The Great Gymnasium
Contents
Overview
The Guildhall Ward is home to the headquarters of the Ciphers: the Great Gymnasium. Frequently touted as the best place to train any craft or hobby, it is a place known to test the body, engage the mind, and strengthen the heart.
No weapons are allowed on premises save for those permitted by the Ciphers, and it’s perhaps this innate tranquillity and lack of arms that lends the Gymnasium to be the perfect neutral meeting ground. That in combination with the Ciphers’ reputation for mediation makes this the number one place in Sigil to settle disputes the non-violent way.
Whilst most of the Factions are divided into various sects or departments that each train to fill specific roles within their faction or headquarters, the Ciphers are very much not that. All Ciphers are expected to help out around the Gymnasium when they can, picking up whatever jobs that they feel like and learning the requisite skills on the job. Most of these jobs involve things like cleaning, seeing to the guests or attending to whatever faction business is required.
There are also countless practice rooms used for everything from the creative arts to combat training with wooden weapons. The Ciphers are especially proud of the mural the Xaositects painted on one of the outside walls as an act of graffiti. It’s a chaotic mess for sure, but it’s also a wonderful piece of abstract art (they say).
Visiting the Great Gymnasium
"This large compound of gold- and rose-veined black marble is rife with the sounds of callisthenics and other activity. The air is crisp and clear, courtesy of the wall of moss fencing that rings the building and lines the robes. Just inside on the field, you see an elderly Cipher giving open-air yoga training to some new recruits."
Key Areas
The Break Room is a new addition, constructed after a Cipher left a large sum of money for its formation in his will. This area is full of comfortable (and uncomfortable) chairs for just about any species that passes through the Cage. There are beds for the quadrupeds, nests for the Naga, stools for the celestials, and so forth.
Two large decanters of endless water are kept above continual flames, from which spigots are attached for the filling of cups and mugs. Exactly what is available varies from day to day - the Ciphers do not stock this room, letting it develop and fill itself naturally from whatever donations pass through it. One day it may be stocked full of Elysian Green Tea and nothing else, and another day you may find it full of jars of homemade biscuits, pastries and seven types of coffee.
Faction Areas
The Gymnasium doesn’t hold most of the facilities you’d expect of a Faction Headquarters. There are no quarters for the faction members, nor office for the Factol (they prefer to operate on the hoof). Instead, members keep their kips nearby or do their best not to be caught crashing in one of the study rooms. That’s not to say that there aren’t some peculiarities, mind: the Chamber of Shared Meditation and Cadence of the Planes Chamber are two notable areas that serve good use by the faction.
Chamber of Shared Meditation
The Chamber of Shared Meditation is a quiet area set aside for contemplation and, well, meditation. It’s a long and narrow room on the second floor, which can hold an awful lot more berks than it sees (and it sees a fair few). There are a couple of tables and chairs down one end, plush carpet and onyx chandeliers. The place has the sense of luxury about it, but not abundantly so - it’s designed to be muted and tranquil, not gaudy or ostentatious.
Often the Factol will use this space for important mediations, and it’s not uncommon to see the tabled area used for quiet discussion between opposing factions or gangs. A couple of stones of permanent silence are placed strategically around the room to ensure those looking for quiet can find it - even in the rare instance a fight breaks out at the tables.
Cadence of the Planes Chamber
The third floor is a mysterious room known as the Cadence of the Planes Chamber.
It's a sensory deprivation chamber, and is available only to faction members. The temperature and air flow is tightly maintained in this empty chamber, and the room is in constant Darkness and Silence, as well as a levitation field. Members strip off, then step off of a balcony to float around in nothingness for a while. After some time, they are fished out with a rope.
Whilst sensory deprivation may not be everyone’s cup of tea, to the Ciphers it is helpful and calming. With enough time spent in the room, they claim to hear the Cadence of the Planes: a mystical rhythm that reflects the heartbeats of every living being and breath of every plane, that you can only feel, not hear.