The Anchor of Solitude: A Chronology
In 120 CR, just fifteen years after the Order of Sea and Stone was founded, the Anchor of Solitude was constructed. This humble chapel began as a solitary Sentry post, strategically built to guard the Tide's Breath, a minor and unstable Bukhara Spire Gateway hidden in a sea cave beneath the cliffs of Rueside. For nearly a century, a lone Sentry diligently resided here, tasked with the vital duty of preventing smugglers from exploiting the unpredictable portal for illicit gains.
The chapel continued its quiet vigil until 280 CR, when the Order of Sea and Stone suffered a devastating blow. A catastrophic dragon attack on Whisperwind Fortress decimated their ranks, an event that reshaped the Order's destiny forever. By sheer fortune, or perhaps its strategic insignificance, the Anchor of Solitude was one of the few structures to escape the wyrm's destructive wrath.
In the aftermath of the attack, the surviving members of the Order were forced to relocate to Rueside, subsequently falling under the oppressive dominion of the House of Silk. The chapel, once a mere sentry post, transformed into a place of quiet melancholy pilgrimage for the subjugated knights. It became the unofficial memorial for those lost during the harrowing fall of Whisperwind Fortress.
While the House of Silk dismissively views the Anchor of Solitude as nothing more than a harmless pile of weathered rocks, its true purpose has evolved. The older, disillusioned members of the Order now utilize the chapel for clandestine meetings, secretly discussing the burgeoning Unchained movement. Within its hallowed, hidden confines, they whisper treasonous hopes of breaking free from their involuntary alliance with the slavers.
Beneath the chapel, the Tide's Breath gateway is believed to be long dead, sealed by the collapse of the cave ceiling decades ago, rendering it impassable. Despite this, the Order steadfastly maintains the chapel above, upholding it as a sacred duty, a tangible link to their past and a hopeful beacon for their future.
Today, the Anchor of Solitude stands weathered yet steadfast, a silent testament to endurance and defiance. It continues to serve as a vital site for clandestine meetings, its stones absorbing the rising spiritual unease and the urgent, hushed conversations that speak of a future free from chains.
