OVERVIEW
In fishing villages like Phaela, the cult to Thassa is
primordial. Here her temple stands near the cliff
to the south, arranged near a tall column with the
effigy of a newt blowing a horn at its highest point.
The column has been placed to mark the dangerous
rocks of the cliff, which in the past claimed the
lives of so many fishermen. On the esplanade that
follows, the temple stands alone. Low in height,
with twisted columns, unusual, its walls glow in
blue and green colors, with brightness reminis
cent of the interior of the sea. With three identical
arched entrances, the temple has a single room
with the image of Thassa in the center of a pool
that overflows into a moat. On the outside, the
moat supports along its entire wall a staircase that
descends deep into caves that connect to the sea.
The image does not wear her characteristic bident
and raises her hands above her head, making the
water that fills the pool gush out of them and falls
in an overflowing waterfall at the bottom. Chipped
murals with huge damp stains cover the interior
walls. The smell of humidity and salt is intense. In
the temple serves a triton priestess, Alas, assisted by
two young women from the temple. Alas is said to
know access to unknown caves and halls from the
sea caves at the bottom of the temple, and is also
said to have sealed some because of the danger they
might bring to Phaela.
Location Description
Outside
The temple of Thassa Thallasina rests on a windswept cliff, its walls shimmering in blues and greens like sunlight on the ocean floor. A towering column topped with a horn-blowing newt marks the jagged rocks below, a warning to sailors. The sound of crashing waves echoes around the temple from far below.
Inside
Inside the temple, the air is heavy with the scent of salt and damp stone. In the centre, a statue of Thassa stands in a shimmering pool, water cascading from her raised hands into a surrounding moat. Twisted columns frame chipped murals along the walls, their faded colours telling forgotten tales of the sea.
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