Walhall.
The armory of Zion.
From The Blue Honor Blog:
"Readers will recognize the term from Norse mythology. Like any great idea, it came from somewhere. In The Trailokya Trilogy, Walhall is the armory of Zion, where weapons and the penannulars the guardians use are forged. The expansive, castle-like structure rests on the slopes of Mount Zion, just below the gates of the fortress. The armory is approached across a broad mall that overlooks the massive, barren plateau above The White City.
Walhall Order is overseen by Dux Sephr, a svargaduta who resembles figures from Persian antiquity. Or is it that Persians modeled themselves on the great Dux? Other figures seen within the walls of the armory are heavily armed principalities and thrones, as well as creatures called lungs; and, of course, other animals, such as dogs, are trained to guard the armory.
Lungs are more commonly called dragons in English, but the name is also specific of a breed, which dragon students will be quite familiar. The type is widely depicted in Asian culture as they mostly appear, and hybridized in the western tradition as wyverns. The lung rookery is housed somewhere within the walls of the keep. Lungs hatch with blue scales that they keep through their three toes stage, the tone altering to red in the four toe stage and becoming black in the five toe stage. Toe stage is a relative aging of the lung. At different life stages, additional toes grow in.
The reason for the high security is two fold. The armory houses all of the armor ever used by any of the guardians. It is forged there when guardians begin their service and stored there when guardians end their service. The small atman that power the penannular are transferred here to be nested inside the device. The art of penannular crafting is top secret, and the artisans who craft them are from a mysterious sect of the order. Inductees accepted to the positions will spend lengthy apprenticeships and journey stages before they're ever masters and allowed to construct guardian penannular.
The second reason is a legion passage. Of that, I can say no more.
The squads of Walhall are fierce warriors, and no one enters the armory without their permission. To do so is a certain death sentence.
The interiors of the armory are dense with ornamentation and toned in crimsons and golds. The light is low unless a fitting ceremony or call to arms is underway. Rooms include forges, barracks, the kitchens and storage. The construction is granite on the exterior and mixed stone works on the interior, semi-antiquated-gothic—an east meets west Notre Dame. The following excerpt explains further:
The granite stones of Walhall, dark gold in hue, sparkled in the light of the coming dawn. They were carved and arranged millennia ago by the first of their kind, some of who had fallen in The Conflict of Hosts. The structure served as an inspiration for numerous likenesses in Samsara, in the form of citadels both secular and devotional...
The great carved doors of the armory swung inward, revealing a long, red granite hall. Passing through the archway, they also passed under the watchful gaze of two heavily armed cherubim and their war hounds, trained by Praefect Fenrir himself. The black eyes of the four‑ legged sentinels followed them until they were well inside. A matched set of Powers stood to either side of the entrance interior. In the far-off apse, a seraph floated before the great seal of Walhall, a downward-pointed, open-palm hand with an eye. Another set of Powers guarded the base of the steps that led to the chancel. The seraph took note of them but seemed uninterested, and rearranged the plates of armor that partially covered his wings. He had no worries of intruders, because the apse floor was the resting place of a long, red Lung with a hoary gold beard and suspicious eye. Its great head rose. Like a dog, it stood up, circled, and lay back down.
Four thrones stood guard as well, two for each towering colonnade that lined the length of the hall. At each heel stood what looked like small sculptures of the Lung in the apse. However, clear lenses washed over the eyes putting the notion of them being mere effigy to rest. The click of nails on stone announced the presence of other guardian souls in the room. The guardians of this armory noted everyone who came and went, and made sure that only those who belonged passed the inner doors. They had nothing to fear, since Alex went to the High Council and the news would circulate. Still, no one could be sure how they reported what they saw or heard. — The Shadow Soul, Book One of The Trailokya Trilogy.
Click to learn more about the Orders in The Trailokya Trilogy, and let me know what Order you think you'd belong to in the comments."
watchers.
A specially trained group of souls or duta who scout, spy, or run special ops missions. They usually work alone and are the best among the guardians at what they do.
White City.
also the White Citadel. The mountain/castle and fortress of King Adonai, home of high officials Otzar and Walhall.
"The heart of Zion is the mountain on which the Perpetual Light shines. This is the known point where the King resides, although none can be sure he doesn't take time elsewhere. The light comes from beyond the atmosphere of Zion and meets with the tip of the mountain, where a tower was erected to enclose this point. This tower is called Otzar, a link between Zion and Nirvana beyond that serves as a delivery point of the atman in need of rising. (Rising more literally means to grow stronger, and is a term used to describe an atman's journey toward greater perfection.)
The important role of Otzar and the Perpetual Light required that it be protected, as to give the arriving atman the greatest opportunity to improve. The light also supplies a recharging energy to the beings who inhabit Zion. This makes food virtually unnecessary, except in the case of exhaustion, when a sattva would require food to more quickly replace the lost energy. The light is visible at even the far reaches of Zion.
Otzar is also the interface site for many souls and duta who journey into Samsara for incarnation. This state is quite vulnerable, and the sanctity of Otzar provides the right level of security to these indirect interfaces.
When speaking of barriers and garrison, one gets a vision of a feudal design and war focused society. Keep in mind that over the centuries, Zion has been defending it's borders from the fallen of Jahannam. The higher security girding Otzar is meant to keep those incoming atman safe from burning down. Without the efforts of the duta protecting them, they would all face an impossible rising.
The interior of the various levels become gradually less open. At the base of the White City, the architecture is tall and open with great arches and buttresses. The spaces gradually shrink the higher one rises toward the light. Notable sections of the city are the White Gate, that blocks Otzar off from the rest of the city, The Red Hall, which leads to the Blue Passages. The White Gate is a tall set of carved doors that depict the Conflict. The Red Hall is exactly as it sounds. The warm ivory walls are brightened by a ceiling of glass that casts a gold tone onto the interior. Red carpet and banners add to the warmth. A single dominion stands guard at the gate of the Blue Passages at the anterior end of the hall. The doors are largely unimpressive, just an arched wooden, double set of wooden doors. The Blue Passages are winding tunnels through the rock of the mountain. The Perpetual Light charges the crystal in the rocks of the mountain and causes them to glow a soft blue.
The lower parts of the city are bustling. This is the seat of the administration. All atman will spend time there at some point in their existence, meeting with their alders and arranging their incarnations. Mostly, guardians attend to the alder halls to make reports. Leaders of orders and soul leaders also come to the city to arbitrate for their groups.
Because of the populations constantly filling the city, services have risen up to provide them with goods and other needs. Restaurants and markets are numerous." - From The Blue Honor Blog, The Trailokya Trilogy: Mount Zion and The White City, February 24, 2017.
White Gate.
The entrance of Otzar, a bas-relief of the Trailokya creation and The Conflict of Hosts.
wraiths.
Former naiads; inhabitants of Jahannam.