St. Kenor's Cathedral
Symbol of the Judge
St. Kenor's Cathedral is one of the oldest and grandest buildings in Thyra, the grandest building beneath the starlight on the Third Pillar. The building stands as a conduit of political power exerted by the Altanic Church, used for administration within the pillar as well as judicial matters regarding the city. While each of the seventh pillars have their church buildings, it is alone in being the most defining landmark of its pillar.
St. Kenor
Much like the other church buildings of the the other pillars, the Cathedral is named for one Altani's disciples venerated during the Blood War. St. Kenor also earns the Third Pillar its epithet, the Judge, most famous for his extreme zeal and his role in the banishment and execution of the Heretic, who would have been saint to the Fifth Pillar. The Heretic's name is now lost to time.
The Cathedral
Exterior
If you look from the edge of Queen Starlight, the Cathedral's facade towers far above the skyline of the surface tier. It's lower floors are carved into the peak formation of the stalagmite-like pillar, and contiunes up 600 feet, to a height nearly 900 feet above the surface of the Judge. Surrounding three spires are seven domes, five large, and two smaller, creating a strange symetry. The spires appear to be limestone speckled with gold, while the domes are made of Onyx. Streaks of blood-red coral highlight the walls between the domes and spires.
The Archives and the Morgues
Nearly half of the cathedral's space is hidden from the starlight. All of their records are stored in the subterrain of the pillar's peak, accumulated over a millennium of governance. Further deep down in the Aurora Tier, the bodies of the damned are sequestered away beneath the grand church of the Merciless Saint. Those who are executed under the law do not have the honor to share their resting place in St. Livol's Mausoleum
The Courtyard and Nave
Climbing up steps from the base, you would reach the archway entering into the main structure of the Cathedral. Going straight foreward leads to the nave, the main place of worship and religious services. More limestone pillars rise up into arches supporting the roof above, with mosaic paintings depicting St. Kenor and Altani. At the very end is an Altar consecrated to St. Kenor and Altani.
The Courts and the Halls
Each of the five large domes are for a seperate courtroom. They are shaped to contain jurors and witnesses, as well as clerics of the church responsible for scrying and other required divination magic. Lawyers are provided to both parties by the church, also priests who are almost perfect in their knowledge in the laws and tenants of Thyra and Altani. These courts are used to settle legal matters throughout the city that cannot be settled by the church administrations located on each pillar, such as city spanning criminal matters or disagreements between factions. Individual openings of the courts are themselves are quick and expedient, the church having the resources to collect all information deemed necessary without much impedement. However, because the laws are so vast and yet deterministicly constructed, while also not being entirely open to the public, many avoid use of these courts because neither side can be confident in the outcome, and all decisions are final, leading to many conflicts being settled outside of the system.
The spires indicate the space used as the administrative branch of the Cathedral, used like a city hall. Many offices are located above the nave, which is also one of the few places where you will find employees of the church who are not priests trained from birth, an exception to the typical which recognizes the clergy's disconnection from the lives of everyday denizens. Up in the spires themselves you will find the leadership of the Cathedral, including the chambers of the Judge Bishop and other high-ranking disciples of Altani.
The two smaller domes are used as the place of capital punishment. These chambers are rarely used, partially due to political position of Thyra as an independant and neutral territory between the Worlds, and partially due to changes in the legal system since the city's traffic increased from the Starfall Route. By principle, these confined domes prevent any executions from becoming a kind of spectacle, only the preforming priest and relevant victims who wish to witness allowed in the room. Excutions are conducted through nearly painless use of divine magic, and souls are in most circumstances allowed to pass on.
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