Night Temple

Description

A magnificent temple constructed on the underside of the Northern island, it belonged to the cult of the Goddess of Black Skies - Storm God. She was the deity of darkness, stars, and guidance, and so, no light was allowed on the temple's premises.^[1]

In the Age of the Spell, it became the private citadel of the Great Clan Valor. Only those who belonged directly to the clan were stationed in the mysterious citadel.

Geography

Northern Island

The Northern Island was shrouded in shadow by the misty peaks of the Hollow Mountains. The strangely silent island spanned around two kilometers in diameter and was a single vast level plain. Its surface was blanketed by a field of violet flowers whose buds would open only at night. The ruins of an ancient fortress lay at the island's northern edge. Beyond the gateway of the fortress was the chain that anchored the island to the Hollow Mountains. At the very corner of the platform, past the gateway, were a narrow set of stairs hewn from weathered rock. They led down to the dark side of the island and the Night Temple. The structure of the stairs allowed the inhabitants of the Temple to defend against an invading force easily.^[2]

Night Temple

At the bottom of the stairs, a hanging bridge attached to the isle above led to the Night Temple. The Temple itself was built in a strange reversal, its seven belfries extending downwards and its foundation the highest point. The darkness of the Sky Below and its scattering of false stars seemed like the Temple's night sky.

Architecture

Exterior

Made out of black stone, the magnificent Temple resembled a tall, somber cathedral. Each of its seven bell towers (belfries) ended with a short chain holding a huge bell cast of tarnished green copper. Massive iron gates admitted entry to the cathedral.

Interior

The Temple's interior was bizarre and confusing. It resembled a vast, convoluted maze of black stone^[3]. One could easily lose their sense of direction^[4]. Some rooms and halls were constructed normally, but others were constructed in the same inverted manner as the Temple itself, the flat floors serving as the ceilings and the arched ceilings instead the floor^[5].

The Temple could be split into three areas: the outward ring, designated to Outsiders; the temple central, where the Lost lived; and the inner sanctum, where strange human echoes were stationed^[6].

Most rooms were drowned in darkness with only oil lamps to illuminate them.

Citadel Function

The Night Temple could be sealed by its master. After it is sealed, none are able to open the gates except the master.

The Gateway of this Citadel is unique. It could be activated without touch.^[6]

Inhabitants

Saint Cormac

The Saint of Valor who oversaw the Night Temple. Cormac often ventured into the mists of the Hollow Mountain as though searching for something^[6].

Master Welthe

Seemingly, the stronger of the two Masters is stationed at the Night Temple. She was also the more agreeable and composed one. She had a strange anvil amulet to protect her from Mordret's Ability^[7].

Master Pierce

The other powerful Master of Valor is stationed at the Night Temple. He seemed afraid of Mordret and was hostile to Sunny and Cassie. His aspect allowed him to counter or resist the Prince of Nothing's possession^[7].

The Lost:

About a hundred Awakened who had lost their true bodies in the Waking World. They were all experienced elites. They were stationed at the Night Temple as their prisoner would not be able to escape into the Waking World through them^[8].

Points of Interest

Lesser Jail

This jail was most likely located in or near one of the seven belfries. Its entrance was a heavy metal door at the end of a long corridor, which was opened with an elaborate key. The room was a circular chamber built in reverse - the floor acted as a tall ceiling, and the domed ceiling was beneath their feet, sloping downwards like a crater. At the center was a large iron cage, and strange runes were inscribed in a circle around it. There was a single oil lamp burning on the wall near the exit^[9].

The jail cell was meant to contain awakened, and thus, the runes' function was to drain the essence out of the cage's inhabitants^[10].

Grand Hall

Located at the central Temple, the ceiling of the Grand Hall was flat and stretched into the distance. The floor, meanwhile, arched downward into a giant bowl. Load-bearing stone seams protruded from the domed floor like bridges and roads^[3].

At the center of the bowl was a wide stone platform upon which the black altar had stood. Behind it was a statue of a veiled woman holding a star and a lightning bolt - Storm God^[6]. The Gateway of the citadel lay at the black altar.

Inner Sanctum

This is the very heart of the Night Temple where not even the Lost had been allowed. A field of runes were inscribed on the heavy doors to the Inner Sanctum. Below this room was the main bell tower of the cathedral and the largest of them.

Past some corridors was a spacious hall with a fireplace. Crates of food and water and a number of cots had been placed here by the forces of Valor and it served as their stronghold^[9].

There was a room with a round table, and past it were the private quarters of the Ascended knights of Valor. Beyond even the quarters was a small room with a single door. It served as a sort of prison cell during the siege^[11].

Mirror Room

A long spiral staircase encircling the main bell tower led to the very bottom of it. The tip of the tower had only on circular corridor and a single chamber. The room was made of cold stone and built in the shape of a heptagon. Its seven covers were shrouded in darkness and at each of the seven sides a large empty mirror frame stood. The mirrors had been shattered^[12].

