House of Inspired Hands

House of Inspired Hands

The House of Inspired Hands is a large temple complex dedicated to Gond, the Wonderbringer, located in Sea Ward. The oldest buildings in the complex are also some of the oldest buildings in the city, having been constructed as a walled monastery and trade mission by merchant-monks.
The structure was burned during the Orcfastings War, rebuilt, and later burned again a century later in the Year of Crimson Magics. With the expansion of the Trollwall around the entirety of what would become Sea Ward during the late rule of Ahghairon, the rebuilt monastery was wholly reconsecrated to Gond.

Construction

The House of Inspired Hands consists of a complex of four main structures enclosed by a high wall of ancient fitted granite blocks covered with the black ash of old burning and the lush growth of crawling ivy and moss.
The wall is pierced in three places:

1. The Main Gate, on Seawatch Street, is the ceremonial entrance to the main cathedral of the temple, and the most used by the general public and visitors. 
2. The South Postern Door opens onto Gondswatch Lane, and is the most heavily used by the acolytes and crafts-folk that frequent the inner courtyard. 
3. The Trades Gate is the large, double wooden-beamed entrance for the heavily laden wagons of wood, stone, and metal ingots used in the temple's active creative ventures.

The Exhibition Hall

By far the largest and most impressive structure of the temple is the so-called "Exhibition Hall", the main cathedral of the holy complex. A regular pentagon shaped building, it's eastern and south-eastern faces form the outer wall of the complex on those two sides. The most memorable feature of the outer wall of this structure is facade surrounding the Main Gate.
Unlike the rest of the temple, which is composed of a combination of grey granite, black marble, and speckled gray marble, this wall, enclosed by a portico of heavy Doric columns, is composed entirely of a single sheet of transparent glass-steel, within which spin thousands of brass cogs and gears in an intricate and perpetual dance. The cogs range from the simple to the ornate, as well as from the tremendous (60' across), to the tiny (1/16" across). The enormous 40' tall brass doors are likewise fitted with perpetually spinning gears and cogs on both sides, and are opened and closed remotely.
The floor of the chamber is tiled in black and gray marble depicting a complicated pattern of whorls and arcs set within a circle bounded by the columns at the corner of the pentagon. The light of the sun shines through a weather-shrouded gap in the upper dome and is focused upon an ever moving point along the swirls and arcs upon the floor. The circle around the room is inscribed with numbers and degree inscriptions, allowing the astute mathematician or cartographer to discern that the whole floor is a massive time-piece for determining the exact time in any point on Eridil should one know the cartographic coordinate system.

Inside the Temple

The temple of Gond is open and abuzz with activity during daylight hours, then closes from sunset until sunrise. At night, acolytes retire to their private quarters to work on pet projects.

Hall of Exemplary Inventions

The main hall of the temple holds two dozen marble pedestals. Each one bears a prize-winning invention or a miniature model of some other extraordinary creation. Among the displays are several that stand out:

• A 4-foot-tall working model of a clock tower rings at the top of every hour. It is made of wood, iron, bronze, and glass, with brass bells and delicate hands formed from solid gold
• A wooden flying machine has wings that flap when it becomes airborne
• A miniature model of a mechanical dragon turtle has a brass plate affixed to its pedestal that reads, "Big Belchy. Sank in Deepwater Harbor on the Day of Wonders in 1363 DR."
• A functional "waking helmet" equipped with small, articulated metal arms and hands that gently slap the wearer if he or she falls asleep
• A miniature model of a red submarine shaped like a manta ray has a brass plate affixed to its pedestal that reads, "The Scarlet Marpenoth. Lantanese submersible. Launched in 1489 DR."

Type

Cathedral / Great temple