Lore:Temple of Kynareth

Kynareth

"Our Lady is the Goddess Kynareth whose sphere is the Heavens itself. She is sometimes called the Goddess of Air, the Pure One. It was She who gave the Lords Mail to the Warrior Lord Morihaus to combat the unclean Daedric spirits. By the glory of our Lady, we have become the greatest physicians in Tamriel -- our ability to cure magical and mundane diseases is truly unrivalled. Other temples cure only their own priests, but we are philanthropists. Of course, the Goddess shows special favor on Her own. We do take in new initiates, provided they show devotion to the Goddess and have the skill to make their devotion worthwhile." — Excerpt of the temple's description in Daggerfall

The Temple of Kynareth is the temple dedicated to Kynareth the Pure One, the Goddess of Winds and the Heavens. These are generally the place of worship for her. The priesthood of the temple fancy themselves as physicians and philanthropies, offering their services to cure diseases and ailments, ranging from the mundane to the magical. Those that can show their devotion to Kynareth, and even have the skills to make that veneration worthwhile are given membership to the temple. The Kynaran Order is their militant arm and the Kingdom of Daggerfall is one of their strongest allies. In the Iliac Bay, the temple has many chapters, which includes the Alcaire and the Wrothgarian Mountains in High Rock, and both Kozanset and Myrkwasa in Hammerfell.

Further Information

Like other divine temples, the Temple of Kynareth focuses on several skills that determine a member's ranking in the temple. These include archery, the school of destruction magic, the harpy language, and running. The highest-known ranking in the order is the Patriarch/Matriarch. There is also several sub-factions of the temple, such as the Enchanters of Kynareth, Spellsmiths of Kynareth, the Summoners of Kynareth, and the Teachers of Kynareth.

In his last days, Pelagius Septim III was sent to a Temple of Kynareth on Betony for treatment but died in his cell from a brief fever. At some point, the temple was destroyed and members of the Apostles of Light took every stone and rebuilt into the Howling Halls. The halls are located in the sorrowed hills of Dementia, in the Shivering Isles, and the Apostles claim that they can still hear Pelagius' screams.

In the early fifth century of the Third Era, the Kingdoms of Daggerfall and Sentinel waged intensive war for ownership of the island, Betony, in the conflict aptly named the War of Betony. King Lysandus wanted the island at the advice of many people, most notably Arch-Priest Vanech of Daggerfall's Temple of Kynareth, who viewed Betony as holy land of his patron. When both parties came together at Reich Gradkeep to discuss a compromise, Daggerfall decided to split the land both ways but seeing this as blasphemy, Vanech swapped the treaty with a false one that left Sentinel with the short stick. Because of this misunderstanding, a massacre occurred across Reich Gradkeep city and the war continued for just a few more hours. Vanech was killed in the midst of the chaos and the battle continued into the Cryngaine Field.

During the Skyrim Civil War in 4E 201, the Gildergreen tree in Whiterun was struck by lightning and it was destroyed. The regular pilgrims and travelers that come for the tree are left distraught and frustrated. Danica Pure-Spring, a priestess of the city's Temple of Kynareth had sent a traveler to acquire an archaic dagger called the Nettlebane to harvest sap from the Eldergleam and use it to restore the tree. On their way to the Eldergleam's sanctuary, the traveler was stopped by a pilgrim, who felt that the tree should not be harmed and that the Gildergreen should just be replaced. It is unknown whether it was replaced or if it was restored, but the problem had ultimately been resolved.

Kynaran Order

The Kynaran Order is the militant arm of the Temple of Kynareth. They fight all over the provinces in the name of their patron, and they are honored by the temple for their skills and loyalty to them. Candidates for the order are chosen by their combat prowess and their reputation in the Temple.

Gallery

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  The Temple of Kynareth (Skyrim)

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  Betony, Holy Land of Kynareth

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  The Gildergreen

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  Spellsmith of Kynareth

Notes

• The Temple of Kynareth is the only institution that does not have a temple in Cyrodiil. Instead the followers of Kynareth gather to her shrine located in the Great Forest, located west of the Red Ring Road and southwest of Weye. They believe that the natural world is Kynareth's true temple.

See Also

• For game-specific information on the temple, see the Daggerfall and Skyrim articles.
• For game-specific information on the knightly order, see the Daggerfall article.