Qora sits down next to him, hesitantly putting a comforting hand on his shoulderYsariel wrote: ↑Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:49 pm Qora
Shambhala - Underground
"Both. Follow me."
He leads you, if you follow, down the ancient hallway. The air is cold and dry; the stone floor under you smooth and spotless like polished marble. As the High Master walks, glowing crystals light up one by one on the walls, illuminating murals thousands of years ago. You see images of a mighty civilization, towering ziggurats and sprawling temples rising from tropical rainforest, ruled over by serpent-men...
"Once upon a time, saurian life reiged supreme upon this planet. The Lemurian Empire achieved unparalleled heights in culture, sorcery, science and philosophy. But the Empire grew decadent, content to stagnate in its mastery of the world."
Another image is illuminated. Strange stars appearing in the sky, evoking wonder and terror from the masses below. Alien vessels of physics-defying size hover above the clouds. The ovoid ships bring humanoid figures to the planet, shaped like Venus figurines of titanic size, miles tall. You cannot help but notice the similarity to the image that Gelert saw of Pandora in the memory contained in his ring...
"Were the gods displeased at our arrogance? Did they see fit to bestow upon us punishment? From outer space came the Preservers, deiform servitors of ancient star gods. They ignored our every prayer and supplication, and raised up humanity from the great apes. They gave unto humankind the fruit of life."
You walk into view of a third mural. Lemurians, directing humans in fields, reading to them from tomes, showing them geometric shapes: the Fruit of Knowledge...
"Despite the Preservers' favor, humans were feeble in body, mind and spirit, short-lived and stupid. We looked upon them with the compassion of superiors, and taught them all we knew."
You see two cities depicted on the fourth mural. One is the paradisal civilization in the lush rainforest, home to the serpent empire of Lemuria. Another rises from the middle of the ocean, jagged spires and battlements ready for war. Countless legions march forth from both to join an apocalyptic war...
"But for all the things humanity lacks, it wants not for greed, ambition and hatred. The hominid empire of Atlantis grew mighty on our knowledge. It craved more, and what we would not give, they would take by force. The war that followed ended that beautiful, glorious age forever."
The fifth mural is incomplete, consisting of only crude sketches, the worksmanship and detail far inferior to the previous four. Fire rains from the skies, oceans boil, mountains crumble, and the great rainforests turn to ash...
"My people were destroyed. Many survivors fell into barbarism and degeneracy, becoming little more than beasts. Some hid underground, selling themselves to eldritch powers and forgotten gods for the strength to do so. And we... we came to Shambhala."
The High Master turns to you.
"We came to forge a peace. To try and forgive the bitterness of the terrible injustice done to us. To try and teach humanity to correct its errant ways. The last time I tried was decades ago. When Shambhala last opened its gates, and sent forth its wise men and women to a world on the brink of nuclear warfare. But the leaders of the human nations were deaf to our pleas for a world of compassion and justice. They one by one allowed themselves to fall under Lucienne's influence. I have lost my faith in human champions."
He slumps against the wall. For the first time, you see the terrible weight of ages that he bears, and he is utterly exhausted.
"I am not sure what I can say," she admits, "Nor can I imagine your experiences. You have fought a long war, and with scarce allies. What I can offer is this thing Gelert is fond of quoting: 'Look for the helpers.' Those who in a crisis, commit to the idea that "I will help, today." and aid those in need. they never seem like much, because they do not boast or bray like those so wrapped in their own vanity, the people, not those in power, who want to prevent inevitable change for as long as possible. But year after year, there are those who came to Shamballa, to learn your ways, and people like your son learn from what missteps you make, as you've learned from those of your ancestors. Lucinne seeks to master the present, but no one commands the future.
"When I was younger, away from home and learning, I heard from a dying man, of a philosophy known as the Great Game. they believe that there is a simplicity to existence, that the night sky is simply an.. immense game board. there is the great black, the void, and strewn across it, small and surrounded and vulnerable, yet brave all the same, is the great white. I asked him about the supernovae, that even stars wither, die and burn out, did this mean, with those lights so tiny and scattered, that life was losing? and this dying man, whom some civilizations literally revere as gods, looked at me with kindness and replied 'no. once there was only black. we are winning.'. I never quite got that, until I spent some time with an adherent of The Blue. They say that the light is not the stars themselves, but every life that goes on about them, and that where there is life, there is hope. Master, you are as you say, so very tired. You have fought the good fight, and can undoubtedly carry on, but not forever. You have no faith in humans, well, from what I have heard, that is quite all right. I do not ask you to put your faith in us. I ask you to put your faith in your son, and his belief that we can topple Lucienne's false light."