Moonbrire Monastery

Moonbrire Monastery was a rather large monastery fueled by the works of the Jhanizon Monks. It is rumored to be nine-hundred years old, making it one of the oldest standing and working holy establishments to date. At its peak, the monastery had as many as ten-thousand practicing monks within its walls. Its monks are comprised of mostly humans, with a mixture of high elves and an occasional dwarf. Abbot Asalow, their venerable leader, was responsible for integrating the three; he was the first elf allowed into the monastery, and has been its leader for well over two-hundred years.

History
While the monastery was built around 300 P.C., it isn't until 178 P.C. that it is mentioned in any documents. Originally small and untidy, the monastery grew substantially as the years went by, until in 200 K.C. it housed around ten-thousand active monks and had tripled in size.

Brother Asalow, a young and ambitious high elf, attended the monastery for a couple years; though this was highly controversial because he was the first elf to do so. He would later be instrumental in allowing dwarves into the monastery, and eventually other high elves.

The monastery flourished  for two-hundred years after his acceptance, until it was discovered by the neighboring Seacliff Castle and occupied by their soldiers. The Lord of the Castle was furious that the monks had lived in a society outside of his power, and so he had most of the monks arrested or killed.

Some were ordered to leave the island at once, while others left willingly. Small parts of the monastery were burned to the ground, but not enough to be devastating.

When the monks were finally released from their prison years later, only a third of them were left. Working tirelessly, they were able to rebuild their home and return to their work; but things were not the same.

Seacliff Castle armsman lined the hallways, and it was essentially run by a secular lord. When the castle and its inhabitats mysteriously abandoned their home around 450 K.C., the monastery was finally liberated. Brother Asalow took the position of abbot, as the previous one had been killed.

Life in the Monastery
Life consisted of a regular round of worship, reading, and manual labor. Every day was divided into eight seperate offices, beggining and ending with services in the monastery church.

The first service usually came around two o'clock in the morning; the last, just as evening set in, before the monks retired. In addition to their attendance at church, the monks spent several hours in reading scripture, private prayer, and meditation.

For most of the day, however, they worked hard with their hands, doing the necessary washign and cooking for the monastery, raising the necessary supplies of vegatables and grain, and performing all other tasks required to maintain a large establishment like the monastery.