Azari Palace
For thousands of years, the church of Aroden was the most powerful political and cultural institution in Absalom. Then, one day, everything changed. Instead of reappearing on Golarion to usher in a new Golden Age ordained by ancient prophecy, Aroden died. Robbed of their divine patron, Aroden’s clerics fell to infighting and despair, their flocks scattering to other faiths and temples. But five thousand years of political power does not fade away so easily, and even today a fragment of the old church of Aroden survives, burrowed deep into the city’s civic institutions, echoed in architectural details on buildings now used for other purposes, and even managing to sponsor a few remaining temples that almost no one attends anymore.
By far the most important of these residual holy sites of the Last Azlanti is the artifact-stuffed cathedral now known as Azari Palace. The ostentatious old building stands among the most beautiful structures in the Ascendant Court, even if much of its intricately carved facade is slowly crumbling for lack of upkeep and repairs. In time gone by, the edifice was known as St. Solian Temple, serving as the second most prominent Arodenite temple in the district. One noble family, House Azari, refused to let the beautiful temple die, and over the last century their fate has become entwined with this location in particular. The Azari family traces its lineage to one of Aroden’s first disciples in the earliest days of Absalom’s history, and has been associated with the church of Aroden since the very beginning. Dozens of Azari scions have led the worldwide religion over the centuries, and three of its sons and daughters—including the eponymous Solian—count among the ranks of Aroden’s most honored saints.
House Azari’s fortunes faded with the decay of Aroden’s vast religious bureaucracy, and eventually support of St. Solian bankrupted the family and forced them to sell off their Petal District estate. The entire family, led by the venerable Lord Toiden, moved into the most prestigious of the temple’s abandoned priestly chambers, and locals began to refer to St. Solian Temple as Azari Palace. Over the last several decades, as more and more of Aroden’s temples close, Azari Palace has become a repository of nearly five millennia of discarded religious artifacts, relics, and other ephemera. Lack of active worshippers and the advanced age and death of most existing Azari nobles makes the temple itself seem almost empty, despite the fact that its many chambers and even some of its hallways are crowded with mothballed altars, jewel-encrusted scepters, and other items of regalia once sacred to Aroden’s faith. The collection represents a vast fortune (if anyone other than Scion Lord Toiden could identify half of it), and the fading House Azari is long out of funds to properly maintain and protect it.
By far the most important of these residual holy sites of the Last Azlanti is the artifact-stuffed cathedral now known as Azari Palace. The ostentatious old building stands among the most beautiful structures in the Ascendant Court, even if much of its intricately carved facade is slowly crumbling for lack of upkeep and repairs. In time gone by, the edifice was known as St. Solian Temple, serving as the second most prominent Arodenite temple in the district. One noble family, House Azari, refused to let the beautiful temple die, and over the last century their fate has become entwined with this location in particular. The Azari family traces its lineage to one of Aroden’s first disciples in the earliest days of Absalom’s history, and has been associated with the church of Aroden since the very beginning. Dozens of Azari scions have led the worldwide religion over the centuries, and three of its sons and daughters—including the eponymous Solian—count among the ranks of Aroden’s most honored saints.
House Azari’s fortunes faded with the decay of Aroden’s vast religious bureaucracy, and eventually support of St. Solian bankrupted the family and forced them to sell off their Petal District estate. The entire family, led by the venerable Lord Toiden, moved into the most prestigious of the temple’s abandoned priestly chambers, and locals began to refer to St. Solian Temple as Azari Palace. Over the last several decades, as more and more of Aroden’s temples close, Azari Palace has become a repository of nearly five millennia of discarded religious artifacts, relics, and other ephemera. Lack of active worshippers and the advanced age and death of most existing Azari nobles makes the temple itself seem almost empty, despite the fact that its many chambers and even some of its hallways are crowded with mothballed altars, jewel-encrusted scepters, and other items of regalia once sacred to Aroden’s faith. The collection represents a vast fortune (if anyone other than Scion Lord Toiden could identify half of it), and the fading House Azari is long out of funds to properly maintain and protect it.
Type
Cathedral / Great temple
Parent Location
Owner
Owning Organization
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