Noresha Temple Ruins
Emerging from the forest, under a navy-blue sky and blistering snow, you find yourself standing before ancient temple grounds. To your left and right, you are invited in by the warm glow of lanterns, casting a golden light that reflects off the snow, providing a cozy contrast to the hazardous environment. The space itself feels enclosed and intimate, as if it’s a secret garden or forgotten part of a village, set apart from the outside word.
There are several buildings on these grounds – each of varying size and stability. Dirt-covered paths leads up to each one of the structures, with four smaller structures on one side and a massive temple on the right. Each of the four smaller buildings have wide open entrances, with a layer of snow covering their roofs and forming large mounds along the sides. This does not shield them well from the elements, making them extremely uninviting. This is more particularly true for the building on the far southern side, which contains a massive statue of a dragonborn looking out across the courtyard.
Less intimidating is the primary temple, which has a series of stairs leading up to an elevated entrance and a large wooden door. A gentle light is coming out of this temple, inviting you to come closer.
History and Background
It is believed that the temple is over 500 years old. This particular temple was home to a group of Dragonborn monks who honored the connection of the forest and the Feywild. These devout members specialized in creating wards that fought off evil and corruption. They were also quite religious – especially when it came to the passing of life. Those in the order who were quite powerful or skilled were often given burials in hand-built temples scattered throughout the forest. This particular temple was built to store four particularly important Noresha monks. They were a family – a husband, wife, and two sons, who all lost their lives protecting against an ancient evil that seeked to enter the Mahia Forest. For their noble sacrifice, a temple was constructed in their honor, on the exact spot where they fought all those centuries ago. They were sealed in an underground tomb, with wards and protections in place to make sure no one raided them. Fast forward hundreds of years, and the temple ruins are now being used by the Sacred Oak clan. No Orc is allowed entry into the ruins themselves, instead they just use the grounds to put young Orcs through a ceremony when they come of age – a spiritual awakening where they become in-tune with the forest, the Noresha spirit, and surrounding magics. Because of this, the Orcs consider this to be sacred grounds, where even Orcs can be punished if they trespass. When not in use, the ruins are left alone, with no guards or patrols. This makes it easy for people to slip in and out of the ruins. But for those caught trespassing, death is the only punishment.
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