Ytzklatolix

Three great domes, each large enough to house thousands, stood connected as one. As I approached they towered proudly above me as if to say "Remember how small you are." And I did, feeling truly blessed to stand beneath them.

— Ytzklatich

The Ytzklatolix is the grand temple of Ytzklapon, resting upon the head of the great lizard Ytzkla. In here, their leader, the Ytzklatich resides.

Larger Than All

The entirety of the structure is not built, in fact— the Ytzklatolix was carved entirely from a massive spine which protrudes from the top of Ytzkla's head. Following the arc of this, are three great domed towers. The first and last are thinner, and at the same height as one another, with the central being both wider and taller. All three of these smoothly and seamlessly transition from dome to wall.
The exterior walls of the entire structure have been painstakingly carved to have the texture of woven cloth, symbolizing how every follower of the faith is connected by threads of blood. A stairway as wide as the temple's front leads to the grand entrance, with a smoothed section in its center for ease of transporting goods.
The grand entrance stands as tall as fifty men, and as wide as twenty. The walls of the entrance smoothly curve inwards, continuing for a dozen yards before becoming a straight, grand, hall. At the end of the farthest tower, overlooking Ytzkla's head, is a grand exit— twenty men tall, and fifty wide— which leads to a staircase that smoothly declines onto Ytzkla's head.

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The interior is lit not by windows— for there are none— but by the glow of the spine itself. A lurid orange light fills the entirety of the temple from every direction— eliminating shadows, giving the impression of an ethereal plane within.
A grand hall fills the lowest floors of the front and the entirety of the central tower, connecting to the straight path from the entry and carved into two great circular forms. It is here where crowds may gather for occasions such as the Ytzklatich coronation, mass prayers, seeing off the dead, and other rituals. The floor here is smooth, except for the incense drums which have been carved over it in a sparse grid.
The front tower contains two wide curving staircases on either side which bring one downwards, meeting at the center, leading to a lower floor where bodies of the dead from throughout the nation are collected. A number of rooms carved into the sides of this allow for the bodies to be prepared for prayer and ritual before being brought to the grand hall. The mid and upper floors of this first tower house the various yiltz who live within the temple.
The final tower contains four spaces, some may argue that it is the singular most important of all three.

The first, connecting to the grand hall, allows access to the exit— and Ytzkla's head. Incense barrels line the walls, while a series of twenty sacrificial altars lie at the center in a ring, with grooves carved into the floor beside them which carry blood out the sides of the exit and into Ytzkla's waiting maw.
The second space, a floor above this, contains a great library of religiously significant objects. Skulls of past Ytzklatich line the walls, threads from fallen heroes and martyrs, and great artistic works fill the great series of shelves and tables which fill the floor.

The third is a ceremonial space for private rituals involving the four Tichyiltz, yiltz, and the Ytzklatich themselves. Here, the Tichyiltz are ordained. And the final, fourth space, within the top of the tower, is where the Ytzklatich resides.
Only three living beings have witnessed this floor, those being the Ytzklatich, and their two servant yiltz. Beyond these three, any who witness this space are killed. This is a holy space, not to be desecrated by unworthy eyes. It is here where the Ytzklatich has teeth embedded into their shoulders, and where they can commune with and receive word from Ytzkla.

Final Rests

The dead of Ytzklapon are routinely collected within the smaller tolix and then brought to the Ytzklatolix for their proper sendoff. These dead are prayed to, adorned with sticks of incense, and fed to Ytzkla— returning to where they believe they had originated.
The altars towards the exit are used to drain a number of these bodies of blood in order to signal to Ytzkla that their time has come. It is considered an honor to be one of these drained souls, and often distinguished soldiers and priests will be the first chosen among these. Some, succumbing to sickness or age, will even volunteer themselves while alive— as they know that fresh blood tastes the sweetest to Ytzkla.

Yiht-z-klah-tool-ish

Type

Cathedral / Great temple

Parent Location

The City of Ytzklapon

Owner

Ytzkla

Owning Organization

Ytzklapon

A Guarded Exit

While the rest of the temple is guarded by an elite unit of Ytzklaxoli known as the the Tolixoli, the exit is especially heavily guarded.
Those who attempt to sneak through— regardless of whether they seek to commune with Ytzkla or harm them— are killed on the spot, often being bound in rope and rolled off the edge of Ytzkla's head, screaming until they hit the ground.

A Grave Mistake

While excavating a lower floor of the third tower, a terrible mistake had been made.

"Nual, this white spine is getting extraordinarily tough to carve."
"White spine? Everything's shaking...Xoco— what have you done?!"

— Deceased workers

They had dug into Ytzkla's skull.
Those working on this floor were boiled alive as Ytzkla heated the spine, and the entrance was sealed by the Ytzklatich— who killed the yiltz who had helped them do so.
None must know.

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