The Temple-City of Kazaf

This is another guidebook-style piece, an introduction to a new setting I am working on called the Land of Nodd. In it, a runaway priest tells his audience what the city of Kazaf is like.

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So you want to go to Kazaf? I can tell you of it. If you have a little bread to spare, a little wine, I will tell you everything. Be not afraid. Let us sit down. I was a priest of Namrasset, the titan of Kazaf. Many things I can tell you.

The temple-city of Kazaf sits in a shallow valley, cut to the west of the temple itself by a river which was the child of one of the great rivers. Across that river lies a forest, a thickening of the trees, where frolick the re’em and the oreodonts. To the south and east of the temple, at some distance, is a sharp rising of mountains where people have seen rukhs and sphinxes and even tyrants. The settled land between rises and falls, but is largely able to be tamed, and much of it is indeed farmed.

All things in the city are done at the pleasure of Namrasset who claims the whole region between the forest and the mountains; these places and the river he also claims, so that they are called Namrasset’s forest and so on. He rules drenched in blood and wreaks his power over his land as a god. Few people see Namrasset, however; only the high priests are permitted into the gigantean quarters, and I was not of their number.

The titan is not the only giant living in Kazaf. His consort is Bannagi, who is the only female giant in the city. She has borne three sons, called Ushurra, Battor, and Shima, all of whom remain at Kazaf, hoping to inherit their father’s powers. Also there is a brother of Namrasset who is called Ninabar; he was named guardian of the blood and granted the responsibility of tutoring the sons of Namrasset, but sworn to celibacy as a consequence. Some of the priests have spoken of other siblings, now dead, and even a daughter who may have been married away. Such talk, and especially any talk of the parentage of Namrasset and Ninabar, was strongly forbidden. I’ve perhaps done you a disservice by even speaking of these matters, but words spoken cannot be taken back. Keep the knowledge close and you will not lose by it.

The servants of Namrasset are those known as his priests; such a one was I. We served and worshipped Namrasset as the ultimate power, as the immortal master of his land, the one who guaranteed the lives of his subjects. All needs that the titan had, we delivered. All orders that the titan gave, we obeyed and brought to pass. Our priesthood therefore was not like the priests of the tribes, after which we have been called priests by analogy. Only a small number of our priests are engaged in the spiritual and mystical. The majority are devoted to the unspectacular duties involved in ensuring that the titan’s household supports him in the manner which he demands.

I will return to the subject of the priesthood. First, you should know how the temple and the city is situated, as this shapes the duties of the priesthood and how they are executed. The temple building, or the house of the titan, is the center of all Kazaf. It is said to be about twenty fields in size and it certainly felt that large whenever I approached it or entered its outer chambers. It was built so that the giants could walk easily throughout, which meant its gates and its corridors are vast in comparison to we priests. Though to suggest that the giants would have worked themselves is also a blasphemy, it is difficult to know how the house would have been built without their work.

There are two spaces of supreme importance within the temple, and they are connected by a long corridor called the Temple Boulevard. On one side, somewhat near the geometric center of the temple, is the titan’s hall: this is an enormous chamber fit for the titan and any giants to relax in company. The Temple Boulevard is a straight line from the hall to the theater of blood, a chamber roughly eight fields in size which cuts out of the side of the temple, allowing the titan to stand underneath the roof for protection from the elements while he watches the sacrifices being made to him, and which also allows the people of the city to observe this religious cruelty.

Also within the temple are the titan’s quarters and the quarters of the other giants. These are served by an endless array of priest-servants. The rest of the temple is devoted to the support for these places: storage for ritual materials, kitchens for the final preparation of food, cleaning blood and rubbish from the theater, organizing and practicing ceremonies, and so on.

Just outside of the temple, surrounding it on all sides, is a somewhat cramped ring of shops and hostels which is called “priests’ town” or “the circle of circles”. The majority of priests live and work in such conditions. Circles are groups of priests organized based on a shared profession, such as the Circle of Metalworkers or the Circle of Clothiers. These techniques are important for the continuation of Namrasset’s power, even though they have little formal authority. They help to organize work and share talent, giving the temple access to the strongest techniques and the best return on any investment.

The priests’ town is full of shops, storehouses, and other facilities which are operated by the circles, as well as living places for them. A set of high stone walls surrounds the temple and separates its grounds from the priests’ town. A few buildings and even shops are owned by lay folk. These are largely extensions of homesteads, providing a way for lay folk to trade directly with the circles. One of the largest structures in the priests’ town is the Great Furnace, where the priests of the Circle of Charriers render the bodies and bones of the surrendered into ash so that their spirits cannot raise them again.

