Glacial Temple

The Glacial Temple is an ancient structure located in the eastern part of the South Pole region. It mainly consists of a series of increasingly large chambers carved into a mountain as well as a number of smaller tunnels and rooms. The temple contains numerous statues and monoliths covered in symbols and a unique script. Furthermore, smaller stone structures can be found in front of the Glacial Temple, though these are much more ruined and deteriorated. The entire complex was seemingly built by an ancient South Pole civilization.
In the late Hundred Year War, the Glacial Temple was explored by pirates, the Fire Nation military, and Wen the archaeologist.
== History ==
The builders and purpose of the Glacial Temple were unknown by the era of Avatar Aang, though Wen believed that the structure preceded the foundation of the Southern Water Tribe. Accordingly, the temple was seemingly created by an even older civilization.
In the era of Avatar Kyoshi, Fifth Nation pirate Taliriktug discovered the Glacial Temple as well as the fact that it still contained substantial treasures. However, he could not recover the goods due to being recalled to assist his commander Tagaka. As the Fifth Nation was subsequently shattered in a major battle, Taliriktug never had the chance to loot the temple, but he wrote down its location in a journal.
By 99 AG, two different individuals became interested in Taliriktug's old accounts: Kiwaq, a pirate captain with alleged links to the Fifth Nation, and Mamushi, a Fire Navy officer who craved power. Kiwaq's crew arrived first at the temple, but the group could not figure out a way to access the temple's inner sections which contained the treasures. In contrast, Mamushi recovered Taliriktug's journal before travelling to the South Pole; in the process, her subordinate Gyaku also captured the archaeologist Wen. Upon arriving at the Glacial Temple, the Fire Nation troops fought Kiwaq's pirates in a series of battles, while Wen managed to figure out the ancient mechanisms to unlock the temple's innermost sanctuary. Even as the pirates continued their attacks, Mamushi escaped with a single item from the sanctuary before leaving her soldiers to die. Against the odds, the troops under Gyaku fended off Kiwaq's crew.
Afterward, the betrayed troops and Wen banded together to learn more about the Glacial Temple to discover what Mamushi had taken. As they did so, they attempted to decipher the ancient scripts at the temple, while continuing to protect the structure from pirate raids.
== Description ==
The Glacial Temple is a large structure, carved into a small mountain at the eastern coast of the South Pole region. It mainly consists of three large chambers of increasing size. Stone otter penguin statues can be found in all three chambers, with a giant statue located in the largest chamber. By the time of its exploration in 99 AG, the temple's first chamber was relatively empty; the second chamber hosted not just many statues but also four large monoliths covered in an ancient script; the third chamber contained several passageways, the locked door to the innermost sanctuary, and a massive otter penguin statue. In statues in the third chamber were also covered in symbols, some of which seemed to be linked to the elements. Furthermore, fragments of stone tablets with the ancient script were scattered across the temple.
Just outside the Glacial Temple were more stone structures, but these had suffered to a greater degree under the passage of time. Several stone blocks, an archway, and pavement were still existent.
== References ==
Category:A to Z
Category:Locations
Category:Water Tribes