Pelor's Grand Cathedral

Purpose / Function

The exact rites and teachings of the sun god Pelor. Also stores texts and rites in the Atheneum, one of the largest collection of books in Daeg.

Design

Made up of circles the radiate from the center where the altar stands. The main temple is open to the sky. The mosaic floor reveals the history of Pelor as the Humans understand it and catalogue his dealings in the world.

Entries

The main doors stand an impressive forty feet tall and two feet thick resting upon hinges made of adamantine. Several windows in the white granite are on ebony windowsills. These stand ten feet or more tall and all depict each Human's ethnicity's depiction of Pelor in colorful stained glass.

Sensory & Appearance

The first noticeable aspect of the temple are the starting steps. Dyed yellow marble steps with orange rays depicting a sun are the first of many visual treats. The sound of boots clicking on the steps sounds deep outside the walls then reverberates inside, the ensuing acoustics deepening and causing conversation to be hushed.
The sweet scent of incense from alcoves set into certain marble pillars caresses the nose and causes certain trance qualities.
A gentle harp plucking in some random direction and ineffably caused fills the void between footsteps.
The paramount experience is the roofless temple. Certain rooms that house assistants are covered but the main area is open to the sky. Magic moves the pillars down so that sunlight may always rest upon the altar. When night comes, the pillars set themselves lower the closer to the altar they are, causing a step effect. Torches become lit with unfaltering flame that wreathe the center altar in light like a bonfire.

Denizens

The clerics of Pelor wear ceremonial platemail and white and yellow robes with an orange sun emblazoned on the chest. They have rooms deeper in the temple.

Contents & Furnishings

Various benches small altars are placed next to the ethnic depictions of Pelor. It is good propriety to attend to your own ethnic depiction since that is closest to your heart.

Valuables

All temple fees are free from tax and used for upkeep. Artifacts from Pelor himself, such as the Sunblade and Flaming Sphere, are kept here.

Hazards & Traps

Various magical means of protecting the artifacts are in place, and cannot be dispelled outside of a wish spell.

Special Properties

Spiritual aspects such as the pillars moving and obeying the sunlight and forming unfaltering flame. Technically, areas around the altars on the periphery are magically dead zones; no arcane magic exists here.

Alterations

The first true temple to any deity in Human lands, the Sun Temple was fashion with pillars of marble carried hundreds of miles to atop a large plateau. The city of Hlee was built around it.

Architecture

The marble influence is still prominent and worked into the more modern materials such as ebony and granite. Pillars are the main focus since Pelor is seen as the pillar of Good deities. A triangular front faces toward the public as they walk up the fifty steps to the temple itself.

History

After initial construction, the prehistoric Humans saw those who ruled it as the true ruler of Humans. Even when the Clannish Wars of 2200's took place, they all recognized the place as sacred. When finally united, the Great Unifier restored the temple to its former glory. While the great walls were being reconstructed around the entire plateau, the temple remained undisturbed. Even to this day it is illegal to walk within the Hall of Pillars with a weapon. Divine presence even stills magic in the area.

Founding Date

sometime in the First Era

Alternative Names

Sun Lord's Temple, Sun's House, Sun Temple

Type

Cathedral / Great temple

Parent Location

Hlee

Environmental Effects

The temperature is regulated by Pelor himself and kept at a warm 80 degrees, even during night. The humidity is non-existent, the heat being dry like the desert. The heat is tolerable even among the snow-children of mountains. The heat envelops, never burning, the entrant like a loving parent cradles a newborn child.