An Upside Down Building

In the Kelp Forests, there is an ancient building located on the underside of a miniature island, surrounded on three sides by the large roots keeping the island above the seabed. The building's exterior is built upside down, yet the rooms are oriented right-side up, easily accessible for species that can swim.

Purpose / Function

The building's purpose is not completely clear. Inside there are remnants of ornate weapons and ruined pieces of cloth, thought to belong to Cave Stalkers that lived long ago. Though, there are no racks to store the weapons, they simply lay against the circular benches inside. In the main chamber, a wall carving has been made on the largest wall, depicting a creature unlike anything that currently lives in the Nightlight Zone.

The creature appears to have the body of a bulky eel, with ram-like horns on the sides of its head, and intricate patterns on its scales. In the carving, it is depicted sitting atop a stone plinth, with what appear to be Cave Stalker arms beneath it. This leads to two explanations. The building was a place of worship for a deity that the surrounding region believed in, and the wall carving was used for that worship in some way. Or, the building was a memorial to a species that had gone extinct, with the carving serving as the equivalent to an obituary to the species. The benches found facing the carving were likely used as places of rest for travelers, or locals visiting the temple.

Some other chambers in the temple are made up of entirely benches, large enough for multiple Cave Stalkers at once. It is possible some individuals used these to gather and eat lunch, before departure out of one of the six entrances. There are also structures that appear similar to fountains, although it unclear how practical that would be at the bottom of the ocean. These rooms make up the majority of the complex, suggesting this is what it was mainly used for, with the main chamber being a backdrop.

Entries

There are six entries built into the three towers bordering the temple's main chamber, all in between the three roots supporting the island. Some are opened even further from natural weathering.

Denizens

The Cave Stalkers used to be the only inhabitants of the temple, and would not have let any other species inside, otherwise risking the safety of the inhabitants. Currently, various other species make their nests inside the building, ones usually small enough to fit through the entrances. They communally use it as a nesting ground due to the eggs being easily protected by the stone walls, though this usually leads to intense competition for nesting sites due to so many different species in one enclosed space. Some creatures, such as Lathradons don't make nests, and travel to this location solely to feed on the eggs laid within. Many specimens have success in this, easily able to consume them while camouflaging themselves against the walls. But because Lathradons don't commonly eat eggs, numerous other specimens will avoid the building, allowing the eggs to properly incubate.

Contents & Furnishings

Weapons found inside include swords, guisarmes, hooked tools similar to scythes, kamas, and bullhooks, as well as various types of clubs, and small daggers. Scant remnants of bags contain small stone carvings, and animal bone trinkets, not unlike those made by modern Cave Stalkers. 

Architecture

The architecture uses blocky, angular shapes in design. Even in certain design markings that are meant to be spiral shapes, they are constructed with straight edges, appearing more rectangular than circular. The specific type of stone the temple was made of seems to be a type of light-colored gabbro stone, especially common in the Kelp Forests. It likely wasn't painted any color due to the Cave Stalkers' colorblindness, and instead several angular patterns were carved onto the outside to catch the eye. 

The building uses a rectangular base with the main building built on the bottom. There is one main chamber, hexagonal in shape, with three bulky towers surrounding it, serving as the entrances and exits to the interior. There are also archways built out from the towers to anchor the building to the enormous roots surrounding it. Some of the design elements appear to mimic that of the kelp commonly found in the surroundings, thought to be a stylistic choice by the designers.

History

Although there is little that can tell the history of this building, there are some clues found elsewhere. It is known that some time after Cave Stalkers invented agriculture and writing, they developed their own city states, which then joined together to form an empire. After several centuries, the empire broke apart, triggering a divergence in Cave Stalker societies around the realm, which lead to the Cave Stalkers living in the Forests developing their own ways of life. This is seen with this surviving building. This temple was likely constructed soon after the establishment of a state in the Forests, and because it is known that religious powers may have grown to further match the unified power of a monotheistic organization, this could have led to more temples being constructed as a means of competition with other societies.

At the end of Cave Stalker civilization, the Watchers laid waste to any settlement they found, and it is presumed they spent a great deal of time with the Kelp Forest settlements. This temple remained untouched, possibly due to the island above obscuring it from the Watchers' view. The Watchers would've been too large to swim along the seabed, and thus were restricted above the expanse of kelp in the region, where they would only see an island. Because of this, it is possible this temple could've been a place of refuge for Cave Stalkers fleeing the destruction of their settlements. Though, they had nowhere to harvest and store food, and remain hidden at the same time, meaning they would've died off as well.

Tourism

This building likely attracted some tourists, as certain items such as weapons and tools were made with a distinct style among the others found throughout. Though, it is unknown how they reacted inside the temple compared to everyone else.

Environmental Effects

This temple is almost completely covered in algae, which is likely a popular food source for creatures specialized for eating algae. The rough stone would provide an ideal place for the algae to grow, attracting herbivores to pick it off the sides, and clean the building in the process.

RUINED STRUCTURE
Deserted sometime around 3230 BC

Alternative Names

The Forest Temple

Type

Cathedral / Great temple

Parent Location

The Kelp Forests