Temple of Tharx

The Temple of Tharx, a place of devotion to the trickster god is a temple-complex located in the city of Lorenin, in the kingdom of Ischanor.
Located in the western mountain "Kejafros" of the town, Kobolds of Tharx have tirelessly chiseled in to the mountain. It is the main religious site of the Trickster God Ruhric and other ancient dieties lost to time. Trading with the surrounding ischanoric people, like the people of Lorenin was prevalent.
== History ==
Long before recorded history and hidden behind stone giants the obscured nests of the Kobolds sequestered. They called themselves Seekers of Tharx. 
Surviving off cave moss and small water sources the little kobolds worshiped their trickster god. 
One of these little Kobolds had been granted great intellect and foresight by their god. His name was Ansom. He passed this knowledge to his ancestors of mechanical wonders and great technology.
A great city flourished for many kobold generations until a great catastrophe.
It is unknown how this cataclysm took place. Maybe the Kobolds peered into things no mortal should understand. Maybe their many mining engines found something that should have not been found.
=== Fall ===
But what is known is that the very ground beneath them gave way revealing horrors beyond what a kobold mind can comprehend. Kobolds in the droves were slain. Families hissed in horror as the scampering of scaled feet slowly died out. Only the strongest and most fierce of the clan were left. It would be generations before the kobolds intellect would reach the heights of their forefounders. The once proud Kobold left disheveled and hopeless left to spend their days eating sculk fruits.
Upon a fateful night a small group of Kobold adventurers made the trek to fly towards the sky above. They constructed a flying machine made of odd bits and bobs found in the most deep and accursed sections of the cavern.
=== Revival ===
With this brave flying machine they made the ascent to this unknown new world.
The increased humidity from deep underground made it a sanctum for the little lizard men. Soon the population was doubling overnight with the discovery of the exit and the newly found spawning pools.
Geothermal vents heated the pool and increased spawn rates tenfold. Soon the kobolds were heading towards a new peak of their civilization. Construction of a defiant bridge over the maw below was organized. 
== Layout ==
=== Entrance ===
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On first glance, the entrance hall to the temple may appear as an unassuming pathway, a tangle of minecart tracks and copper pipelines. However, the entrance hall in actuality is highly secure, using a unique combination of biological and mechanical contraptions and systems to alert Kobolds of intruders, and block off any potential threats.
Due to most of the floorspace being covered by tracks, and the walls are littered with fuelpipes, the entrance hall is incredibly crumpled, visitors describing a sense of foreboding as the tall stone walls loom over them. 
=== The Scrawling ===
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An ancient testament to time, the Scrawling is a cavernous village that the Kobolds have been inhabiting for thousands of years. First established as a near-surface settlement to be a safe-haven for survivors of a deep-dark massacre, the descendants of its original settlers keep the village as a reminder of their past and as a sanctuary from the outside world. 
The village is built up of one central cavern, with narrow exits leading out into the greater parts of the temple. Over millennia of usage, the original walls have been scratched away, revealing a layer of tuff and andesite underneath the stony walls. Littered across the walls are various scrawls by ancient Kobolds, acting as a key source of historical value for Kobold archaeologists and antiquarians. While even in the present day young Kobolds may attempt to ‘leave their mark’ on the cavern walls, some even going as far to etch into the ceiling, many of the works preserved on the walls are upwards of several thousand years old. 
In the center of the cavern is a large pond, which acted as the original spawning pond for the ancient Kobolds. This pond was, and still is essential to the natural ecosystem present within the caverns, and the waterways from within the cave are of utmost sacredness to its inhabitants. The pond is still used as a hatching area for newly born Kobolds, eggs being kept warm by geothermal vents sourced from deeper underground. Any fish unfortunate enough to be born or transported into this pond are usually killed off and eaten by Kobold young, which in consequence has allowed the local flora to flourish in absence of any exclusively herbivorous fauna. Particularly around the central pool, various species of moss have flourished and act as a comfortable flooring to sit on in times of serenity. While one may find small patches across the walls, Kobolds make an effort to clear these colonies before they cover up any important (or simply old) texts scratched onto the walls. Underneath the waters sea grass has slowly been proliferating in the absence of any fish. Glow berries, a common delicacy that acts as a sweet garnish for any dish (including Kobold ones) are cultivated here in this cavern, though at this point in time they are grown more as a preservation than out of any real practical need.
Mushrooms have also taken residence here in the cavern. Given the lack of decaying organisms, it’s a curious sight to see how so many different types of mushrooms have been able to flourish so well in The Scrawling. Small brown and red mushrooms are dotted around near the cavern walls, and there are even some cases of large brown mushrooms, several meters tall growing. Spore blossoms have also taken root onto the cavern ceiling, releasing a pleasant aroma throughout the cavern (unless one is allergic, in which case, it is rather irritable and possibly fatal). Kobolds have also created small gardens of various other plants in The Scrawling. The most noteworthy of these gardens are the sweet berry and nether wart. Due to their thick, scaly hide, the sharp thorns of a sweet berry bush are completely ineffective to Kobolds, and so the berries act as a sweet, risk-free treat to snack on. Essential for brewing, the more scientifically-inclined Kobolds keep a small garden of nether wart for their potions and various experiments. The ecological impact of these (presumably non-native) plants has yet to be explored, though they seem contained to a point where their impact is negligible.
