How to Make a Great Fantasy Holy Site

A fantasy holy site modeled after the deity people worship. Its walls are gray with dark gray spots all over. The windows are blue with red drapes. The top of the building is a face with dark gray eyes and a mouth. Sitting on it is a golden crown. The building is in front of a blue sky background with three clouds floating by. Places of worship are in many fantasy cities.
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Sunfire

CONTENTS

Overview

Many, if not all, of the stories in fantasy involve religion to an extent. This doesn’t come as a surprise, considering many worlds are modeled after medieval times where religion played a dominant role in the lives of everyday people. If you’re thinking about having religion be part of the story of your world, there’s one thing you need to plan for and that would be creating a fantasy holy site.

Having a fantasy place of worship is invaluable since it’s a place where the faithful congregate. Furthermore, it’s where all religious events take place throughout the year. A town may have only one fantasy holy site whereas a city can feature two or more. Keep in mind, many worlds have only one major religion though there are some that have more than one.

Many fantasy writers look to the real world for inspiration when creating a holy site. There are many incredible buildings steeped in history to model a fantasy place of worship that you can’t go wrong with choosing one over the other. Many of these have a simple but elegant design that enables them to stand out amidst the cityscape.

While the design is important, so too are the elements of a fantasy place of worship. It needs to feel like a place where religious people go to pray or do other duties. You want your readers to feel as if they’re in a real place filled with real people doing things and there are a number of ways to go about it.

A fantasy place of worship plays a large role in the community it’s in, whether it’s a town, city, or neighborhood. It holds food drives, raises money for the homeless, and many others. Take this into account as you flesh out your world. After all, it’s filled with people who’ve dedicated their lives to serving the deity of the world and they want to help the downtrodden.

This is the ninth article in the series examining the different kinds of fantasy buildings. For more, take a gander at our blog page!

Modeling a Fantasy Holy Site After the Real World

When constructing a fantasy place of worship, it can be difficult to envision it all by yourself. That’s why many writers turn to the ones in our world, seeking to find inspiration. There’s a deep diversity of holy sites so you shouldn’t have a problem finding one that does the job!

Some writers go to the ones in their community while others look at pictures of some of the greatest ones in the world. Many authors like to look at those that have stood the test of time, lasting for hundreds of years. These venerable places are steeped in history and you can feel it by simply looking at them.

One key aspect as you work on crafting the appearance of a fantasy holy site is that it uses a simple but elegant design. It’s meant to serve as a monument to the deity of the world, as if conveying respect to him or her. Using a loud or boisterous design will not do since it is a solemn place.

Fantasy cities are important in the genre. This image depicts a city with a castle on a hilltop above it. The city has both rectangular- and square-shaped buildings with a wavy roof on each one. The buildings come in four colors: light yellow, brown, light blue, and white. The roofs come in the following colors: dark blue, red, light black, and dark brown. Many of these buildings have windows and some have a visible door. The road itself runs down the middle of the image, swaying to the right and then the left, ending at the doorstep of the castle. The road also meets two others, one that runs to the left, and the other to the right. Behind the city is a grassy field with blades of grass scattered throughout. A river cuts through the field, meandering from the left edge to the right edge of the image. The castle itself is white with gray shadows. It has four red turrets and diamond-shaped windows. The sky above is a bright blue with two white clouds. Some birds are flying on the left side, above the castle, and the right side.

The official symbol of the religion is typically found somewhere on the exterior. Sometimes it sits atop the building and other times, it’s etched above the doorway. The symbol conveys the building’s purpose, making it clear to all so that should the need arise, they know where to go.

Moving into the interior, there is a sense of regality to it that stands on par with that for the royal family. It’s as if you stepped into a different time with the light warmly shining through its glass-stained windows, filling the entire place with sunlight. It should evoke a feeling of tranquility or sereneness for those who venture inside.

Many places of worship have decorations such as paintings that hang on the wall. The paintings depict renowned figures that shaped the history of the religion the building pays tribute to. Nearly all of these places have candelabras on the wall, helping to spread the light and keep the darkness at bay.

Elements of a Fantasy Holy Site

The design of both its outside and inside isn’t the only thing to do when making a fantasy place of worship. You need to make it feel like a real, organic place not one you just created to put in the world and there are several required elements to accomplish this.

First and foremost, you need to staff it. No matter what religion it is, it needs clergy or other religious-oriented people to populate it. You can use official terms like priests and nuns or create your own. If you do the latter, make it clear what they do and what they’re based off on. Your readers will appreciate it!

The entrances to the spirit dungeon are found at the feet of the gray deity in the middle. Her hands seem to be holding a yellow-like object and she has a golden crown and gray wings. She's surrounded by grass and two forests, one on each side. Behind her is a series of mountains and above them is the blue sky with oval clouds.

The second element of a fantasy holy site is the altar. It stand at the head of the place and is where the priest holds mass or issues his sermons. The altar should command the attention of everyone who enters it, regardless of if they’re entering it for the first or the umpteenth time. It’s usually adorned with some flowers, statues, or candles.

Another element you need is statues. Statues depicting a religious figure or the deity stand in important spots such as the altar or alongside a wall. These statues enable people to pay their respects or they pray to the deity, seeking guidance on a decision they are having trouble making. Sometimes people leave flowers or other special objects.

People need to have a place to sit and that’s the fourth element of a fantasy holy site. Whether you use the official term of pew or not, the important thing is that there needs to be plenty of seats for people to sit. Benches are used for this purpose since they’re long and enable a great number of people to take their seats.

How a Fantasy Holy Site Impacts the Community

A fantasy place of worship isn’t just a building. It plays a major role in the community where it’s located. It brings several invaluable benefits that help those who enter the hallowed building.

One way a fantasy holy site impacts the community is that those who attend mass or other religious meetings do so to listen to uplifting messages about doing the right thing and being a good, productive citizen of the kingdom. These messages encourage them to help their fellow citizens out and to rally around the ones who need aid.

Another way is that it hosts events such as food or donation drives. These charitable events enable people to give food, clothes, or money to those who need them the most. The events save lives and offer the suffering ones a new lease on life and an opportunity to lift themselves up.

A fantasy holy site has a faith-building outreach program that is aimed to bring in more people. Just like any religious building, it continually works to bring in more members and while it targets good, generous people, it also targets the at-risk people like the youth. They endeavor to recruit them to prevent them from either turning to a life of crime or being bad people, instead being a good person.

It also has social programs that encourage people to get to know each other. Whether it be games or special events, these programs enable like-minded people to interact with each other. All of these programs are designed to foster a sense of community and make people feel like they belong which is a powerful psychological force.

Tying it all Together

A fantasy holy site is an important building in such a world. After all, many fantasy worlds are set in medieval times, largely inspired by our own and they borrow many elements from their real counterparts, one of which is the place of worship. Religion was a major part of the lives of everyday people during the medieval age and some fantasy worlds echo that.

The design of a fantasy place of worship is mostly based off on the real world. It’s aesthetics, overall appearance, and several other elements are key to making a building that pays homage to the deity of the world. You want it to feel like a real place where people go to.

When creating a fantasy holy site, there are several elements you need to account for. Elements such as staffing it and giving it an altar go a long way towards making it feel real for the characters and for your readers. Your audience will appreciate the extra effort you put into it!

There are several things a fantasy place of worship does that benefits the community it serves. Things like hosting a donation drive or social programs build a sense of kinship and camaraderie among the people who attend them since they’re getting to know like-minded people and help out the beleaguered. These things help make the world a better place.

Will you include a fantasy holy site in the world you’re building?

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Thanks for reading this and until the next time,

Sunfire

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