Shar'Datai
A
Record of the Findings of the Watchers of Kelemvor regarding the Archaeological Site of Shar'Datai
Scribed by Martyn Belloc, First Scribe, 1387 AE
Shar'Datai appears an ruined Nethonris temple, constructed in a subterranean grotto beneath the city of Neverwinter. From analyses performed, the temple greatly predates the fouding of the city, and appears to date back to the Dark Times immediately after the The Primordial War and the The Sundering. Indeed, judging by the nature of the runic inscriptions, it appears this may have been one of the first outposts of the the fledgling Nethonris after the fall of the Netheril Empire. In more recent examples of Nethonris sites, the script appears more decadent. This is understandable, as more modern practitioners in the cult have been taught Netheril as a second language.
Scribed by Martyn Belloc, First Scribe, 1387 AE
Shar'Datai appears an ruined Nethonris temple, constructed in a subterranean grotto beneath the city of Neverwinter. From analyses performed, the temple greatly predates the fouding of the city, and appears to date back to the Dark Times immediately after the The Primordial War and the The Sundering. Indeed, judging by the nature of the runic inscriptions, it appears this may have been one of the first outposts of the the fledgling Nethonris after the fall of the Netheril Empire. In more recent examples of Nethonris sites, the script appears more decadent. This is understandable, as more modern practitioners in the cult have been taught Netheril as a second language.
Purpose / Function
The temple is arranged as a series of trials, apparently intended to test the three tenants of the Nethonris: Belief, Patience and Sacrifice.
Belief The first trial comprises an elaborate illusionary room, disguising a simple elevated path bordered on either side by pits. The illusion gives the impression of a narrow, almost invisible walkway, guarded by a series of physical traps. Those who are unaware of the nature of the illusion would likely attempt to avoid said traps, and fall off the true walkway into the pits. Those who are aware of the nature of the illusion would simply walk straight through.
Patience A most interesting example, the second trial takes the form of a mystically energised labyrinth, triggered by the presence of living creatures within it's bounds. Every minute, the rooms within the labyrinth move through a set pattern, continually changing the layout of the maze. The entrance room will, after six movements, become the exit room. Simply waiting for the labyrinth to complete it's full cycle will allow entrants to traverse the trial.
However, should participants leave the entrance room, there are four trapped rooms within the maze.
One room, we have named the Potential Room, produces a powerful static charge on any object which passes through the space. After moving roughly to the centre of the room, the object has built sufficient charge that the room generates a powerful lightning strike which deals high damage to the subject.
Another room, we have named the Amber Room, has a temporal distortion field which causes time to slow almost to a complete stop within it's bounds.
The third trapped room we have named the Loop Room. From the outside, it appears identical to the Amber Room. However, from the perspective inside the room, time appears to move normally, and time outside of the field appears slowed. When the subject attempts to exit the room, they find themselves re-entering from the opposing door. Without outside assistance, the subject will ultimately die of thirst.
The final, and most deadly, room we have named the Dust Room. The floor of the room is covered with a thick coating of dust. Inside the centre of the room is another time dilation field. However, this field greatly accelerates time within its boundaries. Any object which passes inside this field is aged at a rate we have estimated to be approximately 100 years per second of exposure. The dust on the floor appears to be the remains of the room's previous victims. Sacrifice The final trial takes the form of a locked room with a complex spinning blade mechanism. Once the trap is triggered, the central blade begins to spin at high speed. After a period of one minute, the blade folds in the middle, forming two distinct blades which extend outward by a further five feet. After another minute, the blade folds again, forming four blades and extending the radius of travel by a further five feet. This final movement causes the blades to almost completely fill the room, scoring the walls in the four cardinal directions. The only unaffected areas appear to be the very corners. After another minute, the blade folds back to it's initial arrangement and the cycle repeats.
Beneath the blade we have discovered a hydrodynamic mechanism, which when introduced to a sufficient volume of liquid, satisfies the goal of the trial, halting the mechanism and unlocking the doors. We surmise the intent was to offer a sacrifice to the room to enter, but we have managed to bypass the mechanism using water. Beyond the trials, the Temple proper is notably different from the temples we have grown accustomed to. There are no lodgings or study areas for supplicants; and no altars or idols through which to focus worship.
