Ontine Cathedral

The main church of the Eldritch. This is where Liolesa was gifted her strong foresight ability from the Divine.

Location

This is where I figure out the road that leads from Ontine palace to Ontine cathedral. It is, however, "walking distance" from the palace.

The Church Plaza and Facade

Has spires, buttresses, and stained glass windows, "blood ruby, darkwater sapphire, a flash of lion’s gold."

There's a fountain in it, and facing buildings.

Parts of the Church

"It had been built to serve a capital, and sized to match."

• "the front doors, the ones accessible only via the broad marble stairs, the doors that towered over even a tall Eldritch’s head and that were opened fully only for high holy days."
• Nave - has pews and a high altar, which is mounted on a pedestal or dais that requires steps. The pews have been around since Liolesa's investiture, so they're old.
• High Priest's reception room - is in the top of the highest tower and has a view of the front of the cathedral
• There's a chapel accessible from a side entrance.
• The side entrance also leads to the dormitory, and has a foyer with padded benches.

"The southern door led to a petitioner’s court, a small area intended for visitors and in practice used for deliveries. The northern door led to a private cloister garth that had once hosted the clergy used to hunt the talents. Val was in the process of converting it to an academy to teach those talents, though he had decreed in advance that it would be subordinated to the larger school Reese had given him permission to build at Laisrathera."

Catacombs

"..the catacombs where his order used to serve its mission. The cold stone rooms were empty now, their rotted leather restraints swept away. He’d made cleaning the maze a penance for brothers in need of it, which kept the place free of dust that might betray the passage of any people who might be using it."<ref="rp-int">[[Rose Point (Fiction) | Rose Point], Interlude</ref>

• High Priest's office - is in the catacombs

I described the church in Farmer's Crown, during the Vigil; and again in Heartskein; and probably during Liolesa's vigil story, I should look those up.

Trivia

• It gets very cold in the cathedral in winter.
• has a library with a larger collection than the palace's.
• Val arranged for a single person Pad for the Cathedral after the coup.<ref="rph-10">[[A Rose Point Holiday (Fiction) | A Rose Point Holiday], Chapter 10</ref>

Use

Here I describe the things that typically take place at this particular cathedral.

Clergy

Talk here about the various uses the clergy put the Cathedral to. The Cathedral is noted more than once as being the seat of the male clergy.

Rites

• Investiture
• Baptisms
• Weddings - allowed to those "by right of blood and Queen’s favor."
• Funerals
• New Year's Bell Ringing - "It begins in Ontine Cathedral. The priests there ring the bells to share the news, that the new year has come."<ref="rph-09">[[A Rose Point Holiday (Fiction) | A Rose Point Holiday], Chapter 9</ref>