God Shrines

Overview

The God Shrines are monuments built by ancient Gendirlo to house the stone forms of the eight gods. Five of these shrines can be found in Dosjorya, and the missing three are hypothesized to reside on missing lands that disappeared during a great cataclysm a few thousand years ago. Dargonian and Arbriden people worship these three shrines and the gods within, forming the basis of their religion. Gendirlo frequently visit the three shrines on their mainland, and occasionally visit the White Shrine on Iran Island. Few have dared to fly within sight of Baked Shrine on Xazdos Volcano as many of those who have tried ended up dead or missing.

Characteristics

Records still exist that describe the appearance and construction of all eight shrines. However, these records are incomplete in places for the shrines that the Gendirlo do not have full access to. Based on the comparisons of the records of the four accessible shrines, it is believed that the knowledge that survives of the other shrines is accurate.
The Maker of God’s shrine is the Stone Shrine, located near the shores of Great Lake Lavoxen. Oddly, the shrine was built of grey slate with few blue inlays. The slate sourced for the shrine contains unknown and bizarre creature patterns on some faces. Most of these creatures resemble modern life living in the lakes and rivers of Dosjorya, perhaps explaining the choice of material. Tonlepel I helped to design Stone Shrine so the language that appears on the faces of the shrine is more than likely theirs, as the shrines had been built before the Coloktialo created Salimen. Like many god shrines, Stone Shrine is box shaped, having a uniform length and width from base to top. Finely sculpted bars of almost white marble section the structure into three segments and contain the shrine’s only pictorial elements. Waves are the most common motif, punctuated by rain drops, fish, rivers, and Gendirlo drinking from ponds.
The Destroyer of God’s shrine is the Shrine of Legends, located on the northern tip of the Metal Tongue Mountains. Respecting its god’s elements, this is the only shrine not composed primarily of stone. Skeletons of Gendirl builders can be found in the nearby ground, a sad reminder that the Shrine of Legends was the deadliest building project the Gendirlo have ever undertaken. The shrine is a tall, narrow cone of copper with numerous amethyst crystals jutting out from its surfaces. Despite the tireless efforts of a number of Jowlklo, the copper has fully attained a bluish green patina and has lost all of its sheen. The patina has obscured the engraved patterns and words, though from time to time these are reinscribed. The result, though temporary, is a stunning contract of fresh copper over patina. Each time the inscriptions become deeper, causing some Jowlklo to fear that they may one day in the far future carve though to the heart of the shrine, a core of amethyst bearing rock. However, the inscriptions are still unite shallow and the copper layer is very thick.
Based on surviving records from its construction, comparisons of mother known shrines, and the few accounts from those brave enough to fly close enough to sight it, Baked Shrine, which houses the God of Summer, was built from pumice and decorated with inlays of obsidian and red jasper. It is known that all visitable shrines stand between twenty and twenty five feet, so Baked Shrine is estimated to be in the same range. The entire structure is rectangular in the horizontal plane and the top half gradually tapers to a point. It stands on the offshore Xazdos Volcano.
The God of Winter’s shrine is the Ice Shrine, located on Ice Mountain, a glacier capped anomaly north east of Settled Dosjorya. To blend in with the snow surrounding it, Ice Shrine is composed of the whitest stones the Gendirlo could find, and as a result is composed mostly of marble. Ice Shrine is built from bricks of stone that fit perfectly together rather than from large blocks. The top portion is a pyramid of marble that is wider than the base, and along the overhanging edge, icicles stretch nearly to the ground. These icicles make it difficult to access the alcove where Winter is stored and obscures any writing ot decoration on the shrine. At the shrine’s creation, icicles were formed on purpose, but the weather and the effect of the god have caused these icicles to grow longer and thicker.
The God of Joy’s shrine is the White Shrine, located on the temperate Idan Island. Basalt rich in peridot comprises the main structure of White Shrine, lending a dark green appearance in contract to its name. No records remain pertaining to the reasoning behind the name, and some Gendirlo have shifted towards calling it the Light Shrine. However, many scholars argue the original name was given because the color white can only happen when there is light, and light if the god’s element. The round structure reflects mits of light from the thousands of gemstone quality peridots, and the entirety of the shrine is polished to a dull shine. No patterns, motifs, or writing mart its surface. Of all the god shrines, White Shrine is the most plain.
