Friends, citizens, guildsmen, lend me your imaginations. The building of a Temple here in Moonspire is to be the largest, most auspicious and grand undertaking the East has seen in many years. Already, tales of the Rising of the Spire have carried across the land. Now, conversation will turn to the wonders that Moonspire offers to the gods of Yu Shan and the bounteous rewards which the city's inhabitants will reap. Allow me to describe the marvel that will, with our investment, be brought to fruition... and what you will experience when our hard work is finally done.
The Atrium
A wide, stone path sweeps up to a domed entranceway with tall, large doors kept open in all weathers. Once inside, a long porch with windows on either side allows visitors to prepare themselves before stepping into the Atrium itself.
The high ceiling of the main atrium is decorated with a bold and stylised sun reaching from one side to the other and decorated in gold. At night, a thousand hidden mirrors in the roof catch moonlight and reflect it onto silvered surfaces on the underside of the ceiling which create a marvellous illusion of Luna waxing to full and waning again as one crosses from one side of the Temple atrium to the other.
Seating is provided along with drinking water from a central fountain and people meet, marvel and pause here for a while before moving on to the Temples themselves. There are four exits from the atrium, leading to four 'wings'.
The South Wing
The South Wing is merely a short corridor which leads out into gardens sculpted to make the most of the local landscape and full of local plants. A surrounding wall shelters it from the worst of the winds however and there are many places for quiet contemplation. A bubbling brook runs through the garden, fed by a spring which wells up from the underground river beneath the city. A few small shrines to nature deities are found hidden amongst the greenery.
The West Wing
This is dedicated to the gods of Moonspire. Kashlyk has a shrine here where eager priests are keen to tell visitors of the wonders of the coliseum.
Ethris has a large chapel and multiple altars for her offerings. A wide, deep, coin-filled bowl is a feature of her place of worship: visitors to the Temple will be given a coin, minted in the Forge, as they enter and are advised to offer it to the goddess of Moonspire and say a prayer to ask for her blessing on their time in the city.
Rising above these chapels and accessed via a large spiral staircase is a second level which looks out over the city in the direction of the Spire. The decor here is blues and whites and instead of flowers adorning the altar, feathers and mechanical wings rest in abundance. This is the church of Vanileth, daimyo of artificial flight and patron of the Moonspire.
The East Wing
Here are found dedicated altars for other gods who may not ordinarily have a place of worship but where anyone can elect to sponsor an altar. Family gods, gods of field and pasture, gods of trading and commerce or other gods of the West have shrines built and tended here.
The North Wing
The North Wing is dedicated to the Incarna. A central room – much smaller than the Atrium but decorated in a similar style – features an unusual central artwork, a silver and gold statue of three figures mounted on a stone plinth, placed so all who pass by cannot help but find their eyes drawn to it. A lynx carved in silver and obsidian sits serenely at the feet of a man carved entirely in gold who in turn is towered over by an ebony and silver gorilla. Offerings can be placed at its base.
The widest doorway leading from this central room is decorated in images of Sol Invictus and his place of worship is no less magnificent. A large window in the East provides the backdrop to the Dawn Altar where the Unconquered Sun rises and morning prayers are said. As he trails the heavens the glass ceiling tracks his movement and the heat sets delicate wind chimes in motion, carved to utter prayers with every note.
The entrance to Luna’s shrine is less obvious. A curtain of shimmering silver cloth hides the entranceway but once inside no expense is spared to immerse the visitor in Luna’s presence. The walls are carved with images of Luna and an odd, curved script that could have been shaped by claws runs around the borders. At the centre of the shrine a clear pool of water in a basin carved from a single piece of ivory captures the moonlight which enters the Temple from high windows opened only at night.
As one turns to leave, the entrance to the oratory of the Five Maidens is seen. A narrow doorway leads to a perpetual twilight: very little light enters here and the altars are shrouded, the statues of the Maidens subtly placed. Incense and the scent of burnt offerings hangs in the air.
The Temple to Flowing Nila
Leading off the main North Wing entrance an archway decorated in flowing blue patterns leads to a wide staircase down. This basement layer opens out into a hexagonal shaped room with the staircase taking up one side and 5 alcoves taking up the other - one for each of the goddesses of Jade. The one immediately opposite the staircase is larger and more elaborate and holds a statue of Flowing Nila. It is also the entrance to her temple, and priests and devotees alike walk past her statue on either side, pausing to make a swift devotion, before entering a complex of rooms dedicated to her worship.
Some of these rooms are private chapels which priests spend time alone in prayer, while others can comfortably accommodate more than a dozen worshippers. Each is decorated by images of the jade goddess herself in a variety of poses. One room is roughly hewn and mined out of the earth, the rock streaked with veins of blue jade and lit only by candles. Rich furnishings give the place an incredibly opulent feel. This room is dedicated to Flowing Nila herself, should she ever wish to spend time away from Yu Shan and amongst her priests.
Other buildings
There are smaller buildings built in a complementary style to the main Temple to both sides of the main entrance which provide food and drink, sell offerings and sacrifices and provide charity to the less fortunate.
Behind the Temple complex are a number of buildings housing the priests, acolytes and other workers and residents who reside in the Temple grounds. Whilst less ostentatious than the sites of worship they are solidly built to offer comfort in all seasons and space enough for contented living.