Ambury Temple
A famous abbey, hospital, and healing school serving as home to an order of clerics, the Cleric Council of Ambury Faculty, dedicated to The Old Gods. Ambury Temple is located in the shadow of Soulguard Mountain, a large peak of the Reder's Folly Mountains to the west of Hyton Lake. The Temple is currently lead by High Parson Agnor Mirophel.
The name Ambury Temple is a bit of a misnomer since the complex is really an abbey, school, and hospital without a real temple to any particular god. The closest thing Ambury has to a temple is a small chapel with dedications to all of The Old Gods. The name Temple came from one of the delegates at the meeting of the Great Alliance where the construction of the Ambury Temple was approved in the Ambury Accord - the name of the delegate is lost to time, but they refused to approve the accord if the name was to be Ambury Abbey and insisted on Temple as more appropriate to the stature envisioned for the school.
Construction of the Ambury Temple complex began in 125 AA and was completed approximately seven years later in 131 AA (2125 - 2131 SR). The nations of the Great Alliance financed the construction under the direction of a cleric council made up of two cleric representatives from each nation and one each from Thagidal and Tanglemoor, who also contributed financially to the effort. At the time of the Temple's founding, Ambury Town lie outside of any national borders and was considered a good location for a healer's school and hospital due to the abundant access to fresh water from Hyton Lake, access to rare herbs from the sacred Soulguard Mountain, and fertile soil of the region to allow a measure of self-sufficiency of the Temple. By agreement, each nation who supported the construction could send up to five new acolytes to attend the school annually, with the goal of expanding the availability of divine health care for the citizens of those nations.
As The Kingdom of Fenlor expanded and surrounded Ambury Town, the town became a de-facto part of that country for many years, despite maintaining political independence. In this period, the crown provided funding to the temple and protection to the town. Finally, in 100 CA (2050 SR), The Kingdom of Fenlor annexed Ambury and gained oversight of Ambury Temple. The famous abbey and school was thereafter known as a Fenloran institution. Despite an influx of new funding from the crown, the Temple did not eliminate tuition and service fees.
The hospital section of Ambury Temple has three multi-bed wards and two isolation rooms for especially infectious conditions or patients who may present a danger to themselves or others. Each ward occupies a full floor of the main hospital building. The ground floor is for maladies of a physical nature including wounds, broken bones, and other skeletal-muscular injuries. The second floor hosts patients with chronic physical, mental, or magical maladies that do not require supervision. Finally, the third floor hosts those with mental, magical, or other maladies that could make them a danger to themselves or others. In rare cases of criminal patients or those who must be restrained, there are two isolated, high security rooms in the top floor of a separate tower (known as the Wailing Tower due to a former patient).
Methods for caring for the sick vary depending upon the type of sickness or injury. Most patients receive potions, poultices, bandages, and splints to aid the healing provided by the clerics prayers to their deities. In recent times, the clerics have turned more and more to refining these techniques since the divine powers granted them by the gods seem to be less predictable since the Blightsource Crater Explosion.
Founding and Construction
Ambury Temple was founded by a council of fourteen clerics charged by the nations of the Great Alliance to create a center of learning, healing, and peace that could help citizens of all nations. Given a large amount of freedom to direct the founding of their future home and school, the council of clerics founded the Temple adjacent to the small town of Ambury, which lent its name to the abbey.Construction of the Ambury Temple complex began in 125 AA and was completed approximately seven years later in 131 AA (2125 - 2131 SR). The nations of the Great Alliance financed the construction under the direction of a cleric council made up of two cleric representatives from each nation and one each from Thagidal and Tanglemoor, who also contributed financially to the effort. At the time of the Temple's founding, Ambury Town lie outside of any national borders and was considered a good location for a healer's school and hospital due to the abundant access to fresh water from Hyton Lake, access to rare herbs from the sacred Soulguard Mountain, and fertile soil of the region to allow a measure of self-sufficiency of the Temple. By agreement, each nation who supported the construction could send up to five new acolytes to attend the school annually, with the goal of expanding the availability of divine health care for the citizens of those nations.
Annexation of Ambury Town by The Kingdom of Fenlor
After the collapse of the Great Alliance in 1700 SR (1 SA), the Ambury Temple was left to its own devices. In the first few years after the collapse, the temple survived by rationing food stores, increasing farming efforts, and soliciting donations from citizens of Ambury Town. However, costs for keeping the school and hospital running proved too large and, for the first time, the Temple began to charge tuition to all students and fees for healing services. To avoid pricing the healing profession and high quality health care out of reach of the poor, the clerics implemented a sliding scale based upon ability to pay. The influx of new funds was enough to keep the Temple open until new funding was acquired from the crown of Fenlor.As The Kingdom of Fenlor expanded and surrounded Ambury Town, the town became a de-facto part of that country for many years, despite maintaining political independence. In this period, the crown provided funding to the temple and protection to the town. Finally, in 100 CA (2050 SR), The Kingdom of Fenlor annexed Ambury and gained oversight of Ambury Temple. The famous abbey and school was thereafter known as a Fenloran institution. Despite an influx of new funding from the crown, the Temple did not eliminate tuition and service fees.
Caring for the Sick
The clerics of the Ambury Temple Abbey are famous across Arathel for their ability to care for the sick and heal the injured. The hospital connected to the Abbey is well-supplied and staffed with some of the most experienced healing clerics found anywhere.The hospital section of Ambury Temple has three multi-bed wards and two isolation rooms for especially infectious conditions or patients who may present a danger to themselves or others. Each ward occupies a full floor of the main hospital building. The ground floor is for maladies of a physical nature including wounds, broken bones, and other skeletal-muscular injuries. The second floor hosts patients with chronic physical, mental, or magical maladies that do not require supervision. Finally, the third floor hosts those with mental, magical, or other maladies that could make them a danger to themselves or others. In rare cases of criminal patients or those who must be restrained, there are two isolated, high security rooms in the top floor of a separate tower (known as the Wailing Tower due to a former patient).
Methods for caring for the sick vary depending upon the type of sickness or injury. Most patients receive potions, poultices, bandages, and splints to aid the healing provided by the clerics prayers to their deities. In recent times, the clerics have turned more and more to refining these techniques since the divine powers granted them by the gods seem to be less predictable since the Blightsource Crater Explosion.
Burying the Dead
Despite their unique and extensive skills, the clerics of Ambury Temple cannot heal all who arrive at their doors. Most who succumb to their injuries or sicknesses have family or friends who take the body to be buried elsewhere. However, occasionally, a patient dies without links to family or friends or whose identity is unknown. In these cases, the clerics wrap the body with linen anointed with sacred oils blessed by the gods and bury them in Soul's Rest, a tunnel inside Soulguard Mountain. Beside the bodies the original members of the Cleric Council and all the Ambury clerics who died since, these unfortunate souls are laid to rest.Architecture
The buildings of Ambury Temple represent a range of architectural influences. The original three buildings including the Old Hospital wing, the Rectory, and the Dormitory bear characteristic features of the Alliance era including white washed walls, slate roof tiles, and a stepped roof pattern popular at the time of its construction. Expansions of the facility have included the new faculty housing, the three story New Hospital wing, conversion of the rectory into the current chapel after a fire destroyed the original chapel, and a remodel of the Old Hospital into a dormitory for students.
Founding Date
1131 AA
Alternative Names
The Hut
Type
Abbey
Parent Location
Owner
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
Characters in Location