The Ruined Ziggurat of Coatlicue stands as a towering monument of ancient stone, crumbling yet imposing, deep within the jungles of Moog. Its once-majestic structure, overgrown with twisted vines and moss, hints at the dark reverence it once commanded during the time of the Olmoy. Built to honor Coatlicue, the former consort of Yig and the patron of women who died in childbirth, the ziggurat's steps are worn smooth by the countless feet of grieving husbands who once made the perilous pilgrimage to inter their lost wives.
At the top of the ziggurat, Coatlicue's statue remains intact, an awe-inspiring and terrifying figure. The statue depicts her as a gigantic reptilian humanoid, with two fanged serpents facing each other in place of a head. These snakes eternally hiss at one another, symbolizing the duality of life and death. Her skirt is composed of interwoven serpents, representing fertility and the earth’s capacity to both give life and consume it. Her flabby breasts, worn down by centuries of weathering, once nourished the souls of the dead. Around her neck hangs a grisly necklace of carved hands, hearts, and a skull, symbolizing her hunger for corpses and her dominion over death.
The climb up the ziggurat is a test of worthiness, much like it was in the ancient days. Husbands carried their wives' bodies alone to the top, with no help allowed, to prove their devotion. Though the practice has long since ended, the spirits of those who failed the test are said to haunt the ziggurat, their whispers carried on the wind that sweeps through the jungle canopy.
The Ziggurat of Coatlicue is now a place of foreboding, its former rituals forgotten by most, save for those who still whisper of the goddess who nourished the dead and demanded sacrifice. Adventurers who dare to explore its ruins might find themselves facing not only the spirits of the failed but the hungry presence of Coatlicue herself, as the earth beneath the ziggurat still feeds on the fallen.
