; Strong Transmutation Aura, Base Price 180,400)

Evening Lotus Lantern [Wondrous Item]
Often given as gifts to Jesska’s most trusted allies, each lamp is an eternal lotus blossom, mostly white but fringed with pink on each petal. When held in palm, a command word causes a small tuft of rose-colored fire to kindle just above the flower’s petals. This flame produces any amount of illumination the bearer desires, from candlelight to an intensity equal to a Daylight spell. If dropped or stowed, this illumination immediately ceases.

The lotus has another, more potent power: when placed upon a calm body of water under the cover of night, it will instantly beckon to the Lily-on-the-Water. After ten minutes, mist will rise from the surface of the water. One minute later, they dissipate and leave the Lily in their wake. Once used to conjure the Lily, a lotus crumbles into minute petals and a new one grows in the Flower Room.
(Craft Wondrous Item, Teleport Object, CL: 17, Moderate Conjuration Aura, 6,400)

Cask of Rooted Amber [Artifact]
A myserious spherical container large enough for a full-grown human, while empty the Cask's "skin" is permeable, and a willing target may enter it. While inside, the target no longer ages but remains fully aware of their surrondings--even more so, in fact. Over the course of a year, the Cask becomes attuned to the target, and golden protrustions spread out from it's surface and weave themselves throughout the Cask's surrondings for up to 1,000 feet, at a rate of almost three feet per day for a year. These protrusions burrow through walls and surfaces regardless of hardness, and the creature within the Cask is constantly aware of all areas covered by these roots as if casting a scrying spell centered on the roots.

As a full round action, the creature within the Cask may cast a spell and have it originate anywhere within the enrooted area. Casting such a spell requires the expenditure of two spell slots, one of the spell's level and one of an equal level or higher (this second slot may contain another spell, or it may be unprepared).

The Cask functions as if it had a Spell Resistance of 38.

Jesska's Personal Journal [Mundane Object]

Jesska's Personal Journal is kept in the Cask with her, and it is the most likely result of an encounter with Jesska herself (left as spoils of war if defeated, and given before she willingly accepts death if befriended). It has only a single entry; a number of other pages have either been torn out or scribbled over, angrily, in thick, green ink.

I chose Wood, so long ago, to be more like a forest: a single heart connected to all the hearts around me, with infinite potential and an eternity of growth. And so now here I am, and I can only think how I have become an offense unto Death. My friends died so long ago, and I was never a heart connected to the hearts around me. I was a mind and nothing more, entangling every stray fact that crossed into my sight. I chose knowledge, so long ago, when I should have chosen something else.

I should have chosen humanity. It is my greatest regret that I set the Lotus into motion so long ago, that I chose to drift endlessly through gentle mists. Had I been stationary, I could have shared more, grown more. But I didn't. I was jealous of what I had--jealous of myself, like some miser who begrudges herself a coin. For someone who prided herself on intellect, I was amazingly stupid.

Long ago, I chose Wood. I chose to harden my heart, keep it warded by thorns. I was a a young beauty, and I could have had so much love...I feared death when I should have feared a lonely eternity. I don't think I can bring myself to end it all, Rhydin. I can't be with you. Not until I know that the Lily will be protected. Not until I find some way to give value to a life I threw away.

But every day, I wait in my prison of ivory and amber and emerald leaves, hoping for a friend or a successor.

I love you Rhydin, and I will be with you one day, when I can stride with that mortal envoy, arm in arm, knowing that I gave this whole damned affair some meaning.

[GryffonDurime]

Jesska and the Gardeners

Jesska herself, now empowered by her connection with the Lily-on-the-Water, still rests in her library, suspended from the ceiling of the Heart of the Lily in a strange sphere of amber decorated to look like a chandelier; metallic protrusions extend from the sphere up into the ceiling and from there weave a latticework pattern across the room (see Cask of Rooted Amber for details).

While held in the Cask, Jesska's senses are constantly spread across the whole of the library, and so she is completely aware not only of the contents of every book, but is instantly alerted to the actions of anyone within her home. If the intruders seem to be benevolent, they are permitted free access to Jesska's archives; if they endanger any part of her collection or act with malice towards the Lily, Jesska draws them into the Heart of the Lily through the Cask's Rooted Casting function, and ambushes them. Jesska will always appear in her True Avatar state: in truth, she has no choice in the matter. She has discerned from divinations and rituals that she has approximately seven seconds of mortal life left to her.

As such, Jesska may be overcome in one of two ways: she may either be defeated outright (though she has a rather impressive arsenal of Wood and All Elemental Wu Jen spells cast at an amazingly powerful level), or she may be tricked into taking mortal form. If Jesska spends more than one round in her mortal form (consecutive or not), she draws one last, deep breath and dies. This particular weakness in intrinsic to her nature as a Havenlord, and is easily discovered by anyone who succeeds at a DC Knowledge: Arcana check to learn about the history of the Library, Jesska, or the Cask.