The spruce pathings of The Scrawling lead to a small collection of homes and workstations, dug out from the original cavern walls. While some of these paths are freshly installed, others have remained for hundreds of years, incredibly brittle after centuries of rot. The homes utilize wooden framings to prevent unwanted cave-ins, and are often described as the ‘homely type of small’. These homes have been in use for millennia, seeing refurbishments and expansions over that eternity. However, traces of the original architecture and furniture still remain in it’s current form, if one knows where to look. The workstations were part of the old headquarters when the rest of the temple was still being constructed, and some old schematics - particularly those down by humans sketching out the temple - are still contained in those storage drawers.
Despite being a refuge safe from the ever looming threats of Abexlias, The Scrawling has seen it’s fair share of conflict in the past. When it was first established, The Scrawling was under threat from wandering Wardens who were still chasing after initial refugees, and while the sound-proofing wool has since been uninstalled from the village, some of the oldest texts on the walls speak of wool-placing protocols. Old raiding squads from Drackar had also skirmished the village in the pas, though their presence is mostly long-forgotten in this day and age.
=== The Pit ===
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A gaping maw into the deep dark that serves as a grim reminder of the Kobold’s past, The Pit is a central bridge in the Temple that leads to excavated regions of the Ancient City. Unlike the more bustling culture of the Kobolds with constant noises and chatter, The Pit remains eerily silent, Kobolds who pass through lower their heads in solemnity, gazing into the infinite past that is the abyss. Unlike other, more rounded caverns found within the underground network of the Temple, The Pit largely consists of four very steep walls leading into an unseen bottom. Historians suspect that at the bottom of this hole are the crushed remains of the Ancient City, collapsed in from the destruction caused by wardens. As the Ancient City relied heavily on wooden structural supports to stay sound, it’s theorized that they were either destroyed by the wardens themselves, or by the Kobolds to prevent them from moving closer to the surface. This pit extends deep into the deepslate underworld of the cavern, so deep that a torch dropped in would be eaten by the abyss, invisible to any observer’s on the bridge.
One particular oddity that visitors may notice about the Pit is the large colony of moss that coats the ceiling. Unlike other regions of the Temple, which have small ecosystems flourishing with a variety of different flora and fauna, this moss colony is actually made up of one gestalt entity which has assimilated all the other flora growing on it. The process of this assimilation is currently unknown, but researchers have discovered that harvesting the glow berries on one part of the organism shows physiological response in regions otherwise completely separate. This moss entity has acted as a source of food for the Kobolds ever since they settled in (though it is unclear whether or not the moss is actually complacent in their constant farming).
The centerpiece of the The Pit, however, is the bridge spanning across the two cavern ends. This stone monolith was the combined effort of several generations of Kobold families risking their lives against the possible warden threat to reconnect with their past. Constructed with a mix of cut andesite, diorite, and stone bricks, the bridge also holds the banners of the Tharx Kobolds.
To gain safe travels down into the depths, an elevator has been built to allow miners to access the deepest parts of the ruins. This grand elevator is powered by a boiler engine fueled by a geothermal vent, and while safety inspectors have given the contraption have declared a level of dubious functionality, it is the Kobold engineer’s pride and joy. At the bottom of the elevator, builders and miners collaborate to dig out the remains of the ancient city, and continue a grand restoration project. Within the old city, the Greathall of Dragons is still in the process of being restored.
=== Living quarters ===
Nestled deep within the Temple of Tharx, a remarkable new living quarters has been constructed, a testament to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the Kobolds. By harnessing the natural heat from deep within the mountain, they have created a warm and cozy environment, perfect for their tiny living spaces. A sophisticated geothermal convection air circulation system runs fresh air into every house, providing a constant supply of oxygen-rich air that is both clean and healthy. This innovative system is powered by the thermal energy of the mountain, making it both efficient and sustainable.
Mechanical lights, cleverly designed and crafted by the Kobolds, keep the cozy little shacks aglow, casting a warm and welcoming glow over the narrow streets and alleys. These lights are fueled by a combination of magical energy and carefully harvested crystals, providing a soft, gentle illumination that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. As one walks through the living quarters, the air is filled with the enticing aromas of Kobold cooking, mingling with the sound of laughter and conversation. The Kobolds are a social people, and their love of food and community is evident in the warm, inviting atmosphere that pervades their homes.
=== Labratory ===
Deep within the heart of the laboratory, a peculiar experiment was underway. The walls, adorned with contraptions and strange devices, seemed to hum with an otherworldly energy. At the center of this eerie scene, a sprawling cactus farm stretched towards the ceiling, its prickly tendrils grasping for the dim, flickering light. Here, the brilliant yet twisted minds of the laboratory's inhabitants had discovered a sinister secret: the magical energy that coursed through the land could be harvested from the humble cacti. But this was no ordinary cultivation. Oh no, the true key to unlocking this potent force lay in the darkest of secrets.
Beneath the soil, hidden from prying eyes, the laboratory's sinister masters had been using the corpses of deceased kobolds as fertilizer. The tiny, lifeless bodies, once full of laughter and warmth, now nourished the very plants that would power their dark experiments. It was a gruesome, sacrilegious act, one that would forever taint the soil and corrupt the land. As the cacti grew, their rugged exteriors seemed to drink in the morbid energy, channeling it into a potent, pulsing force. This was the true source of the laboratory's power, a power that would stop at nothing to realize its twisted ambitions. The kobolds, once victims of circumstance, had become mere pawns in a far larger, far darker game.
Category:Locations
Category:Religions