The following shrines now sit across the ocean among people who have no idea who created them nor the reason for their origin. Gendirlo only possess ancient documentation from when they were created, but thousands of years have passed since any Gendirlo have laid eyes upon them.
The God of Sorrow’s shrine if the Shrine of Tears, located across the ocean in the desert of Arbrid. Like the Shrine of Legends, this shrine is composed partly of metal, though only as inlays a not as primary structual elements. Copper was used, and over time, it has turned a bluish green, though discovery by the ancestors of the Arbridens people and subsequent care by their priests have allowed the copper decorations to return to their reddish gleam. An unknown language is etched on the orange sandstone, for no records remain for which species put forth the most effort in designing the Shrine of Tears, and the humans across the ocean know nothing of the history of the structure. Unlike the other shrines, Shrine of Tears id neither rectangular nor round; instead, this shrine is triangular in a horizontal plane. The sides are uniform from top to bottom, broken only by the copper accents and the formerly sharp outcroppings of rock along the three corners.
The God of Speed’s shrine is the Shrine of the Winds, located across the ocean in a plain between Tyoka’s mountains and Arbrid’s desert. Made of pink granite, this shrine is the narrowest and tallest of all, a round column decorated with bands of obsidian and carved with ornate wind motifs that almost hint of some unknown language that even modern Gendirlo would fail to recognize. Nackadongo were pivotal in the design of this shrine due to their swiftness in flight, and the script, if indeed it is a script, may be a remnant, of their language used before the birth of Salimen.
The God of Strength’s shrine is the Mountain Shrine, located across the ocean in the mountains of Tyoka. Similar to the Shrine of the Winds, Mountain Shrine’s size is distinctive, though in this case the shrine is the shrine is the shortest and widest. A single block of banded gneiss forms the rectangular structure, which gradually tapers until the top is a third the width of the bottom. No writing is found on Mountain Shrine, though numerous inlays of stone varieties can be found on its sides. The base has a half foot tall band of marble carved with geometric patterns.
The Scale and craftsmanship of all eight shrines, in comparison to the current technological state of the Gendirlo, appear to indicate that either the Gendirlo have regressed their progress over time, or only developed this sort of advancement in reverence for the gods and promptly made the conscious decision to return to their more primitive ways to remain in sync with the land and its elements. The latter is most likely accurate, as Gendirlo throughout history, even after the arrival of humans, have been loath to disturb and alter the land in any great way to suit their needs. Each species is well suited to thrive in their preferred environment and thus have no need to conform nature to their needs and wants.

Mysterious Disappearance and Deaths Around Baked Shrine

Isolated on an island out ot sea, only flying Gendirlo wiht sufficient stamina such as the Kundego, and humans with ocean worthy boats can even reach Xazdos Volcano. Anyone who approaches the island but keeps a wide distance between themselves and the shrine reports nothing out of the ordinary. Xazdos Volcano and its ring of islands has little in the way of substantial plant life and no known animal life. Of those that get too close, some completely disappear with no trace or hint as to how they died, while a rare few can be found floating in the ocean elsewhere with their necks broken. Boats are destroyed leaving little beyond floating planks and crates.
While the islands cannot support a creature large enough and string enough to kill all who approach, no one knows what else could be guarding the volcano and Baked Shrine. Perhaps the God of Summer does not want anyone visiting its shrine despite its power being the only one naturally manifesting beyond itself in the form of human conjurers and the fire breath of Failers. Though if the god were to kill those who approached, it would likely do so by using unbearable heat rather that physical might. Frigid temperatures exist around Ice Shrine, lending to the belief that heat might be what is used to kill. However, none of the bodies that have ever been recovered show signs of burns.

Type

Shrine