The Ice Dragon Temple

Structure

The Temple's structure is nearly entirely made up of ice. Specificaly, bricks of ice were used for the walls, while thick ice sheets were used for the ceilling. The spire was made with a single large block of ice, stretched out and sculpted into its current form by Ice mages. However, some other materials, like stones and wood, was also used during its construction. Cobblestone and stone bricks were used primarily for the kitchen area, while wood planks were used for the bedroom floors and the prayer room.

Overview

The temple's front entrance is located at the base of the 50 metres high ice spire and leads directly to the prayer room. Two hallways off to the side lead to the temple's eastern and western wings, which along with the prayer room, surround a large courtyard on three sides. The wings, which are 2 stroies tall, contain the rooms in which visitors may stay at.

Visitor rooms

Each of the temple's 12 bedrooms occupie two floors, and have a wooden staircase linking both levels. They can house up to 6 people at a time, and contain a brasier and numerous fur pelts to keep their occupants warm.

Prayer Room

North of the ice spire and between the two wings of the building is a large prayer room, also made entirely of ice. It is covered by a domed roof made of ice blocks and ice sheaths that act as windows, which are all supported by large wood beams. The room's floor is slightly elevated compared to the rest of the first level, and its northern wall, facing the courtyard, is open, allowing visitors to see the dragon's paw from afar.

Courtyard

The courtyard, which is largely innaccessible to the public, features a pletora of ice sculture of dragons, wolves, lynxes and bears. They partialy surround the main attraction of the temple, which is the dragon's paw. The courtyard is inaccessible to the public to preserve the paw. The north side of the courtyard is closed off by a ice brick wall.

In the year 854 bc, residents of the Village of Hos, located on the southern coast of the island, witnessed an ice dragon flying above their settlement. Rather than having any ill intent as many feared, the beast seemed to just be curious. After a few minutes, it flew away, to the north.   The townspeople, like most in Hysal had never seen a dragon before, and were very inpressed. Many of them sought to see it again, and give it offerings of peace, such as food. An expedition was organised to find its lair and departed later than same week with around 2 dozen people and sleds full of provisions and offerings.   Among them were a bunch of mages, and three sages, who are rumalian religious leaders of the Vecan religion. Despite having prepared for an expedition lasting many weeks, it would end by the 5th day, as a snowstorm was fast approching their area.   However, that was when a giant paw print, dug deep into the snow and ice, was discovered. It was large and deep enough to hold every member of the expedition inside itself, minus the sleds. All three sages agreed that the paw print represented a warning, to not go further, as well as a gift for their perceverance.   As the snowstorm came and went, the group hid inside the hole, which provided some shelter, before departing back south, towards Hos, leaving their offerings near the hole for the dragon to come collect. In the follwing weeks, a few other groups from the town went to the dragon's paw to deposit their offerings as well.   Eventualy, the story of both the dragon sighting and the expedition made it to the mainland, and the number of visitors to the site grew exponentialy. This was great for the town of Hos, which now had tourism to help its small economy. In 851, 3 years after the expedition, a team of Icemages from the City of Oltaren, in north-western rumalia, traveled to the site of the Dragon's paw and built a temple around it, with the help of the locals.   Since its construction, more than 1000 years ago, the temple was visited by the ice dragon almost 100 times, usualy for very brief visits that concists of fly-overs lasting a few minutes. On rare occasions, the dragon will land and approch the temple with curiosity, before taking off again. The Dragon's last visit of any kind was more than 30 years ago.