History

Pre-Spell

The magnificent cathedral had once been a monument to the Goddess of Storms, Darkness, and Stars. The acolytes of her cult blinded themselves before becoming priestesses. They were known as the Eyeless. Many of these Eyeless were seers. The High Priestess of the Temple was the Chain Lord of the North. She had been afflicted by the madness of apathy^[1].

Citadel of Valor

The citadel's purpose was a mystery. It was meant to be a frontier outpost from which the forces of Valor could expand to the Hollow Mountains, but their progress in that direction had long since stalled. Yet, the Night Temple was not empty it should have been^[13]. The forces arrayed in the Temple were inordinately powerful. The Temple's Saint often journeyed into the Hollow Mountains, as if searching for something. A then Awakened Cassie had been anchored there and had taken note of the strange proceedings of the citadel.

In truth, the citadel was meant to contain a powerful and insidious Awakened - Mordret, the Prince of Nothing.

Mordret's Imprisonment

Anvil of Valor had imprisoned his son in this citadel with the help of the elders of the Great Clan. Mordret had inherited the lineage of War from his father and was thus a Prince of War. When the Prince had returned from his time as a hostage with a powerful ally, the Great Clan had been overjoyed. However, Mordret had been 'too powerful' and possessed certain impulses that 'couldn't be controlled'. When he attempted to covertly enter a Seed of the Second Nightmare, Valor took action against him. However...

"...Do you think we haven't tried? His physical body was destroyed… his spirit body, too. But that still didn't kill him. No matter what we attempted, that thing simply refused to die. Many of my comrades did in the process, however. In the end, we could only bind him… and even that was only possible with the help of the Saints."

- Pierce to Sunny, Chapter 577, Vol 3.

Mordet Unleashed (Volume 3, Prince of Nothing)

The prisoner of the Night Temple tricked Sunny into bringing a unique mirror into the citadel. This fragment of Mordret's Reflection allowed him to break free from his cage. He went on to visit gruesome fates upon his captors. Sunny heard wails full of indescribable agony and terror^[14]. The Prince of Nothing's actions seemed to be born out of cruel insanity, but there was a method to the calculating Prince's madness.

Jailbreak (Volume 3, Prince of Nothing)

Immediately after the mad Prince's escape, Sunny and Cassie were jailed by the forces of Valor in a cell meant for Awakened. They received merely a tube of synthpaste and a waterskin each^[15], leaving them in constant hunger. Sunny also noticed the Lost that came to feed them changed for the worse each passing day, becoming more frightened or in the case of an arrogant Lost, more grim^[16]. One day, they found blood seeping through the door to the cell, after which none came to feed them. Sunny and Cassie languished in thirst and hunger for an unknown number of days.

After an undetermined amount of time, the arrogant Lost sentinel returned, having been driven to madness. His eyes were gouged out, crimson streams poured down his face, and his fingers were marred with blood. The crazed Lost blamed Sunny for Mordret's escapade and attempted to kill him. However, Sunny strangled the man to death after a surprise strike from his memory, the Covetous Coffer, which he had left lying in wait. He and Cassie were then able to escape with the key taken from the arrogant Lost's corpse^[17].

Subsequent Chaos (Volume 3, Prince of Nothing)

The two newly freed Awakened chanced upon signs of battle as they searched for food. They found the remains of an unsuccessful barricade, the failure highlighted by bloodied clothes and overturned tables. As they ventured to look for survivors, they found more evidence of Mordret's rampage, such as eviscerated bodies, bloodshed and destruction, and even strange things too vile to be explained by sane logic^[3].

They were found by the remnants of Valor's soldiers in the Grand Hall. After a brief confrontation, Sunny and Cassie accompanied the soldiers to the inner sanctum. This was the soldiers' final fortress. They seemed to be staging the battle from here and waiting for the arrival of Saint Cormac^[7]. Sunny noticed the latest hunt had not gone well - there were more cots than Lost that had returned^[9].

Sunny and Cassie were led to a room with a round table to meet with the two Masters of Valor. They learnt of the existence of Mordret and his dreadful Aspect.

The Siege went poorly. Mordret did not hide the fact that he had infiltrated the Inner Sanctum and cut the two Lost who were guarding the doors to pieces. Sunny speculated that Mordret was using fear tactics to shake their willpower and weaken their souls, suggesting the horrific soul devouring Ability required the target's soul to be weaker or to have surrendered^[18].

Further murders made Sunny and Cassie the prime targets of the Lost soldiers' fearful suspicions. The crowd broke into a frenzy, accusing the pair. As the situation was about to escalate into violence, the Lost were stopped by the Ascended Knights. Sunny and Cassie were then escorted into a small room which effectively served as a prison^[11].

