arofili:back to middle-earth month 2022 | shades of sauron | zigûr Then Ar-Pharazôn
arofili:back to middle-earth month 2022 | shades of sauron | zigûr Then Ar-Pharazôn the king turned back to the worship of the Dark, and of Arûn-Mulkhêr the Lord thereof; and the Minul-târik was utterly deserted in those days, and no man might ascend to the high place, not even those of the Faithful who kept Eru in their hearts. But Zigûr let build upon a hill in the midst of the city of the Eruhíni, Arminalêth the Golden, a mighty temple; and it was in the form of a circle at the base, and there the walls were fifty feet in thickness, and the width of their base was five hundred feet across the centre, and they rose from the ground five hundred feet, and they were crowned with a mighty dome; and it was wrought all of silver, but the silver was turned black. And from the topmost of the dome, where was an opening or great louver, there issued smoke; and ever the more often as the evil power of Zigûr grew. For there men would sacrifice to Mulkhêr with spilling of blood and torment and great wickedness, that he should release them from Death. And ofttimes it was those of the Faithful that were chosen as victims; but never openly on the charge that they would not worship Mulkhêr, rather was cause sought against them that they hated the king and were his rebels, or that they plotted against their kin, devising lies and poisons. And these charges were for the most part false, save that wickedness breeds wickedness, and oppression brings forth murder. —The History of Middle-earth: Sauron Defeated, “The Drowning of Anadûnê” -- source link