Church of the One God

Tucked away in the near corner of the Military District of Lysium lies an old wooden building – a rare sight and material in the stone city. The building, built in a strange pentagonal shape, hosts thick slabs of a dark reddish wood, able to keep up with the wear and tear of time and mistreatment. The walls are tall, as well, close to twenty feet, towering over some of the smaller buildings and establishments that surround the Church. The roof rises even further, sloping upwards to a point near the middle of the building, made from wood as well, panels that cross each other like scales of a fish. Upon the highest point of the roof is a small stature – small at least compared to the building itself, that raises the overall height of the Church even more. This golden statue adorns the roof and allows those who are far from the building, to recognize it, and draw themselves closer to the place of worship. The statue is a vertical oval in shape, mounted by a thick pole at its base, two short golden spokes come off the oval at its horizontal sides. Made of pure gold and near ten feet in height, its a wonder the symbol has managed to stay at its perch atop the Church all these years, and not come crashing through the old and weakening wooden roof.

Two huge wooden doors greet any who come near the Church. The doors are very ornate, and just as old as the rest of the building. Carved intricately, the doors are their own works of art. Broken into four panels, each carved with detailed images and scenes, some of battles, families, deaths, celebrations, etc, others of more abstract nature of natural scenes of beauty, stars and the sky, flowing water, etc. Once can look at the doors forever and continue to find something new in the carving. The doors themselves, made of the same thick wood as the rest of the building, are over ten feet tall, making them extremely heavy. Because of this, one of the doors are almost always slightly open during the day, so allow visitors and easy way to slip through the crack and into the building if they wish, without having to struggle with the immense doors.

There are no windows in the walls of the building, only a few skylights built into the roof of the Church. They are old and dirty, as if no one has properly cleaned them in years and so they do not let much natural light into the Church. Therefore upon entry into the building, one would be met with a dim, warm light, punctuated by many small glowing candles near the entrance on small tables covered in fancy cloth, as well as near the middle of the building. On the tables near teh entrance there are candle holders, allowing visitors to grab their own lit candle and take it with them into the Church, and light their own way through it. Oil lamps, although few in number, perch on the walls, adding to the little light there is in the building.

Upon entrance through the main doors, one will be welcome with a pathway of worn carpet, that was once very vivid and expensive, is now beaten and worn down by years of steps. This rug leads to the center of the building, where a slightly raised, circular, platform holds many tall candelabras and a couple of oppositely facing alters. While there are a couple of small steps from the carpet to the platform, the pathway continues around the circular area, between it and the pews that surround it on all sides.

The large, also wooden, pews circle around the center of the building, with those closest to the center located directly on the floor of the building. As the pews go further back from the middle, they rise in height, much like large steps, until the furthest from the center is high above the first row. This arena like formation of the pews allows all seated in the Church to view the center platform clearly and without obstruction. There are three sections of pews, behind and to each side of the center platform, with pathways in between each and stairs that allow worshipers to go to the higher levels of pews easily.

When the doors are open, one can almost always find a preacher or two within the Church itself. The Church has no official worship times, or sermons or events, as the population of visitors has dwindled so significantly that the preachers can no longer hold a proper service. Instead they stay to educate and speak with any who seek them out. More daring preachers and believers can often be found just outside of the Church’s doors, calling to passerby’s to come worship the One God.