The Nexus (Temple)

Description Those stepping into this holy place are filled with a sense of calm, as if no longer torn by the winds of change and strife that fill the world. Partially understood musings on the ways and wiles of life suddenly seem clear and incisive. Plans half-formulated now are complete, vaguely felt intuitions speak loudly and with incredible clarity. Perhaps...

The room suddenly seems new, as if viewed for the first time: pure, white marble and crystal walls shine with the rosy glow of a new dawn, and reach upwards into a forever-shifting sea of mist. Under foot, a glistening expanse of dark gray stone provides a comforting foundation in this focal point of all that is... the Nexus.

Look North A huge door crafted of dark wood fills your field of vision, in the center of which is a slim silver plaque. The lintel above the door is formed from the single largest piece of oak you have ever seen. Portraits and documents line each side of the doorway, presented in silver frames that blend perfectly into the white stone, undisruptive of the sense of harmony and peace here. A few niches have been carved into the marble, to display various treasures gathered by those who make this their home. The viewpoint is open.

Look South This wall bears three long, narrow windows, set into the marble at slightly different angles so that only one can be viewed at a time. The first gazes out upon a storm such as you have never seen: lightning sets the air ablaze within the darkness of the Vortex. No, not the vortex, but a mountain reaching into the heavens... or is it the heavens themselves, where the Gods themselves dwell? It seems this chaos and storm is ever-present, for in the second window, a battle is revealed, played out over centuries, thousands of times: the epic conflict of Good versus Evil. Blood feeds the thirsty earth, and all around is death... but not in the third window, where the crystal shifts, solidifies, and creates a mirror: your own reflection gazes back at you, safe here in this sanctuary, untouched for this moment by that chaos and death, cherished and named family by those who call it home.

Look East Nearly invisible until the viewer approaches them, shelves carved into the stone walls extend from side to side, and up into the mists swirling above. The books bear titles that seem to cover every topic from Abbots to Dwarves, Gnomes to Lestiggen, Midgaard to Thalos, and all the subjects and places in between. A few volumes have apparently been written by Boromir himself. What secrets might he share? All these books, all that knowledge assembled - only through learning can the chaos of the mind be stilled. Nearby, a large, over sized chair practically begs the passerby to pause and relax a moment within its cozy depths.

Look West The western wall has a glossy finish to the stone, almost as if a thin layer of crystal had been laid over it. Your own reflection is visible, but somehow older, less touched by the chaos of the world. As if the images were pulled from your mind, you see visions those you have cared for that took other paths, and battled endlessly to simply stay alive, sane and happy in a world gone mad. A sense of tranquility flows over you like the gentle breezes of Boromir's beloved Loth-Llorien. Every being faces a choice: to fall prey to the madness or the seek the embrace of the Nexus within.

Look Up The mists form a semi-opaque mass above, softly flowing like water, tranquil and peaceful. They seem to conceal something, for they shift as if an unseen object or creature danced beneath or within... so fascinating... tension you had not even realized was there flows out of your body, swirling away like the vapors above... as if the mists exist as a touchstone to wash away the chaos of the outside world, to repurify those of the Nexus when they return home. From within the swirling mass, you hear the soft, rich sound of laughter from many lips - humor itself does much to push back the madness and restore the soul.

Look Down The floor under foot is a shining expanse of deep gray marble, comforting in its solidity. Gleaming runes mark the names of each and every soul that has pledged itself to the Nexus: some glitter with newness, others are faded slightly by the years, placed there when Boromir first ascended. These individuals form the foundation of the Nexus, for without their strength, so many of those who came later would have been lost to the chaos outside these walls.