Temple of Marzhdeem
The Temple of Marzhdeem, also called the Temple of Mercy, Refuge of Outcasts, Thieves' Sanctuary, and Oasis of Salvation among other things, is a sprawling, ancient temple dedicated to Marzhdeem, the god of mercy. It is located deep in the deserts of Zarthosia, and surrounds a large oasis. Any who seek refuge there are granted it, no questions asked, no matter who they are or what they have done, why they are there or where they have come from, what they might be running from. They are given shelter, food, healing, and any care they may require. Past crimes, even when revealed, have no bearing. "The past is behind us, thus it shall be left. The future is not yet reality, no one can know it. What matters is not the steps you have taken, nor the ones you shall take, only the one you take now." So go the teachings of Marzhdeem. The past and future are irrelevant. In the present, all all worthy of mercy.
There is no reason why anyone may be turned away. The only reason someone may be expelled from the sanctuary, is if they commit violence against another in the temple. Past crimes may be left there, but should make a choice in the present to act maliciously, then they must find their sanctuary elsewhere. Aside from that, the holy folk of the Temple of Marzhdeem do not believe in punishment, and exile is a consequence only for malicious violence. Any other supposed crime committed within the temple, such as theft, or vandalism, is met with compassion, healing-- mercy. Conflicts are resolved with calm understanding and peace. The followers of Marzhdeem do not believe there is such thing as an evil person.
It's not just those with a dark past who disappear into the high walls, ornate archways and lush gardens of the temple. Many people who end up there are ones who had been lost in the desert, stumbling towards the temple like a beacon of hope on the horizon. Many who go there have been targets or victims of violence, or oppression. There are some there who simply came to find peace. The Temple of Marzhdeem's reputation for taking in criminals, scoundrels, murderers and thieves is mostly just because that's the part that people find the most scandalous.
Most people taking shelter in the temple do not stay forever, or for very long. A good dose of mercy, of kindness, of aid, can go a long way to healing and/or reforming a person who has struggled. Some live out the rest of their lives within the temple's sanctuary, as guests or patients or refugees or however one might refer to them, but most who do stay, learn the teachings of Marzhdeem themselves and join the temple's monastic order, to then afford the same hand of mercy to others as they have received. For many, it is the thing that saved their life.
Many, many centuries after it was first built, the temple that stands there today is not technically the same one that it always has been. It has had to be repaired, even completely rebuilt a few times, for reasons ranging from mundane weather wearing, to attacks from people who would have seen the Temple of Marzhdeem be destroyed. Just because those receiving sanctuary within the temple are meant to be protected from the outside, does not mean that external forces have always respected that. Whether it be a specific person or group of people had been seeking asylum there, or simply as a matter of principle, there have been generals and kings and emperors who have decided that they alone should have the right to choose who is shown mercy and who is not. Only three hundred years ago, under the reign of one of the most war-fixated kings of Zarthosia's long history, the temple was completely razed to rubble for the offense of sheltering refugees whose homes had been destroyed by the king's armies in the first place. But that king's reign did not last forever, and the temple was rebuilt, and the garden was regrown, and mercy, stubbornly as ever, refused to be wiped out.
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