The Canopy
Where is it located?
The Canopy is located in the Cutter, and it is the highest point in the Cutter where you can find trees. It can only be approached from The Root, because a permit is required from the feathers (priests of the valturo) to visit this sacred place. So far, nobody has received this permit. In theory, The Canopy can be reached from other places in the Cutter, but there is no road, ramp, or stairway to access it. The only way to get there is by flying, but The Canopy is protected continuously by the Thorns of the Canopy, and they kill every uninvited guest.
How was it discovered?
The Canopy, together with The Root, was discovered a few decades after the Divine Scavenger led the valturo to their new home in the Cutter. The actual discovery can also be attributed to the Divine Scavenger, as the valturo pair who discovered the nests were following the Divine Scavenger's flight path.
What is its purpose?
When The Canopy was discovered, the valturo had their religious center in the middle of their society. However, they quickly realized that if they truly want to worship the Divine Scavenger, they must follow the Divine Scavenger's path and have their center far from the masses, like when the Divine Scavenger found their new home far from their previous homeland. When the valturo church proposed moving the religious center to The Root and naming The Canopy the valturo's sacred place, nobody opposed it.
What makes it a sacred place?
First of all, the trees themselves that grow there. It is a group of three giant banyan trees. Banyan trees don't grow in the mountains, and they need a much warmer climate. Furthermore, these trees are in a perpetual state of decay and growth. And this continuous dying and flourishing is similar to the lifecycle of the Divine Scavenger and the core belief of the valturo. To strengthen the cycle, the valturo feathers fertilize the soil with pieces of the Divine Scavenger every year during the Spring Wings ceremony.
I wish to see these trees so much. Even just on the paint. But every form of witnessing this beauty is forbidden
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