Aarsingør Statues

A merchant ship approaching Aarsingør for the first time

I never knew cliffs could rise that high. Nor did I know how large figures could be when cut from the rock. Three stone men reached out arms towards us, leaning out from the cliffs, where high above the city sat. The figures sat at different heights, where narrow roads moved up around them in the cliffs. Upon our docking I realised that those narrow roads were wide streets. The arms themselves held a series of cables lifting motorised gondolas up from the dockyard far below up to the city itself, with its high walls. The figures looked down at us as we approached one such gondola, heavy cut black stone watching us from deep crevices in the face. Near its shoulder, I saw nests, most likely albatross or eagles, and several birds heading to their home.

Explanation of the figures; Jestoania's ruling house Suvrata

The three are a relic of old, before the Pantheon barred Old Gods from being worshipped. Qhil, guard of the oceans. Vihulla, guard of the day and night. Matlud, guard of knowledge. Each is represented. The cables raising the gondolas are more recent, an addition from around 1216, and have eased the burden of travel from the sea.

Purpose / Function

To honor the original three gods. Later they were used to expedite travel up the high cliffs into Aarsingør proper.

Alterations

Cables and engines to lift cable cars up to the city itself, made around 1216-1230

Architecture

Three massive black stone statues emerge from the cliffs, facing east with outstretched arms over a massive shipyard. The figures are crudely cut but recognisable as renditions of three gods previously worshipped.

History

Before Aarsingør was built, a group of unknown people, most likely part of one of the many pre-Pantheon cults, carved the three statues directly from the cliffs. The unknown people are presumably the ones who then settled on top of the cliffs.

Later on, as Aarsingør grew in size and became the capitol of the Jestonan region, the statues were fitted with cables and winding mechanisms to raise and lower gondolas to and from the cliffs to the dockyards and waterfront.

Alternative Names

The Elders, 'those fucking bird monuments'

Type

Monument / Statue, Large

Parent Location

Aarsingør