Anubis
The city of Anubis is on the west bank of the Stygian near the second cataract. (See “Stygian River” below for more information on the cataracts.) River traffic moves north of the cataract to the place where the Astebera River joins the Stygian just south of the first cataract; small ships can make it up the Astebera to the towns there. There is also some river traffic south on the Stygian to near Suleb where the third cataract is located.
The largest structure in the city is the truly ancient temple of Anubis, the high seat of the jackal-headed god of the dead in Khemit since the 7th Dynasty and the only temple dedicated to him. Despite repairs over the millennia, it is still slowly decaying. A great well called the Jackal Well for the carvings around it is also dedicated to Anubis and sits in the plaza in front of the temple. It is a properly maintained public water source, available for city dwellers and for those who travel to visit the temple. A short distance from the temple itself is the underground necropolis known as the Dog Catacomb. This extensive set of narrow stone tunnels is used for the burial of mummified animals of many types — beloved pets, or sacrificial creatures intended to carry a worshipper’s prayers to a deity. At least one prior set of tunnels had been filled and blocked off; no one is sure if there were earlier ones or not, or how many animals might have been buried here in the past 4,000 years.
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