Temple at the Heart

Where the Great Tree Grows

Saleh'Alire » Religious Temples ⭲ Worldwide ⭲ Dryad

I snuck into the heart when the High Mothers weren't looking, and I sat beneath the boughs of the Great Tree and watched as the light filtered through the leaves to dance upon the pavers ... And it was a magnificent ... Awe inspiring sight to behold; I swear that I could feel the mother Thasinia kiss me upon my brow.

— Elata Thiathalia, daughter of Hyrra

In the innermost space of each and every Dryad Villages in Saleh'Alire is an area known simply as the heart. The center of faith for the Farryn, the heart acts as a villages's sacred place of worship- and at its core lays the primary fixture of this worship; considered the physical embodiment of their Goddess Thasinia's presence in Saleh'Alire, this fixture is most often a large tree, natural spring, portal, or other unique phenomenon. Access to such a sacred place is heavily regulated by the Farryn, and only a select few may visit it outside of times of community worship.

Structure & Design

All Temples at the Heart follow the same general design principle that places the feature of worship at the center most point within the heart of the villages. Surrounding it is a series of stone basins in a ring, filled in an alternating pattern with fire and water. From there, the heart and paved with stone to function as standing room for worshipers.
The outermost portions of the ring of the heart may be further decorated with shrines. These are dedicated to various spirits who are believed to be the agents of Thasinia, and are considered their "houses" while on the Material Plane; feeding and caring for the spirits housed within the shrines is believed to bring good fortune and blessings to the community.

Purpose & Function

Type
Grove / Temple
Function
Religious Worship
Location
All Farryn villages
Alternative Names

• Thasinia's Grove
• Grove of Ancients

Construction

Beginning
Whenever one is found

Completion
When the walls are errected

Christening / Opening
When a Ruler is chosen

High Priest
Farryn Ruler
Priests
High Mothers

To you Thasinia-
The World-Mother
First Queen;
Watcher of the forests ...
We raise our eyes,
Our hands,
And our hearts,
And we sing of the night-tide canopy-
The stars woven between your leaves,
Moving, dancing in every moment-
And we hear your shining response,
In the russle-toused leaves,
Of the brilliant Great Tree.

— Night Prayer to Thasinia

As the centerpiece of every village, the heart is considered the home of Thasinia, the Farryn World-Goddess, when her spirit visits the Material Plane- just as the shrines around the heart's outer edge act as homes for the Spirits who accompany her. And the Great Tree at its center, her living embodiment ... As such, it (and the Temple at the Heart as a whole) becomes the central figure for Fae'toran practice, providing a place for the village's community to take part in their daily, weekly and monthly acts of worship.
In addition to these standard worship practices of prayer and thanksgiving, the Temple at the Heart serves several other important functions as well. Most notably those associated with the major rites of Farryn life and culture.
Here the Farryn celebrate births, bless their children, perform the Gifting and their Treebindings, and hold their vigils and their funerals; Farryn Druids renew their oaths to heal the land in this space- and Rangers their oaths to protect it. In addition, once every 5 years, all Farryn gather here to renew their Treebindings. Likewise, the Farryn Kings and Queens are crowned here- and are buried at the roots of the Great Tree should their time ever come.