House of Night

The House of Night was an underground temple of Shar found within the depths of the earth beneath Shadowdale. It was overseen by Esvele Greycastle, a devoted Sharran servant that played a crucial role in the Lady's plans for Toril and the Weave.

Location
The House of Night was hidden away at the bottom of the Grinding Gulf within the Dread Lair of Alokkkair, carved beneath Fox Ridge. While the falling boulders of the grinding gulf formed a perilous pathway to the House's entrance chamber, the temple was accessible to those familiar with its layout by adjacent tunnels that bypassed the dangerous rockfalls of the gulf, one of which extended down to the drow settlement of Maerimydra beneath the Twisted Tower of Ashaba.

A staircase leading from a tunnel northwest of the temple led to the Lich's Gauntlet, and the ritual cavern set inside a dead-magic zone, from within which the Sharran priests could carry out their goddess' will.

Structure
The chasm floor beneath the Grinding Gulf gave led towards a black stone doorway that gave entrance into the temple proper. It was flanked by a pair of finely-carved stone columns. The doorway to the House of Night featured the visage of a woman, half of which depicted her in her youth, the other as an old crone.

Interior
Just beyond the primary entrance was the Dark Lady's Foyer, a well-crafted receiving hall carved from basalt, decorated with depictions of female figures in line with Sharran ornamentation. Set around the foyer were smaller chambers, including a guard barracks, a small room that housed a well fed by trickling water, and the temple's refectory.

The westernmost chamber of the temple housed the Shrine of Night, a place of meditation and worship for the Sharran clergy. It featured a large dais upon which stood a statue of Shar, her face shrouded by a hood and her form wielding dual daggers crossed over her chest.

Just beyond Shar's shrine were the personal chambers of Priestess Esvele. She enjoyed a luxurious arrangement befitting for someone of her status within the church of Shar.

Atmosphere
Much of the space within the House of Night was poorly illuminated, left in shadows to keep hidden the Sharran secrets. Within Shar's shrine, candles emitting dim green radiance shone upon black and purple tiles as well black stone marbled with gold. Unsettling Undead and ferocious fiends roamed its halls as freely as Shar's faithful.

Defenses
The Dark Lady's Foyer was protected by a pair of mezzoloths, commanded by Lady Esvele. Glyphs of warding were used throughout the temple's halls to protect locations critical to the Sharran plot.

History
During the month of Hammer in the, the Sharrans of the temple began performing the Rite of Unwinding, a ritual that would dampen and even fully suppress the Weave across an ever-expanding field over the Dalelands and beyond.

Around that same time, the drow warmage Narhaun and his followers set up camp just outside the temple's entrance.

Notable Inhabitants

 * Esvele Greycastle, the temple's head priestess and trusted servant of Shar.
 * Urduthar, the shadowslain Sharran that served as Esvele's second-in-command.
 * Orielden, a Knight of Shar that led the temple's guardsmen.
 * Lashan Aumersair, the former King of the Dales that was transformed into a nycaloth by Shar herself.
 * Edda, Istilmar, and Shiro, the servant's human servants.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Shadowdale: The Scouring of the Land