Esagila of Raynor
The Esagila of Raynor is a remarkably oversized, and assuredly not ominous, stepped Pyramid in the heart of the Ancient City of Shirekeep. It was build in the 15th century by the Adepti of the Church of the Machine God, the Cult of Mors and other sects too reclusive and dubious to identify with any reasonable level of precision. For years it had been the main hub for these sects that mostly operated outside mainstream Cedrism.
By the Kalirion Fracture, the Esagila has become a point of gathering for criminal gangs and secret societies that used the building to plot their devious and rebellious acts. As a religious site, various liberties had been granted to each of the sects housed within, granting them the power to police their own allotted portion of the pyramid and preventing the City Guard from attaining full control. Under Prefect Titus Morvayne, the entire ward would be abandoned by the City Guard, under the mistaken notion that "Religious liberty is a central right in the city of Shirekeep, and we are not going to bother peaceful worshippers, unless they belong to any foreign sect." Rumours persisted during this period, that this was merely cover for the Morvayne-aligned Brotherhood of the Shadow-Sun to initiate a hostile takeover of organized crime in and around the Esagila. As part of Titus's downfall in 1672 AN, the Palatini Corps stormed the Esagila, killing those who resisted and imprisoning those who surrendered -- by this point, more than a year into the Kalirion Fracture, all legitimate functions had long since abandoned the structure.
The Esagila remained in a partially-ruined state until 1685 AN, when Kaiseress Salome ordered its rehabilitation. The Palatini Corps established a permanent barracks in the understructure and regular patrols throughout the structure and the surrounding area. The pyramid's interior was gutted and converted into a convention center and multi-purpose indoor arena. To preserve its historic usage, minor cults were invited to rent subsidiary spaces within the pyramid, now without the right to self-police. The first major event to be held at the Esagila was Microvision Song Contest 2020 in 1690 AN.
