The Dragon Tomb on Io is the final resting place of Akari au Raa, one of the two founders of the Society and the forefather of the Rim Dominion and House Raa.
The tomb is a giant black obelisk, shaped like a winged beast at the top of a stubby crag of rock. It is eighty steps away from the safety of the nearest pulse shield, past a waste of frozen sulfur dunes where the temperature drops below negative 100 degrees Celsius.
It is used by the Raa family as part of their death ceremonies, with Raa seeking to reach their ancestor's tomb and "erect a humble monument to their own strength," with shame, punishment, or simply old age being the primary motivators. The ceremony involves a Gold of House Raa stripping down to face the elements, and then walking as far as they can toward the tomb before dying. The "humble monuments" are the half frozen corpses that surround the tomb, marking where each died of exposure on their walk toward the obelisk.
Romulus au Raa died on this trek, making it 71 steps in, but not reaching the tomb itself.[1]
References[]
- ↑ Iron Gold, Chapter 62