Beyond the priests’ town is the region known as the country, the open land. One could travel through Namrasset’s country and only need to hide a small amount in order to avoid being seen. Though it is not nearly as densely built as the priests’ town and the temple, the country is still inhabited. Most of those who live in the country are bound to a great house, and more particularly to the despot who owned the house. These despots are the ritual children of the titan, a status granted through gaining the favor of the priests. This gives them the right to be called “chief” as well as authority over others, but it also demands that they be obedient to the titan, and therefore to the priesthood which is specifically set over them.

The great house dominates an estate and the despot dominates a clan. All things upon the estate are thought of as the will of the despot or the consequence of that will. Those who reside upon the estate must have the permission of the despot. Aside from the despot, there are three groups which live on every estate. First there is the family, which are the close relations of the despot and who are typically not considered slaves. Next are the household slaves, who work in and around the great house itself. Finally there are the estate slaves, who live in huts or other living spaces away from the great house. All are within the despot’s ability to command and punish.

The products of despotic great houses are largely their own to keep, and therefore prosperous despots are wealthy enough to be as resplendent as priests. Once each year, however, on the holy day of the name of Namrasset, the despot is expected to deliver a gratitude to the titan. This gratitude is to be of the value of one man for the despot himself, half that for each other man in the family, one third of a man’s price for each woman, one fourth for each child, and one man’s price for every twenty slaves. This can be paid in many ways, but it must be paid exactly and not exceeded or lessered. It is the way that the gratitude is paid that reflects upon the despot: offering human victims for sacrifice is the most prestigious, followed by offering animal victims, then crops, then finished goods, then non-finished goods.

The gratitude itself is light, but in reality, a despot can be forced to give up all of their possessions and turn over everyone in their authority if the priesthood or the giants wished it. This is done by verdicts handed down by high priests or by the giants. It is rare but it is one of the most ultimate punishments available against the lay people. Or, if I can tell you a secret truth, it is said to be the ultimate punishment, but it is rarely used to punish real misdeeds against the priests or the titan. Rather, priests use their authority to target despots at their own will, appropriating what they please. Despite their seeming power, every despot lives in fear of upsetting or catching the eye of some priest, as that could spell disaster for them.

Throughout the country are also eleven giants’ lodges, which are built to house the giants if they should wish to venture out into the country. This does not happen often at all, with each giant perhaps leaving the temple once every ten years and then for only a few months at a time. The ones who live in these lodges year-round are the master of the lodge and their serving staff. The lodge-masters act as overlords for despots in their general area, settling disputes that arise and extracting resources as desired. Similarly to the priests’ town around the temple, most lodges have small towns around them as well, partly to benefit from the protection of the lodge and partly to profit by serving them. Each lodge also operates a furnace, for the same reason as the Great Furnace: to reduce troublesome corpses to ash.

Another site of importance is the necropolis, which is some miles to the north of the temple itself. This is where the corpses of giants and high priests are laid. To ensure that the dead here do not pose a threat, the magic wards surrounding this place are much more sophisticated and complete than those typically blessed upon a burial ground. The necropolis is overseen by the Circle of Undertakers and the sacristan, a priest appointed by the titan as the authority over matters of death and undeath. The dead do walk within the necropolis, some with their bodies and some simply as apparitions, but there is no need to destroy them outright; the wards mean that they remain harmless.

All these places are run by priests and slaves in their different numbers. All those within the titan’s rule who are not giants, ritual children, or servants of his household are a type of slave. Slaves which are owned by despots are called helots, and those who are owned by the priests (or the giants) are called menials. The treatment of helots varies widely, from effectively working until death up to the same kind of comforts shared by the despot’s kin. Menials of the priesthood rarely reach the same level of comfort as the most pampered of helots but they never reach the depths of abuse which helots are often subjected to.

Slaves, either menials or helots, may be given the freedom to be admitted into the priesthood. Most priests, however, are the children of priests; though technically slaves, they will never have been subjected to the same rigors of labor slaves, and are expected to quickly be admitted into these ranks. Both menials and priests advance by grades, each station requiring an initiation by an appropriate priest. Menials begin as peons, who are called “untrustworthy” slaves because they have not been tested; these are likely to be given the most thankless jobs. Above peons are henches, or “trustworthy” slaves, who are known to do what they are told. Henches are trusted enough to work alongside priests as messengers, porters, laborers, etc. Above henches are pages, who are trained in the general art of their purview. The final grade is factotum, which are slaves who have become recognizably expert at some skill.

