Rhyester's Matins

Rhyester's Matins, formerly called Lathander's Dawn, was a major temple to Lathander in Silverymoon.

Location
The Matins was located in Northbank in the northeast, where nearly all the temples of the city were located.

Structure
Originally a mud and log structure of a fourth the size, the temple was rebuilt to be one of the city's largest temples. It was a place of breathtaking splendor. The congregation hall was two-stories high, and the ceiling and the eastern wall were made from glasssteel inlaid with prisms and stained glass.

Interior
The altar within the temple&mdash;called the Dawn Altar &mdash;was a sight to behold. At dawn, sunlight shining through the prisms in the glasssteel wall and ceiling bathed the altar with rainbows.

A crypt below the temple contained the resting place of the prophet Rhyester.

History
The temple was founded as Lathander's Dawn in 717 DR by the blind boy prophet Rhyester, in the same year that he miraculously received his sight. About 70 years later, the temple was renamed in honor of the prophet within a year of Rhyester's death in 773 DR.

In 1370 DR, an internal conflict arose over who would be the successor to the current Mornmaster. At 92 years old, Mornmaster Onadar Ryl was close to death, and a debate raged over whether his son, Lavis Ryl, or second, Kuth Charagon, should follow after him. Lavis was assumed to be Onadar's heir by many, but Onadar had never stated this, and Lavis had been absent from Silverymoon for three years by that time. Kuth, on the other hand, was a native to the city, was well-liked, was an excellent orator, and had been Onadar's second for two years.

Onadar ultimately died in 1372, but the conflict continued. Without a leader, the congregation continued to fight with each other. However, after Onadar's funeral, a booming, supernatural voice was heard by the congregants, proclaiming, "Take for your leader the one who lays upon this my altar the rightful sign from me."

This prophecy triggered a search for what this "rightful sign" might be. Most of the priests believed that the sign was a magic item, and popular theories included: Rival claimants for leadership sponsored adventurers to retrieve these and other items and hired spies to observe their opponents. Some of the adventuring bands even resorted to violence against each other. All the while, new claimants would appear from other lands, claiming to be "called by the Morninglord."
 * the Nightbreaker a sacred mace lost to the Order of the Aster in 1344 DR,
 * the Scouring Sunlight, a sacred mace lost during a campaign against Ghaunadaur sometime in the late 13 century, and
 * the Rose Mask, a magical helmet of rose-colored crystal.