Starstone Cathedral
When Aroden raised the Starstone from the depths of the Inner Sea, he drew up the whole of the Isle of Kortos along with it. After grasping the massive glowing crystal in hand, Aroden’s spirit ventured within the gemstone, where he endured a series of phantasmagoric scenes drawn from his memories, fears, and ambitions meant to test his inner character. Emerging victorious from this ordeal as a living god, Aroden turned his now divine gaze to the wave-drenched isle of rock below him. The glowing stone in his hand held his destiny. The soaked stone below would become the foundation of his legacy. Aroden knew that some of the pilgrims drawn to his new city of Absalom would want to follow in his footsteps, claiming the Starstone for themselves. Yet he had spent the five thousand years since the fall of Azlant trying to crack the secret of divinity. He had no interest in letting anyone take it from him easily. To prevent this, Aroden established a magnificent temple to himself known as the Starstone Cathedral as the very first structure in the newfound city of Absalom. Before the arrival of the city’s first inhabitants, Aroden himself dwelt within the edifice and used it as a personal home, even as he tirelessly worked to weave magical architecture designed to prevent interlopers from accessing the Starstone.
The structure still stands today. Perched atop a perilous pillar of rock at the center of a vast pit in the heart of the Ascendant Court, the Starstone Cathedral is the most famous building in Absalom, its towered silhouette standing in as an internationally recognized symbol for the city itself—an association enhanced by the wide spread of Absalom’s gold measure, which features an imprint of the building on one side.
Every year, hundreds of would-be gods seeking divinity or common thrill-seekers hunting a challenge pridefully attempt to delve into the Starstone Cathedral and lay hands on the Starstone. Very few survive even a half-dozen chambers of the legendary dungeon, and most who do become hopelessly lost within its constantly shifting labyrinth or are forced to flee the structure altogether. Exceedingly few have ever managed to penetrate the secret chamber of the Starstone itself. There, anyone who touches the gemstone artifact finds their spirits drawn within the crystal and challenged by the Test of the Starstone, just as Aroden was tested. Those who prove their worthiness return to their bodies as immortal, divine beings. The rest are destroyed by the Starstone, their bodies left to rot. Dozens of ancient skeletons line the floor near the glowing stone, some still reaching for its crystalline, faceted surface.
Three bridges span the expanse between the Cathedral proper and the streets of the Ascendant Court. Each of the bridges corresponds to one of the successful challengers of the Test of the Starstone—Norgorber, Iomedae, and Cayden Cailean. These sacred paths abut the frontage of one of their respective grand temples, tracing the footsteps of the ascended gods as they left the Cathedral in triumph. A fourth bridge, corresponding to Aroden and tended to by his aging clergy, collapsed in the earthquake of 4698 AR.
Very little is known about the details of the Test of the Starstone itself, but the lore of Absalom holds that to successfully pass the Test, one must cross the Starstone Chasm by some method other than the three bridges that span its gulf. Starstone aspirants thus prefer other methods—complicated rope bridges, flying carpets, being fired from a cannon, and so on. As the lore demands that each crossing must be unique, creativity abounds.
The structure still stands today. Perched atop a perilous pillar of rock at the center of a vast pit in the heart of the Ascendant Court, the Starstone Cathedral is the most famous building in Absalom, its towered silhouette standing in as an internationally recognized symbol for the city itself—an association enhanced by the wide spread of Absalom’s gold measure, which features an imprint of the building on one side.
Every year, hundreds of would-be gods seeking divinity or common thrill-seekers hunting a challenge pridefully attempt to delve into the Starstone Cathedral and lay hands on the Starstone. Very few survive even a half-dozen chambers of the legendary dungeon, and most who do become hopelessly lost within its constantly shifting labyrinth or are forced to flee the structure altogether. Exceedingly few have ever managed to penetrate the secret chamber of the Starstone itself. There, anyone who touches the gemstone artifact finds their spirits drawn within the crystal and challenged by the Test of the Starstone, just as Aroden was tested. Those who prove their worthiness return to their bodies as immortal, divine beings. The rest are destroyed by the Starstone, their bodies left to rot. Dozens of ancient skeletons line the floor near the glowing stone, some still reaching for its crystalline, faceted surface.
Three bridges span the expanse between the Cathedral proper and the streets of the Ascendant Court. Each of the bridges corresponds to one of the successful challengers of the Test of the Starstone—Norgorber, Iomedae, and Cayden Cailean. These sacred paths abut the frontage of one of their respective grand temples, tracing the footsteps of the ascended gods as they left the Cathedral in triumph. A fourth bridge, corresponding to Aroden and tended to by his aging clergy, collapsed in the earthquake of 4698 AR.
Very little is known about the details of the Test of the Starstone itself, but the lore of Absalom holds that to successfully pass the Test, one must cross the Starstone Chasm by some method other than the three bridges that span its gulf. Starstone aspirants thus prefer other methods—complicated rope bridges, flying carpets, being fired from a cannon, and so on. As the lore demands that each crossing must be unique, creativity abounds.
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