The Hushed Casket

The Hushed Casket is an object found in Kaaranese mythology, held by some scholars and historians to be the earthly resting place of the remains of Morheka the Great, and has been much-sought after by various universities and religious institutions of Kaaran. There exists little evidence of its existence outside of Kaaranese mythology, and various nations claim that it is interred within their borders - most of these feature heavily in the Morhekan Sagas, with varying degrees of legitimacy.

History
According to myth, Morheka crafted the casket himself, asking his beloved, Fera 'Narteca to inter him within it upon his death. Exactly how long it took him varies by region - Morhekan scholars hold that it took him seven years, while many eastern nations describe the crafting as much longer, taking place during much of his lifetime. All agree that when Morheka finally passed beyond this world, seeking to enter the Halls of Detrasa for eternity, Fera deferred to his wishes and cremated his remains, interring them within the casket.

After that, the tale of the casket becomes confusing. Originally housed in Morheka, beneath the Imperial Palace, the Mopadan ransack of Qun'dara occurred three decades afterwards, during the reign of Morheka II, and some scholars claim that the Casket was one of thousands of historically important treasures carried off by Mopadan looters before Morheka II retook the country and sealed the southern border. A minority of Morhekan historians claim that the casket never left the palace, and that it was interred in a secret chamber not on any blueprints - no search has ever turned up any evidence of such a chamber. Even more fanciful is the tale that it was secretly carried off by Quenyatharan monks to be interred at the valley that had such an important impact on Morheka's life, and left behind a duplicate in its place - again, no searches of Quenyathar have ever turned up any evidence to support this.

In any case, the ransack of the Imperial Palaces are the last historical documentation of the Hushed Casket. Mopadan legend holds that the casket caused disease to any who touched it, and that the rivers of Mopada ran purple like blood for weeks until it was carried to the highest mountain and set in a small shrine. The remains of a small religious monument recently found by chance by a UNSC archaeological survey team may lend some credence to this theory. Other legends say that the Mopadans set the Casket adrift aboard a derelict ship, hoping that it would carry its curse out to sea - if true, then it is possible that the Casket sank somewhere in the Staits of Wrath, between the mainland and Kerakana Island.

The reclusive Sovereign-State of Narteca, while generally despising the nation and people of Morheka as usurpers of what they regard as their rightful home, hold Morheka I in unusual reverence, and claim that the Casket was carried to the Dush'qun deserts by Fera herself to the lands of her people. Nartecan legend holds that the two angels that were crafted atop the Casket represent their dual primary deities, and the influence the Narteca had on Morheka I certainly makes this entirely plausible. Exactly where the casket resides within Narteca is ambiguous, and the Narteca's continued refusal to allow outsiders passage into their lands to search for it has hampered efforts to investigate their credibility. The most likely candidate is Manchong, what is today a major settlement, but was at the time a religious village, and the birthplace and resting place of Fera. A temple was erected in her honour, and rumour holds that the Casket is buried beneath it, where the two remain one even in death. The invasion of Manchong in 1233, and the subsequent military disaster that befell the invading forces as a single Nartecan legion annihilated them, is held by Nartecan myth to be the result of Morheka's presence aiding them in the defence of his resting place.

The Voltakra, on the other hand, tell a very different tale. While it is agreed that the Casket's last confirmed resting place was the Imperial Palace, Voltakran theologians contend that the Casket was carried north by grave robbers, and that these were attacked by Morhekan military patrols, and that the Casket was carried east to the nearest city, where it resided until the Second Morhekan Civil War and the areas secession into what would become Kotarq of the Trinity of Light. After that, the Casket was supposedly carried further east to prevent its destruction by Morheka the Cruel - Voltakran accounts claim that the plague that swept through the Empire was the divine wrath of Morheka at the corruption of his bloodline. Afterwards, the Casket is claimed to have been housed in secret chambers, protected by a sect of the Cult of Quenyathar. The Voltakran Alchemists believed that the casket was destroyed in a fire as Duashe'era invaded, during the Great Purge of the libraries of Voltakra.

Yet again, Oldamara contends that as the Casket was carried east, it passed through it and stopped. At the time, Oldamara did not exist yet as a separate nation, then being the northern tip of Duashe'era, but was already an important religious community. The Temple of Belram was consecrated to the memory of Morheka I, but a plaque at the front of the temple explicitly states that while the casket rested there for a time, it was moved later. While it may indeed have moved further east into Voltakra, other's contend that it passed south, into Narteca - again making Narteca a viable candidate as the final resting place of the greatest Sangheili hero of Ketesh.

Description
Descriptions of the Casket vary, and few go into any significant detail. Some accounts hold that it was small enough to be transported by two warriors, carrying it on poles slotting through rings on the side - others claim that it was so large that it had to be towed by beasts of burden, or that it possessed wheels of its own. What is generally agreed on is its appearance - the Casket was gilded externally with gold, with two weeping angels set on top of the lid. The latter is unusual in typical Morhekan design, but is a common motif among the Narteca, among whom Morheka spend many years as a hostage/honoured guest, and the two are held to represent the two primary Nartecan deities, Othectan and Narthectan, respective gods of chaos and order. In Nartecan culture, it is common to inscribe the image of the two weeping angels upon a marker for a dead warrior of renown, and it would certainly not be unusual for Morheka to have adopted this rite for himself.

The Casket itself was likely constructed of solid Morhekan wood, a species of evergreen that displays significant durability, and is able to last for centuries untended. The gold, an important and valuable material to any nation of the era, may have been smelted from the Treasure of Valakmano, the ruler of which was a lifelong friend to Morheka - the treasure itself disappeared at approximately the same time, though historical accounts do not regard this as cause for alarm. Alternatively, the gold may have been mined at Quenyathar, though the monks generally deny that mining operations took place in such a sacred place. Some legends hold that the Casket was set on wheels to be transported - whether these wheels took the form of a cart, or were actually attached to the Casket, is a matter of contention for scholars of the subject.

Possible Resting Places

 * Morheka
 * Imperial Palace Burial Grounds
 * Quenyathar Valley
 * Mopada
 * Mount Futhark
 * Voltakra
 * Southern Shrines
 * Western University
 * Central University
 * Northern Monastery
 * Narteca
 * Manchong
 * Karakana
 * Tutarqa
 * Straits of Wrath
 * Oldamara
 * Temple of Belram -

Quotes

 * "The name of Morheka is not always spoken fondly by those he visited, especially in the south where there is still bitterness over the First Morhekan Civil War. But none doubt that the Hushed Casket was an artefact of great power and mystery."
 * "Sounds suspiciously familiar - a gold box, carrying something sacred within it, angels on the lid, great power, lost for centuries? Ring any bells?"
 * "Expeditions have searched Ketesh for centuries, trying to find it. If it truly did exist, and still does, then it is well hidden. Perhaps that is best - to solve all mysteries would take the joy out of the eternal search for truth."