Pyramid of the Moon
The Pyramid of the Moon is the second-largest temple in Teotihuacan, an Aztec pyramid of tiered plateaus rising from the northern portion of the ancient city. Its steep slopes are difficult to climb but offer excellent positions for archers and snipers, making it the most defensible structure in the complex. During large attacks by the infected, the feeble are evacuated from other temples and brought here if a safe path can be made. Shamblers struggle to make it up the massive front slope from the Avenue of the Dead.
The pyramid holds five layers above ground and five below. The ground floor houses a refrigeration system that makes the Moon tribe responsible for food storage across Teotihuacan: meat from the Jaguar hunts and crops from the Sun tribe's farms are kept in these cold rooms. A symmetrical depiction of the moon in its various phases is carved into the floor and ceiling, with the full moon at center. The lowest levels contain crypts where former tribesmen who reached final death after the Infection are stored. Other tribes question the practice, but the Moon tribe considers honoring the dead a tradition that cannot be compromised.
Monthly full-moon rituals are held at the altar on the peak, attended by all local tribe members. The Moon Sage invites introspection about the past month, followed by hours of silence. The ceremony closes with a hymn and a time of forgiveness; whatever goes unforgiven is understood to be truly severe. The tribesmen sleep on slabs of stone with few amenities, believing that wisdom means living below one's means in preparation for the worst. The Pyramid of the Moon is a place of cold stone, cold stores, and cold contemplation, and it is the last place standing when everything else falls.
The pyramid holds five layers above ground and five below. The ground floor houses a refrigeration system that makes the Moon tribe responsible for food storage across Teotihuacan: meat from the Jaguar hunts and crops from the Sun tribe's farms are kept in these cold rooms. A symmetrical depiction of the moon in its various phases is carved into the floor and ceiling, with the full moon at center. The lowest levels contain crypts where former tribesmen who reached final death after the Infection are stored. Other tribes question the practice, but the Moon tribe considers honoring the dead a tradition that cannot be compromised.
Monthly full-moon rituals are held at the altar on the peak, attended by all local tribe members. The Moon Sage invites introspection about the past month, followed by hours of silence. The ceremony closes with a hymn and a time of forgiveness; whatever goes unforgiven is understood to be truly severe. The tribesmen sleep on slabs of stone with few amenities, believing that wisdom means living below one's means in preparation for the worst. The Pyramid of the Moon is a place of cold stone, cold stores, and cold contemplation, and it is the last place standing when everything else falls.
