Alderthan, The Cathedral of Miracles
In a world where the only prayers ever answered were those offered to the evil God-King Exode himself, large and majestic religious structures were raised in His name. Alderthan, the Cathedral of Miracles, is such a place. Located in Ilias, an edge city on the Behemot Island of Eïrianyl, the cathedral's origin is lost to its current occupants. The humongous, 17-story tall, bone-white structure stands atop a hill that makes it tower over the entire city. Built against the very foundation of the island's edge wall, the construction is the most spectacular of Ilias, and second only to the Imperial Palace on Eïrianyl.
Ever since The Fall and the rising of the Floating Islands, most of Alderthan's praying halls have been repurposed as joint civilian and military hospitals. Recognized as having the best herbalists and doctors on Eïrianyl, its beds are filled with the sick and the wounded.
The rest of its wide corridors, tall towers, and huge rooms have been used by the city guards, wall soldiers, and military as barracks and headquarters for centuries now.
The Book of Miracles
Up to three years ago, Alderthan was famous only for its size and architectural splendor. However, in the year 1,808 AR, an expedition came back from The Below with a holy artifact: a thick, rotten book with still three untouched-by-time pages. The pages proved magical to mages, but its function remained a mystery for a few months. Anything written onto it disappeared at sunrise. Government officials specialized in religious artifacts identification assessed that the object originated from before the rise of Exode himself, thousands of years ago, and discovered that the pages were Blessed, meaning that anything written on them was communicated to a divine being. Associating the relic to the forgotten language of Psolmir, government archaeologists persuaded Ael' Elsias to make the pages available to the population. The people would write their prayers on the pages and, with luck, maybe a few of them would be answered which would improve their understanding of Psolmir.The Blessed
Three years and 42 miracles later, mages and archaeologists have not yet deciphered Psolmir's secrets. News of miracles has traveled across the Floating Islands bringing thousands of Islanders to the Cathedral of Miracles every year. However, with only three pages available, only 30 people are allowed to write their prayers on the pages each day. A third of them are selected from Ilias' citizens by a priest of the cathedral, another third is selected from the pilgrims by the military, and the last third is pre-selected by government officials and comes from islands nobility. Each person is free to request anything when putting ink to the page but until now, only prayers of healing were answered. Those that have had their prayer answered are called The Blessed.The Corridor of Hope
People can visit the Cathedral to look upon the religious artifact, from noon to sunset, by going through a glass-protected, magic-nullifying, 170-foot-long corridor called The Corridor of Hope. As soon as the magnificent, thick oak doors open, a visitor is immediately overwhelmed by the cacophonic praying as none dare leave the relic's sight without having its prayer heard. A Holy Guardians, the official guard of Alderthan, stands tall and silent every 20 feet, oblivious of the pleading and supplications of the crowd. A few times a day, a Guardian must remove from the premise a poor soul that sees the artifact as its last and only hope and doesn't want to leave.Additional Information
1. Unseen from visitors in the Corridor of Hope and hidden in alcoves in the main hall holding the Book of Miracles are forty Holy Guardians and two military battlemages, ready to stop and neutralize any threats to the Book of Miracle. 2. No one has figured out who or what is offering miracles to the Blessed, nor do they know about the divine being's nature and intent. However, with every answered prayer something is being stirred up from its slumber. Just a few more hundred miracles and it will be fully awakened.LEXICON
Ael'
Elven word meaning appointed ruler.Ael' Elsias
Ulthyen Elsias (Male, Elf, Born 2677 Before The Fall) is the ruler of Eïrianyl. He has reigned for 137 years and is considered good and just by the island's inhabitants.Behemoth Island
Approximately two thousand years ago, titanic pieces of the countryside were forcefully torn away from the continent by the power of special crystals called Etheryl crystals. This was accomplished in order to escape the power of Exode, the God-King who ruled the world at the time.Edge City
A city, town, or village that is furthest away from the center of a Floating Island and is usually within sight of an edge wall.Edge Wall
A wall that surrounds, defines and protects the entirety of a Kingdom located on a Floating Island.Eïrianyl
Largest and wealthiest of all the Behemot Islands under Ythrannil Empire rule. It has a population of 830,000.Ilias
The biggest city on Eïrianyl, outside of the capital. It has a population of 135,000 and is located against the easternmost edge wall.Psolmir
Forgotten language of faith, Psolmir is suspected to be more a template on how to call on divine magic, write holy texts, or just offer prayers properly to a being of divine nature.The Below
The Below consists of everything that is not part of the Ythrannil Empire. It is ruled by five ageless dragons, each overseeing its own territory. All are jealous of the peace that reigns over their head on the Behemot Islands but strange magic forbids them from attacking them.
Founding Date
973 Before The Fall
Type
Cathedral / Great temple
Comments