By refraining from making any more moves, Mordret cunningly grew the suspicion on Sunny and Cassie. Eventually, the Masters decided to act and took the two to the lowest point of the main Bell Tower - a strange heptagonal room which once housed seven large mirrors.

Final Battle (Volume 3, Prince of Nothing)

Master Welthe held Cassie hostage, while Pierce gave Sunny an ultimatum - deliberately look into a mirror and become Mordret's vessel or watch Cassie die and be tortured into doing so. The Ascended Knights planned to trap Mordret who would be using Sunny as a vessel. A large wooden box with a complicated weave of a beautiful but disorienting pattern engraved on its surface (mirror trap) seemed to be the prison of the Prince. But the devious Awakened had a different goal. While the four were away, Mordret massacred the remaining Lost. He had been in the body of a Lost who could turn invisible.

The Masters confront Mordret in the Inner Sanctum with Sunny close behind in the shadows. Mordret then proposes Sunny join him to battle the two Knights as they would never let him leave alive^[19]. A battle ensued. Sunny faced the fearsome Master Piece, while Mordret battled Welthe. Sunny's Shadows Saint and Serpent took on the eight human echoes the Masters had summoned^[20].

The Shadow Saint used the Patient Avenger to absorb numerous attacks from the echoes and finally cause a fiercely violent explosion. The blast obliterated the echoes, wounded and disoriented Knight Welthe, knocked Mordret's current vessel to the ground and out of invisibility, but had seemingly no effect on Knight Pierce. The battle continued, and Sunny slew the seemingly invulnerable Master by using the Heavenly Burden to restrict Pierce's actions and a final wildly augmented throw of the Cruel Sight.

Meanwhile, Mordret had drawn out his battle to tear Welthe's amulet away from her, and horrifyingly, had managed to possess the Master's Ascended body.

Cassie arrived and inhibited Mordret's fearsome power by channeling the runes of the mirror trap, but Mordret surprised Sunny with Welthe's Ability and then interrupted the blind Oracle's attempt. As Sunny and Mordret continue battling, the tides turned against the unlucky protagonist^[21].

Soul Battle (Volume 3, Prince of Nothing)

Cassie unexpectedly tells Sunny to open his eyes, the window through which Mordret's Ability is applied. Sunny does so, and a moment later, he is transported to his Soul Sea. Startlingly, Mordret manifests in his true form along with Sunny. This is the manner in which Mordret takes a body - a soul duel. They fought, only for Sunny to be overwhelmingly outdone^[22]. However, the shadows of the beings killed by Sunny moved in response to the invader, and Mordret was instead drowned by the numerous shades in a turn of events. He manages to escape^[23].

Sunny and Cassie fled while Mordret is stunned. The abominable Prince chased them across the Night Temple. Just as they were found, the seal of the Temple lifted, indicating the arrival of a Saint^[24].

Destruction of the Temple:

Sunny and Cassie escaped while Saint Cormac battled Mordret. However, they were too slow. The Saint caught up to them at the top of the Northern Island, having apparently defeated Mordret's vessel. Before Cormac could kill the two, Saint Tyris appeared to shield them. The cataclysmic duel of the two Transcendent champions destroyed the entire Northern Island and the Night Temple disintegrated into a rain of black stones^[25].

Second Nightmare (Volume 4, Chain Breaker)

Cassie takes the place of a young Priestess of the Night Temple in the Second Nightmare. She learns of the origins of the Temple.

Rumours of a creature of the fog reach the Night Temple. At first, the apathetic state of the High Priestess caused the rest to grow aloof as well. But with time, the rumours grew more menacing and dire. Rumours of a voice from the mists of the Hollow Mountains. The Eyeless sensed a threat. However, when a divination was performed, there was no result. A Priestess and her cohort sent to investigate failed to return. The army was mustered, but even the Ascended champions could not catch the creature. After all, how does one catch the fog?

The Prince of Nothing, for the creature was none other than the cruel Mordret, escalated his evil deeds. Scores of people went missing in the North every day. Soon, an entire village was taken. The people of the North summoned all their forces and attempted a trap with Cassie as the lure, but Mordret was more cunning than they had imagined. He slaughtered thousands who were left unprotected with the help of his Reflections, allowing them each to rise in rank^[26].

The trap failed due to Mordret's sinister powers. A ray of hope manifested itself in the form of the Transcendent High Priestess, though. She promised to face the Prince of War herself. However, Cassie was summoned in secret by the High Priestess to convey a message to Lord Noctis.

"Just three words… I am dead."

- Cassie retelling her experience to the cohort, Chapter 687, Vol. 4.

Cassie had reached the Sanctuary after a dangerous journey, when she felt the change. The High Priestess was dead another flaw had been added to Hope's prison^[27].

The Night Temple and the North was empty, its people all dead. Cassie was the sole survivor^[28].

Trivia