Ssraeshza Temple

The temple of Ssraeshza is an enormous pyramid, built by the Shissar to conduct rituals of the black arts undisturbed. Found in The Grey of Luclin, the temple exists both below and above ground and its pyramid is constructed from a blue-black metallic substance. The sky above the pyramid is perpetually black and stormy, occasionally lit up by a streak of lightning. All around the tower, huge slabs of the blue-black metallic ore used in its construction can be seen moving in different patterns.

The entrance to the pyramid is hidden on the shadowed side and opens up to the middle floor. Travel between floors is done via cylindrical vacuum columns that allow the inhabitants to move up or down. The temple's underlying structure is geometric and symmetrical in nature, reflecting the Shissar's core architectural values.

The mid-section, entry level of the pyramid features the highest concentration of temple guards, the guard barracks, and many traps. The upper floors of the temple are where the arcane masters reside and perform their rituals. At the very top of the pyramid is a large room, with many summoning circles ornately inlaid with magical runes.

The bottom of the temple houses slave workers, merchants, commoners, families of the guards, and the general populace. The very bottom level is enormous. It has a very high ceiling that encloses a great many buildings. In the center, there is a one hundred and fifty foot tall statue of a snake, made of the same blue-black substance that makes up the pyramid. Huge furnaces are in each of the four corners, tended by workers that smelt the ore used for construction.

Power and influence in the pyramid stems from the very top. The arcane masters control every aspect of life in the temple. Once per day they gather in the chapel to hear the high priest of the arcane, who stands in the center and gives a sermon designed to instill propaganda and fear. The guards that protect the masters take care of any problems they may have. They can be found patrolling the many long corridors of the middle and upper sections of the pyramid.

Life in the lower levels is, for the most part, quite harsh. A contingent of Iksar slaves are forced to run the smelting furnaces, clean the temple, and do basically all manual labor needed. The slavers and taskmasters run the lower levels. There are also some craftsmen and tradesmen, but they are few and far between.