The High Temples refer to a series of temples across Haless that have been used as a symbol of worship for followers of High Philosophy and was later revealed during the Rending of Realms as a spirit suppression system theorized by scholars to have been built by the Precursor Empire.
Architecture[]
These temples, massive structures that littered Haless, were complex buildings with filled with protective wardings and traps to prevent intruders that sought the various treasure rooms filled with Precursor relics. At the heart of the temples are a temple "heart", a core of pure damestear which in itself was often sought by pilferers, though with its removal the temple would in turn cease functioning as a spirit suppressant.
History[]
Ancient History[]
The exact date of the High Temples creation is unknown but to the cultures and civilizations of Haless and Rahen they have always been there. These High Temples shaped High Philosophy as it is known today, the predominant religion of Rahen both in ancient times and today. Believing these High Temples to be structures left behind by their gods they revered them, since then relics have been discovered leading many to believe that they in fact were built by Precursors, though followers of High Philosophy do deny this even today.
Harimar's Quest[]
In fact, this concept of the temples being structures left by the gods was radicalized and brought to the forefront of the religion by Harimar the Great and his conquests of Rahen. Uniting the Harimari people at the age of 25, Harimar sought to both expand his empire and seek out all the High Temples left behind by the gods. Seeking to emulate these High Gods, Harimar brought about the idea that the secrets could be found within these temples and they were sacred structures. By studying them they sought to figure out how the High Gods lived their lives and perhaps they then could do the same. When faced with the conquest of Thidinkai part of Harimar's reasoning for abandoning the struggle to conquer it was due to the apparent absence of High Temples. Ultimately Harimar, after conquering nearly the entirety of Haless, would enter the High Temple of Tianlou in 79 AA and never be seen again.
Jaher's Invasions[]
The High Temples would continue to play a role in the developing civilizations of Haless, though many others did not see them as objects of reverence like followers of HIgh Philosophy did. In fact, followers of the Lefthand Path such as the Oni of Azjakuma saw them as a font of knowledge to corrupt and others such as followers of the Mystic Accord in the Lupulan ignored them altogether which left many turning derelict and ruined. The next major event concerning them would occur during Jaher's invasions of Haless where he first brought about the idea that the Precursors built the temples and they were of elven origin. This outraged the people of Haless and brought about one more reason they wished to see him deposed.
Rending of Realms[]
The temples would once again rise to the center stage of Rahen just before and during the Rending of Realms. With the invention of the Korashi drill, capable of destroying the protective warding of the temples, The Command's allowance of Oni custodianship over their temples, and the wear of time it spelled a disaster for the temples. In the early late 16th century and early 17th century Cannorian adventurers and fortune-seekers flooded Haless seeking the wealth to be gained by looting the temples of their relics and hearts, using the ever-improving Korashi drills to do so. Meanwhile, The Command which rapidly expanded over Rahen and Haless granted the temples to the Oni, unknowing that they'd be corrupting them and rendering them also defunct. In other places such as Thidinkai and Lupulan the temples merely degraded over time, increasing spirit presence. This culminated in Smaraya's fall in the Typhoon of Broken Vases in 1699/1700 and Tianlou in 1750, where a local rich man's son who gambled away his money hired a party and a drill to raid the temple. The fall of these two broke Tughayasa's warding and resulted in the Rending of Realms, destroying the spirit grid. With the Rending temples that weren't totally defunct were often repaired to attempt to restore it but those that already had their hearts removed or stopped working were unable to be repaired.
Spirit Grid[]
The Spirit Grid of Haless as created by the High Temples, key attached with yellow land referring to the location of major High Temples.
The "Spirit Grid" as it has been dubbed refers to the warding upheld by the various High Temples to suppress the spirits of Haless and keep the Spirit Plane from bleeding into the Material Plane. The grid relies on a number of temples working although there is some redundancy, certain temples are also more important than others. Temples such as Tianlou, the largest temple, Smaraya, and Tughayasa are considered a few of the cornerstone temples that played a role in the Rending's beginning.
Each of the temples suppressed its own regional spirits, a temple rendered defunct would lead to an increase in spirit activity around it and the weakening of the grid's strength.
Beyond regional spirits are Great Spirits, whose domains often spanned several temples regions. As shown in the map these domains are spread throughout Haless and several spirits are often part of larger pantheons. There are special exceptions such as Tughayasa who is limited to the mountain of Tughayasa.