Emmitsburg Cathedral
The Emmitsburg Cathedral is currently a building site in the town of Emmitsburg in Brastor. The timeline for completion is approximately 100 years, using mundane methods. However due to an unusual contract with the local masons no registered masons will work on this site. The site thus sits languishing for most of the year. This is fortunate, as the small town of Emmitsburg has no need for a Cathedral that may hold twenty thousand people, and which would consume the entire income of the town in upkeep.
This folly is intermittently worked upon by a magical being, usually at night. Mysterious & haunting music is heard over the sounds of chiselling and stonework. In the morning, many months of work have been mysteriously completed. Current estimates for completion range from 200 to 500 years, due to the intermittant and unpredictable nature of the construction process.
Current Status
Foundations for a 350x200 foot main cathedral have been dug down to 40 feet. The locations of the side chapels and buttressing have been marked out in thin lines of stone. A round stone tower, apparently serving as a "workman's shed" stands 30 feet high (i.e. just below ground level) in the middle of the foundations.
One massive archway was raised and braced in early Winter 807. It was 50 foot high and nearly as wide. This was the only stonework above ground level. After dark forces used it as a magical portal, the archway was taken down, and the rock turned to dust, to prevent the weaknesses that occur from openings into the Void from affecting the inviolate sanctuary of the church. The ground was also reconsecrated.
In early Summer 808WK the Room of Stone and the cloisters were partially built. Some wandering Raphaelite friars stayed at the site for a week or so, praying & singing hymns. Work seemed to progress quite quickly while they were there, but then they moved on again. Some thousands of tonnes of purple-black volcanic rocks were delivered from the mountains near Gryffon Valley in mid summer. The pile dominates the surrounding area, dwarfing the partially-finished buildings.
The Final Plan
A Sammaelite priest has registered the following plans with the local masons:
|
|
|
The good news is that this cathedral is unlikely to be completed before Emmitsburg grows to a size that can use it - i.e. at least 20 times its current population.
