What am I doing? The Sept of the Seven Hells

[Hammers]

Currently not being able to build I am doing some sketching and planning of the remaining construction and decoration.

I find it easier to come up with ideas for decorations and other details if there is a backstory so I have decided to place the sept in the Stormlands. It is to have been erected by a long past lord of the house of Trant as a penance for some wicked sin. I picked Trant because of their pretty intimidating coat of arms:  shields azure, a hanged man, sable. Ser Duncan the Tall, of the Tales of Dunk and Egg, carries a replacement shield in one of the stories, sporting this heraldry. Also Meryn Trant of the Kingsguard is a bonafide scumbag, which associates his house with all kinds of scumbagery. I like that.

So, what does this mean for the sept? Well, I will work in the coat of heraldry in the decore somehow. Capitals decorated with the twists of hangman's knots, A grotesque in a noose with a protruding tongue. That sort of thing.

I have been jotting down a few ideas for murals (tapestries would have rotted away long ago in this ruin, MediumAl) thinking how the people of westros would percieve the seven hells. I like think that there perception of hell would be slightly different from ours. I am no expert but there seem to be no or few mentions of ghosts, devils and daemons in the stories. Therefore it seems like a good idea to me to have the murals show scenes of eternal torture from myths and realities these people knew.

So far I have come up with these ideas:

- The Hell of the Merciless Sun; people in a desert landscape, tormented under the scouring rays of the sun while sand vipers writhes about their feet (also know as the Hell of Malamute)

- The Hell of Dragonfire; sinners burning in a fire perpetually fed by the bellowings of dragons

- The Hell of Eternal Winter; the dead pushed in to polonyas in a frozen lake by gaunt, white figures

- The Hell of Living Stone; lost souls in an immense cavern, all in various stages of accelerating petrification. Chisel billed birds slowly nick away at the petrified parts.

- Hell of Pagan Sorcery; a dark forrest, the dead are being held, stung, strangled and devoured by vines, trees and thorns, ushered on by strange little brown creatures with burning green eyes.

[sukhe_bator]

Sounds absolutely charming, Hammers 

[OSHIROmodels]

That all sounds great mate, I like the thought you're putting in to it  

Could I add the Hell of Perpetual Drowning - Constantly bobbing up and down in the sea, not quite fully drowning but not quite afloat.

cheers

James

[Hammers]

That all sounds great mate, I like the thought you're putting in to it  

Could I add the Hell of Perpetual Drowning - Constantly bobbing up and down in the sea, not quite fully drowning but not quite afloat.

cheers

James

Great idea!  It could be based on the Drowned God, which I picture people around Westros would be aware of. Perhaps a dark deep sea where lost souls constantly try to swim for the surface but are being dragged down by the arms of kraken. I have three and a half murals to paint and I like that Hell of the Dark Deep before the Hell of the Sourcerous Forrest better.

The door omits one hell since it pretty much occupies one whole wall. Perhaps the inside of the doors could be carved or decorated with ironwork to represent a Hell.

[Malamute]

 while sand vipers writhes about their feet (also know as the Hell of Malamute)

Cheers Mate, now I'm imagining that and it's not nice

Definitely my idea of a living Hell

[Hammers]

I live to serve, always.

[Hammers]

A few progress shots.





I also want to put a few ideas in text.

Further backstory:
As I wrote earlier I imagine this sept being built as an act of penance by some McBeth-like and long gone lord of House Trant. It was named something like the Sept of Seven Mercies, in an attempt by this sinner to make peace with the gods.

The architectural idea would to having the Seven Hells on the outer interior walls, with the Seven standing in a septaform within, symbolically standing between the worshippers and the Hells. A pleasing idea, but I am thinking the visions of eternal damnation all in all being so powerful and dominant, this place of worship become known as the Sept of the Seven Hells.

The place may have gotten a really shitty reputation and bad luck and ruin followed.

I have been pondering what to put on the entrance doors, something to represent a hell, but not a mural. I took some inspiration from these burial practices from the world of Ice and Fire.







The top image is from the very evocative set Hall of Faces in the temple of Black and White in Braavos, as realized in the TV series. I really dig that scene!

Apparently there is a tradition of placing painted stones on the eyes of the deceased, perhaps echoing the ancient practice in our world to use coins the same way.

So, my thinking is that the doors of my ruined sept will represent The Hell of the Vengeful Dead. The idea is that one of the Seven Hells is, as Sartre said, other people. Those who have murdered, deceived or otherwise caused others death or pain will meet their victims in their own deaths.

In my fancy people have carried the eye-stones of those who have met a violent end and, for a fee, have the septon mount them on the inside of the doors. There they will glare unblinkingly at the visitors, searching for their slayers.

[OSHIROmodels]

Loving the build and your thoughts behind it 

cheers

James

[Captain Blood]

Brilliant Peder 

[Andym]

That's a wonderful piece! What about the painting of it? It's ashame you're going to loose the colour of the bricks.

[YPU]

Yea at this stage my work usually looks horribly in need of paint, yours looks nice already.

[qazbnm]

This is looking great already 
The end result will be stunning!

That's a wonderful piece! What about the painting of it? It's ashame you're going to loose the colour of the bricks.

This. Maybe you could just tint the plaster and just weather the bricks too keep their colour? Maybe that is what you planned already

[Hammers]

That's a wonderful piece! What about the painting of it? It's ashame you're going to loose the colour of the bricks.

I am definitely going to keep the brick and mortar look as it is on the outside. I'll cover it up somehow and spray paint the masonry in some dirty Naples buff colour.

As you probably understand I dont have everything figured out beforehand, just scetches. The "look" develops organically as I see things develop.

Right now I am trying to figure out the pillars and the beams of the remains of thebat infested roof. Me being me I am really looking forward to painting swarming and dangling bats, badgers, crows, rats and owls to infest the thing.

[Mason]

This is looking great already.
I really like those bricks, etc.
 

And you may be about to pull off the impossible and do a seven-sided building....it wont stand, ya know?
Maybe that is why this one is a ruin...

How about making a couple of doors, now collapsed, with eyes on them to reflect the burial practise thing?

... Me being me I am really looking forward to painting swarming and dangling bats, badgers, crows, rats and owls to infest the thing.

Me too!
I love the sound of that.
 

[Hammers]

You're summoning blue foam, in fact. 
But whatever it is, it looks cool. 

Hahaha.