The Golden Temple

Construction of the Kyrm Or’Amra began in the Spring of 218 HK following the occupation of the Empire armies and plans to introduce the Cult of Amra into the Dekàli pantheon. The original plan for the Temple was to construct a series of domes joined by gardened walkways and bridges upon the highest point in the City of Taldàna, Albūmor. Each domed building would be devoted to a separate discipline of art, and serve as a school, stage, and exhibition for that discipline. In addition, each marble dome would be inlaid with elaborate gold murals and patterns which would make the city shine with the light of the Goddess.

In the centuries to follow, the plans for Kyrm Or’Amra were redrawn with some regularity. By the early 8th century, it was determined that the Temple would never be completed and so a Ritual of Dedication was performed in 720 HK, a date now used to mark the commencement of the Time of Splendors.

Today the High Temple is surrounded by a stone wall that encompasses much of the Albūmor, its domes, and its gardens. Despite the ruined state of much of the structures within the wall, the Temple remains a testament to the grandeur of a lost age. It is not hard to imagine the sweeping staircases, terraced gardens, soaring towers, and gleaming marble domes that once comprised this homage to the Goddess of beauty and art.

Domes

• Dome of Dancing. The Dome of Dancing was never one of the larger domes of the Albūmor, but architecturally it was one of the more innovative. The building had a low dome supported upon a hexagonal pendentive which opened into six apses which contained curtained stages. The interior of the space was dominated by an extruded cone whose sides were lined with audience seating, and whose top was a stand for musicians. The entire floor of the dome was built upon a circular track so that the seating and bandstand could be rotated to face one of six dancing stages. During most performances only a third of the seats would be used (with different stages used for different sets), but for larger shows multiple stages might be used simultaneously or as one presentation. At least one account of a wide-ranging performance had dancers moving through a series of shifting battle scenes. During the course of the dance, the performers moved continuously from stage to stage as the curtains were closed behind them and the sets changed. As the audience seating slowly rotated with the action, the effect was that the dancers moved across a hundred different stages before the dance was complete. Today the dome is an empty shell. The rotating floor had been a construct of wood and iron which rotted and collapsed from centuries of poor maintenance and rot.
• Dome of Fountains. One of the tallest structures of Kyrm Or’Amra, the Dome of Fountains was a wonder to see, inside and out. The exterior of the domed round-tower was crowned with five stone spouts from which water trailed in long sparkling waterfalls to pools and gardens below. Inside, water fell onto a series of staggered gardened ledges along the tower’s high walls before falling into a series of three pools at the Temple’s base. The three pools were crossed by a network of wooden bridges that connected island gardens which were shrouded in a watery mist from the waterfalls and fountains that rose all around. Today the tower stands a ruin of its former self, reaching only some 80 feet into the Taldàna skyline. The gardens and pools have been restored but the waterfalls and the pumps that worked them have long ago fallen into disuse and rust.
• Dome of Gardens. Little remains of this building but a circular stone wall and broken iron girders reaching into the air like the rust-orange fingers of a giant carpenter’s hands. The Dome of Gardens was once a giant stained glass dome supported by an iron latticework almost one hundred feet high at its center. Each panel of the stained glass roof once portrayed a botanical image depicting a flower or tree accompanied by a short poem or excerpt from Dekàli literature. Descriptions of the dome explain that it once included an elaborate system of chains and pulleys that could open one of three tiers of stained glass panels to allow unfiltered light into the gardens within. The opening of the panels had the visual effect of a giant glass flower blooming. Inside and surrounding the dome were a labyrinth of beautiful gardens, linked by bridges, walkways, streams, and waterfalls.
• Dome of the Hierophant. A sprawling palace, the Dome of the Hierophant is not one dome, but dozens. The traditional home of the High Priest of Amra, the palace also hosts guests suites, private courtyards, and a number of shrines devoted to the Touched of the Goddess. The building suffered greatly during the Battle of Nyr Alùrin, with many domes collapsed and large sections being gutted by flame. Over the ensuing years some efforts have been made to rebuild portions of the palace, but much remains to be done. In some cases, it has been decided to leave sections in their embattled condition as a reminder of the City’s tribulations.
• Brōbrâð Lyral Lōlòçra. Dome of Lovemaking. This dome was once a grand structure rising from a ring of columns and delicate arches. The interior ceiling was covered with beautiful mosaics depicting the Nine Seductions. At one time the dome was entered only by priests for the depictions were thought to portray the the Goddess so well that the uninitiated would lose all reason in her presence. The interior of the building was piled with lavish carpets and pillows, interspersed with fountains and statuary of the most lewd varieties. A series of “positional” statues in eighty-four niches, ringed the interior space. Each statuary niche was coupled by a small stand wrapped by a carpeted staircase. Atop each stand was a divan crafted specifically to accommodate the “illustrated” position. At the center of the domed space was a fragrant pool surrounded by elaborately gilded couches and vases spilling forth with flowers. This area was in turn enveloped in a brass lattice which supported crystal lenses larger than a soldier’s shield. A gathered audience could, by means of these lenses, watch priests or performers upon the central couches. None of the pillows, furniture, or lenses remain today. Most of the statuary was vandalized during a brief rebellion against prurient pursuits during the time of Occupation. Today only fragments of the beautiful ceiling mosaics remain, the tesserae scattered about the floor are now sold to pilgrims as artifacts.
