If you are looking for the Provokers session of the same name, see here.
The Temple of Gefion at Brook. Art by Jon Pintar.
The Temple of Gefion is a stone structure in Brook dedicated to, as the name suggests, Gefion, the perhaps less-known goddess of the harvest, agriculture, and spring. The domed structure is the largest building in Brook, second only to Boulder Forge.
The temple to Gefion is one of only two buildings which remain intact after the War for the Western Southlands, when the fallen Convoker known as the Corrupter put Brook to the flame. The temple and Brook are located in the Freehold of Gwyn Tirod, a collection of autonomous farming communities in the Western Southlands.
History[]
See also the history of Brook.
When Ilrondius the Green brokered peace and he and the First Seven established Brook, Ilrondius built the temple to Gefion, the largest known temple to the goddess, most others being small shrines.
The construction took three generations to complete, being constructed of quarried stone, and outfitted with a network of underground tunnels containing shrines and burial chambers.
Upon its completion, having lead Brook for several centuries and the original members of the First Seven having long passed away, Ilrondius took his leave, vanishing into the north. The people, however, continued in their worship of Gefion and and their practice of Ilrondius' teachings, which continues to this day.
Environment[]
After the sacking of Brook in the autumn of 2014 AGS, the building is a crumbling ruin, parts of its ceiling destroyed from the Corrupter's attacks.
The Temple of Gefion is constructed of quarried stone, more than a millennium old. The temple features a domed ceiling, pews, an altar, and a statue of Gefion holding a scythe and a shovel.
The temple once sported two small, ransacked, rooms to either side of the temple, perhaps containing furniture and storage, but whatever used to be there has long ago been taken for firewood or raided for other purposes by Ezog Ogrekin and his G'valt raiders.
Underground, however, the temple continues, tunnels stretching into shrines and burial chambers.
One particularly large room contains a shrine upon which the Relic of Gefion was once placed, before the War for the Western Southlands.
Some tunnels have collapsed, or been tunneled into by certain creatures who call nearby caves their home.
Creatures[]
Any manner of cave-dwelling creatures may happen upon part of the temple's underground network of tunnels and burial chambers as they dig or the unmaintained tunnel walls collapse.
One such creature, an owlbear, has been described as living within, if you believe the tales about the War for the Western Southlands and of the Provokers that visited Brook shortly after its destruction.
There's a legend that parts of the underground areas were once protected by an animated Scarecrow, or perhaps several. But evidence suggests this is a myth – more than likely, the citizens of the farming village simply placed scarecrows to ward off visitors, an extension of a tactic used to protect their crops from crows and other small birds.
Ezog, a proud savage of the G'valt Wilds, maintains control of Brook with his G'valt hounds and G'Valt raiders, at least until it might be retaken by a group of hardy adventurers. The temple has been fortified and serves as his lair, at least for now.
People[]
The specter of Turl Loam's uncle, Brill Loam, the temple's former caretaker, is rumored to still protect the underground parts of the temple from defilement, but this is likely only rumor. Just ask a Pith and they'll tell you it's hogwash.
Since the War for the Western Southlands, the temple and Brook has been in the possession of Ezog and his raiders, so the only other people in Brook would be any hardy adventurers seeking to retake the farming village.