Akh Ijar

The River Listener cast the sacred words, and the ritual began. The Daughters danced and danced all over the ring, spreading the light dirt without any recognizable pattern, until the time was over. They then left the ring and stood around it, and the Listener pulled a lever; water began to flow from the very center of the circle, and went through the irregular terrain until finally reaching the borders.
The water flowed and flowed, until finally stopping. Some of the wooden blocks were totally lifted: the sun, the river and the tree. That would be a good year.

excerpt from Ancient Tales of an Ancient World

Purpose / Function

The Akh Ijar (temple of waters) was the main temple of Akhnat. Its main purpose was to worship the Akhnatar River, seek its wisdom and perform rituals to cure diseases.

Alterations

The stone records found by Sirius, the Silver, in the ruins of Iiokas, indicate that, at first, the temple was similar to the many temples we have today. However, with the passing of time, as Akhnatari technology reached higher levels, the temple was modified.
The first alteration was the water: as soon as the Akhnatari were able to build water channels, they transported water to the temple, making it flow in its chambers.
Later, water-based mechanisms were built with the purpose of predicting the future and seeking guidance.

Architecture

After the channels' advent, the temple was rebuilt with the stone from the nearby southern mountains. While the common houses were made of clay, the temple needed a more reliable material, since water would now flow inside it.
Tunnels of many different widths and length were built in the entrails of Akh Ijar, guiding the water through the many dependencies of the temple. Each of these places had a different purpose, being it religious or mundane.

Ordinary rooms

These were places such as the sorcerers' dorms, the kitchen, water tanks and storerooms, needed to keep the temple working. These rooms were located in the second floor of the building, since they didn't need flowing water to work.

The purification chambers

The Akhnatari society believed that the waters of the sacred river could purge bad spirits from a person's body and cure them from many different diseases. For that reason, some rooms of the Akh Aijat and other temples were dedicated to the purification of the body and the mind.
The purification rituals could occur in different manners: in some cases, the patient would take a bath with medicinal herbs; in other ones, they would be struck with strong current of water; there is even said that, for infertility treatment, some couples would have their relations inside these chambers.

The worship chambers

It was also important to keep the river satisfied trough worshiping and offerings. In these chambers, the stream of water would cross the room and reach the outside of the temple, reaching another channel. That channel would go back to the River, carrying the offerings of the sorcerers and also the peasants'.

The atrium

The atrium was the place where the future predictions would occur. That room had several different mechanisms that would be turned on and powered by water during rituals. The most important of these mechanisms was the water ring, that was used to foresee the future of the kingdom and of the royal family.
The ring is a circumference in the ground with a certain depth and width. This small trench is sectioned and in each of the 27 sections there is a block of wood with a symbol in it.
During the ritual, the middle of the ring was filled with a thick dirt, over which the Daughters danced. The movements of the dancers created a relief in the dirt, and then a stream of water started to flow from the center of the ring. After passing through the dirt, the water reached the trench and started to irregularly fill its sections and lift the wooden blocks. The many positions of the blocks after the end of the ritual were then interpreted, and the prediction was made.

The garden

The Akhnatar River represented the source of the fertility in the realm of Akhnat. the garden was a public way to expose this fertility with exuberance: many species of flowers, plants and trees were cultivated there, some of them from outside the realm. There were also many species of birds and other small animals. The maintenance of the place was responsability by the Daughters, who would also bath in the crystalline ponds of the garden.

History

The first mention to Akh Ijar is dated from approximately 92600 B.F., when the Akhnat Kingdom was founded and the capital was set to Iiokas. The Akhanatar River was already worshiped as a divinity by all the previously independent cities, and for that reason it was considered the real responsible for uniting them.
The building was similar to all the other ones in matter of materials: clay blocks. Curiously, for that reason, the temple was one of the most distant buildings from the sacred river in the capital, and little to no religious activity happened in it, happening in the margins of the Akhnat instead.
After the channels were implemented, around 92200 B.F., one of the first uses for them was to take water to the temple. That brought inevitable changes: there was a need for new materials, resistant to water, and thus the blocks from the southern mountains were cut and transported to the capital by boat.
But the Akhnatari now had much more knowledge, and the temple earned more than just new materials. Inspired by the river and decided to make the most beautiful house for its waters, they implemented many devices inside the temple with many different purposes, being them practical or religious. New chambers were built with baths of flowing water; fortune-telling mechanisms were used to predict the future of the kingdom; and gardens adorned the outside boundaries of the temple.
After that, the activity in Akh Ijat became intense and the temple was full of people everyday. The citizens used the place to get rid of diseases, try to cure infertility, worship the river and look for its wisdom. New religious roles were created, new chambers and devices were built, and the temple became one of the most important buildings in the capital and also in the kingdom.
All the evidences indicate that the temple was active until the Second Lilac Sky Day, when the waters of the Akhnatar suddenly dried and the kingdom collapsed.

RUINED STRUCTURE
Around 90000 B.F.

Alternative Names

House of the River

Type

Cathedral / Great temple

Owning Organization

Akhnat