Pilgrimage
From Trinity Reign Wiki
THE PILGRIMAGE
Every capital city should have at least two temples: one devoted to the Trinity and one to a specific god, like Dohm may have a temple dedicated to Bovol for example. And maybe one capital may have all four temples (Trinity, Iantha, Bovol and Dargon), Norentia I guess, so it may be the best starting point for the pilgrimage.
Every city has at least one temple or a sanctuary.
There is an underwater temple in the low waters between Navall and Stok. The temple is a sort of natural cave in which the statues of each deity has been settled. The cave has two opposite natural accesses so the visit to it is basically meant to be made by entering the largest one and swim by towards the less wide one. (Is it doable?)
There is a temple within the desert dunes. As the wind blows and moves the dunes, part of the temple is hidden or revealed. Sometimes the main entrance is obstructed. (Is it doable?)
Norentia (Trinity temple) – Kistel – Otrim – Dohm (Trinity + Bovol temples) – Khril – Morgendil – Vaern – Indol – Noorentia (Bovol temple): Yellow path
Norentia – Kaland – Teshwin – Adessa (Trinity + Iantha temples) – Navall – Underwater temple – Norentia (Iantha temple): Blue path
Norentia – Pyrak – Graramdor – Themest (Trinity + Dargon temples) – Gardulim - Stok – Norentia (Dargon temple): Red path
Red track: hidden temple of Dargon in the mountains near Rick-Folen (you enter there and you come up in the pointy rock in the sea).
The three paths can be followed in any order, but only the yellow-blue-red one leads to the last part of it (red track)
Along every paths there are signals carved in rocks, or painted on walls or made out of clay and framed on milestones and such to guide you through your journey.
We can also come up with some astronomy conditions needed to fulfil the pilgrimage in the most valuable possible way.
There may be lots of different reasons to do the pilgrimage.
To please the gods so they:
– protect you and your family from dangers
– let the peace shine on the Trinity reign forever
– protect Jemmos' son during his travel abroad to find new lands and get back safe and sound to the Trinity reign
Because you want to become a priest/priestess and this is part of your duties Because you're a knight/soldier and this is something you may want to do to bring lustre to your governor Because you're a thief and this is a good way to find valuable things to steal Because you want to receive a grace (for your wife to get pregnant, for a member of your family who's seriously ill to be healthy again, for your business to prosper – see also short pilgrimage track,...) Because you love travelling and this is a good excuse to do it Because you may learn a lot of things, meet a lot of people and make good bargains along the way Because you are a true believer and you really feel the need to visit all the temples in the Trinity reign to get in contact and feel yourself nearer to the three gods Because Jemmos did it once to tighten together all the races through this journey and to spread his message of peace. That's why since then it is believed that every citizen should do it once during his life
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Short pilgrimage track:
Norentia (Trinity) – Dohm (Trinity -Bovol) – Norentia (Bovol) – Adessa (Trinity-Iantha) – Norentia (Iantha) – Themest (Trinity-Dargon) – Norentia (Dargon)
This is usually known as the merchants' devotion path as they used to follow this track at least once every couple of years (not sure about timing) to tighten up their alliances and to find new possible markets for their goods, while seeking for gods' protection for their business.
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A part from different reasons to make the pilgrimage, there should be also different ways to show your devotion to the three gods bringing different kinds of offers. For example, if you're a warrior of some sort, you may offer a different creature you killed for each temple/each god. If you're a merchant, you can offer your best goods, expressly made for each temple/each god. If you're a farmer, you may offer your best products or your best head of livestock. If you're a fisherman you may offer high quality nets, rods, rare fish... and so on and so forth. Money as well as gems are always good, but usually left as offer for those who take care of temples more than to gods. You may have to do both kinds of offer in the bigger temples.
THE YELLOW PATH
Norentia is one of the four capital cities in the Trinity Reign.
Even though every capital has the highest number of inhabitants for each region, Norentia has always been the most populated one with the highest number of races represented, as well as professions, and with the highest number of shops and buildings. Thus, it is the only city in the whole Reign where you can find a temple for each one of the three gods as well as one devoted to the trinity.
