The New Temple of Entu
Towering over the city of Zedda is a massive ziggurat. It sits on the highest tier of the city, emblazoned with a Spiral of Entu. No matter where you are in the city, you can glance up and remember that the gods or watching. Or remember the power of the state looming over everything. Either, really.
The temple itself is only the highest room sitting at the top of the ziggurat. Within the structure are the living areas for The Sun Maidens. They are accessible through the side door on the first level. Once inside, you can go further down within the base of the ziggurat. It contains sleeping areas, training rooms, meditation chambers, kitchens - everything they need to live, because they aren't allowed to leave without an escort and only be official purposes. The two mid tiers are covered in dirt, grass, and Ishud Trees; the Maidens get a lot of use from these outdoor ears.
Architecture
The ziggurat is built from sandstone blocks. The temple and the gate have been set with lapis lazuli tiles from the mines in eastern Te'a. All of its windows are about 2 feet in diameter and made with wooden slats criss-crossing around openings about the size of a fist. The severe dryness of the desert means there is little worry about rain. On both the gate and the temple, the Spiral of Entu is set into the lapis, each panel of it made of pure gold.
History
The original temple to Entu was in Tirasha in the early days of the kingdom. That temple was destroyed by the tsunami during the Fourth Reckoning. Only a single statue depicting Entu survived, and was found washed up in a pile of junk several blocks from there the temple originally stood.
The statue was put in a temporary shrine built on a hill overlooking Tirasha. That shrine became the most visited temple in Tanish as grief-stricken and newly-homeless survivors sought relief from the gods. It remained there for over 50 years throughout the civil war, and the simple shrine on the hill was the primary place of worship for Entu all this time. What had originally been a lean-to from driftwood became a small stone building tended by a handful of priests.
After the end of the civil war, Zedda was established as the new capital and Shar-Min-Ghel, the king, commanded (through his Oracle, of course) they construct a new temple, worthy of Entu, in the new capital. Construction took approximately 20 years, during which time the shrine on the hill remained active.
When the building was finally complete, the statue that had survived the Reckoning was placed an a boat and, with much ceremony, taken upriver to the new temple. The old, battered statue took a place of honour in the centre of the temple, where it looks rather small and shabby next to the the grander statues lining the walls. However, its run-down appearance serves as a reminder to worshippers of what they survived and the power of Entu to overcome great adversity.
Originally, the chambers within the ziggurat were for use by the priests. After the founding of the Sun Maidens, it was converted for their use and new buildings to house priests and temple workers was build nearby.
