Ilethia - the land where the game takes place - has four gods. The Phoenix is Ilethia’s goddess of wisdom and the patron deity of scholars, natural philosophers, and public officials. In light of this - and the fact that her temple is located on a plain, where the most available construction materials would be mud and clay (and bricks, being sun-baked or oven-fired, would be thematic for a creature of fire like a phoenix) - I decided to draw inspiration from the architecture style of the University of Sankore and contemporary architecture of the region such as the Great Mosque of Djenne.

The large brazier at the top is related to a puzzle that the player must solve to open the Phoenix Temple’s entrance.