The Viridium Sanctum

I know the general populace view this as a novelty - a landmark for a day of sightseeing, but I truly hope it stands the test of time and reminds everyone of the full weight of what we used to have, and what we will lose in the future

— Lady Alessia Fatorre

A towering structure of glass panels found amongst the upper end of Sien, the Viridium Sanctum lies in close proximity to the Palace, Royal Academy and larger estates of the nobility. Inside the structure lies paths winding through thick forests, covered in lush moss and wildflowers. A gently babbling brook can be heard throughout alongside the competing sounds of various songbirds, with bees, hoverflies and butterflies flitting through the air. Illusory and transmutative magic interwoven with the glass keep the glasshouse warm and well-lit as if it were a sunny day no matter outside's weather. Sounds of the clockwork city fade away within the only forest found for miles.
The Viridium Sanctum is run by a group of staff made up of naturalists, gardeners and artificers working to keep everything in order. While it was originally designed to be self-sustaining the naturalists have found that they have to artificially manage the population of animals and insects within to keep it balanced. No constructs or pets are allowed within, and convicted litterers can end up serving months on community service after repeated offences.

Sanctum Entrance by Moonbro

Purpose / Function

Siens reputation as the most industrious city on Eleron is not unearned, but the large city's growth and prosperity have come at the cost of the landscape around it. Records from late 2E and early 3E describe the area of Sien as lush, with thick forests stretching out as far as the eye could see. With the gradual consumption of lumber, land expansion and destruction of the local woodland, Sien's landscape changed to the grasslands that now surround the monumental city. In 618 3E, Siennian naturalists saw the rate of resource consumption in the growing city's vicinity and predicting the change in landscape, sought to preserve what they could within their journals and academic volumes.

Potrait of Lady Fatorre by Moonbro

One such naturalist, Lady Alessia Fatorre, originally proposed to the Siennian court to protect sections of the remaining woodland, however while a report of her proposal exists, no recorded official statement has been found and as we know, no such protections were put into place. Lady Fatorre did not abandon her cause there, and spent the next few years trying to drum up interest in the people who could make a difference - the Siennian nobility. She changed her focus from preserving the woods themselves to bringing the woods into the city itself, with a grandiose design of a gigantic glass structure with its own self-sustaining ecosystem, preserving the local species of flora and some degree of fauna. The novelty of the idea seems to be what drove the majority of the nobility's curiosity with one such noble, the famously eccentric Lord Leone, is quoted as saying "Imagine having our own domesticated piece of wildland, designed by our best and brightest and maintained for the generations - truly the pinnacle of Siennian ingenuity.'

With funding from a few select noble families, Lady Fatorre hired a team of architects to work alongside her and the Royal Society of Naturalists to finalise the design for the project. Construction began swiftly, although Fatorre continued to hunt for funds hosting charity balls and fundraising events to continue covering the cost of expensive, breakable glass without upsetting her investors whom she deemed fickle. When construction was finally complete in 625 3E, it still took another three years before the building was officially named and opened to the public, in the interim naturalists and gardeners worked to carefully design and implement the closest reconstruction they could to their local ecosystem. When asked about the name she had given the project, Lady Fatorre is recorded to have said ''I know the general populace view this as a novelty - a landmark for a day of sightseeing, but I truly hope it stands the test of time and reminds everyone of the full weight of what we used to have, and what we will lose in the future."

Inside the Sanctum by Artbreeder

Founding Date

625 3E

Alternative Names

The Indoor Forest, Siennian Wildlands (mockingly)

Type

Room, Outdoors, Greenhouse

Parent Location

Sien

Owning Organization

Kingdom of Sien

A Learning Experience

Towards the back of the Sanctum is a small room containing historical memorabilia and boards where the staff pin interesting facts that they rotate through, the room also contains a donation box for those that wish to contribute to the running costs of the structure. Typically though, the majority of the funding comes from noble patrons and grants from the Crown. These funds cover the cost of maintaining the Sanctum, but not any of the education programs it runs which continue purely thanks to the staffs dedication and desire to make an impact on the city.

But Is It Even Real?

Not everyone believes in or enjoys the Viridium Sanctum, and occasionally a story has been printed in a broadsheet or two detailing how an individual noticed the birds dripping oil, or the insects producing a mechanical hum - the clockwork conspiracy seems to crop up every few years or so and each time gathers a small following of believers convinced that the Sanctum doesn't contain real creatures. One Sanctum employee who wished to be anonymous reported to The Royal Post that ''Birds shit, insects buzz, it's not that deep.''

The Modern-Day Sanctum

In the modern 4E, the Viridium Sanctum still stands running weekly educational tours where visitors learn about the former world around them, guided around the Sanctum by a member of the Sanctum staff. Most days the building is open to visitors coming to simply wander the paths or escape the bustling city outside. Some tourists of Sien delight in seeing the towering marvel of glass, others feel the need to enter its lush world less they be driven mad by the stone and metal that makes up the City of Invention. For those that do not often travel far beyond the city walls, the Viridium Sanctum might genuinely be the closest experience they've had to the wilderness. While the Sanctum did not inspire Sien to protect its local woodland it does serve as an educational tool and monument to the sins of the city.