Rulers: Gwen Amberly is the current head priest of the temple. She is still arranging the temple hierarchy to suit her tastes, and those working under her are familiar with frequently changing duties. She has a tendency to delegate the more mundane aspects of running the temple to others, while she focuses on proselytizing and grand public displays. She has a great deal of respect for Tyrol, but she sees Seedspace as her responsibility and makes it clear to everyone that she is in charge and Tyrol is just an advisor.
Population: Usually about 12 priests, 50 ley clergy and 80 guards (only half of whom are expected to be on grounds at any one time). Many guards and several ley clergy live with their families when not on active duty. Approximately 5,000 people live in the Dawnward.
Description: The temple is an awe inspiring sight. Even spelljamming ships have even been known to mistake its reflection for a distant star. The temple compound is surrounded by a vine-covered wall 10' high. Most of these vines produce flowers in all the colors of the dawn. The wall is not particularly thick, and the vines make it relatively easy to climb, so the compound wall is far more decorative than defensive.
The main gate, in the form of a 20' wide and 15' high sunburst, is gold-plated and kept polished to a reflective sheen. A smaller, plain doorway is located beside it for after-hours traffic. Eight suits of heavily decorated gold-washed plate-mail are worn by the honor guard at the gate during important ceremonies and for the arrival of special guests. More utilitarian guards are stationed at the barracks/watchtowers located at the four corners of the compound. A small stable is located immediately to the left of the gate where guests may store their mounts and where several mounts are maintained for use by the temple. The compound also has open grassy areas which are periodically used for crafts fairs, athletic contests and the like, as well as the occasional outdoor religious ceremony.
The temple itself is heavily decorated with gold and stained glass. The roof is domed with a geodesic stained glass structure that gives the impression of a sun rising out of the temple. The dome is specially lighted to enhance this effect. The outer walls are mostly white marble with large stained glass windows. The front entrance has a large sunburst motif radiating from the base of the doorway composed of pink and red stones. A row of columns inlaid with gold lines the entry way. Between the columns, a variety of murals can be seen. Partially concealed side doors lead from this area to the offices of the priests and basement areas. The entry hall leads directly to the main temple chamber itself. This chamber is two stories high and decorated in a breath-taking fashion. The back wall behind the altar is composed almost entirely of stained glass windows that can be opened to allow the direct light of the morning sun to shine into the area. Special reflectors have been placed so that the priest leading the dawn ceremonies appears to be crowned by sunlight. The walls of the chamber are covered with murals and artworks depicting the most holy events of the Lathanderite church. The glass dome above keeps the area lit with a reddish glow at all times. The altar is decorated in gold, gems and multi-hued silks. The most striking feature of the room is the glowing form of the Dawnstone, which hovers about five feet over the altar, from which the uplifting power of Lathander pulses out to continuously lift the spirits of his worshipers.
Side rooms off the main area, provide storage for priestly vestments and supplies (incense, candles, etc.). There is also a small museum displaying a variety of holy texts, valuable artworks, and a few items donated by Tyrol from his adventures. Concealed doorways lead to the private rooms of the higher ranking priests as well as special hidden rooms used to store particularly valuable or dangerous items.
Special Powers and Protections: Because of the power of Lathander imbued into the temple and the presence of the Dawnstone, the temple itself possesses special powers. These are described below.
Basic Powers (all continuous in effect):
Minor Powers:
Major Powers:
Powers of Dawnstone:
Warding Magics: Numerous Glyphs of Warding and a focused Dispel Evil protect the temple. Most glyphs are sunrise glyphs triggered to the presence of undead. Windows and doors not generally intended for public access are usually triggered by anyone not bearing a holy symbol of Lathander. The most secure areas are triggered to a password and possess much more deadly glyphs.
Temple Activities: The temple is involved in many different activities both on the grounds and throughout Brightview. The Lathanderites have arranged discount rates at numerous friendly inns for those who worship Lathander or one of the god's allies. This is a small part of a larger strategy to lure immigrants, or at least travellers, from Realmspace to Seedspace. The temple owns a popular gymnasium/bath which operates under a similar policy. The temple is also negotiating to invest with eating establishments which cater to merchants by providing private rooms for negotiations and member only access, in order to provide discounts to Lathanderites and their allies in those establishments.
The temple funds sporting events and provides donations to various artists and musicians that it deems worthy. The temple also sponsors a halfway house/shelter that helps the poor and homeless. While the people of Brightview look after their own, stranded travellers without funds often find little help, and the temple has shrewdly used the halfway house to recruit new worshippers.
The priesthood of the temple is working with the Temple of Stellar Midnight, the new Temple of Mount Olympus, and the priests of Ptah and Celestian to try and control which deities gain access to Seedspace.
