Locus Noir - Chancel of the Imagination

Locus Noir is the Chancel of Five Powers: Death, Passions, Fiction, Loss, and Storms. It is governed by an empowered mortal chosen by the Imperator of the five Nobilis.

The Chancel exists in the mortal imagination. How this relates to Fiction is obvious, but the connection to the other four Powers bears explanation. Well, Death and Storms are fearsome things to mortals, and are thus magnified to omnipotence by their imaginations. Passion is closely linked to Imagination ... not least because the things that mortals are passionate about are very often illusory. Finally, it fits the Loss for many reasons: the loss of reality (via the ability to distinguish it), loss features strongly in most fiction, etc.

There are several entrances to Locus Noir, and because of the nature of the Chancel, they take diverse forms. At least one of is a tornado, and most frequently used by the Power of Storms, although Fiction likes the Ozian overtones. Some entrances take the form of Myst-style Linking Books. All entrances tend to follow the Powers around in the mortal world, or move to avoid potential attacks.

The greater part of the Realm is a stark land seemingly drawn from older movie versions of the story of Frankenstein, a tale that combines Death, Passion, Loss, Storms, and Fiction. The region is colorless, consisting solely of monochrome shades of grey. Night seems to last far longer than day, thick fog and thunderstorms are frequent, and an aura of foreboding pervades the atmosphere. Not a terrifying place, so much as an eerie and atmospheric one. Nevertheless, the Ravenloft setting might be a good source of inspiration.

For the most part, the inhabitants are human, but there are other beings running around here. Many of these have access to powers that the general populace does not.

Each Power also has his own peculiar sort of household staff and servants pertaining to his Estate, as well as Agents out in the Chancel proper. The form these latter servants take is colored both by the appearance of the realm as a whole, and by the nature of the Power's Estate. As such, their forms are not subject to the will of the Powers.

Locus Noir as a whole is defined by the overlap of all five Estates, but each Power's demesne is dictated solely by his own domain. As such, these five regions are the only ones in the Chancel that do not necessarily have the Frankensteinian overtones.

Fiction's home periodically changes nature to suit the mood and needs of the Duke. One day it is a enormous gothic castle on a cliff, overlooking a storm-tossed ocean. The next it is a miniature version of the Emerald City. The next it appears as a ship that is perpetually preparing to depart from the spaceport from whence visitors enter. There is little that is constant about the appearance of this place; each visit is a new challenge.

Within the halls of Fiction's home, characters, themes, and even the occasional entourage of novels belonging to the same series are granted audience to voice complaints and attempt to curry favor.

The house staff is likewise composed of characters, themes, archetypes and so forth. Drudgework is typically assigned to those that Fiction isn't overly fond of. More prestiguous assignments are granted to the Duke's personal favorites.

Household servants are assigned to shifts. While the characters of Star Wars might put in a shift when the grounds are in Science Fiction mode, they'd look distinctly out of place in the Emerald City, or a gothic castle. Staff are advised to pay close attention to the schedule of assignments. Breaking Suspension of Disbelief is a good way to get on the Duke's bad side and is often grounds for disciplinary action. (A quick-thinking servant can request Make-Up and avoid punishment if they can pull off an appropriate costume change, as in the time a wookie and three ewoks ended up pretending to be security for a group of teddy bears.)

The Agents of Fiction are the half-illusory Will O' the Wisps that are the bodies of Fictional characters outside his Domicile.

A lush forest ringing a green meadow where violent storms and gentle rains both come and go. And, in the center of the meadow, a tall castle crafted of dark clouds. The air itself is always full of dampness, while not usually outright raining, as if a storm is perpetually brewing itself up inside. The servants of Storms are thunderclouds, lightning serpents, and entities of pure rain or fog.

Inside and out, lightning serpents dash about busily or chase one another in play, providing brilliant flashes of illumination, followed by dimness (if not darkness) when they move on. Perpetual thunder surrounds the castle and lightning streaks down (as the serpents hurry about their tasks and chores).

On the topmost level would be the observation room, where the Power of Storms can look out the openings around the room and see every storm system and raincloud on Earth.

Just below this room would be a spectacular (I'm sure) throne room. None of the furniture in the castle is permanent, but is formed by fogbanks that appear and dissipate at the will of the ruler (or sometimes by their own whims, when someone other than the Power is involved).

The Power of Storms is served by corpses provided (usually) by the Power of Death and reanimated by the power of lightning (ala Frankenstein).

Domicile - Never described

Werewolves are the epitome of animal passion, and serve their Mistress enthusiastically.**

Domicile - Never described.

Vampires represent the loss of the sun and their own humanity, and therefore serve the Power of Loss outside of her Domicile.**

Domicile - Never described.

Ghosts serve the Power of Death outside her Domicile.