Jesska of the Lilies
Medium Human, True Neutral
26nd Level - Wu Jen 6/Havenlord 10/Loremaster 10
Abilities
Strength: 7 (-2)
Dexterity: 9 (-1)
Constitution: 13 (+1)
Intelligence: 31 (+10)
Wisdom: 19 (+4)
Charisma: 20 (+5)
Relevant Combat Statistics
Hitdice: 22d4-40 (98...she rolls well)
AC: 10 - 1 (Dex) + 8 (Armor) + 5 (Deflect) + 5 (Natural Armor) = 27 (Touch: 19)
Attack: +11/+6
Movement: 30
Saves: Fortitude +8, Reflex +6, Will +21
Skills: Concentration +28, Knowledge (All of them) +37 (Arcana +40), Spellcraft +40, Profession: Librarian +31
Feats: Skill Focus: Spellcraft, Spellfocus: Divination, Spellfocus: Transmutation, Scribe Scroll, Craft Wondrous Item, Quicken Spell, Skill Focus: Knowledge Arcana, Elemental Adept: Wood (CMag), Craft Epic Wondrous Item, Epic Spell Secret
Spells per Day: 4/7/7/6/6/6/6/5/5/5
Typical Spells Prepared: While Jesska's spellbooks grant her access to all Wu Jen Spells (both from Complete Arcane and Complete Mage), she only prepares spells from the Wood or All Elementals, given her status as a True Avatar. She may spontaneously convert any spell of 1st level or higher into an Animate Wood spell. Caster Level (while in the Lily, and in her Avatar form, applies only to Wood/All Element skills) is 29th, or 30th for Transmutations or Divinations, if applicable.
Spell Resistance: 26
Equipment: Bracers of Armor +8, Ring of Protection +5, Headband of Intellect +6, Amulet of Natural Armor +5, Girdle of Consitution +6,

Jesska's Enlightenment

Havenlord
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Class Features|Spells per Day

1st|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2|Elemental Haven, Avatar 1/day|—

2nd|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+3|Place of Power +1|+1 Level

3rd|
+1|
+1|
+1|
+3|Hidden Sanctum|+1 Level

4th|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|Avatar 2/day|+1 Level

5th|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|Place of Power +2|+1 Level

6th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+5|Awakened Haven|+1 Level

7th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+5|Avatar 3/day|+1 Level

8th|
+4|
+2|
+2|
+6|Place of Power +3|+1 Level

9th|
+4|
+3|
+3|
+6|Conjure the Haven|+1 Level

10th|
+5|
+3|
+3|
+7|True Avatar|—
[/table]

Requirements:
Skills: Knowledge: (nature) 9 ranks, Spellcraft 9 ranks, Sense Motive 4 ranks, Listen 4 ranks.
Special: Elemental Mastery class feature.

Hit Die: 1d4
Class Skills:
Class Skills: Concentration (Con), Craft (Wis), Knowledge (All, taken separately) (Int), Listen (Wis), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int).
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Elemental Haven (Su): By looking inward, the Havenlord realizes the wholeness of the world, and begins to craft a world within her own being. The Havenlord must undertake an hour long ritual, burning incense worth at least 1,000 gp; at the conclusion of the meditation, a new demiplane is birthed. This plane is a globe of force filled with endless fresh air and water, lit by a strange, illusory moon. The only matter besides water and air is an artificial island that floats at the demiplane’s center. The material this island is composed of varied depending on the Havenlord’s mastered element, and there is some difference from one caster to another but generally the following are preferred materials: fire-obsidian, earth-rock and soil, wood-wood or leaves, water-coral or ice, metal-silver. At the Havenlord’s discretion, any spell cast by the character that would normally transport targets to another plane instead leads to the character’s Haven, following all rules that regard that spell (time in the Haven is limited if a Rope Trick is used to reach it, for example).

For every Havenlord level, a single chamber no larger than 25 feet by 25 feet is erected on the Haven from its innate material; these chambers can be shaped and connected at the Havenlord’s whim during an hourlong ritual.

Avatar (Su): The power within becomes the power without: by realizing her inner potential, a Havenlord may wreathe herself in her Haven’s element. While in the shape of an Avatar, a Havenlord receives spell resistance equal to 12 + Havenlord level and gains a +2 bonus to caster level, but she may not cast any spells save those of her mastered element (or the All catagory).

Place of Power: Her Haven is her might; whenever a spell is cast by the Havenlord in her personal sanctuary, she gains a +1 bonus to her caster level. This bonus improves to +2 at level five and +3 at level eight.

Hidden Sanctum (Su): A light mist can be raised around her sanctum with a single gesture. Anyone and anything within her sanctum when these mists are raised are shielded from scrying as if a Nondetection spell had been cast on them by the Havenkeeper. If the mists are lowered or any leave the Haven, they forfeit this protection.

Awakened Haven (Su): A portion of the Havenlord’s soul is forever imbued into her Haven, acting as a spectral host even in her absence. This shard is intelligent and can communicate with anyone inside the Haven, though it is disembodied.

Conjure the Haven (Su): What was once only an ethereal realization is now solid, and so the Havenlord may undertake a ritual, only one minute in length, to transport her sanctum to the mortal realm. The Haven will always appear in a flash of mist upon a calm body of water near the desired location. To undertake this ritual, a spell slot or prepared spell of the 6th level or higher must be sacrificed.

True Avatar (Su): A Havenlord may now take the form of an elemental Avatar permanently, switching between it and her flesh form as a full-round action. Her spell resistance increases by +4, and her caster level bonus increases to +2. While inside her Haven and in her Avatar state, she ceases to age, however any time spent outside of it (or inside, in mortal form) still causes her to age normally.