The three main temples are set around the city on an ideal equilateral triangle bracing it, while the trinity one is in the middle of the town. Bovol's one is at the upper northern vertex, then, going down to the West you find the following vertex with Iantha's one and then, Dargon's on the last vertex pointing to the East.
Norentia citizens claim that the four temples are the oldest ones of the Trinity Reign. This is absolutely questionable (something can be elaborate on this point, like it can be something to get informations about, along the pilgrimage, to find out where are the actual oldest temples for each god), except for the trinity one, which, actually, is the very first temple built in Ura.
The trinity temple has the shape of a rough triangle, slightly rounded, and every walls is oriented towards the point where the related god's temple is.
This is probably the main reason why all the pilgrimages starts from Nofech and from the trinity temple in particular.
It is said that this is the point where the three gods first met after the Creator left them on this world. They lingers there long enough to leave a mark of their presence on the ground with their powerful energy. It is also said that the Chamber of Judgement is somewhere under the temple.
The trinity temple of Norentia is also special because it is run by a mixed group of priests and priestess who live within the temple itself. At any time of the day, you may meet one or more of them celebrating some rituals if front of one of the three altars. They live thanks to the offers made by devotees, also because they are forbidden to cook within the temple where they can only pray or rest. (One quest here could be centred on supplying food for them. Choosing to bring some food to priests or to priestess or to both can also affect the sequence of the rest of the pilgrimage ... to be developed ... ). They use money and gems and precious metals to buy wax for candles, potions needed during rituals, to meet their own necessities, like clothing and such, to buy luxuriant ornaments for the temple and also to end some works they are doing to create a little circuit of running water to link the three altars, because it is said that water may gather the power radiating from the three gods statues, and mix them up, giving a powerful protection for the temple itself, the city and its inhabitants. There are rumours about the project of selling little jars filled with that water to the devotees as a protection or as a mean to heal bad diseases.
When you start a pilgrimage, you come to the trinity temple, bringing with you an offer for each god which has to be both symbolical (seeds for Bovol, flowers for Iantha, meat for Dargon, just to make an example) and valuable ones (gold for Bovol, diamonds or pearls for Inatha, ruby for Dargon or just a good amount of money for the three of them).
When you start a pilgrimage, you have to make your offers in front of each altar and then you have to collect something (a candle, a coloured thread, an image of one of the three gods) as a sign of your intention to complete the pilgrimage. (There can be a sort of sequence the player has to figure out like he may need to gather some wax, a thread, a mould and then something to light the candle he can make out in the end to match the one he got in the beginning and to give back in the end to prove he actually follow the whole circuit).
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Next step: Indol. (I guess it is better to follow this way so we can go through most of the cities we have already worked on.)
Leaving Norentia, heading East, you enter the forest of Indol (where you may have to deal with some creatures, some outlaws encampment, and start to learn few things about herbs and berries too) to reach the city of Indol. The path is marked by some signs carved on trees trunks and you also have to find a way to cross the river (not sure if this is the Ouin river or another one). There may be a possible 'offical path' but we can also let the player to find his own way to Indol. Basically, I was thinking about two different kinds of marks: one colour or one shape on one side of the river and another colour or another shape on the other side, because from Indol, you have to reach Vaern, so you enter another section of the pilgrimage map, so to speak. (Actually I'm wondering if players have a plan of Ura to follow or if they have to find their way on their own). Where the river splits in two branches, there's a little patch of forest that is surrounded by waters. There must be something interesting in that point and a bit hard to reach. Maybe some remaining of an early city and of a temple. This last one, that should be abandoned, it is actually kept tidy and someone brings fresh flowers constantly. (Who?) There's just a statue of Iantha and some scraps of walls and a broken altar (old wars outcome and some beasts going over it in time?). Those who started their pilgrimage because they needed to begin a new life, should come to this temple as in this place you end up finding a way to accept your past, while receiving the energy from the statue to be able to learn from your mistakes and go beyond them (ohgod, what am I making up here? Bah, nevermind, let's move on). Indol has a little trinity temple, made out of wood as well as most of the other city buildings are, I guess, being in the heart of a forest. Blocks of marbles and granite were used to make gods' altars. A couple of young priests are in charge to keep it running. It's some sort of test for those priests wanting to raise along the hierarchy of their order (something about priests and priestesses orders and hierarchies should be considered sooner or later, as it may also be a temporary, but also a long term experience a player would like to live).
