Temple of the Buried Sun

Ervenian Era, 1051 AB

The Temple of the Buried Sun is a temple in Kirstan dedicated to Ashmedai, and the largest temple to Ashmedai on Theras. The temple was once a temple of Helios, but was repurposed during the War of 136 kings.

Defilement

Repurposing the temple was a major effort on behalf of the heptarchy, as the presence of Helios lingered past the murder of the clergy and the ground remained hallow; thus, it required the formulation of an elaborate ritual with seven novel sacraments in three phases.

Construction Date

412 AB

Parent Location

Kirstan

Denunciation

Sacrament of Sunset

The first sacrament took place at sunset; all remaining lamps, candles, and votive wicks were collected and placed inside a large cauldron. The officiants, one after another, slit their wrists above the cauldron and bled thirty-three ounces into it. The cauldron was then filled to the brim with ash and buried under the threshold.

Sacrament of Iconoclasm

The second sacrament entailed the gathering of every idol, mural, and sigil of Helios, who were then defaced with iron spikes and anointed with boiling pitch. These were then shattered upon the steps of the altar with maces and hammers, as the officiants chanted Heilosian prayers to ensure his awareness.

Sacrament of Renouncement

The third sacrament was the most difficult to carry out; the officiants scoured the lands of Ameros in search of Mornmasters, high ranking clerics of Helios, which they captured and interred within the temple. Each Mornmaster was subjected to terrible torment until one broke, and renounced her faith in Helios; those who would not yield were tortured to death.

Manumission

Sacrament of Besmirchment

The fourth sacrament was gruesome one, requiring acts of evil who filled no other purpose than the banishment of good from the temple's grounds. Sixty slaves were sacrificed, with their blood, viscera, and excrement all laid out to paint the holy symbol of Helios; then, seven rabid dire wolves were unleashed inside the temple, devouring the entrails and erasing the symbol in the process; finally, the wolves were decapitated, their bodies burned, and their heads raised on stakes.

Rededication

Sacrament of Litigation

The fifth sacrament was the drafting of document to serve as proof of lawful dominion; its preamble was a list of accusations against Helios’s clergy, deeming them guilty of betraying the well-being of the empire and their congregates. The text's body was a commitment to the heptarchy and to Ashmedai followed by a list of new laws that are to be enforced.

Sacrament of Promulgation

The sixth sacrament marked the first public worship of Ashmedai within the temple; envoys, accompanied by bands of brutes, were sent to all districts of Kirstan; there they anounced the repurposing of the temple and read aloud the new laws that now govern the land, with their companions violently suppressing any dissent and objection.

Sacrament of Signature

The seventh and last sacrament summoned Lunviten, a powerful devil and a Plenipotentiary of Ashmedai, to seal the contract between Ameros and Ashmedai. The contract was etched in blood on a slab of brimstone, which serves as the temple's floor.

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