Shadowdark

The Shadowdark is a temple constructed by Duerte for the worship of X'toltn. It is carved into the deepest caverns below Fountainhead. Surrounded by a something called the Everdark only the most powerful entities could get inside the temple without passing through this dangerous area. Only the trading stone is located outside of the Everdark. This allows those inside to meet with the few visitors who know of this place.

The temple consists of six major areas, the serving area, the trading stone, Duerte's personal quarters, the everdark, the alter, and the servant quarters. A single central corridor connects the serving area, personal quarters, alter, and servant quarters. The Everdark connects the trading stone with the serving area.

The Trading Stone is the only area of the temple outside of the area surrounded by the Everdark. This canyon has been outfitted with teak furniture, and wooden floors. The humidity of the area leaves most of the wood partially rotting and in poor condition. There is a brass gong hanging from an iron frame that can be used to summon one of the watchers in the Everdark. These watchers can bear word to those inside that someone has arrived to speak with them.

In the center of this room is a thick stone table. The table legs are fashioned from limestone, while the top is a single piece of black marble veined with green.

This surrounds Shadowdark Temple on all sides. It is not fully a place of this world and neither are those things that live within. There is some entity that lives within that can grant permission to pass safely, but only to those who bear the mark of X'toltn. This is not an area fit for the living. Simply passing through would destroy the soul of a mortal.

The serving area consists of a dining hall, kitchen, and cold storage. This is the largest area of the temple; although it sees the least amount of use.

The dining hall has three doors, one leads to the kitchen, one leads to the central hallway, and the last to the Everdark. There is a large, and well maintained, teak table and chairs that dominate this space. A small side table is usually stocked with a fine selection of liquors and fine glass goblets. Tapestries hang from the wall and scraped wood floors try and conceal to fact that this room is far below the ground.

The kitchen is dominated by a large cooking pit near the center of the room. A short set of stairs leads to the cold storage room; otherwise the kitchen only connects to the dining room. There are three stone topped table allowing the cook and maid to prepare dinner.

The cold storage room is not just physically cold, but spiritually as well. The walls would be covered with ice, but the entire room is arid. The temple keeps their foodstuffs in this room, along with a selection of wines and ales.

These are the personal quarters of the high priest - currently Duerte. It consists of a single small room with a sitting room and curtained off sleeping area. The sitting room has a small table, chair, chest, and wardrobe. There is a large bed in the sleeping area on a decorative teak frame.

A heavy wood door leads to a larger room that is currently used as a workshop. Duerte keeps his scrolls and other things needed for his personal study. There are three magical circles inscribed into the stone floor. Two are inlaid with copper while the other is inlaid with silver and wooden disks. A hidden bolthole leads to a small room that Duerte has prepared for his last defense.

The alter is reached from the central corridor. The outer door is heavy wood bound with copper bands and silver nails. There are no handles and the door will only open to adherents of X'toltn. Once past this doorway the worshiper will pass through a small corridor draped with strips of fabric. Each of these strips contain a tenet of X'toltn and physically painful to touch. The final barrier is small wall of darkness. Only those who have committed their souls to the darkness can pass through this barrier.

The alter room is a large spherical room about ten meters (32 feet) where the laws of gravity operate differently. On one side is a small white marble disk about 13 cm (~5 inches) in diameter. The rest of the room is covered in rune-carved obsidian. Floating in the exact center of the room is a glass ball 13 cm (~5 inches) in diameter filled with some dark liquid.

Anyone can walk on any of the “surfaces” but cannot jump or be pulled from the “ground.” You must touch the surface at all times. Depending on the ritual preformed there are different areas along the sphere.

There are twenty small cells carved off a smaller twisting corridor that extends from the central hallway. All of the servants stay in this area when not needed elsewhere. Each cell provides only the most minimal space except for the first two. The first cells are reserved for the major-domo and the second is storage for their needs. Only the major-domo's cell has a door, the others are open to the corridor.

The temple was first carved out in 361 AH by Duerte when he was brought before the Everdark. The Everdark has existed here before any human. In 403 the Serving Area was added when Duerte could not longer walk on the surface of the world.

In the Legacy of Marak campaign episode To Forgive is Divine the spirit of Æsir entered by unknown means into this temple and reached Quilate.