Slatteich

Slatteich (/'sla:teix/) is a massive, mystical tree located in the southern region of Bishopric of Johholm in the Council of Duchies. Slatteih is extremely old, being around much longer than any humans have inhabited the region, and it was previously the religious center of Akviz paganism. The tree itself resembles a massive oak, taller than almost any man-made structure. It is surrounded to the south by a massive range of mountains that only barely eclipse the tree itself, making for a truly powerful and humbling natural sight. In the shadow of the tree there is the Cathedral of St. Harald, a gorgeous monument to the Sun Church's gods.

Purpose / Function

The purpose of the tree in past ages was to serve as a religious center for the Old Akviz religion, as their pantheon of gods supposedly used the tree to commune with man via its many branches, how they grow or how they wave in the wind. Now, with the religion having nearly no followers left, the power of its gods have dwindled, and made unable to interact with the world not only because of their weakness, but because of the cathedral near the tree, which overpowers their presence with that of the Sun Church's.

Alterations

Despite the tree itself being almost completely untouched for nearly all of history, some modifications have been made to the land around it. Namely, the The Grand Cathedral of Saint Harald was built as a symbol of superiority after the Church of the Sun had successfully converted the area away from their traditional gods of old. Not only does the Cathedral serve as a powerful symbol and religious center, it also exists as a sort of seal, overwhelming the dwindling old gods with that of the Sun Church's gods.
The tree itself is covered the barely-visible faded remnants of runic writing, presumably by the tribal chiefs who once worshiped the tree. Though strangely, several times over many centuries, it has been reported that new writing appears on the tree. This has been blamed on occasional outlying believers carving gibberish into the tree over the night, although it is worth noting that the runic writing system used by the Akviz pagans has been out of use for hundreds of years, and generally only scholars know how to decipher it.

Architecture

The cathedral is built in a fabulous Romanesque style. Constructed nearly a thousand years ago by the finest engineers, covered wall to wall with fine art. In fact, the building itself could be considered a gorgeous piece of fine art, built carefully over fifty years from marvel, numerous saints and kings carving words of wisdom into its exterior walls, covering them entirely in poetry.

History

During the crusade of St. Harald, the territory where Johholm, and thus Slatteih, was conquered in 4084. The land was initially undeveloped, and home to only a tribal gathering that lived in the land close to the tree, making it an easy conquest. Though it would hardly remain easy for long. St. Harald had done this very deliberately to enrage the various petty kings, as well as crush morale. While this could certainly be considered cruel by many, it is worth noting that he also considered burning it down, but mercifully kept it in tact.
The actual ownership of the territory encompassing the tree has shifted owners dozens of times over the centuries, but it is currently controlled by the Bishopric of Johholm inside the Council of Duchies, somewhat poetically putting it into the Church's hands once again.

Alternative Names

The Old Gods' Prison

Type

Tree

Parent Location

Bishopric of Johholm

Owning Organization

The Council of Duchies