Context for this http://www.furaffinity.net/view/34523948/

Even before archeologists could decipher the old Semantian scriptures, Uberians and every other people who came across the city knew to avoid it.
Its aspect alone was said to convey how evil it was, because Ancernan was entirely built out of dried-blood colored stone. Later religions would make up tales in which a once great civilization was brought to its kness by madness induced by god(s) and destroyed in a horrific way. Generations of historians were content with blaming Uberians for this destruction. But as studies later showed, reality was closer to the myths.

From Ancernan, a monotheistic/spiritual cult, Gnomism, was spreading all over the world. Centuries before Zeetia would start rising, the Gnomist empire was at its peak, leading to the prominence of the early Semantian empire.

As centuries passed, Ancernan becoming more and more isolated and the rise of Tumeuria and Uberian incursions provoked the downfall of the empire, Gnomism degenerated into a death cult.

They had come to the conclusion that death was the only meaning of life, feared their death divinity like others feared various gods, and mocked other religious groups for believing in an afterlife. They made some very weird artistic choices from there : all their statues were carved to represent skeletons ; the ones that couldn’t endure such a treatment were destroyed and replaced by brand new skeleton statues. As time went, their style went more and more barbarous-looking.

The ruling elites multiplied the grandiose death temples and palaces and builders started dying at increasing rates, killing themselves at the task. They celebrated each death with luxurious feasts. Animals were brought alive to the table, and their agony was the guarantee of how good and delicious they were.

They worshipped their dead for attaining to that level of holiness. There were freakishly few murders motivated by hatred while those motivated by love were increasing.

For about a century, the population declined ; people died smiling, masses exhausted themselves to death to build palaces, and public suicides were common occurrence. Finally the life in the city had become so unhealthy, diseases started killing entire families. People would let themselves die on the streets.

Anthropologists are perplexed at how it could sustain itself for so long.