Chapter: Lost

Lying within the Yden, the Labyrinth covers the ridge connecting the Plain of Thrones to the Pillar of Heaven. It consists of an immense, hypostyle hall in which each column is a mausoleum for a past God Emperor, Empress or other important personage from the House of the Masks; there are over one thousand of these column mausolea. Originally they were free standing; it was only later that they were spanned by arches, and the whole structure roofed over. The Halls of Rebirth are partially built into the south-western wall of the Plain of Thrones but they also spill into the Labyrinth

The two depressions that ‘nip’ the cross-section of the Pillar of Heaven contain the only ways by which it can be climbed. The north-western depression contains the Rainbow Stair

The Yden is the region lying within the Ydenrim—the lip of a submerged, ancient crater. This lip rises some little way above the level of the lake

Much of the Yden is land that is the result of the subsided ash cone of the volcano, of which the Pillar of Heaven is the only remains—that volcano’s main vent solidified into basalt. The rest of the Yden consists of shallow lagoons whose level the Ydenrim raises above that of the surrounding lake

The diagram shows the Labyrinth, built on the higher ground lying between the Pillar of Heaven and the Plain of Thrones. Around the base of the Pillar are the Forbidden Garden with its terraces. Dotted lines show height contours. Note the wide contour to the northwest (this is clearer on the expanded diagram) that shows the wetlands that slip away into the lagoons

Also shown is the route taken by Carnelian and Osidian on their first visit to the Yden: from the Quyan Stair, through the Forbidden Garden and down towards the lagoons