Temples
Place of Worship of the Saohri Gods
They stepped into the main room. The air was thick with incense and smoke, the stained glass lights dancing through the room in a myriad of colours. Candles brightened the statue of Deïmon, a pile of wax rising from her feet to light up her veil covered face. Food and jars were arranged all around the goddess, and a priest climbed on top of a ladder rubbed perfume on the hands on the statue.
Saohri temples are an important part of the everyday life of Danatelian citizens. Prayers and offerings are made daily, and they are a strong economical center of any town that has one. Whatsmore, they usually possess agricultaral terrains, allowing them to supply the town's population with jobs and food, as well as housing for those in need. They are an economical and cultural foyer, funding artists and scholars, hosting large festivals and celebrations across the year.
The size of temples can change greatly depending on where they are located. They can be as small as a one room buildings in a dense neighbourhood of a city, or in a poor village, to a gigantic palace with many inner gardens and facilities, sometimes leading to the creation of an entire town around the temple. They remain a rare occurence however, existing only in large towns and the rare few villages. Each temple is under the direction of a Sumia Kahin, who is in charge of all of the administration and charges of the temple.
Architecture
The appearance and architecture of temples has evolved greatly throughout the history of the Danatelian Lands. Often times, large temples have been built on the ruins of older versions, on an ever growing mound of brick, stone and mortar. The style and fashion in which they have been built also depends on what gods they were built to worship, and where in the Danatelian Lands they were built.There are several legends surrounding the supposed first Saohri temple. Some say it was built with the bones of Matazel the Lonely himself, and is located in the city of Ménès. Others think the Temple of a Million Years is the first temple, and believe it to have been built by Deïmon the Bright. The legendary Palace of the Winds is also hypothesised to be a possible first temple, though this is a much less popular theory.
Saohri temples all share a large and characteristic prayer room, in which all must enter bare foot after having cleansed them in water and ointment at the entrance. The large room is usually circular, with a high decorated ceilling and painted walls coevered in frescoes and calligraphied prayers. The richer the temple, the more beautifully it is decorated- but even the smallest temples make it a point to be covered in art and colours honouring the gods. When a temple can afford it, they will display a large statue or shrine of the worshiped god, where worshippers can live written prayers and offerings at their feet like they would in front of a shrine.
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