The temple appears to be a single chamber. Three walls are covered with religious iconography relating to the nature of the Nethonris gods, the Primordials. The information therein is written entirely in ancient Netheril. When translated it appears to be a form of prophecy regarding the return of the Primordials.
The fourth wall describes a series of arcane Nethonris devices, described as Wayshrines. These Wayshrines appear to be activated using mystical orbs known as the Eyes of Vroth. When activated they seem to be intended to weaken the Veil, and to draw energy from the Primordials into Lanath.
It is the conjecture of the lead archaeologists that this building was not truly a temple, intended for worship or religious observations; but rather a location for the leadership of the cult to meet and to advance their schemes. This would align with the earlier observation that this was one of the original Nethonris outposts, and likely was lost and fell into disrepair after the rout of the first incarnation of the cult at the hands of the Inquisitors of Selune.
Belief The first trial comprises an elaborate illusionary room, disguising a simple elevated path bordered on either side by pits. The illusion gives the impression of a narrow, almost invisible walkway, guarded by a series of physical traps. Those who are unaware of the nature of the illusion would likely attempt to avoid said traps, and fall off the true walkway into the pits. Those who are aware of the nature of the illusion would simply walk straight through.
Patience A most interesting example, the second trial takes the form of a mystically energised labyrinth, triggered by the presence of living creatures within it's bounds. Every minute, the rooms within the labyrinth move through a set pattern, continually changing the layout of the maze. The entrance room will, after six movements, become the exit room. Simply waiting for the labyrinth to complete it's full cycle will allow entrants to traverse the trial.
However, should participants leave the entrance room, there are four trapped rooms within the maze.
One room, we have named the Potential Room, produces a powerful static charge on any object which passes through the space. After moving roughly to the centre of the room, the object has built sufficient charge that the room generates a powerful lightning strike which deals high damage to the subject.
Another room, we have named the Amber Room, has a temporal distortion field which causes time to slow almost to a complete stop within it's bounds.
The third trapped room we have named the Loop Room. From the outside, it appears identical to the Amber Room. However, from the perspective inside the room, time appears to move normally, and time outside of the field appears slowed. When the subject attempts to exit the room, they find themselves re-entering from the opposing door. Without outside assistance, the subject will ultimately die of thirst.
The final, and most deadly, room we have named the Dust Room. The floor of the room is covered with a thick coating of dust. Inside the centre of the room is another time dilation field. However, this field greatly accelerates time within its boundaries. Any object which passes inside this field is aged at a rate we have estimated to be approximately 100 years per second of exposure. The dust on the floor appears to be the remains of the room's previous victims. Sacrifice The final trial takes the form of a locked room with a complex spinning blade mechanism. Once the trap is triggered, the central blade begins to spin at high speed. After a period of one minute, the blade folds in the middle, forming two distinct blades which extend outward by a further five feet. After another minute, the blade folds again, forming four blades and extending the radius of travel by a further five feet. This final movement causes the blades to almost completely fill the room, scoring the walls in the four cardinal directions. The only unaffected areas appear to be the very corners. After another minute, the blade folds back to it's initial arrangement and the cycle repeats.
Beneath the blade we have discovered a hydrodynamic mechanism, which when introduced to a sufficient volume of liquid, satisfies the goal of the trial, halting the mechanism and unlocking the doors. We surmise the intent was to offer a sacrifice to the room to enter, but we have managed to bypass the mechanism using water. Beyond the trials, the Temple proper is notably different from the temples we have grown accustomed to. There are no lodgings or study areas for supplicants; and no altars or idols through which to focus worship.
The temple appears to be a single chamber. Three walls are covered with religious iconography relating to the nature of the Nethonris gods, the Primordials. The information therein is written entirely in ancient Netheril. When translated it appears to be a form of prophecy regarding the return of the Primordials.
The fourth wall describes a series of arcane Nethonris devices, described as Wayshrines. These Wayshrines appear to be activated using mystical orbs known as the Eyes of Vroth. When activated they seem to be intended to weaken the Veil, and to draw energy from the Primordials into Lanath.
It is the conjecture of the lead archaeologists that this building was not truly a temple, intended for worship or religious observations; but rather a location for the leadership of the cult to meet and to advance their schemes. This would align with the earlier observation that this was one of the original Nethonris outposts, and likely was lost and fell into disrepair after the rout of the first incarnation of the cult at the hands of the Inquisitors of Selune.
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