Temple of the Twelve

Age of the Primal Champions

Originally built c. 2000PA by the great architects of the yuankenu, during the Age of the Primal Champions as a temple to the god, Isxiltahar, the step pyramid was surrounded by a lush green valleys and waterfalls.  The streets of the surrounding city were built with granite that came from the early mines that would become the kingdom of Ghimlinor and transported by powerful mages to the northern Sycharia location. 

During the Xitalian Empire, the temple was repurposed as a a major hub for the military to strike at the elven and human locations to the south, and the large, deep Verdani River connecting the location to the Eastern Ocean provided a perfect port to launch their massive dreadnaught ships.  The Xitalians built a mighty pyramid over the inner temple to the Primal Gods. However, this also provided a key vulnerability to the Empire, as the Khaori Alliance were able to blockade the river mouth and eventually take the location as a stronghold during the Xitalian Wars. 

There is an ancient story of three Xitalian generals who through their own arrogance and greed for power, abandoned their duties to make war with one another. The legend tells of the punishment given to them by the trio of demon lord of Xital.  They were cursed to guard the temple until the return of the empire. An ancient poem found in the ruins of a Xitalian outpost near Vampyr's Abyss seems to refer to this legend: Shatyl, whose sweetness hid her lies, a queen denied, a queen to serve in death. Ravnish, who so feared death, dies eternally in the cold of winter. Ahn'kath, whose mind so great, remembers nothing of his fate. The empire betrayed Usukun made them serve the shame they sought to rule. So shall they until the empire reborn. 

The Age of Empires

After the fall of the Xitalian Empire, the Khaori elves dedicated the rededicated temple to the 12 primal champions who led the fight against the rising yuan-ti forces.  Sealing the pyramid as a monument to the end of the Xitalian Empire, a resort soon grew around the mystical waters around the location.  These same champions eventually used the Stave of Ischarlin to ascend into the Fourth Dream and become gods. 

The inner temple is a complex maze of catacombs where powerful leaders of the Khaori empire were buried.  Most were destroyed and buried during the cataclysm. Legend has it that the inner chamber contains 4 powerful obelisks that once provided an arcane nexus for the Khaori teleportation system, the key that let the Khaori Empire stay in power for a millennium. 

Modern Era

Lord Vital McGillam of Tidestone led his fourth expedition to find the Temple of the Twelve. However, word of the success or failure of the expedition in 2017 never made it back to Sanctum Exin.  Rumors of an infestation of yuan-ti at the site have dissuaded treasure seekers from attempting to find the remote and treacherous location.  Moreover, rumors of a large lizard or dragon like creature in the area persist among the Borunai.