Casra Temple

"Welcome to Casra young lad, don't you worry, you'll soon find that this place is all the family you need. It's fine to be homesick though. That there is the temple you'll see inside soon enough, over there is the stable and smith, don't go bothering Gyler or he'll send you packing. Through here is where you'll sleep, find yourself a cot at bedtime, there should be some free. The bell will ring for meals, three times a day, its schooling in the mornings and chores in the afternoons. Evenings are a bit o'both. This here is Dichal, he's just been made a cleric and he'll show you where to go now."

The temple complex near the small village of Casra in Arall is typical of the many ecumenical religious sites scattered throughout the The Empire of Belyos. Surrounded by its own farmlands, and boasting a population equal to that of a small settlement, the Casra Temple is entirely self-sufficient, and is a regular producer of priests to the wider Empire.

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Purpose / Function

A centre for community worship, the training of new clergy, and a waystation for Journeyman priests undertaking their rounds of the countryside. About a dozen journeyman priests used it as their base, with about another dozen clerics and novices in training and a handful of fully qualified priests make up the clergy at the site. Half a dozen laypeople also live and work at Casra, most notably a smith, along with a cook and her helpers. The main temple of Arall in Nalkeli, concerned about the complex's proximity to the southern Edge Mountains and Sakamohr raids, keeps suggesting to Senotheb that the complex takes on a few Temple Guards for protection, but the old priest has so far refused, citing the lack of any such raids in recent history. Whilst this might be true, Senotheb is concerned that the offer of guards is more of an excuse to excise more central control over outlying temples.

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Denizens

The current high priest is Serotheb, an old priest in his nineties who's been the high priest for longer than most of the other priests at the complex have been alive. His stern, yet patient and kindly manner is legendary amongst all who have lived and trained at Casra, and most priest will have stories of being disciplined by Serotheb, but also favoured. Whilst certainly advanced in age, his mind and body remain remarkably hale, and he is more than capable of taking part in all but the most strenuous of temple chores, and can still cross wits with learned priests half his age.

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The resident blacksmith is a dour man called Gyler, rumoured to be from the distant town of Rodess, in Keltas, although why he is working in a small temple complex is Arall is unknown, and no one has the courage to ask him directly. His skills as a farrier are widely known, and it is not unheard of for people to travel great distances to have Gyler examine their newly bought horse. His main duties tend to be repairing journeyman carts and tools. He eschews his own room in the complex, instead sleeping in a cot set up in the smithy.

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The temple has its own lay cook, a woman called Oenitha who turned up one day, started working in the kitchen, and no one ever asked her to leave. Her skill is sufficient that most of the residents see her as a vital asset to the temple. Her light brown hair has led to some accusations of Sakamohr heritage by some more outspoken priests, and the occasional visitor, but Serotheb refuses to press the matter and no one wishes to challenge the old priest.

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Architecture

Aside from the temple itself, the complex is built to typical rural Imperial style, with shallow roofs, thick whitewashed walls, and small glazed windows. It consists of a main building, with two wings; one has the temple, the other the stables and smithy. The courtyard in the middle is paved and is often used for gatherings when the weather permits.

Casra Temple Complex

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A typical religious complex for the Empire

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History

Built in the year 1802 as part of a general drive to increase religious amenities in some of the lands worst affected by the Sakamohr occupation, the Casra complex provides priest services to a large area around it and the few dozen villages in the area, as well as training priests for most of south and west Arall. Its general state has not changed in its almost two hundred year history, although in the last few decades it has become somewhat of a central meeting point in the region, with an informal market taking place every few months just outside the gates, due to the complex's central location.

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Founding Date

1802

Type

Monastery