At 6pm, monks dressed as warriors blow on conch shells, then use torches lit with a sacred flame from a local shrine to start the proceedings.

A thunderstorm ensues, during which lightning reignites the sacred flame.

In direct response, the sacred flame explodes outward, and an earthquake begins to tear the city apart.

Each temple, of which there were many, had its own sacred flame and twenty-eight priestesses, so that seven would always be in attendance at any one time.