Abbey of St Oswine Building / Landmark in Nostvary | World Anvil

Abbey of St Oswine

Queen Galean had the abbey built on an island on the far side of the Oswine River, in clear view of the castle on the hill and the town of Arshen at its base. Whilst the building was still under construction, Father Aldwin, head of the Order of Liandra in The Thousand Lakes, scoured the village temples for candidates. Father Aldwin interviewed all those put forward, but for him there was only one consideration, that their soul belonged to Liandra. All those with harmonies not of Liandra were thanked for their time and sent away. The fourteen chosen men and women were to spend the rest of their lives on the island, away from the town and the influences of the world. The only people permitted to visit the island were expectant mothers, that went there for the help of the sisters.
  Many saw the creation of the abbey as a sign of the new queen's piety, but she had another purpose in mind. A life spent in prayer and isolation purified the spiritual harmony of the sisters, and it was important to the queen that those tasked with caring for her daughter, Avani, be as pure as possible. Avani grew up with a string of sisters from the island, but as soon as she grew close to one they were dismissed, and another brought over.
  During the rise of Roggon in the late fifth century, the abbey was the only place in the Thousand Lakes where the worship of Liandra was permitted. The brothers and sisters became prisoners, forbidden from leaving their island, forced to watch as the Roggonites burned their fellow Liandrans.
 

Avani and the Abbey of St Oswine

Show spoiler
The torment of being separated from her newborn drove Avani to despair. Unable to cope with her daughter, Queen Galean sent her to live on the island where she could be cared for by the Liandrans there. If the queen had meant it as a punishment, she would have been disappointed for all there knew of and had cared for Avani since she was born. Some hadn't seen her since she was a baby, others only from the shared memories of others but to them she was family. Avani lived among them until she passed and entered the hall of her goddess.

 

Tell the Pike

The great Tell once roamed the river, terrorising any vessel that dared disturb their rest. Many a boat capsized after the giant pike rammed them, intent on feasting on whatever food there was on board, but all were allowed to swim to shore unharmed. Many tried to capture Tell but were soon dissappointed, for Tell was a small god and the river its kingdom.
  The waters of the River Oswine are rich in ether, carried down from the Intraana Mountain Range. Only a few animals are capable of consuming ether to any meaningful extent, but Tell was one of them. No one knows how old they are just that they've been there forever.
  Keen eyes have spotted Tell as far up as Fishholme and all the way to the mouth of the Oswine at Sentinel, but their favourite spot is the north side of the abbey, where the reeds grow thick and the water shallow.
Founding Date
445
Type
Abbey
Additional Rulers/Owners
Characters in Location


Cover image: by DALL-E-3

Comments

Please Login in order to comment!