The Dawn Temple was more of a complex like the Madame’s than a western cathedral. It was oriented with its main entrance to the west, which likely had some kind of liturgical symbolism behind it. And it was large; at least four blocks square, with by far the tallest buildings Justin had seen yet; multiple round and square pagodas from four to eight stories high. Beyond them all to the east was a single monster of a structure, at least twice the tallest pagoda’s height, and very like the stepped towers leading to a central spire that were dimly viewable at the Dawnway’s far end.
A wide plaza in front of the Temple took up half of the next block south from it, named, eponymously enough, the Dawn Temple Plaza. As they passed, Tomu pointed out restaurants, high-end shops, and the Jiten Museum of Art and History to the west. The half-block of the plaza’s entire south side was occupied by an elite-looking three-story hotel called the Labyrinth of Serenity. The plaza’s center held a small henge of polished gold statues on white marble plinths, in two flattish curves running from east to west, facing the Temple. Tourists and a scattering of natives were lined up in front of them, heads bowed in prayer. Justin shaded his eyes and focused to see that the statues were representations of the months’ tutelary animals.
Around the henge were rows of speed portraitists drawing tourists against the backdrops of the statues and the buildings, on wall scrolls pinned to their easels. Justin made another mental note to check out the Museum later – no, he corrected himself; get a recommendation for a good tour company, and use several of their trips to get a basic education about the city in the process.
The last of the Plaza’s features were two large fountains at the centers of its north and south halves made of the same marble as the plinths. The round southern one, with its layered spire design, was too far away for Justin to make out any details on the artwork, but it was surrounded by filled patio seating. The northern was a half-circle with a tall half-oval carved frieze for its vertical backdrop, its back to the Temple. Descending waters glinted with reflected light as they sheeted down from its top. Instead of statuary, its flat pool was filled with another frieze, horizontal, with tourists standing nearby studying it and pointing out features. Interesting, but also for later, Justin thought.
The Bank was on the opposite side of the Dawnway, over a tall, wide bridge like the one at the Dawnway’s western end, fronting the plaza’s open north. Water taxis of various sizes and kinds were lined up next to it on both banks, like a well-organized fleet of cabs at an airport dropping off and picking up customers.
Tomu escorted Justin over the canal to the Bank on the other side, a much smaller but still impressive building with multiple gates in its exterior southern wall thrown wide open. A constant flow of people was entering and exiting, many of them tourists in a wide range of foreign garb. The first inner courtyard on the other side had two gates at either end of its far wall, framing a massive, brightly colored mosaic. It depicted a classically asian aristocratic courtyard of small waterways, bridges, trees, and gazebos filled with what had to be the robed Celestial Court.
Justin was certain the mosaic’s materials were genuine precious metals and gems, not gilt and glass. He would have chosen to pause and take a closer look if the view hadn’t been blocked by a throng of sight-seers, including what had to be at least two of the tour trips he’d just been thinking about.
There were guards to either side of the inner gates, their gazes fixed forward, looking not. . .bored, exactly, but far from alert, either. Most people going further inside were passing on the right, with the reverse true to the left. Tomu, unexpectedly, shepherded Justin through the latter side, against most of the traffic. The second courtyard was deeper, with identical temple buildings on three of its sides, made entirely of the green-aged-to-silvery wood Justin had seen earlier, set back from and above masonry steps. The middle of the back of the mosaic wall had an open-faced building of light brown varnished wood, full of teller stations with bald, saffron-robed monks serving the clients.
Tomu led Justin up the steps of the western building to their left into a pillared pavilion with a yellow wooden statue in its center, surrounded by black-cushioned benches with ornate scrollwork. The statue depicted a long-bearded, robed elder holding aloft a burning orb in his right hand and an open fan at his left hip.
Behind the statue and against the far wall was a small reception desk between two hallways. A red-robed monk with a shaved head was kneeling behind the desk, on a platform that raised him to face-height. Tomu approached him, shaking his clasped hands, and said, “Greetings, Seiso. We would appreciate the regard of the first available Kokyu.”
The monk smiled and produced a wooden slip with a 3 in Ribean script on it from the desk’s underside, first gesturing with it towards the hallway on his left, then handing it across. “Senior Taiko will see you immediately.”
“Thank you, Seiso,” Tomu said, and led Justin down the varnished, spotless hallways to a sliding panel door with a plaque hanging in a little box to its upper left. It had a matching 3, and Tomu clapped gently twice outside and inquired, “Kokyu Taiko?”
“Enter, please,” came a voice from inside. Tomu hung the slip on the plaque’s hook, covering it, then slid the door open. He stepped in, looked around, and nodded for Justin to come forward.
As Justin walked into the small, cozy office, the eyes of the red-robed older man seated at a floor-table across from him flashed yellow. He immediately stood up and bowed deeply, holding the bent position.
“This humble servant is honored by your presence, Prominence,” he said respectfully.
Tomu twitched.
“May I assist you in any way, O Blessed One?” the monk continued, and Justin did the Homer, good and hard and loud and painful.
Temple of Dawn and Blessing of Sun, hurr durr lookit the dummy! Justin thought, tremendously annoyed with himself. God help me, I even noticed I had this blind spot earlier!
“Only if you really need it,” the monk replied in a very different voice as he straightened up again. “And so far, you haven’t.”
His eyes had been replaced with balls of fire like roiling miniature suns. They bulged spherically out of their sockets, tipping the man’s appearance into Justin’s uncanny valley just enough to be noticeable.
Tomu went stiff as a board.
Justin reached back and fumbled the door shut without looking, trying to gently rub the sting off his forehead with his other hand.
“Uh. . .thanks for coming to meet me personally?” he said.
Tomu’s head, and only his head, slowly turned to face Justin like it was on an axle, staring in horrified incredulity.
“Would you prefer to wait outside?” Justin asked him. He looked back at the obviously god-housing monk. “Or is it better if he stays? I wouldn’t want to deny him the opportunity of an audience. Oh, I’m not using the proper forms of address, am I? Sorry about that.”
“He wants to forget this ever happened, and We’re going to oblige him,” the engodded monk said. “You can ignore the proprieties; We may have Blessed you, but We don’t own you. So no apology needed. Call Us Sol, by the way.” He turned to open a built-in drawer in the wall behind him, took out a blank jade slip made of actual white jade, closed it, and sat down at the table.
“I suppose I better,” Justin said, because Justin.
Patreon
Is half of every chapter going to be dedicated to describing buildings because that's been the case so far? While descriptions of the environment are nice, this has been overkill and feels more like an info dump than anything.
Things pick up from here! In fact, 15ish chapters later some people are saying it's been moving too fast.
Do you play adventure-puzzle games? That's another good model for MIS:GO's structure. All these locations and most of these elements should be plot-relevant by the end of the first volume.
Thanks for reading, and commenting!
Thanks for the chapter
Thanks for reading, and commenting!
Last part with the monk is confusing, not sure whats going on , who is talking ect .