On the Streets of the Holy City of Opios
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Anteo en Liealbi, ankira se ardar emaro en Agion Osorion.
In the lands of the Liealb, heaven and earth shalt meet in a Holy City
~Sayings of the Prophet
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Opios was unique amongst cities, and amongst the most ancient. At its heart the spires of the Temple of the Opporia, the seat of the Grand Patriarch, and the great vaulted dome of the Tomb of the Prophet towered over innumerable shops and townhouses arrayes in a confusing tangle of allies, boulevards and public squares seething with masses of pilgrims, hawkers and the local Liealbi, and every streetcorner seeming to possess its very own church throbbing serenely with chants in Old Thearakean, the liturgical language of the Church which was attested to be the very language of the prophet himself. The confusion this labyrinthine city filled with sound and colour imposed was strangely enough made more so by the decree of some ancient Grand Patriarch, who declared that no street in Opios should be named, in order that inhabitants may appreciate the need for mindfulness in their daily lives and remember mans duty to cultivate his intellect. To be more precise however, the streets had no
official names, the locals had long ago given all manner of monikers to officially nameless streets, a fact which only increased the consternation of some of the less prepared pilgrims when they asked for directions.
Aisen however was one of the natives and thus not confused by the city which he called home. He was also the chief cleric of the Tomb of the Prophet, responsible for managing its services, and at the present time he was rushing down the unnoficially officially named Street of the Seven Holy Patriarchs, upon which seven Patriarchs of the Church had been born, on his way to the Tomb, knowing well the eagerly awaiting throngs of pilgrims that would be awaiting him there. Aisen was also a member of the college of Archpriests, the chief clerics of the city responsible for electing the new Grand-Patriarch from amongst themselves. This gave him a high status in a city that pulsed with religious fervor, status which was only increased by his reputation for piety and for conducting charitable works to help the poor souls who found themselves, be it through desperation or ignorance, working in the street of scythes and hoes, which was a polite name for a street where prostitution was practiced behind closed doors (and which was in less polite company called the street of common whores), back into the light of Opporia.
Slipping down one of the truly nameless allies that characterised the city, and which serves as useful shortcuts in the organised chaos that was its urban layout, Archpriest Aisen entered the Street of Goldsmiths, passing a group of monks from The Order of the Hesychasts. This order of monks sought the divine light through quietness and inner prayer, utilising mental ascesis in addition to physical practice, they likely had descended from their monastery in the mountains to receive an audience with the Grand-Patriarch, an increasingly common observance as the monastic communities sought regularisation, and a clearer recognition of their communities in the canon law of the Church of Iralliam. Aisen moved forward down the Street of the Crimson Elephant, and along the Avenue of Horesmen, slipping through another alley and past the Church of the Five Graces (dedicated to the five great virtues of faith, hope, humility, temperance and charity) and along the Sacred Way, here he struggled along the masses of pilgrims towards its end, where lay the Tomb of the Prophet, a beautifully crafted building which was the spiritual, and literal, centre of the city.
To the pilgrim visiting the Tomb of the Prophet, church itself was divided into two sections, linked curiously together by a cloister-like passage that passed around the two halves sections. This cloister was itself lined with many chapels, presbyteries and treasuries and from it one could enter into a well maintain garden where priests and devotees could be found meditating. In the front section of the temple though, behind the façade and the belltower, was the centre for religious services, the Catholicon. Its walls were covered with fresco's depicting the life of the Prophet in vibrant colout, and its roof was held aloft by marble pillars, and was vaulted in delicate tracery andd painted in the image of the heavens and adorned with gilded stars. At the far end, closest to the tomb proper was a high altar of white marble backed itself by a gilded reredos aimed at directing the worshippers mind to the high mysteries of the faith, and the divine majesty of Opporia. At the altars centre was a brass basin, where sacred fire was lit from slivers of sandalwood and sustained by fragrant hebs during the regular offering of light liturgy. The fire represented the forced of purity and light against the darkness and corruption of the enemy, and the dutiful care needed to maintain light in the world. The chants accompanying the liturgy served to bring the mind to the Good God, and invoked his blessings and the memory of the prophet. This same prophets tomb was located in a section behind the Catholicon and its great altar. Travelling through the linking passageway, one found himself in a centrally planned tomb chamber crafted in pure white marble, with the bones of the prophet being located right at the centre. They were kept within a great gilded aedicule, the metalwork gleaming with sacred symbols, and the inscribed words of the sayings of the prophet. On all sides of this aedicule were racks where the faithful placed candles and prayed for the prophets intercession for all manner of requests.
Contemplating this, the Archpriest Aisen finished the struggle up the sacred way and entered the Narthex of the church and prepared to greet the pilgrims. Most of them were Liealbi from the surrounding region, although there were a good number of Uggor and converted Satar as well, stern as befitted their martial ways yet not impious with regards to their newfound embrace of the truth. There was even one or two from more distant lands, wearing strange garb and speaking strange tongues, and yet united together with all the faithful in the unity of the Church. Aisen rushed down a side corrider to a vestry, and was feeling pleased, when slowly, and most uncharacteristically the solemn peal of the bells, slowly at first but then insistently, began to ring of the Temple of Opporia but a short distance away. Soon more bells began to ring, as one by one the hundred churches of the city began to add their music to the music of the great temple. Eventually the bells of the tomb itself began to ring and The city of heaven and earth resounded with the sound of bells. The pilgrims were quiet and looked confusedly amongst themselves, some asked the Archpriest what was going on... Aisen only closed his eyes and steeled himself for the days ahead. There was only one reason why the bells would be ordered to ring like this in the City of Opios. The Church was going to need a new Grand-Patriarch very soon and he was one of those to whom the mantle of choice, and the faint horror of potential election, fell.
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ooc: behold your new patriarch, and a sudden increase in detail regarding Opios and how the Grand Patriarch is chosen. Oh and TMG, thankyou for the links. As to Jipha and Kitar, that general area of Indugahor influence is obviously the previous now deceased patriarch who spoke the sermon I wrote, and soon to be the new patriarchs main area of concern. At any rate, we will see what happens.
, although I won't send orders until next turn precisely because I don't have an appropriate grounding in the "lay of the land" at present, and the hour is late. I think though I can give you some theological challenge.
