Crystalline Mausoleum

On a cliff above the selenian seas, the Crystalline Mausoleum stands monumental. Under an ancient dome etched with images of earth's continents, prismatic lights dance across the central cenotaph—a memorial for the long lost Apollonian.

The Crystalline Mausoleum was built by one of the descendants of the Apollonian to honor her and her bloodline. Under the ancient Terrasphere, the ruins of a crystal dome depicting the continents of Tellus, her descendant built one of the grandest and finest mausoleums on Luna, and perhaps in all of the Sol System.
The intention was to maintain it as a grand family mausoleum, but when later generations fell on harder times, they began to sell use of the columbaria to interested families with deep pockets. Eventually ownership of the mausoleum was transferred to the Copernican government. The government installed the Board for the Honorable Dead, an organization that would protect and maintain the mausoleum. The board was also granted the final choice of who would be allowed the honor of being interred in the mausoleum, opening it up to notable Selenians and particularly generous donators.

Mausoleum

The Crystalline Mausoleum is a regolith-grey mausoleum built underneath and around an ancient ruin known as the Terrasphere. Under the immense crystalline dome is a wheel-shaped network of columbaria. Each columbarium is richly decorated. Some are dedicated to famous Wardens of Tellus and their disciples, some to prestigious Selenian families, still more to notable Selenians, and most have been left for future generations.
At the spoke of the wheels, the center of the mausoleum, is a large chamber with a cenotaph—an empty tomb for the Apollonian. The chamber is notable for its lack of typical Apollonian motifs, with no depictions of the grieving woman, or any woman. It is a simple stone slab under a false crystal sky. Comparatively humble, the lack of detail urges pilgrims to look around and up, allowing the sheer scale and the domed ceiling to become the monument instead.

Cenopath under a Crystal Sky by Annie Stein

Terrasphere

The prehistoric ruin known best as the Terrasphere is perhaps the most monumental of the Selenian ruins. It is a gargantuan crystal dome, large enough to cover a small town, with fine crystal planes etched with images of the continents of Tellus. The dome itself is flatter than a half-sphere, more akin to a saucer, and is supported by interlacing metal beams. These titanic metal beams are hollow and wide enough for a human to climb inside of them.
The Terrasphere was in such poor condition that tours to the island of Copernica have historically only been by boat. Due to the ravages of time and scavengers, the lower levels had been stripped, leaving only the bare metal framework behind, and a handful of the upper crystal planes have collapsed and shattered. During the construction of the mausoleum, the ruins were restored and made safe.
Some of the scavenged planes were recently recovered. The Mercurian Baishi Museum of Art repatriated a collection of Selenian metal reliefs after discovering that the dimensions matched those of the lower planes of the Terrasphere. The reliefs were made of meteoric metal, a material not associated with the Terrasphere. While the provenance has not been definitely proved, traces of meteoric metal have been found in the slots of the lower beams. Some historians say it is likely the lower levels of the Terrasphere were metal, a material that the locals would have been far more eager to scavenge. The custodians of the Crystalline Mausoleum have exhibited some of the metal reliefs at the foot of the mausoleum.

Historical Purpose

The Terrasphere predates the spacefaring era, and the original purpose of its crystalline skies has been lost to history. Most historicans and archeologists believe the Terrasphere was a Selenian construction, perhaps a ritual site for worshipping the planet.
Dissenting voices compare the Terrasphere to the modern atmodomes utilized on atmosphere-less moons and (formerly) on Mercury, arguing that it may have been an early site where humans colonized the moon. The historians who support these theories believe the beams may have once contained the wiring and tubes for a life support system within them.

Crystalline Mausoleum by Annie Stein

Wonders	Palace of Delights · Crystalline Mausoleum · Labyrinthe · Airship of Theseus · Albino Palace

Crystalline Mausoleum by Annie Stein

Murder me, extinguish me, destroy me, it does not matter as long as my soul rests under those crystal heavens.

Alternative Names

Terrasphere

Parent Location

Luna