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Dracon Great Temple

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So, here we are again at maps and blueprints, like in the beginning of my gallery. This work is still not complete, but updated versions will be posted here as they are made (download for a full image to see close details).

This is a Great Temple of the Dracons. What are the Dracons? Dragon-people. Want to know more about them? See my gallery. What makes the temple great? Sheer size. A Great temple is not simply a self-sufficient community of Dracons inhabiting a religious complex, but any such community with over 1000 residents living there.

Now, for a description of some of the places in the temple.

Main Hall: A flashy spot for the visitors, this area is accessible to all and leads to most other areas of the temple complex. The hall is decorated and ornate, filled with statues, candles, mosaics, and elaborate artworks depicting scenes from the religious history of the temple.

Temple Sanctuary: A Sanctuary, in this context, is the main place of worship for those who attend services. The red symbol is written in Draconic, using the Iokharic alphabet. It reads "Bahamut", the name of one of their most important deities.

Sacristy: Where the holy relics, prayer books, and items used in services are kept.

Shrines: Small places of worship devoted to a specific deity of the Dracon's countless gods.

Hierodule Chamber: Where the Hierodules stay when on duty, but not actively breeding. A Hierodule is a female who breeds with male visitors at no charge, and she later lays eggs in the hatchery. No actual breeding takes place in view of the public, though; this is simply where they meet the prospective mate. Each hierodule is seated on a bed, where she is expected to lie down and relax until a male expresses in interest in her. If she expresses interest back, she is to go and breed with him in the back rooms, and eventually lay an egg. She has no idea who the father is, given how often she does this, (several times a day at least,) but she know she is the mother and that the temple has another child on the way.

Breeding Rooms: Where procreation takes place. It is one of the busiest places in the temple. Draw your own conclusions from that. Temples with enough hierodules can operate these rooms 24/7, and every temple with the claim to "Great" will be able to easily do this.

Temple Baths: Where people in the temple go to clean. Private baths are reserved for the priests of highest rank.

Children's Dormitories: Where the eggs go after they hatch. Seriously, after a time in the nursery, children born at the hatchery are transferred to dorms based on their age, but not their sex. Temple-born children are issues a loincloth when they get to the dorms, and they only get a new one when they grow out of the old one, and this is all they wear until they are 14 years of age, when they are considered adults. Children here don't get beds; those are reserved for adult dorms and quarters. Instead, the kids sleep on mats and hammocks, with roughly 100 kids per dorm and sometimes more.

Children's Baths: Where the kids are sent to clean once a day, often after being sent to the gymnasium to exercise. Dracon children don't own their meager clothing, instead simply asking for a loincloth of their size when they get out of the bath. This room also has a few attendants who help young dracons with tense muscles or sore limbs, but the emphasis is on pain relief, not relaxation; that is reserved for the spa set up for the kids.

Initiate Dorms: You zoomed in and wanted to know what these are, don't you? Some Dracons born at the temple want to stay there and work as a priest, guard, hierodule, or priestess. These keep their children's clothes for another four years, but are given newer and slightly roomier dorms as well as other rights and privileges as they study or train for their jobs.

Hierodule Spa: A place of relaxation, designed to handle the comfort needs of those who go there. Despite the name, it is open to most adults, although in practice, it is about 90% female-occupied at any given time. The temple bath also offers relaxation, but not as much as this.

Children's Spa: Dracon kids need to relax too, but they don't need to be around undressed adults while doing it! Thus, a special section is set up just to help them relax in a manner fitting young Dracons. Unauthorized adults are absolutely forbidden from entering this and most other areas where dracon children live, and those who have permission are closely monitored.

Children's Sanctuary: A smaller place of worship, designed to serve the spiritual needs of young Dracons raised at the temple.

Magic Laboratory: This is where the magic happens! No, really! The laboratory is only accessible to mages or high-ranking priests who have something to do with the design, manufacture, repair, or destruction of magic items. Spells, magic scrolls, and potions are tested here too.

Magic Library: Where magic information is kept. Here you can find scrolls, codicies, grimiores, parchments, papers, magic ink wells, papyrus, and indexes. It even has books, too!

Priest Quarters: After years of education, training, and testing, a male interested in joining the priesthood is finally initiated in a big ceremony. Besides a generous stipend for expenses and fancy new clothes, he is given a room far larger than any child or female living at the temple enjoys. This is also where priests can breed with females who wish to engage in that sort of activity, although they also do the same in the breeding rooms with the priests. The High Priest gets a room with a separate office, a personal library, and personal storage space.

School: This is where the young dracons learn stuff, like the different between their finger and a dagger. But don't laugh at the quality of the education; it could save their lives if they are used to sticking that finger in certain places. Seriously, they are taught reading, writing, basic math, history, religion, and very basic science and a bit about magic. Gymnastics and athletics are considered part of training, not education.

Children's Gymnasium: While most things the children do are integrated, with male and female kids doing much of the same things in school and in the dorms, the emphasis here differs from male to female based on biology. Male training emphasizes strength and durability, while female training emphasizes flexibility and dexterity. The training is actually fairly intense and is intended to push the kids to their limits.

School Library: A room with simple tomes for tots; books simple enough for children to read.

Library: A third library, this one filled with topics of general interest with a large section on theology, and a small number of less powerful magic books. Children generally don't go here.

Mess Hall: Where adult dracons go to eat.

Children's Mess Hall: Where child dracons go to make a mess. They do some food eating too in between throwing it and dropping it.

Shops: This is where the adventurers go. If you need something for your cleric, fighter, wizard, or ranger, go here instead of the Hierodule chamber, no matter how tempting it is.

Vineyards: Where grapes are grown. The second-favorite place of many who live at the temple. Yes, there is a typo in the blueprint.

Winery: The favorite place of many who live at the temple. Some of the wine is used in rituals, some is sold.

Dragon Shrine: I've saved the best for last. This is the home of an actual female red dragon. She rests on a huge cushion and is herself covered in jewelry. Many ceremonies in this temple call for the sacrifice of items to a dragon, or else a dragon's participation in such ceremonies. The dragon agrees to protect the temple to the best of her ability, and in return gets a steady supply of food and gold. Not shown on the map is the roof which can open up to let the dragon fly in and out at will.
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ImperialGoldDragon's avatar
Wow, this is really detailed. So Dracons are half dragon-half humans?