Star-Treader

The Stranger

The Starry Watcher is the personification of Wanderlust, and Ouvezians still seem to never get their hunger for traveling and exploring satisfied. He is the call of the distance, the intoxicating aroma of new scents when the merchants unload their ships, and the yearning for the horizon. No one knows where He came from, but it is clear by now where He belongs - right here in Ouvezia, where He has offered guidance and inspiration to navigators and innovative thinkers for centuries now. Often simply called "The Stranger", He is the incarnation of the Other that is welcome in Ouvezia's society.
The stars are His companions, and the moon His eye, often symbolized in his temples by a tall, faceless statue with a protruding large white pearl attached to the middle of its forehead. The statue's posture is quiet and dignified, holding a walking stick with both hands in front of its chest, and draped around the statue's shoulders is a voluminous cape of a very dark midnight blue, embroidered with hundreds of stars and dominated by the constellations. A hood is attached to the cape, shrouding its facial features in shadows, but arranged in such a way that the pearl captures the light and gently sparkles.
Every house with a garden has a rotunda hidden behind shrubs and climbing ivy somewhere, with a wide opening in the roof's center inviting the starlight in and a statue of the Stranger in the direction of the north star. And if your houses doesn't have a garden, there's a public one in each village.
In more prosperous areas, a canopy made of specially treated spider silk can be closed in case of rain - if the stars are hiding, people may as well protect themselves from the elements a little. There will be more than one cape, so that it can be regularly cleaned and still the statue stays covered. Less prosperous areas do not have capes separate from the statue - instead, the statue is carved with the stone cape. Often in this case, the face is cut out more deeply underneath the pearl, making the area a dark hole even in broad daylight and emphasizing the pearl's shimmer even more.

Main Temple

The Hall of the Stranger

Located in Linal, close to the harbor and on the edge of the oldest city center, is the Hall of the Stranger. Its massive dome dominates the townscape, guiding the faithful towards it with ease.