Windtracer Lore: Temple of Draoses

I’ve shared a lot of worldbuilding that went into the first story for Windtracer Tales, but what about the things that didn’t make the cut? Writing, as someone told me once, is not that far off from sculpting. In sculpting, as I understand it, you start with something raw then cut and trim and smooth until you draw the statue out of that raw block. Writing, from a certain point of view, isn’t all that different!

So, this time I’m sharing a piece that didn’t make the cut. This is one of those bits of lore that I wanted to use, but had to cut away to draw out the story. This doesn’t mean I won’t use it later, but for now, it’s a piece yet to be used.

With that, let’s get into a bit of Lost Lore! The Temple of Draoses!

Oh, if worldbuilding isn’t your thing, no problem! The next chapter of the current story drops this coming Friday!

Temple of Draoses

It's not happy to see visitors…

— Windtracer Tela Kioni

The ruins of the Temple of Draoses lie in the northern section of the Chivit continent. Like any part of Chivit, the area is thick with a vibrant, if not aggressively growing, rain forest. Only the most sturdy of structures withstand the ravages of time, weather, and the environment. This temple is one of those.

Deceptively Simple In Design

It is a squat, three story structure braced on either side by rain forest and covered in monkey brush vines. The bulk of it is above ground with one level below. Walls are made from the native rock found on Chivit with the blocks fitting with mathematical perfection using a tube-stud arrangement on either side of each brick. These tubes along the bottom and raised studs at the top allow the bricks to fit with no need for mortar or other sealer to fill imperfections.

But, despite not needing it, there is a thin mortar between the stones. This mortar isn't the typical slaked lime and sand. Instead, this has the feel of rubber, yet seems to resist the damp environment of the Chivit rainforests with ease.

Narrow, vaulted windows are spaced evenly along the walls on both above ground floors and a wide, double door sits on the eastern side. Interestingly, all the windows have been bricked closed. Only the chambered recess of the window frame remains. The doors are not blocked but were barricaded.

Some would say that's a warning. I just call it a challenge... all right, and a warning.

— Windtracer Tela Kioni

Part Of a Greater Whole

There are hints that the vine-covered structure may have once been part of something larger. A thin walkway of stone leads away from the front of the main doors, vanishing beneath the soil and grass of Chivit. At the top of the temple, strange stubs of rock protrude a hand's width out from the building. These could be support struts for archways that have long since fallen away.

Such minor details are where the term 'temple' comes from along with a mysterious image of a snarling sun over the doorway. The prevailing theory is that the building is all that remains of a greater temple, perhaps even settlement, that Chivit has long since reclaimed since the Great Collapse.

I mean a snarling sun doesn’t exactly mean ‘welcome’, no matter who you are…

— Windtracer Tela Kioni

Mages have studied the samples brought back and estimate the structure may date from just after the Great Collapse. If so, this would make a surprising revelation and suggest that there might have been an attempt to rebuild after or during the cause of the Great Collapse. But this attempt was unsuccessful.

Even more perplexing is who created the structure. There are samples of language, which all appear to be a dialect of the language used by the Ancient Order. So far it's resisted translation and so it cannot be determined if this is a new dialect or more of an existing one already discovered.

Let's not forget that the place is trapped from front to back to try to kill anything that comes by. Someone just did not want anyone wandering in there without permission.

What's in a Name?

The name 'Draoses' is taken from a word scrawled in the stones around the door just inside the structure. Carved repeatedly by several people or just one whose mental faculties were deteriorating over time, it provides an unnerving greeting.

So far, there has been no successful translation of the word. There two current theories. One is that the 'Draoses' may have been a local culture in the region during the time of the Ancient Order but were wiped out during the Great Collapse. A second is that this 'Draoses' may have been a faith that has been long forgotten and that the vault may what remains of a temple.

Whatever it was, it turned into a tomb. Not that I'm complaining.

— Windtracer Tela Kioni

Lorekeeper Notes

From what Tela said, she couldn't get very far inside. If it wasn't bricked shut, it was littered with traps. - Lorekeeper Gwelunis Istril

There were skeletons, too. She said it was like they had been sealed inside while alive? - Lorekeeper Ihodis Jenro

I've read about that. Maybe to protect whatever is deeper inside through the afterlife? Protecting from the Great Collapse?- Lorekeeper Gwelunis

They really should have cleaned up a bit more since they had the time. - Lorekeeper Rudigar Brockhouse

Don't, Gwel, you know you shouldn't ask... - Lorekeeper Ihodis

I... I have to. Rudigar? What? - Lorekeeper Gwelunis

Leaving your spike snares and dart traps just laying around like that in just whatever room... it's untidy! Didn't they know those are for the entranceway only? - Lorekeeper Rudigar

Rudigar, I didn't know you studied traps and fortifications? - Lorekeeper Gwelunis

Well, it only makes sense. It's where I place my spike snares and dart traps at home. Anything else would just mean you're a terrible host! - Lorekeeper Rudigar

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Now, if you’re wanting a deeper look at Hoist the Colors, take the plunge here at the link: Hoist the Colors. For Windtracer, jump over here: Windtracer: Adventures in Awldor.

Until next time!

-Kummer Wolfe