The Temples of Odeshi
Temples for the Huae goddess Odeshi are scattered throughout the land of Leis. While not every village has a temple to the goddess, it is common to at least have a shrine to her located centrally in the settlement. Odeshi's temples and shrines, belonging to the goddess of labors of the hands, are common places of learning and trade between craftspeople. Included in the domain of Odeshi is hospitality as well as technology, and over the years the temples have not only become a place of barter, but also a place of medicine and shelter for those in need.
Purpose / Function
Long ago temples of Odeshi were only used for trade. The shops of the settlement would line in rows outside of the temple steps, and people would trade their goods and services there, with the steps leading upward to a shrine to the goddess herself. At the shrine to the goddess, it eventually became tradition that the tradespeople would leave goods at the goddesses feet--usually goods that were going to spoil soon or items the owners no longer had a use for--as offerings to the goddess and donations to the temple shrine maiden. The shrine maidens then distribute these items to those in the settlement in need and passing travelers who can make use of the items.
Over time, this has attracted many homeless and poor people to the temples, who would often beg for chung and other items at the goddesses feet as merchants came to drop off their goods at the end of the day. The shrine maidens quickly began to admonish the behavior, but with the great famine that one day overwhelmed the northern temples, the network of shrine maidens had to think of a new solution to the growing population of the sick and starving that came looking for money and food.
Alterations
Over time the temples became associated with hospitality, due to the shrine maidens not turning away the sick, homeless, and travelers from sleeping in the temple great rooms. Because of this change, rooms began to be added to the temples to house the people who stayed there, with the rules being quite strict. All who stay and are able must contribute, and all who cannot contribute must be served by those who can.
Doctors, who are frequent travelers in Leis, often stay at temples of Odeshi. Before the temple reforms, people had to directly pay the doctors and give them shelter, but with the sudden inclusion of inn-like rooms at the temples, doctors could stay at the central temples in a town and the temple paid the doctors through donations to serve those who stayed there. While people still hired and paid doctors out of pocket when they could, those who couldn't were not denied medical attention as long as the temple continued to receive donations.
Architecture
Modern temples of Odeshi are built out of cobb as most structures in Leis, which is braced with timbers and typically coated in stucco. However, the windows, which in a typical Leisian home might be made of clear glass if you are wealthy or simply be holes in the walls with shutters if you were not, are often made of stained glass on the temples. The doors and timbers are typically painted a vibrant red, the colour of Odeshi. The doors to one of these temples are to always remain open, symbolizing their oath to not turn anyone away.
Type
Temple / Church
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