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| - Amongst the eldest structures in the world, the temple-cities were raised during the age of the Old Ones. For their size and simple grandeur, they have never been equalled by the constructions of any younger race. Monolithic structures and vast pyramids still stand, breathtaking in their scope, unrivalled in their enormity. In their time, each one teemed with thriving activity; the Slann Mage-Priests and their viziers were kept busy supervising the nurturing of the various races created by the Old Ones, the Skinks ensured daily operations ran smoothly and, from under the decorative arches, the Saurus legions marched on their wars of extinction. Dozens of saurians from the jungle were captured and trained for domestic uses — Stegadons hauled forwards building materials for the Kroxigor, Pli
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| abstract
| - Amongst the eldest structures in the world, the temple-cities were raised during the age of the Old Ones. For their size and simple grandeur, they have never been equalled by the constructions of any younger race. Monolithic structures and vast pyramids still stand, breathtaking in their scope, unrivalled in their enormity. In their time, each one teemed with thriving activity; the Slann Mage-Priests and their viziers were kept busy supervising the nurturing of the various races created by the Old Ones, the Skinks ensured daily operations ran smoothly and, from under the decorative arches, the Saurus legions marched on their wars of extinction. Dozens of saurians from the jungle were captured and trained for domestic uses — Stegadons hauled forwards building materials for the Kroxigor, Pliodons acted as living ferries across the wide canals, and Voxosaurs emitted their piercing screams to sound alarms. The Old Ones themselves would come and go, their star-sailing ships landing in the wide plazas. Each of the temple-cities was constructed to be different in its own way, although all have been carefully positioned to relate to a specific celestial body or astral phenomena. In this manner, the structures sit atop and serve as pivotal nexus points in the geomantic web, the source of much of the Slann’s power and of energy vital to the maintenance of the Great Warding. Since the coming of Chaos, and the deviations from the Great Plan, some of the alignments have drifted apart. Much that once was has been lost, as many temple-cities were destroyed. Where possible, their ruins are still guarded, for they are still circuits that make up the greater whole. Yet over the ages, some sites have been left permanently neglected, their power and population lost to the Lizardmen forever. At the heart of every city are the pyramid-temples. Large and majestic, these stepped ziggurats loom over everything. At each of their summits, far above the world, sit the most ancient of the city’s Slann Mage-Priests. Each apex is known as a Star Chamber and within this sacred space a Slann can align his thoughts and engage in conversations with others of his kind, though they be far distant over the horizon. From his seat of power, a Slann can turn his attentions to the constellations above, seeking signs of the return of the Old Ones. The taller the pyramid, the more powerful the Mage-Priest; the surrounding smaller structures are for lesser priests. This is done so that the elder generation can keep their mental pathways clear - undisturbed by the naive questions and less weighty thoughts of younger Slann or, worse still, the impertinent and impatient Skink Priests. Deep within each pyramid are many vaults, crypts and chambers, each accessible only through secret and well-guarded passages. These vaults may contain the mummified remains of venerated Slann, mirror-like pools for observing distant locations, ancient devices left behind by the Old Ones or other relics, such as a temple-city’s sacred plaques. Four major temple-cities currently stand intact, although this has not always been the case. In the ages since the Great Catastrophe, the fortunes of the temple-cites have risen and fallen according to the unknowable will of the Old Ones. Some cities have been inexplicably abandoned, their populations marching in long columns to rebuild an ancient ruin many miles distant. Sometimes a Slann Mage-Priest will set out to refound some other location — temporarily re-establishing a dwelling amidst the overgrown ruins so that he can meditate in peace upon deep matters that require thoughts from that particular alignment.
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)