Sunspire Beacon

Sunspire Bluff

Purpose / Function

• To mark the holy ground upon which Uriah, the Sun Radiant⁣, told his consort, the Princess Salama, to settle and live with their two mortal children, Kananes and Kóreni.

• To serve as a Tower, a holy temple dedicated to Uriah, the Sun Radiant, where those who follow Him and His faith can come together to celebrate, give thanks, and work together in the warmth of his beneficence.

• To act as a warning beacon to those crossing before the Hook of Iskendra that they sail through deep and treacherous currents and of the great bluff upon which it is built.

Architecture

At first you thought it was simply the sheer light of the sun. But now, in the night’s darkness, you know why they call the Great Lighthouse of Iskendra the House of the Second Sun. It rises from the crown of the Hook, the highest point on the Iskendran peninsula. For the first hundred meters, the tower stands as a square, white stone structure with small openings for painted glass windows. Atop the square beaconhouse, a spire vaults up another seventy meters, glittering blue-green bronze shining still after seventeen centuries. Yet, it’s most wondrous offering you cannot bear to look at for more than a moment. For at the apex, shining like a second sun, lies the lighthouse’s lantern. They say the fire that burns within the Tower of the Second Sun was a spark brought down by the talons of Uriah himself and placed within the tower so that all might know the glory of his chosen city. And glorious it is, for you cannot think of a more fitting word for this cathedral to the Most Radiant One.

— Wyford of Heathmere's "A Tour Of Old Palladia."

• Built seventeen centuries ago during the early years of the Palladian Era, the Great Lighthouse of Iskendra, also called the Tower of the Second Sun and the Sunspire Beacon.

• It is believed to be the tallest building in all of Holos.

• The first part of the structure is the worship space itself. It has eleven floors from which the faithful can watch the service, and the whole of the chamber can hold about one thousand souls. Suspended from the center of the chamber is a representation of the lantern which is in the beaconhouse above.

• Above the worship space, the Chalke or Bronze Spire is where the pilgrims can partake in the Sky Communion, trekking up the sixty-seven or so meters to receive an offering from the on-duty Beacon.

• Above the Chalke Spire is the Eagle’s Roost, where the Archbeacon tends the Sunspark, a sacred relic said to be a fragment of the sun itself, given to the Princess Salama by the Sun Radiant Himself.

• After being chosen, the Archbeacon spends the rest of his or her life tending to the Spark and slowly goes blind. The Beacon Below serves as the representative of the Church within the community, though in times of great crisis the Archbeacon may descend to reassure the people that they have Uriah’s favor.

Alternative Names

The House of the Second Sun; The Great Lighthouse of Iskendra

Type

Cathedral / Great temple

Parent Location

Iskendra