Overview
More of a community than a village, the Santua ol'Sola Estada (The Temple of the Unwavering Soul) is also more than just the titular temple too. It is believed the Temple and its surrounding structures was an ancient village from the time prior to the Knowledge Purge, used during the Age of the Primordial and/or the Age of Darkness. Regardless, once discovered by the pioneering explorers early in the Age of Discovery, it appeared long since vacant.
Government
The Temple is largely self-governed by the entire community, through respect and just action. However, the order of Sola Estada does have three appointed Elders to settle matters that cannot be settled amongst the populace.
Demographics
The makeup of the settlement changes on a monthly basis due to the transient nature of the residents. From the more permanent members, a healthy mix of races and nationalities can be found, but naturally most were Couvalon natives to begin with. There are typically a few hundred permanent residents at any given time.
History
Origin
A couple of day's ride to the east of Ellaluna, the pioneer's first settlement on
Suriima during the Age of Discovery, the Temple was one of the first interesting locations uncovered during this time. What followed was years of study and intrigue, trying to learn its secrets. Unfortunately for those early scholars, the biggest point of information gleaned was merely that the temple was old. Many centuries later, individuals cleaned up and began to live in the Temples outer structure, which were presumed to be domiciles in their previous life. The peaceful aura the Temple and surrounding emanated was a draw for these new tenants, and the beginnings of the way of
Sola Estada sprouted.
The Monks of Sola Estada
The inhabitants gravitated to a monastic way of life, but a communal one. As word spread, troubled folk came and sought out the Sola Estada way of life, learned from the monks, and most moved back on with their life. The monks, inspired by the peaceful aura around them, built their tenets around that feeling. The official tenets are simple: Listen to all sides of the story; be true to others and be true to yourself. Whilst the number of tenets may be few, the principles of them permeate every action and interaction for the community and from that spawns their entire morality. To this day, the struggling and the weary seek the wisdom of the Monks of Sola Estada.
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