Next step: Vaern.
From Indol, you can easily reach Vaern following the main road. It's quite a busy one with lots of carts and convoys. It's quite safe as it is heavily patrolled by guards' platoons. Along the road there are signs made out of metal and inserted in the ground on one side. In Vaern there's a beautiful trinity temple as we all know. Being a wealthy city, there are also three little chapels (simply made out of a sheltered statue of each god).
Next step: Morgendil.
Scattered along the way from Vaern to Morgendil there are some sketched shells and fish bones to show the path. Morgendil has only one trinity temple. It's run by a priestess. This temple is one of the few ones with a bell tower. In this city, fish is the most valuable good, so you may need to offer it to the deities.
Next step: Khril.
The little wooden sanctuary on top of Khril is well known all around Ura. A Lehuln priestess named Vera runs it. Again, it's a temple devoted to the trinity. (In my original plans, in the middle of this temple, there should be a big vase with a hole at its base, full of obviously dripping out water, used to mark the passing of time and seasons). Glass and bells and flowers are the most valuable products here. Images of flowers made out of gems framed in metal sheets were scattered along the way leading towards Dohm. Thieves stole the original gems (still paying for this act of theirs in Dargon's realm) and they were replaced by coloured glass droplets.
Next step: Dohm
The capital has a trinity temple and a Bovol's temple. Actually, this last one is the 'official' one within the city walls, but there's also a second temple dedicated to Bovol, hidden down in one of the caves, which is the oldest one of the Trinity Reign. This hidden temple is not easily accessible and nearly unknown. Oddly enough it is kept guarded and ran not by priests or priestesses, but by dewars miners. To be able to access it, you have to be whether a very good and pure person, or a very strong and valiant one. You have to be well known among dewars, but not necessarily a dewar yourself to find it and be able to visit it. The only offer accepted in this temple is something you created with your own hands. There's no need for candles or lamps in here as the energy left by Bovol – who made his trials on stones and gems right in this cave – gave as result a glowing mist that never fades and provides the necessary illumination. The trinity temple is made out of stones, while the official Bovol's one is made out of wood, which is quite rare in this area and it was used to show Dhom citizens' affection to this god. Priests and priestesses take care of both temples, alternatively. That means that while priests take care of the trinity temple, priestesses take care of Bovol's temple and then, once a year, during Phash, when the three moons are together in the sky, they swap: priests go to Bovol's temple and priestesses to the trinity one. (Don't know if this is doable or has any possible sense/meaning). Along the cliffs forming the coastal path leading to Otrim, you may see some engravings representing boats.
Next step: Otrim
This is the biggest port in Ura as far as dimensions, number of people working in it, and number of ships passing by is concerned. The city that developed in time around it is quite chaotic and turbulent. There's only a trinity temple in town and its appearance is that of a quite poor building, yet, a group of priests run it efficiently and keep it clean and shiny. No surprise that the three altars have the shape of different kinds of boats. Iantha's one has the outline of an agile vessel with white sails, Bovol's one is like a reliable fishermen' boat, Dargon's one reminds a warship. Now you start to walk towards the mountains, following little, shiny, white pieces of rock simply put together to form arrows pointing towards Kistel.
Next step: Kistel
This town is entirely built against the mountains flanks, basically by piercing the rock and creating houses within those holes. The trinity temple is rather essential and cold. Even though religion is not the main concern of its inhabitants, the statues of the three gods were carved from single pieces of rock by a talented local artist that was able to give those simple rocks the appearance of living creatures. Anything you can offer here is a luxuriant gift as life in this city is really hard and its inhabitants are used to be concerned only about what is basic and essential for their living. There's just one priest taking care of this temple and usually, only those who were born here are sent back here to run it. Flat stones shaped like leaves guides you back to Norentia again.
Next step: back to Norentia
Once back to the capital, you have to visit Bovol's temple to complete the first part of the pilgrimage, the so called yellow path.
