Hikonzul

The largest settlement upriver from the frontier fortress of Ostayneh, Hikonzul is the most important Zulit holy site, and the cultural center of the upper Zulit tribes.

The holiest Zulit site, translating roughly to “Guided by Wisdom,” the Fohnstes Sofia is a large domed mausoleum complex that houses the remains of the eponymous prophet Zulit. Fohnstes, “Guided,” is a complex ecclesial term first coined by the prophet, with the word being a rich portmanteau of four words that can be roughly unpacked to “the Divine Light/Voice that Calls/Lifts”

The mausoleum is built from granite blocks transported from high upriver, then clad in polished marble, patterned with carvings of wind swells that are gilded with silver, turquoise, and emeralds. The building's main feature, the 100 ft diameter vaulted dome, is made of clear glass upon a base decorated with turquoise tiles and stained glass windows. The top of the base houses a 10ft diameter onion-shaped bulb that is kept filled with light-emitting Fostep beads. This bulb includes a golden shroud that can be used to control the light of the Fostep. During the ash-clouded day, the shroud is usually left fully uncovered, giving the city an artificial yet hazy sun. For some festivals the shroud is covered except for a small slice, and rotated like a lighthouse. During the night, however, the shroud is covered, and magnified starlight is projected through the dome. A series of shrouded glass rods, gemstones, and incense censors on rotatable tracks are arranged on the interior so that those underneath the dome during nighttime see a brilliant three-dimensional field of stars and nebula.

Four thin spires rise from the corners of the main building, set at true cardinal directions, each with an onion dome of turquoise built atop a semi-open platform, with each direction housing a life-size golden statue of an angel facing outward, calling into the dark. In each direction the angel is accompanied by a unique animal - a lion, a water buffalo, a hawk, and a child. The top of each spire's dome has a crystalline starlight collector and golden shroud and focusing lens to shine concentrated starlight on the main dome.

The main entrance is through a grand pillared archway with alternating marble and turquoise blocks to a long nave with a vaulted ceiling. The nave has bronze washing basins and floor mats where pilgrims wash, remove their shoes, and pray before entering the inner tomb, which is shrouded by heavy black cloth set with glass beads that depict a shining star-field from the light within. The floor of the mausoleum is of black tiled marble with brushed patterns and slivers of precious metals meant to give the impression of walking upon the ash dunes.

The inner tomb is a wide open chamber centered beneath the dome, where Zulit's mummified remains are on the far side of the entrance, under the far edge of the dome. He is shrouded by a white linen burial cloth, with a highly stylized capital Agos script “Tau” woven in golden thread at his head, sternum, and atop each hand. The mummy is kept in a glass case, hinged with a handle on the inside. This is set upon a marble base, with a golden plaque that reads in both Upper and Lower Orisec caligraphy: “Guided by Wisdom (Fohnstes Sofia), this body will live again.”

The base of the dome on the inside is plastered and painted with a panoramic mural that wraps around the entire circumference. When entering the tomb, the visible section of the mural, over the glass sarcophagus, depicts the ash dunes at midnight in deep black, like ocean waves, with a forlorn figure wandering the horizon in a tattered cloak that hides his face. He is beset by black outlines of devilish faces that blend with the shadows. Pilgrims are meant to walk to the center of the domed space, where there is an outline of a golden sunburst set into the black marble floor, and turn around. There the mural shows the cloaked figure on his knees, held by a bright glowing feminine angel seated with him. She has short red hair, and with her right hand she points up with a single finger while the left gently pulls aside his cloak to reveal a face, now hidden under light instead of shadow. The two figures are surrounded by an aura of deep crimson flames that blow in the wind, streaming across the darkness of the rest of panorama.

The Fohnstes Sofia, unlike other Zulit holy sites, is independent of any “caretaking” by the Yahnvaist Oriswenhu priesthood. Despite repeated attempts, both bloody and bloodless, the site has remained under the sole ownership of a Zukhul monastic order, support of which is one of the few unifying causes for upper Zulit tribes. Though independent of state priests, Parhru negotiation did lead to the allowance of a modest attached Yahnvaist temple, which includes a seclusion chamber that claims to house the lost secret writings of the prophet.