Temple of Life

The Temple of Life is the largest temple devoted to Elodius. It is the size of a small town and is known for the stunning natural beauty and abundance of growth in the area. It is open to the public for worship and tourism, but the residing priest has control over who is allowed to take residence there. They only accept those pure of heart and they instill the values of life, and of light... They teach that life is a light that returns and is pulled from the earth as creatures die and more are born in their place. Necromancy is blasphemous to them, and is widely fought against.

Origins[]

This temple is as ancient as life itself. It is believed that the temple was erected by Elodius herself in a giant burst of light, which all life originates from. It was originally populated by all sorts of entities and creatures paying homage before humanoids discovered it. It is built in the trunk of a gigantic tree. Some say it began as a series of tunnels carved out by creatures trying to avoid predators as they worshipped, but now, the tree serves as a border wall for the temple and is completely hollowed out, with exposed roots offering gaps in the wall to give a view of the rivers below the temple.

Religion[]

The Temple of Elodius has been religious in nature since its very beginning. Now the temple serves as a beacon for all worshippers of it's patron god; many followers will make pilgrimages here to spend time among fellow believers and to pay respects and thanks to their god. It is up to the High Priest - a position currently filled by Prodicius Lightbringer - to determine if someone is allowed to permanently reside in the temple's limited space. Only those with pure hearts and intentions are granted this.

Worship of Elodius is fairly consistent throughout the Broken Earth. The Temple of Life explicitly focuses on the power of light, and its existence within any given living thing. This light is cyclical, transferring from one life to the earth, and returned as another life later on. This removes fear of death for many believers in the temple, as it is widely interpreted that death does not exist under this philosophy, just a transferring of your light. Necromancy is explicitly forbidden by worshippers of Elodius, and this is heavily enforced within the temple. Such actions break the nature of the light of life, as it is unable to transfer on to another life. Necromancy of the long dead brings the risk of sucking the light the corpse initially held from whatever currently possesses it. Consequences for known necromancers are quite extreme.