Template:BuildingsThe Dome of a Thousand Stars is one of the most magnificent and iconic buildings found in the Empire of Mankind and probably one of the most beautiful in the Lewis Nations and beyond in the known Universe. It is the place where all Emperors have to be crowned in order to be considered emperors of the nation by right. No one is a rightful Emperor, spiritually and in the people's eyes, until his crowning is formalized in the dome, although no official law makes it mandatory.
It was built by Kador Tarnos, son of Horis Tarnos, as a place of worship, a small shrine for the back then medium-size city of Indara. Its construction was finalized and greatly expanded by Hannakon I Tarnos, who started the tradition of crowning emperors in this building. Most Emperors have endergone several restauration and expanding projects in the building.
The Dome has a symbolic meaning for Imperials. In the middle of the building burns the flame of the empire. According to the popular myth if it ever gets extinguished, the Empire will collapse.
History
The place where the building stands was a flat piece of land, given to the Tarnos family for their military service. Being a famous family in the area and known all over the Republic of Anthropos right after the amazing defeat of the parties and the heroic salvation of Horis Tarnos during the First Civil War, the land was ceded "indirectly" to the people when Kador Tarnos decided to build something for the people. At first it was a small shrine, a spiritual place for retirement and meditation. Those seeking peace of mind travelled there and were given a place to rest their psyche.
The building was marvellous but soon needed extra space and some areas of it were demolished to make room for a larger more imponent space. People of the area associated themselves with the iconic building, and the popularity of the Tarnos skyrocketed. When Hannakon came to power, this building was close to his heart as it was his father's building. To honor him, he made himself crowned in the building, starting a precedent, and afterwards he expanded it to make it even more impressive.
The twelve emperors that followed him kept crowning themselves here and enlarging or decorating further the building. The Dome became a symbol of the Empire and the de facto crowning place for all emperors in the eyes of the People. It wasnt however until the Nobility war, contrary to popular believe that with the spoils of the war, the Emperor Thardos II Tarnos decided to build the Dome as it is today, a representation of the Empire and the Unity and power of the all mighty Emperor.
During the Great Slave revolt, the building was almost destroyed by an angry mob of slaves. It was finally deterred by the masacre of the Dome, right in front of the building when the military was able to stop them from harming the place. However, it's mayor damage was done during the First Relative's War, which devastated several areas of Elpida. The building suffered by the bombardment and one of its areas was completely destroyed but the Dome and the inner center of the building survived untouched miracously, which gave support to the Tarnos even more. Ever since the Dome has remained as it is for thousands of years, being anyone unwilling to modernised or tecnify such marvellous construction.
Building Structure
The building itself has enormous ceillings and big tall walls that can accomodate as much as between 225 000 to 300 000 people in it. At the center of the building lies the famous Dome, fully black or dark blue spotted with several stars, distributed in constellations as seen from Elpida. As a remainder of the large expand of the Empire. Of course this was done when the Empire inhabited just the Lewis nation but still, the Imperials appreciated the art and consideration of the painting. An Empire who extends through the emptyness of space. The Dome allows for the light to come through small upper spaces and iluminated almost miracously the bottom floor just under the dome. It was done with such care that at night, when the lights of the moons enter the Dome, it's light falls under the person who stands in that floor keeping the rest in darkness. For that, many Emperors have chosen to be crowned at night, because the building was design to give such impresive detail.