Most menials who will be priests are identified at the stage of hench and selected at the grade of page; those who reach the grade of factotum have demonstrated needed skills and are expected to remain as such for life. Priests are initiated first as apprentices, and will often find themselves in one of the many circles or serving as a higher priest’s attendant. The next stage is to become a regular priest, which compels others to refer to the priest with the title “master”. These are trusted to handle typical tasks on their own initiative, and they are the majority of priestly workers both in the circles and in other areas of activity.

Perhaps the most pivotal priestly rank is that of the flamen. Priests who attain this rank are to be referred to as “lord”. Flamens have the authority to command nearly anything of those lesser than them, without any need for justification; though a flamen could be condemned for their actions, anyone who refused the flamen could likewise be condemned for that refusal alone. Flamens are permitted to have several servants assigned to them directly and they may make their own arrangements for living space.

There is a division among the flamens which is almost as significant as a new grade. Most flamens are considered of the broad sort, which means they are as I described. There is an important thing which such flamens are not allowed to do, however, and that is entering the high sacral spaces of the temple. To be permitted here, a flamen must be granted freedom of the temple; such flamens are known as free flamens. Only those who have been granted freedom of the temple may serve within these high sacral halls, which means that there are flamens who perform tasks which would otherwise be performed by menials. This only held firm within the presence of a giant, however, and these flamens allowed their own servants to perform the most arduous of those duties.

Higher than the flamens were the judges, all having the freedom of the temple, all working within the temple itself. While the most powerful of the flamens were the lodge-masters, the judges gathered together, for their strength and responsibility was the Court of the Red Hand, the sitting of all the judges to order the priesthood. Judges must be called “prince” and their word is to be treated as the word of the titan, unless spoken over by a higher authority. While there is no one leader of the Court aside from the titan, the officers of the temple are all judges, or are made judges when selected as officers.

Yes, I am a scorpite. That we can all see. The priests of Namrasset are like those of any titan. Of any three priests, two will be scorpites. Of those who are not scorpites, if there are five priests, four are humans, and the last is a canidian. Most of the scorpite priests come from priestly families, but most of the human priests are from despotic families, and most of the canidians are promising slaves. I have no strange powers. I was not among the wonderworkers, nor was I trained in weapons, even were I carrying any. I am a stranger in this land; you know it better than I.

What else can I tell you? There is one thing. You must beware of the time of sacrifice. Every seven days, the titan’s power is refreshed by the blood of the living. At this ceremony, the sanguinary priest, which is the one who has authority over the sacrifice, digs the heart out of each victim and presents it to the titan, who consumes it. The number slain for the benefit of the titan, under the spell of the priestly wonder-workers, depends on the omens cast, the needs of the titan, and the availability of victims. Blood must run to cover the altar in these ceremonies, and those who are sacrificed must howl openly, or the plight of their soul may not add to the authority of the titan.

Not only every seven days, but also each night when the moon is gone from the sky, there must be greater sacrifices. And each year, on the holy day of the name of Namrasset, there are sacrifices which may beggar belief. For the sacrifices of lunar grief are attended by hundreds, priests and peasants alike, and all the giants; and dozens are sacrificed on those days. But for the sacrifice of his name, the booths of the theater of blood are filled not by spectators but by victims, and the slaughter of these has no order known to the unlearned. It is the bloodshed of the birth of the world, it is a massacre like unto the world’s end. And the titan, Namrasset, exults in this blood, and his power waxes greater.

How this blood increases the power of Namrasset we know not. It is not the eating of the flesh, for the priests who have eaten the flesh gain nothing, nor the other giants. It is not the nearness of the blood, for the blood does not have to touch the titan, but only be given in his name. To sacrifice in the name of another giant achieves nothing, but to sacrifice in the name of the titan is to let him feed on the strength of lifesblood. And without it, Namrasset will wither, and he will no longer be able to shake the world as a titan should, and he will fall trembling to the earth and never rise again.

So if you will be near the city of Kazaf on the seventh day, or near to when the moon is gone from the night sky, make your arrangements carefully. If the dungeons of the lodges and the temple are full, you have nothing to fear; most victims are menials who have displeased their masters. However, should those dungeons be empty, the priests will have no mercy in scouring the estates for victims. If this happens, and the priests march forth with their cohorts and their clubs and nets, travelers with no protection are the first which will be delivered to the altar of death.

But it is not close to the flight of the moon, and so if you go near that place, you may be safe. You should wait until the morning to leave. To go out in the night will almost surely take you into the clutches of the priests. I am no longer one of them; if I am seen with you, it will be my ruin as much as yours. I believe we should rest, taking advantage of the fire you have set. I am no longer a priest, and I have told you all I know. I only want to rest my head for a few hours. Until the sun is up.