The City of Mirror: The Throne of Vanity

Just one of many places that now make up the ruins of Mirror :)

Adam

Throne of Vanity (temple to Aphrodite)

Background: In Mirror's history, vanity was virtue, thanks to the popularity
of the goddess Aphrodite.  Hers was a faith that appealed to the nobility
that fell prey to extreme narcissism.  Likewise, the hot-blooded young
nobles enjoyed the company of the beautiful priestesses and temple
followers, sometimes even taking a "favorite" as a wife (or in the rare
cases of female nobles, a young priest as a husband).  The head priestess
was the favored of Aphrodite and bestowed with unimaginable beauty.  The
last of these magnificent women was Madam Splendor, often said to be the
most beautiful woman in all of the spheres.  She held great power in the
city, as her favors could sway kings and bring the strongest man to his
knees.



Current Condition: The Throne is located on its own asteroid, a rock of
about 1,500 feet across.  It was a sprawling complex, with dormitories,
baths, gardens, and private shrines throughout.  The fiendish-spawn forest
has claimed the asteroid, with thick, entangling vines covering most of the
ruins.  The inner sanctuary is still in remarkable condition, and shows
signs of still being well-maintained and inviting.  Visitors will be greeted
by humans, elves, and halflings, who toil to keep the temple in exquisite
shape.

            All is not as it seems.  Madam Splendor lives still as a
Succubus, served by two score or so under-priestesses, all of whom are
alu-fiends, lamias, vampires, and medusas.  They have ensnared a hundred
mortals to serve as their slaves, and when they are no longer useful, as
their meals.  Many are former adventurers and the crew of their vessels.
Ugly or unsightly crewmen are slain and devoured, leaving only the handsome
to serve their new masters.  Beautiful females are fed to the vampires to
rise again as vampire minions in their service.

            The perimeter of the asteroid is overgrown with deadly plants.
Spaced evenly along the edge are twenty hangman trees and briars of
bloodvine.  These give way to gardens and groves, where the slaves toil.
The innermost sanctum holds a 50' high golden statue to Aphrodite, a statue
that still appears magnificent, but the longer one gazes upon it, flaws and
cracks become obvious to even the least observant viewer.  At the base of
the statue, the most deprave and obscene acts are performed by Madam
Splendor and her followers.

            In addition to the considerable abilities of Madam Splendor and
her "priestesses", the temple has magical chambers that hide a mob of 50 or
more dretches, 30 ghouls and ghasts, an army of skeletons, 10 vrocks, and
the Nalfshnee Bilwhr, the monster who "gifted" Madam Splendor with her tanar
'ri form.  During Mirror's fall, Bilwhr was summoned to help defend the
city, but escaped his bonds and corrupted the whole temple.  His
 "protection" turned the entire clergy into monsters, but saved the temple
grounds.  None of the invading navies violated the temple grounds, for it
held monsters even more fearsome than they!

            Somewhere under the temple grounds is a gate to the Abyss, but
it has been sealed and cannot be opened.  Madam Splendor seeks a means to
reopen that gate, through which she hopes to summon the great armies of
Bilwhr to aide her in the conquest of Mirror.  In exchange, many thousands
of mortals will be sent straight to the Abyss, vastly increasing the power
of her lord.  Unfortunately, perhaps due to the various magic spells and
artifacts used in the last battle for Mirror, all of the monsters are
confined to the temple ruins, unable to escape or even use their summoning
abilities to call for help.  Thus they are forced to rely on mind-controlled
slaves and undead, an unpleasant but necessary fact of their existence, to
scour the ruins for the means they need to reclaim their lost powers.