#double-ancient

[onbulos]

The lukewarm wind of midday entered through the stone windows of the exhibit hall, her soft breath filling the wall-pipes and seeping through their holes. The pipes were a small detail developed by a group of wise Spilusips aiming to suppress the agitating energy of the artifacts contained in the exhibit.  They produced a sweet but faint song. It was far too quiet for anyone without excellent hearing or a strong connection to the winds to sense, but the power stored in the songs of the wind was able to calm all, even those who could not hear.

The song was accompanied by the rhythm of distant waves crashing upon the rocky shores of the island of Ur Bloz’ir. Because the tide was low and leisurely and the air was lukewarm and at the relaxed whims of midday, the doors of the exhibit were open to the public. When the all-center retreats at the end of the day and its protective glow is absent and the attitude of the air is left to the capricious nighttime winds and to the shine of the migrating moons and to the rowdy high waters of the night, the sets of large stone doors to the gallery are shut and locked and only the most trusted scholars of the Double-Ancient are allowed entry and for them doors are barely a boundary.

The rays of the suns shone through a window upon the warm beaver brown of Chiir Taijal who kneeled alone in the Chamber of Spectacle. This made his golden irises glimmer of youth, hope, and trust in the dark and empty sea of his sclera. He was looking upon a shard of the dead god of the Derelict people. He felt the humbling dread that those who gaze upon the corpse-part at this time of day are often filled with. He took the stone of his necklace in his left hand and ran his fingers along its contours absentmindedly. It was warm to the touch. This habit developed almost immediately after he left his home.

Lost in reminiscence, Chiir did not sense the approach of Pendzi. She was, at the time, a student of the scholarly institution that hosted the exhibit. She had smelled the gold and silver of his many rings and piercings and in turn moved between him and the window. The glimmer fled from his eyes and into the many symbols carved into her orange shell, her name shining brightest of them all. He looked up at her.

The attitude of the air around them changed. Midday’s wind cowered in fear and her gentle song left the pipes that hung on the walls silent and solitary. Pendzi’s blue stalks stilled and her floating faltered and the air around and within her cooled and ceased to flow throughout her pipes. Chiir’s pupils diminished. He lost his grasp on the pendant and it fell to hang around his neck.

The pull of Fate is most often experienced subtly. However, under rare circumstances such as these, its presence in the air is so unbearably thick and dominating that even senseless people like Chiir have no need for oracles.

The two strangers felt a deep and meaningful bond form between them. In that moment they were each certain that their continued interaction would result in one of their deaths. Neither was afraid, each certain that it would be the other who would die, not them. Assured in their safety, they felt curious and excited for what the future had in store for them and worried for what it held for their newfound companion.

Then, suddenly, Fate was satisfied with itself and decided to leave the room just as quickly as it had arrived. Slowly, the midday wind crept in from her hiding place. Feeling battered and defeated, tentatively she crawled through the wall-pipes once again.

[onbulos]

Double Ancient Civilization

The various peoples of Onbulos have uncovered traces of a fallen civilization seeming to span much of the globe. This newfound civilization appears to have been much more magically powerful than any other group seen thus far. They also appear to have had more advanced mastery of metalworking techniques as many of their artifacts feature intricate metal structures beyond the capability of the primarily stone age peoples of Onbulos.

The rare structures of this civilization feature intense and vivid detail and tend to be monolithic. Their style is unlike anything else on the planet with a nearly awkward mix of bizarre organic almost organ like shapes and powerfully perfect geometries. Their favored medium seems to be of the strongest stone materials, though it is possible that these were the only structures to survive since their fall and may have produced an unimaginably large number of architectural wonders that did not survive the trials and tribulations of time’s forward journey. It is not know how they fare against time’s journey back. The few structures made out of weaker materials that have been recovered were victims of severe environmental damage, indicating the inconceivably old age of this fallen civilization.

Due to the age of this civilization it is often referred to as the “Double-Ancient Civilization.” Its age has also led most to conclude that it is impossible for it to have been inhabited by any of the intelligent races who currently exist, as all are believed to arrived relatively recently in the history of Onbulos with nothing to indicate otherwise.

Despite the overwhelming lack of knowledge and understanding of the origins and endings of those that are Double-Ancient, their decoded word is trusted by a majority of scholars. Much of the Onbulos Council of Historical Thought’s information on cosmic and planetary prehistory comes from Double-Ancient artifacts and writings.

The civilization’s writings themselves have never been deciphered and do not seem to follow a consistent system of symbols or grammatical rules and have been described as simultaneously impossibly simple and impossibly complex. Rather than being understood through reading, scholar-wizards meditate at Double-Ancient sites and learn from the lingering residue from spells cast by enchantresses long dead. The exact mechanism of these rituals is strongly guarded, leading to some controversy and skepticism. The scholar-wizards of Double-Ancient studies assure the public that this knowledge must be kept in secrecy and their methods not be repeated, their faces gravely disturbed. All that is publically known is that the meditation requires the channeling of a higher power and that it should not be attempted alone and unsupervised.

Reports from those that have experienced the towering structures of Double-Ancient origin firsthand describe them as oppressive and terrifyingly humbling, inspiring deep feelings of unease and insignificance. Seeing them invariably leaves a permanent effect on the minds of visitors. Encounters with Double-Ancient artifacts are described similarly. Coming within proximity of an artifact causes a noticeable shift in the emotion of the air as it becomes thick and intoxicating. Rather than humility, the powerful objects usually inspire intense desire or panic.   

There has been no greater or more well known demonstration of the magical power contained within these artifacts than the Lunar Undoing of Derelict myth and history. In an act of rebellion against their godlike creator, a group of Derelict and Thup-Thups used a divine artifact to split its shell. The gash cut deep and the lifeblood of the former Once-Moon spilled into the now glowing waters. Rays of light erupted as all witnesses were blinded for several days and the undoers transcended into martyrdom, their bodies vaporized instantly.   

Because of the innate danger with these arcane objects they are often locked away and heavily guarded, most commonly in the tall buildings of wizard-scholars. A small number of weak or powerless artifacts may be seen on display in museums behind thick glass walls. The aforementioned divine artifact of Derelict legend is contained behind many thick stone walls with enchanted bricks, save for a small fragment used in their annual celebrations. This fragment alone, no larger than a small pebble, contains within it enough power to damage the pulsating corpse of the Once-Moon and release weakly blinding rays of ancient energy.

The civilizations culture remains ambiguous and poorly understood. Wizard-scholars are in general agreement that they must have put great importance in the construction of monolithic structures and complex magic, though some on the fringe of convention have suggested this may not have been their society as a whole but a select grouping of individuals. Communion with the ghastly imprints of Double-Ancient enchantresses does not suggest a preference for either interpretation. Nothing about the roles of gender in their society is known save for the adamant assertion of wizard-scholars that the magic came from enchantresses in specific. Studies of their architecture suggest complex understanding of anatomy, though the organ-like structures do not seem consistent in their source material. Their assumed system of writing offers no insight into their way of life or belief as it behaves stubbornly undecipherable.

All research on the Double-Ancient civilization and their artifacts is stored at the prestigious Onbulos Council of Double-Ancient Research building, an intimidating grouping of towers on an island off the coast of the Twin Gulfs of the Angry Moons peninsula. The council shares the island with the sacred Vault of History where a good number of writers, historians, and political figures are interred. Copies of the council’s documents are scattered around the world’s libraries.  

Living Document