Finally, the temple is constructing its own spelljammer port in Brightview. The temple desires to eventually launch a series of expeditions to establish colonies on the other planetoids of Seedspace. Mining and farming colonies which can help to support the growing population of New Thesalys are particularly important to the future self-sufficiency of Seedspace.
Needless to say, the coffers of the priesthood are somewhat overdrawn at the moment; Tyrol has been able to arrange for some funds from temples on Toril, but new sources of funding will have to be developed soon, or many current activities will have to be abandoned.
Gwen Amberly (NG hf P(spec)11): The current high priestess of the temple is an enthusiastic and driven young women. She sees it as her personal responsibility to establish Lathander in Seedspace and to have his wisdom become the guiding light for its people. She is much more interested in the politics of Seedspace than the day to day running of the temple, which she often delegates to others. Amberly insisted on replacing the entire temple staff after she was appointed to oversee the temple's entrenchment in Seedspace. As far as she was concerned, the previous temple priests had grown lax in Greatspace and lost their fire.
Amberly herself is full of fire, from her bright red hair to her forceful, no-nonsense manner. The new priests, despite having been hand-picked by Amberly to accompany her to Seedspace, still step lightly in her presence. It is well known that she would not hesitate to send any one of them back to Toril in disgrace if he or she should be perceived as growing complacent.
Amberly first met Tyrol as a somewhat lackluster acolyte at the Spires of the Morning in Waterdeep; she escorted him when he arrived to petition for aid on his quest to create DawnBringer. The presence of a Light of Lathander and the excitement of the quest touched her deeply. She became much more focused on bringing the blessings of Lathander to others. After that revelation, Amberly rose rapidly through the ranks of the Morninglords, displaying uncommon skill at both Waterdhavian politics and adventuring. When Gron, second priest of the Spires, was asked by Tyrol to assemble a list of possible candidates to take charge of the Seedspace temple, Amberly was the only priest who refused to be impressed by Tyrol's status and importance. Rather than speak of her own dedication to Tyrol's vision, as the other candidates did, Amberly made clear that if she were chosen, it would be her temple, and while she respected Tyrol, she would not be overshadowed by him. Tyrol chose her, and she has held to her word.
Demtrius Opalonious (LG hm F9): The current head of the temple guard. Demtrius believes that his job is similar to that of the director of a play; he makes sure the guards are at their posts, looking pretty and bowing to all the right people. The guard force is, in Demtrius' view, part of the show that any temple must put on. He does not take especially great efforts to insure that his men are in prime fighting condition and he is annoyed by the comments of the more veteran guards who regularly compare his training sessions (unfavorably, of course) to those once offered by the great Kendrick Drago. Demtrius does not really believe that a military force is likely to assault the temple, and furthermore feels that if one did, the small garrison that is assigned to him would not be much good no matter how well he trained them. Instead he feels any danger is actually posed by thieves who might try to scrape away the decorative gold, or spies from other faiths which might be looking to discredit or take advantage of the Lathanderites.
Demtrius has therefore secretly established a "plainclothes" division, currently composed of only four agents, whom he hopes to eventually develop into an elite counter-espionage force. Amberly does not know what he is up to, but Demtrius believes that he is well within his authority, he is doing the right thing, and if he did not have his diversion, the boredom of his official duties would kill him.
The Gardener (NG hm P(spec)?): The only priest left at the temple who was there when it was in Greatspace. The Gardener was only a first level priest, when he joined the crusade against the Army of the Blacklands in Seeliespace IV. He was horribly disfigured during the battle, but has steadfastly refused any form of healing since his return. Tyrol has been unable to detect any evil influences on the Gardener, so has decided to abide by the man's wishes.
The Gardener spends most of his time caring for Tyrol's private
garden, which had become more and more neglected after Tyrol became a
traveling priest. New lay clergy quickly learn that the Gardener does
not tolerate anyone else tending the garden. He almost never speaks
and rarely acknowledges the presence of others unless they try to
enter his garden. None of the current inhabitants of the temple know
his name, and when asked, Tyrol simply says "It doesn't matter, he is
not who he was." Rumor has it that this is because Tyrol doesn't know
the Gardener's name either. The Gardener is not an official member of
the church hierarchy, but any priest who even contemplates trying to
chase him off temple grounds receives disturbing, but uninterpretable,
visions from the Dawnstone. Thus, he is simply referred to as the
Gardener and is allowed free reign of the temple grounds. The only
respites from his pain the Gardener has are tending the garden, and
telling stories to the few small children who are brave and
compassionate enough to come and ask for one without mocking the
Gardener's appearance.