Across the deepest darkest jungles of India there lies a secret network of ancient temples.
In centuries past, these were the sites of horrific rituals, but today, they are merely
ruins, reminders of a dark power that is best forgotten.
Beneath the majesty of Pankot Palace however, this power still burned, kept alight by the
Cult of Thuggee.
A secret religious society centered in India, the Thuggee were united in their worship of
Kali, Goddess of Time, Change, Death, and the Eradicator of All Evils.
The Thuggee committed acts of terrorism and mass murder in her name while offering up
human sacrifices in their scattered temples.
Their ultimate goal was to rule the world through the power of Kali but their fanaticism
was considered atrocious and heretical by all outsiders.
The cult was believed to have originated within the Mohammaden tribes, before being cast out
for their violent nature.
Over the centuries they developed a reputation as assassins, preying on merchants in India,
Bengal, and parts of Tibet.
Any deemed unrepentant would be strangled and their valuables taken, while those recognized
as pilgrims would be protected.
With the arrival of the British and the development of railways across the subcontinent, the Thuggee
found it far more difficult to ambush lone travellers.
They adopted far more secretive measures, capturing victims outside of small towns and
villages before sacrificing them to Kali.
While their attacks were initially dismissed by the British as those of wild animals, the
eventual disappearance of British merchants and even army patrols forced them to take
notice.
Between 1820 and 1850, British armies aggressively swept through the heart of India.
The worship of Kali was outlawed, her temples destroyed, and captured Thuggee priests were
executed.
But in the reclusive and mysterious Pankot Province, the Thuggee endured.
Beneath its capital palace, a labyrinth of hidden caves and mining shafts had been converted
into a Temple of Kali, with a terrible shrine at its center.
Above the mouth of a churning volcano, Priests once more conducted human sacrifices and drew
their plans against the world.
They enslaved the children of local villages, forcing them to dig for the Sankara Stones,
all five of which were thought to contain the power of the gods themselves.
They entranced local officials, including the Maharaja, and used them to keep word of
their deeds a secret.
It was said that the only thing the Thuggee truly feared was the wrath of some other deity.
It was for this reason they had protected pilgrims, but by 1936 they had abandoned this
vow and sacrificed foreign priests and men of god alike.
If it was divine retribution for these acts that finally destroyed the Thuggee, it came
not in the form of golden rays from heaven, but in the actions of a single man.
Legendary archaeologist Indiana Jones had arrived in Pankot Palace to investigate the
plight of a nearby village and quickly uncovered the hidden temple beneath.
While briefly entranced by the power of the cult, with the help of his associate Short
Round, he was able to free the slaves of the Temple and confront the High priests of Kali.
With the timely arrival of the British Army, the Thuggee were eradicated and the British
kept a vigilant watch for their return.
With the fall of the Thuggee, the Sankara Stones were lost for good.
They exist now only as legends, counted among a sacred few other artifacts, whose power
and promise is best forgotten.
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