Yoni Temple Complex

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Plan of the Temple Complex

Altar.png

Overview

High on the plains of the remotest regions of Modan-lach is the Yoni Temple Complex, a mysterious but highly revered Cedrist Temple Complex and one of the most important Cedrist monuments to the Laqi People. Its exact founding is unknown- and despite not being mentioned in the Tales from the Khaz Modan, archaeologists have confirmed the prior existence of a Khaz-Modani structure on the site. Included here are monuments to Maji, Yoktarh and Kohlarh, Yuuurgh, Malarbor, as well as numerous facilities for the faithful- every Shirereithan New Year, thousands of pilgrims make their way through the wastes of Upper Lach to reach the remote Temple Complex, where the Acolytes and their staff run a hospice which offers free food and lodging to the faithful. The Sanctum of Malarbor is one of the oldest Cedrist monuments in Shireroth, and the attached Wishing Pool is a source of great holiness for the pilgrims who venture there. Numerous pagodas litter the grounds of the complex- most of which are maintained by skilled gardeners to create an atmosphere of natural tranquility- and the pagodas each contain a spiral staircase leading to an observation deck, from which the giant bells on top of each pagoda are rung every midnight to appease the G-ds for their graciousness and blessings to the people of Shireroth.

Main Temples

The Altar of the Four Winds is a highly specialised structure, usually used when a Kaiser, Acolyte, or High Priest dies, and their ashes are scattered to the four winds. Four immense rare beeswax candles, believed to have been made by one of the original hermits who first used this site for meditation and spiritual enlightenment, are kept under lock and key here and kept continuously. It is rumoured that should the candles be blown out, the next Kaiser will be deposed in a bloody and often incredibly undesirable manner. The Kaiserial Shrine itself is reserved for the Kaiser and their court to pay homage to the G-ds when they come on pilgrimage to the temple, and cross the threshold of the great ancient bridge across the chasm.


The Chasm and Caves

The Great Upper Lach Chasm, as it is known, is a huge, mysterious scar in the mountainous lands of Upper Lach and is perhaps one of the deepest such natural features in Southern Shireroth. From the ancient bridge above, throw a rock and see how long it takes to hit the bottom. No surprise why bungee jumping has never been popular here. Carved into the cliff face just below round level are the caves of ascetics who seek spiritual enlightenment from Malarbor and live in the dank sides of the chasm wall, eating bats and things. They're all interconnected by rope ladders and accessible only by the small path from Yuuurgh's Pagoda. Small streams from the tranquil ponds of the Temple Complex trickle down into small waterfalls into the eerie valley floor below, partly obscured by weeds and algae, and inhabited only by bats and the the blind cave fish which live in the underground Yoni river which flows underground from either end of the chasm. The caves are treacherous, and littered with the corpses of adventurers. Rumours of a mysterious ancient temple deep in the caves below are often heard, but the Acolytes and resident Priests at Yoni Temple Complex refuse to comment. One cave explorer managed to find a strange stone door with a pair of eyes carved into it, and heard some mysterious chanting in an ancient Khaz-Modani language from within, but this has never been established by anyone else in the labyrinth of tunnels, sumps, and potholes in the underground river complex. One thing is for sure, however. The waters of this blessed Temple Complex are potent and pure, and are taken by many on pilgrimage- especially ethnic Laqi people, who view the Complex as one of their race's finest accomplishments. Yoni Temple Complex takes around three hours by bus from Brookshire Hamlet- but most instead choose to walk the snowy passes of Upper Lach, where only heather and the Laqi Mountain Lynx choose to live.