Temple of Old Night

The Temple of Old Night was a temple to Shar in the city of Calimport in Calimshan. By the late 1360s DR, it was known to be oldest and certainly the most arrogant of the places of worship of the Mistress of the Night.

Location
This underground complex lay beneath a good portion of the eastern side of Calimport.

Interior
The temple housed a massive statue of the goddess Shar.

Leadership
Circa 1369 DR, it was dominated by the high priestess Irtemara el Eradsari, called the Dancer Before Dawn and the highest-ranking mortal servant of Shar (at least that anyone knew of). Her debauched revels and murderous habits made her notorious and caused six or more changes in government around Faerûn. She was aided by three male priests, quite loyal to her and quietly scheming against each other. When, or if, she were to pass away, they would most assuredly burst into open conflict for control of the temple.

History
After 1330 DR, some priests of the Temple of Old Night grew dissatisfied with their leadership and broke away. Moving to Amn, they formed their own temple, with more overt interference in politics and greater ruthlessness, called the Dark Embrace. Thereafter, the two rival temples competed for dominance over the Sharran faith.

Before 1374 DR, a grapefruit-sized crystal globe was plucked from the great statue in the Temple of Old Night. High priestess Esvele Graycastle had it charged with divine power by Shar herself, forming it into the Starry Gnosis, a centerpiece of their dark plots.

Activities
The clergy of Old Night proclaimed, at irregular intervals, when the Kiss of the Lady ceremonies, or "Kissmoots", were to take place for all followers of Shar. These night-long festivities of killing and other wicked works were the most sacred of Sharran faith. However, the clergy of the Dark Embrace had increasingly taken to calling their own Kissmoots at different times in competition.

Relations
The priests of Old Night competed with those of the Dark Embrace for control over the church of Shar.

The clergy of the Temple of Old Night made recurrent raids against the Festhall of Eternal Delight, a temple to Sharess in Calimport.