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gaeleth:places:star_s_end_monastery

Star's End Monastery

The Star's End is located in Rakore, a day's journey east of Firland along the Panthera River, or a day's journey west of Takanal along the foothills trail at the base of the mountains. The monastery is dedicated to the study, preservation, and translation of languages. The monks there have amassed a large library of books and scrolls and other works in many languages, and pay well for new works in other languages.

The original monastery was located atop a scenic southern edge of Mount Caleverous. It overlooked the river and the forests to the south, until the War of the Four Winds. The original was a virtually unassailable fortress, with the only entrance narrow winding stairs that took nearly a day to climb, or a rope-basket that carried patrons nearly 400ft straight up. A monk was always on duty at the rope-basket to watch the river and the paths along the river. The Abbotess, a woman known as Cassandra, gave her life during the War of the Four Winds.

There are currently some seventy monks and nuns in the facility, with most of the day-to-day work handled by Brother Irol, a stout middle-aged man full of intelligence.

Many of the books and the libraries of the Star's End were protected in hidden cave vaults beneath the original monastery. Roughly a year after the original Star's End was destroyed, a temporary facility was completed further down the mountain and surrounded by woods. The current Star's End is a simple affair, with a massive tower of wood and stone surrounded by a stone wall. The enclosure was built quickly and at great expense to protect the monastery from bandits and creatures of the woods. It is run by the Abbot Milam, an elderly man with thinning hair and a grandfatherly disposition. Reconstruction of the original fortress continues apace, albeit slowly.

The monastery and its inhabitants are followers of Samis, the Goddess of Language. The primary pursuit of the monastery is the study of ancient languages, and so they often translate texts for fees. They have a large library of nearly indecipherable texts, through which they make slow but steady progress. Any knowledge gleaned from the ancient texts is used to make money, both to acquire new texts, and to rebuild the older fortress.

The facilities are relatively self-sufficient, with small gardens and a growing orchard within its walls, and small herds of sheep and goats. The monastery is intentionally secluded, and turns away anyone seeking permanent residence who will not take up the monastic life – save for a special group known as the Procurators (hired hands used by the monks to protect special shipments).

gaeleth/places/star_s_end_monastery.txt · Last modified: 2021/09/28 15:49 (external edit)