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"By the mysteries of the crucible are they given form and strength. By the molten fires and pounding pistons of the Forge are they armed and armoured. By the Votann and by the Fane are they given wisdom and purpose. And by the searing wrath of the Hearth are they filled with the fury to overcome any foe."

—The "Four Pillars" that maintain the society of a Kindred in the Leagues of Votann

A Fane is the device or node used by the Grimnyr or "Living Ancestors" of the Leagues of Votann to interface with the Votann, the self-aware machine intelligences that govern the Leagues. The Fanes have become near-sacred spaces for the Kin because of their connection to the Votann and one exists within every Kin hold.

To the Grimnyr -- who are among the few Kin to possess a psychoactive cloneskein -- falls the duty of asking the Ancestor Cores for wisdom and guidance, and interpreting the resultant output. This they do within the arcane technological structures called Fanes.

A Fane is a space of timeless devices and quiet contemplation, at the heart of which lies a complex tangle of machinery that is part altar, part cogitator interface.

It is said that once, these machines were simply the nodes through which the wisdom of the Votann flashed with the speed of thought from one voidcraft to another in the Kin's ancient Long March mining fleets. They still fulfil this practical purpose. Culturally, though, the Fanes have taken on a greater spiritual significance to the Kin, so that now they are viewed as places almost akin to other intelligent races' temples. A Fane is the place where a Kin stands in the full regard of the Ancestors, and where the presence of the Votann lies heavy and sombre.

Indeed, through arcane technological processes that even the Kin do not understand, there have been instances recorded of Fanes miraculously developing an artificial intellect in their own right, and so joining the ranks of the Votann themselves. These occurrences of miraculous self-awareness are cause for great honour and celebration amongst the Kindred in whose hold they occur.

By comparison, though, more than one Votann has degenerated in recent centuries until they have become little more than Fanes themselves. To witness such a decline is a terrible tragedy to the Kin. Alliances such as the Kapellan League or the disintegrating Balor-Attal Conglomerate endured long Terran years of mourning after their Ancestor Cores suffered this fate.

Trivia[]

"Fane" is an archaic English word for a temple or shrine, and as used by the Kin indicates the near-religious intensity with which they view any interaction with the Votann.

Sources[]

  • Codex: Leagues of Votann (9th Edition), pg. 15
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