Condat Abbey

The famed monastery that was built by Saint Helene d'Orville. Half religious refuge, half school, Condat Abbey is the final resting place of its founder and is well known as a pilgrimage site.

Purpose / Function

The abbeys' construction was ordered by the Church of Pelor as a gift for the recently canonized Helene. Normally, these kinds of abbeys are not made within a saint's lifetime—but then again, Helene was an exceptional saint. Regardless, Helene declared that her abbey would be a home for the lost and weary and thereby made it difficult to access, yet welcoming once there. It was built in a relatively remote location in the west-central province of Pentais. The village of Bargis sits at the abbey's feet. After Helene's death in 2DN, her disciples maintained her refuge but began to teach her unique martial fighting style and founded the Order of the Open Palm as a meditative and self defence art.

Entries

The only entrance to the main temple is at the Pilgrims Path (2) which leads past the guest and refuge quarters as well as the open-air mausoleum. This path then leads into the underground passage which leads to the main courtyard (5) or to the crypt (4).

Sensory & Appearance

The abbey always seems to have a constant and pleasant breeze. Monks can be heard singing hymns regularly, and the grunts and impacts of martial arts students can be heard at all hours of the day.

Denizens

The abbey hosts around 60 monks, which are permanent members of the Order of the Open Palm. There are also around 10-20 practicing students at any given time. Pilgrims and refugees are less common and, therefore, these numbers fluctuate more regularly.

Alterations

Since the original Abbey's erection, small buildings have been added to the site. The open-air mausoleum to St. Helene (3) was built around her final resting place. Additionally, the study lodge of the Open Palm (6) was built over the decades to accommodate the small but steady number of disciples.

Architecture

The ancient and simple style of the pre-empire days is quite noticeable at the abbey. The stone walls are clean but bare and domes and towers are few. The interior has few windows and is fairly dark inside—a style in contradiction of later church styles that would seek to incorporate as much natural light as possible. The walls of the interior feature beautiful painted carvings that depict events that occurred during Helene's life. Most of these carvings find themselves present in the main gallery (7).

Tourism

While the site does receive some tourism, it is mainly for the purpose of religious pilgrimage rather than sightseeing. From the cliff edge, there is a beautiful view of the region below, which could certainly make for a lovely picnic location.

by Odobenus

The object of pilgrimage is the holy site known as the "Maiden's Rock", which actually isn't a rock at all, but in fact the mummified body of St. Helene herself. Legend has it that every day she would sit and overlook the valley below, waiting for her favourite student to return home. When it came to her passing, she was miraculously mummified where she sat. The pilgrimage to Maiden's Rock, while a grisly tradition, is also a beautiful demonstration of faith and dedication. There are rumours that if one prays beside her, she will guide lost wanderers home.