• Brōbrâð Ðul. Dome of Music. A strikingly beautiful dome of rose-colored marble, the Dome of Music was once a wonder of the Empire. Completed in 325 HK, for centuries the City of Taldàna awoke to the sound of hundreds of bells peeling from the highest register of the gold inlaid dome. A ring of windows set into the dome allowed the sounds of the bells to issue from the Albūmor, and across the whole of the City. Inside the Dome of Music the visitor was treated to a grand stage set deep within a well of concentric seats and high galleries. During concerts, towering lancet arches could be opened to allow the sounds of music to be heard by those not fortunate enough to afford seating within. Though the dome was mostly used by Taldàni musicians and orchestras, visiting artists from as far away as Lyrast were sometimes invited to play in the great hall. In ancient times, such invitations were considered the crowning tribute for composer and musicians alike. During the Occupation the Eylfāe were said to be so impressed with the building that they held court within the structure. Since the Occupation, the gold has been scavenged from the great marble dome and many bells have been removed and sold for their weight in bronze and silver. The great carved shutters have long rotted away leaving the interior stage, seats, and galleries open to the ravages of time and weather.
• Brōbrâð Irídra. Dome of Painting. Also known as the Dome of Galleries, this massive structure has suffered some outer damage over the centuries, but the interior is mostly intact. What is missing however are the paintings that attracted its visitors. The walls of the building were once covered with paintings of all sizes, imported from every Land. During the Occupation and rebuilding, the Dome of Painting was repeatedly ransacked until only a fraction of its original holdings remained. Now and again a painting is found in the collection of a merchant or noble family and returned to the Dome.
• Brōbrâð Erçus. Dome of Sculpture. Although most buildings and gardens of the Kyrm Or’Amra contained a plethora of sculpture, the Dome of Sculpture remained a separate attraction. The exterior of the building was always plain as the space was originally used as a studio for creating artwork to be used in other areas of the High Temple. During the Late Empire period, as available space upon the Albūmor was becoming scarce, the dome’s interior was transformed into a work of art. Since 472 HK, the space had been dominated by a giant statue of Amra which was the model for the Colossus of Taldàna. When the Colossus was destroyed over a thousand years later, this statue (and countless prints and paintings) were all that remained of the ancient wonder. Work on the dome’s interior began in 927 HK following the liberation of the City from the Ortor. The entire surface of the dome was carefully carved into an elaborate bas-relief depicting every High Priest, High Priestess, and Touched who had served the Goddess since the founding of Taldàna seven hundred years before. The reliefs of the oldest figures begin at the dome’s top and spiral down in chronological order along the curved walls. The dome became famous more for the blanks than the completed images, for they looked like ranks of indistinct Eðérim emerging from the walls by the hundreds. For this reason, the place has come to be known as the Dome of Ghosts. Although the dome is largely intact, both Eylfāe governors who presided over the region between 1 and 106 DR had their likenesses carved into the dome alongside their Yrūn predecessors.
• Dome of Singing. Visitors to the Dome of Singing would find a comfortable seat in surrounding the garden amphitheater to listen to the voices rising from within the wooden dome. The dome was a marvel of acoustical engineering, able to enhance and project the voice of an a cappella singer standing on the stone floor below. The floor was diagrammed with elaborate mosaics to show the singer(s) where to stand to produce particular effects with the dome’s acoustics. The dome was also used on occasion by orators wishing to address large crowds. Due to its wooden construction, the dome did not survive long into the 3rd century DR and had been rendered unusable long before that time. Today, all that remains are amphitheater benches, a few tall trees, and a beautifully tiled platform that was once the dome’s floor. Referencing old paintings and prints of the dome against the mosaic designs, Temple priests hope to be able to reconstruct the dome.
• Dome of Theater. One of the largest domes of the Albūmor was the Dome of Theater. During the Late Empire, the building hosted the greatest comedies, dramas, and tragedies known to the world. The stage was wide enough to hold a Dekàli war galley, with lifts capable of raising the ship from a great vault beneath the stage. Over two hundred stagehands coordinated the lights, lifts, curtains, props, and screens throughout a given performance. The stage itself was flanked by fifty foot stone statues of Dalāsya and Tyçal. The audience sat in cushioned wood seats arranged across the sloping floor, one of three balconies, or in private booths along the side galleries. All staircases and ladders were hidden within the walls. During intermissions or following a given play, the audience was invited to into the wine gardens near the front and rear of the building for food, drink, music, and “street entertainment”. Though the theater was damaged during the war and Occupation it was used continually until 534 DR when fire swept through the dry wooden interior killing almost three hundred people. There have been many efforts to rebuild the theater but most efforts have fallen far short of what is needed.