The Moon Dome

The Moon Dome looms near the edge of the boggy lands where members of the Circle of Spores first inter the bodies of the Chosen and then exhume them for permanent burial in the crypts. It is a sacred site for observing the moon and also a sacred site for preserving our fallen heroes. The grounds west of the Dome are off-limits beyond the closest trees: a large willow marks the farthest one may go. Beyond this lie the sacred swamps.

The sacred circle in Pyrrha’s epic poem, which dates to late Skandaran times or shortly thereafter, is the same location on which the Moon Dome now stands. When the twelve families arrived in 376 K.S., to found Moru Kel, they discovered the Seta using a sacred circle on the same location. From this spot, on the summer solstice, the moon rises across Kilpo Bay, between the distant peaks that we still call Kernu Apsu, the Tusks of the Boar. At the same time, the setting sun shines from between the middle two peaks above the city, Kern Apsala and Kern Apurna. The Seta had to be convinced that a temple should be built here, which delayed construction of the original Temple of the Twin Heroes. They only changed their minds after hearing Katinka Marben recite the Legend of Whiro. Eventually, the Temple of the Twin Heroes began to sink into the marshy land and, as the population of Moru Kel grew, there was demand for a larger temple.

The Moon Dome is one of two marvels of engineering that were recently completed and will soon be seen by tens of thousands of visitors at the Symposium of Wonders. The other is the funicular. While the funicular is impressive for its functionality, the Moon Dome is simply magnificent to behold. A hexagonal building of ivory white marble stretches 145 feet on its long sides, which face north and south. The corners of the shorter sides meet in arrows that point east and west. Atop the building, the dome itself towers above the city, 120 feet in diameter and half that in height! The Moon Dome’s smooth, white surface glows golden rose in the setting sun and silver blue in the light of the full moon. It’s the largest dome that has ever been built.

Colonnades line the perimeter of the building, with columns three stories tall. Giant arched doorways lead into the interior from the longer sides of the building. The smaller doors on the shorter sides are locked or guarded. In the center of the interior, under the dome, a huge public gallery fills much of the building. Nightly worship services are held here, at dusk and midnight. From inside, one can see the occulus, where the top of the dome is open to the sky. Directly beneath it a circular mosaic, depicting the Twin Heroes, reflects the light that enters the occulus. At midnight on nights when the moon is full, its face fills the aperture. At high noon on the equinoxes the sun shines down from directly overhead. The figures of Koros and Semoz are inlaid in gold and silver, respectively, and stand head to toe on opposite halves of the mosaic and shine when illuminated from above. 

The eastern and western ends of the building, to either side of the dome, house a select number of senior scholars from amongst the followers of Semoz and Koros, as well as their most valued artifacts and scrolls. Three floors of apartments, libraries, and studies fill these wings. Members of both the Nightwatchers and Dawnbreakers live within the Moon Dome. Some Sentinels are housed there, too, on a rotating basis. They guard the valued occupants and treasures. Though not allowed live in the Moon Dome, scholars who worship Skura are also permitted to study the antiquities housed here. Esteemed members of the Sisters of Skura are often seen going in and out.