Cynosure (building)

Cynosure,  formerly known as the Temple of the Overgod Ao or the House of the Overgod, was a temple turned public forum in the city of Waterdeep.

Location
This building was located along Trader's Way, in Castle Ward of Waterdeep.

Structure
Cynosure stood two stories tall and was constructed out of marble. It featured many pillars. It had the words "High Temple of the Overgod" carved into a frieze, but this was magically altered to "Cynosure" following the temple's acquisition by the city.

Due to existing around the area in which Myrkul died, the building was subject to a minor, permanent planar breach into the Fugue Plane, causing the casting of spells to be impeded.

Interior
Inside of the building were paintings and sculptures depicting major events and participants of the Time of Troubles.

Services
Cynosure was available rent for events both public and private. Nobles and wealthy merchants alike often rented it out for events such as balls, parties, and weddings. Many of the city's populous guilds rented it out to conduct private meetings of full members. And it was often the site of negotiations between powerful spellcasters, who viewed it as a "neutral ground" due to the area's ambient impediment on spellcasting.

Activities
Whenever an event wasn't being held, people could freely enter the Cynosure free of charge.

On the annual holiday Gods' Day, which took place on the 15 of Marpenoth, the cult of Ao sponsored a day-long celebration within Cynosure that was followed in the evening by a solemn prayer service. And during Waukeentide, it was one of the buildings that the Guilds of Waterdeep traditionally held the gala festival and dance of Guildsmeet in.

History
A month following the death of Myrkul in the Time of Troubles &mdash;the aftermath of which had many made aware of Ao's existence, as his voice was heard booming over top Mount Waterdeep&mdash;a dedicated temple to the Overgod was built upon the site of Myrkul's death. This undertaking was conducted by a newly formed cult of Ao, who received enthusiastic support from many of the guilds of Waterdeep and the noble houses.

Following the temple's completion many flocked to worship at it, including a number of nobles who wanted to be in on the latest craze. Then over the course of six months, people lost interest in the temple's faith as they discovered Ao's clear indifference towards his worshippers,   as all prayers went unanswered, as well as from the people realizing they had no clear idea who Ao was or what he stood for. The temple dwindled to only a handful of worshippers and services became sporadic.

Later in 1359 DR, the Lords of Waterdeep annexed the building by purchasing it from the cult and turned it into a public forum. Along with this change of function came the new name Cynosure, which was magically added to the temple's frieze in place of its formerly carved name.