"...She of the Scourge"
21 Ash 122
Templum Mediæ Noctis Matris
Sanctine District, Umbrium
It was a strange day in Solunarium. One which would change the realm evermore, if some rumours from above were to be believed below. Sun had fallen and moon had risen in the realm above, though such celestial events were obscured from view in the Umbrium.21 Ash 122
Templum Mediæ Noctis Matris
Sanctine District, Umbrium
► Show Spoiler
The Temple of the Blazing Sun in the Luxium had been constructed in praise of Aværys millennia ago. That might be considered ancient in some cultures, but it was nowhere near as old as the Templum Mediæ Noctis Matris. It was the seat of an old, dead religion that once thrived on the site of present-day Solunarium in remote antiquity before memory for even the Draconic Dynasty. It hadn't been built in praise of Varvara or Aværys- in fact the latter had been one of the mining slaves who'd helped excavate it before His ascent. It had been the sight at which he'd found two mysterious amulets that played a part in unlocking access to divinity. Only the most devoted scholars knew to whom this temple once belonged or what it represented, but this was a place for such people.
Though grandiose in size and scope, the Temple of Midnight's Mother was a shadowy, quiet place when compared to its sunlit counterpart in the Luxium. There were no awe-inspiring implements blazing overhead, only cold stone and faded carvings depicting an ancient war between forgotten cultures led by extinct sentient races. No one flaunted glitz or glamour as the congregants gathered for the final Waning Prayer before the Equinox. The attending clerics wore simple robes of black, and most of the congregants didn't concern themselves with garb. The devotees of Varvara were less concerned with ostentation than those who held her brother-husband in highest esteem.
The great hall of the temple held a shrine erected to Varvara during the Epoch of Aværys. A great statue of the erstwhile god-empress was carved from magically reinforced obsidian and ornamented with silver mined from closeby. Worshippers bore candles to place at the feet of the statue, as they whispered their private prayers. Priests and priestesses were present, should any seek their guidance, but no formalised mass or sermon of any kind would be offered in a public fashion tonight or most evenings. Those who followed the Silver Path tended to be more private, or at least more intimate with their faith than those who worshiped in the Platinum or Golden fashion.
The temple would be active throughout the evening, as people queued up and brought forth their sacrifices to be made upon the altar before Varvara's shrine. Animals, though never reptiles, had their throats slit quietly- their blood pouring into the spillways of the altar and in some unseen chamber somewhere below the great hall. Humans, too, were put forth as offerings- their blood mingling with that of the other creatures sacrificed to the Founders here. Some were slaves, or others subjects of Lex Agni who would hear the prayers of argent ardent whispered in their ears before a silver dagger kissed their throats to pour liquid rubies into the artfully carved spillways.
