"The gods made a pact on the highest mountain of the land, that is why we create mounds, to copy this mountain"

The sun glistened off the water at the end of a long day of work. Khatàng stood at the top of the sun mound looking across the plaza into the ocean. To the south, the barbarian's lands could be seen over the great river. Placed at the mouth of the river his work was his prize possession, the first thing someone would see as they come north into Kegà, and the last thing people see as the sail down the Hìt before they enter the open water. Today was a busy day, as it was the first day of Atòr's sun, and many other rituals were taking place.

Celebrations of the new sun are a whole day event. As the towns surrounding Khasapa collected under the great mound's shadow, Khatàng and his fellow priests were rushing to finish the last minute requirements for today's events. Some were preparing food, some were getting the offerings ready, the head priest, Nõmor, and his closest servants were preparing to meet the War-chiefs of the towns. But Khatàng and his friends were running extra firewood up to the top of the sun mound for the bonfire there later.

"Why do we have to carry so much wood? Can't they get the younger acolytes to do it?" Beher, Khatàng's friend complained. "We should be doing better things!" Beher picks up another log "We could be setting up the offerings or something!"

"We can't set up the offerings," Khatàng snaps back, stressing the first word "not after you refused to listen to directions yesterday. You know these last days are some of the busiest days of the year, and you still argued with Mr. Nõmor about how the midday rituals should be done."

"Look, he was doing 'em wrong!"

"I don't care if Mr was doing them wrong, it's our job to follow him."

After grabbing their last armful of logs, the two young acolytes followed the head priest out of the monastery, down the wooden steps, and across the low bridges that crisscross the rice fields to the mound. Nõmor was dressed in his most excellent cotton clothes, a pure white tunic with blue edges, a white turban, and a necklace with a wooden six pointed star to represent the six gods.

Once arriving at the plaza under the sun mound, Nõmor and his priests stopped to meet the five war-chiefs that worship under his guidance. Each of them and their two or three followers kneel in front of their priests. The first one from the left is the first to speak. "Thank you for hosting my tribe on this gracious day oh great priest. To show our gratitude we bring a gift of cloth, our finest cloth crafted from the best materials our humble village has." Still kneeling, still looking at the head-priests bare feet the entire time. "Take this gift as a sign of our gratitude."

"Thank you, thank you all." The head priest says. "You may all rise, my companions here will take your gifts on behalf of the Khasapa monastery.

The two young acolytes stopped staring and started to walk towards the solitary mound. After all the preparations were made, the ritual could begin when the sun was at it's highest point in the sky. Offerings of grains and effigies were brought up to the stone altar at the top of the mound. Once there, the stacked wood around the altar is lit, and a great bonfire is created to lift the offerings up to the sun. As the bonfire burns itself out, a great feast is held until everyone must return back to their villages.

As Khatàng sat on the top of the mound, now the head priest of Khasapa. He remembered that day all those years ago. The bonfire behind him was almost dead, but the party was continuing below him. Beher was right at the end, the old priests didn't know what they were talking about, he's seen the light. Atòr himself has talked to him and told him to expand the monastery. Six new mounds were constructed, one for each god. To keep up with this new demand, more acolytes were brought on from the tributary towns. Another monastery house was built near the first one to house all the new acolytes, but another thing happened to the surprise of Khatàng, now with almost daily rituals to different gods on top of the noonday ritual, Khasapa became a valuable place to live. The priests could talk to the gods and pray to them for assistance with any problem people living nearby needed, so people from the surrounding area moved to live at the mound complex.

Khatàng was happy with what he accomplished, the once singular mound was now a sprawling village, with him in charge.