Repurposed Datsan

"Unexpectedly, here's a Buddhist temple with painted doors and stained glass windows. But the paint is peeling and most of the windows have been boarded up. A certain Red Army battalion commander has taken the place over - supposedly for storage, but those of us who know the pass-words are permitted to join in stern ceremonies before the scarred face of the Buddha."

is a Shrine to the Colonel that can be found through reconnaissance in Leningrad. It can only be encountered once.

= Use =

Visit an Iron Shrine
"Start description: The Colonel's shrines sometimes smell of gunpowder, and sometimes of snow. I can learn more of the battle-mysteries of the Edge here.] End Description: My bones creak. My hearing seems sharper."

Travel to this Shrine with Lore while not consecrated to the Colonel in order to upgrade the Lore to the next level.

"I won't learn anything more here, but I could gain a Vitality so I can heal a Wound."

Doing this with The Mysteries of Force while unconsecrated will provide a Vitality.

A Consecration to the Colonel
"Start description: I could dedicate myself to the Colonel. [This will harm you and limit your dealings with the Lionsmith, but increase Defiance and open the Colonel's mysteries.] End Description: I have masked my eyes and scarred my skin. I have bound myself with the Nine Patient Oaths. I am a soldier of the Colonel, who will not release me."

Travel to this Shrine with Temptation: Defiance to gain a mark of Defiance and a Wound. This can only be done once. It will prevent you from accessing Shrines dedicated to the Lionsmith, but will allow you to access additional mysteries at Shrines to the Colonel.

An Unflinching Vow
"Start description: I might choose to take the Unflinching Vow, which demands tenacity at no matter what cost. [This will give you a Wound, and make it impossible to win the game with an Obscurity victory, but will increase your Defiance.] End Description: ‘Each torment is a lesson. Each scar is a weapon. There is no defeat but annihilation.’"

Travel to this Shrine with Temptation: Escape while consecrated to the Colonel to destroy the Temptation and gain a mark of Defiance and a Wound. This can only be done once.

Make a Pilgrimage to an Iron Shrine
"Start description: The Colonel’s shrines sometimes smell of gunpowder, and sometimes of snow. Meditation here will improve my understanding of the techniques the Colonel’s Names teach. End Description: The rites cost blood, every time. In my delirium, as I lie half-conscious in the shrine, I think I hear the Many-Winged Ones whispering in the rafters. ‘Blood returns to the earth. Blood returns...’"

Travel to this Shrine with Lore while consecrated to the Colonel in order to upgrade it to the next level of Colonel Lore and gain a Wound.

Make a Pilgrimage to an Iron Shrine, for a Revelation
"Start description: The Colonel’s shrines sometimes smell of gunpowder, and sometimes of snow. I have mastered his mysteries. If I meditate in his shrine, perhaps I will hear his voice. End Description: The shadows of the shrine thicken. I am blind as the Colonel. I cannot see the Name Quirinus, who stands before me with his two-headed spear. ‘Child of Earth,’ he whispers, ‘here is wisdom for you.’"

Travel to this Shrine with The Scarred Mysteries while you still have Unknown Foe's Weaknesses to reveal one of the Weaknesses and gain a Wound.

Make a Pilgrimage to an Iron Shrine, to Retrieve a Relic
"Start description: The Colonel’s shrines sometimes smell of gunpowder, and sometimes of snow. I have mastered his mysteries. If I meditate in his shrine, perhaps I will find something that has been left for me. End Description: In the space beneath the altar, I’ve found something left for me long ago."

Travel to this Shrine with The Scarred Mysteries once all of your Foe's Weaknesses have been revealed to gain Histid's Dart and a Wound.