Sunstair Sanctum
The Sunstair Sanctum is a temple complex within the Holy Quarter of the city of Jeharoa dedicated to the twelve gods of the Heavenly Council; excluding Myurdin and Milcon. It is considered by many who follow the Council to be the the holiest place in their legendarium and in all of Holos .
Purpose / Function
The Sanctum is a pantheon, with shrines dedicated to ten of the twelve gods of the Heavenly Council. Milcon, the god of death has his own shrine outside the city walls on the Mount of Souls. The Sanctum was first constructed in the Mithril Era, when Myurdin was first gaining her power but not widely worshipped. During the Palladian Era, the worship of Myurdin was banned. When Myurdin was unleashed in the aftermath of the Sundering Arcana, the city was more concerned with the arrival of another kind of worshipper—the Kōsites. As a result, there are no shrines to Myurdin here in Jeharoa.
Architecture
The Sunstair Temple was first constructed during the Mithril Era and bears some resemblance to Dynastic Jeharoan Architecture. However, the majority of the structure was built using Old Temekanian techniques, including the pivot and chisel.
Rising above the rest of the city on the westernmost hill, you see a second set of walls inside the city limits. They are high, but boast no towers or defenses. Soft alabaster reliefs along the perimeter of the wall depict austere humanoid figures with animal heads. It is hard to discern exactly what the figures are doing. Specks of paint are all that remain of the faded colors. Looking closely, you can see something, some sets of glyphs accompanying the reliefs. A number of merchant stalls offer discount holy water, incense, and engraved scallop shells to the travelers both as souvenirs and as offerings for the gods.
You come to a pair of squat towers that flank an opening through the sanctum’s walls. Two stone gryphons the size of elephants watch with pearlescent eyes as you pass between the towers. Once inside, you see that you are in a large courtyard. Several braziers lit with frankincense light the space at night and fill the air with a sweet, smoky scent. In the center of the courtyard, you see a great rectangular structure made of sun-faded lazuli blue stone. The stone appears to have been darkened in places along its base—you recognize this to be the work of fire and smoke. Two bronze pillars flank a bronze doorway. You see alabaster stone statues of each of the Twelve Gods of the Heavenly Council standing along the exterior of the blue temple. They stand some forty feet tall, truly colossal works of masonry. Beneath each one, you see a priest of that god’s sect and an altar. Dozens of pilgrims appear to wait in line to speak with and perform a ritual with the priests of each god. Many prostrate themselves before the structure. Some weep at the sheer emotion of being in such a sacred place. Others mutter their prayers over and over again to themselves, as if they fear they will forget what they want to communicate to the divine. As you get closer to the building, you can see that the door of the temple and spaces between the colossi have tiny markings. Old glyphs, like the ones you saw on the outer walls. They seem to glimmer like slivers of gold near the top of the structure, while the ones near the base are practically erased by soot and time.
Inside, you come upon a gilded hall. Every surface seems to reflect golden light from the smoldering braziers. The floor is beautifully, almost unnaturally polished so that it seems as though you are walking on a pool of molten gold. Ten statues look towards the statues look towards the center of the chamber. They are the gods of the Heavenly Council: Uriah, Porcia, Rashi, Lacorré, Zwakhasis, Calorba, Balan, Ezrahil, Elenea, and Qingu. Each statue appears to have been carved from a single piece of greenstone, with various parts accentuated with gold, ivory, and gemstones. They seem almost lifelike, each perfectly embodying the spirit of the deity within them. You can almost feel their presence; their guiding hand.
Beyond the statues, the golden floor gives way to simple stone. The stone is barely carved, barely worn by time. Yet you feel as though this stone is older than everything else in the city. The stone appears to be ordinary rock, though it rises from the floor several meters and seems staggered in a way, like a series of rough hewn stone. Immediately, you realize that this is the Sunstair—the last place the gods walked in their mortal forms before taking to their realm in . A flood of emotions grip you—fear, wonder, joy, grief, sorrow, excitement, laughter, apprehension—but above all you feel a heavy, soul deep reverence. It truly does feel as though you are in the center of the world.
Beyond the Sunstair is a second set of bronze doors, also engraved with Old Temekanian glyphs. Yet this one appears closed and does not seem to open for any faithful pilgrim.
History
The Sanctum has been destroyed and rebuilt twice, once during the Mithril Era, when it was razed along with the city itself by the Temekanians and then by the Qartagonians during the Sundering Arcana. Both times, the destroyers ended up rebuilding the temple complex and injecting it with their own cultural and architectural traditions. During the Qartagonian occupation, the temple included a statue to Kōs, the primary deity of the Qartagonian Emirates. However, during the First Pilgrim War's Siege of Jeharoa, the Sanctum was directly attacked. Hundreds of Mashiqi civilians, many of them followers of the Heavenly Council fled to the Sanctum seeking sanctuary. However, the leader of the Grand Pilgrim Army at the time Prince Rainard, ordered his men to storm the Sanctum killing all inside in a bloody massacre still remembered even today.
Alternative Names
The Throne of Heaven
Type
Temple / Religious complex
Parent Location
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