Temple-of-Yip

The Temple-of-Yip is the last remaining solid settlement in Yip, said to have survived multiple wars because of an ancient spell put on it by the Overlords. It was once the main hub of the Overlords, and was their main place of worship. It was also where they housed the Jewel-of-Osiris and the Ruby-Sword (two ancient magical artifacts of unimaginable power). Today it is mainly governed over by the Dawnguard, who have made it their official headquarters.

Purpose / Function

The purpose of the Temple was to house the two artifacts and function as a holy-site where Overlords would take pilgrimage to.

Alterations

Not much alterations have been done to the Temple, as no one except the Dawnguard has entered the structure in 100 years.

Architecture

The building is constructed as such: the interior room is 27 meters long, 9 meters wide and 13.5 meters high. The entrance-room is 4.5 meters deep and 9 meters wide, as wide as the sanctuary itself. The walls of the Temple have openings in them, narrower on the outside than on the inside. Against the outside walls, on the sides and the back of the Temple, a three-storey annex is built (each "storey" being 2.2 meters in height). Each room in the lowest storey is 2.2 meters wide, in the middle-storey 2.7 meters wide and in the top-storey 3.1 meters wide. The temple-wall on each floor is thinner than the floor below so that the rooms can rest on the wall without having their beams built into it. The granite stones which with the Temple was built were prepared at a distant quarry, so that there was no noise made by hammers, axes, drills or any other tools as the Temple was being built. The entrance to the lowest storey of the annex is on the south side of the Temple, with stairs leading up to the second and third. The ceiling is made of beams and boards of cedar preserved with resin. The annex is built against the outside walls of the Temple, and is joined to them by cedar beams.
The inside walls are covered in cedar panels from floor to ceiling. The floor is made of pine. An inner-room, called the Resting-Place, is built in the rear of the Temple. It is nine meters long and is portioned off by cedar boards reaching from the floor to ceiling. The room in front of the Resting-Place is 18 meters long. The cedar panels are decorated with carvings of flowers and birds. The whole interior is covered in cedar, so that the stones of the walls are not visible. In the further rear of the Temple is a room known as the Meeting-Place; this room is nine meters long and nine meters wide and nine meters high, all covered with pure refined gold. The central altar is covered in cedar panels. The interior of the Temple is covered in gold, and gold chains are placed around the entrance of the inner room, which is also covered in gold. Two large statues of winged warriors, made of olive wood, are at the center of the Meeting-Place; each statue is 4.4 meters tall. Their wings are 2.2 meters long, the distance from one wing-tip to the other is exactly 4.4 meters. The statues are built side by side, so that two of their outstretched wings touch each other in the middle of the room and the other two wings touch the walls. The wings are covered in gold plates. The walls of the Main-Room are decorated with carved figures of winged creatures, palm-trees and flowers. A double-door made of olive-wood is set in place at the entrance of the Meeting-Room; the top of the doorway has a pointed arch. The doors are decorated with carved figures of winged lions. The doors are built into a rectangular door-frame made of olive-wood. Two folding doors made of pine and decorated with carved figures of gold and silver are also built.
The inner-court is built in front of the Temple, enclosed with walls which have one layer of cedar beams for every three layers of stone. It is 44 meters long, 22 meters wide and 13.5 meters high. It has three rows of cedar pillars, fifteen in each row, with cedar-beams resting on them. The ceiling is cedar, and is supported by two marble pillars. On eac side-wall (there are two of them) are three rows of windows. There is a Hall built into the court; 22 meters long and 13.5 meters wide. The foundations are made of five large rectangular stones, each stone 3.5 meters in height and 4 meters in length. There are two bronze columns, each one 8 meters tall and 5.3 meters in circumference. They are at the entrance of the Temple. There are two bronze capitals, each one 2.2 meters tall ,placed on top of the columns. The top of each column is decorated with series of interwoven chains and two rows of baubles. The capitals are shaped like lilies, 1.8 meters tall, and are placed in a rounded section above the interwoven chains. There are 200 baubles in two rows on each capital.
At the center of the temple is a large round tank of bronze; 2.2 meters deep, 4.4 meters in diameter and 13 meters in circumference. Outside the rim of the tank are two rows of bronze flowers. The tank rests on the backs of twelve bronze bull-statues that face outwards, three facing in each cardinal direction. The sides of the tank are 75 millimeters thick. The tank holds about 40,000 liters of pure water, which the Overlords once used for purification-rituals.
There are ten bronze carts; each one 1.8 meters long, 1.8 meters wide and 1.3 meters high. They are made in the figures of lions, bulls and eagles. Each cart is square with a solid frame. Each cart has four bronze wheels with bronze spokes. At the four corners are bronze supports for a basin, the supports are decorated with spiral figures. There is a circular frame 45 centimeters from the top of each cart and 18 centimeters down. The wheels are 66 centimeters high. There is a 22 centimeter band of metal on each cart. There are ten basin in each cart; each basin is 1.8 meters in diameter and holds about 88 liters. Five carts are on the south side of the Temple, and the other five on the north. The bronze tank is at the south-east corner.
At the heart of the Temple is the Golden-Altar: this Altar used to hold the two artifacts before they were taken and lost. The Golden-Altar is now used today to keep the original signed copy of the Declaration of Spells in a bulletproof-glass case. The Altar and the entire Temple premises are watched over by the Dawnguard.

History

The building was brought over 480 years ago by the first Overlords to arrive in Ka'a'. Is is said that the structure was made in a nearby dimension and was brought over by the Overlords through a process known as "tellyportation". It became a relic after the last of the Overlords went extinct in the Frontier-War.

Alternative Names

The Temple

Type

Monastery

Parent Location

Yip

Owning Organization

Dawnguard