by Isu Yin
To further explain, I met Caeles Hero at the Centre that day, and he told me stories from the scriptures: The Book of Beginnings, The Book of Ages, and The Teachings of Grim.
(Please refer to journal, Solaris, for detailed analysis of folklore.)
According to his studies, there were catastrophes at both ends of Undal, but neither resulted in its fall. After some research, I was able to uncover the exact events in history.
The first occurred in Chien and resulted in the fall of the Ignis Empire.
The second occurred in Ussan and resulted in the fall of the Crystal Empire.
I will be elaborating on both events shortly, but first I must explain the path that led to these two catastrophes:
The Three Tier Balance
The Caeles Involvement
Rise of the Ignis Empire
The Verna Conflict
Rise of the Crystal Empire
Fate paused her reading and nudged Hero with her head. “Hey, which one are you reading?”
“The new one, Luna.”
“Oh, what’s that one about? This one referred me to Solaris. Apparently, that one is about folklore.”
“It’s about Puppeteering. How about the one you’re reading?”
“It’s about Undal. Your name was in here, ratting you out. Abyssus probably figured that you should’ve told me the truth by the time we discovered the secret of the journals. Little did he know—”
“Ai, Miss Fate, please don’t patronize me.”
“I’m Miss now? Are you trying to be cute?”
“Not unless it’s working.”
She elbowed his ribs.
“Vicious.”
“I’m not the one who pressed a knife to your throat.”
He stopped responding.
Good grief. Does he have any social graces? Any relationship goals?
Fate blew the hair out of her face, then resumed her reading. At last, she might be able to find answers to some of the questions coiling around her head.
The Three Tier Balance:
A period when a disruption occurred in the natural bindings of Ancients. Tradition started to fall apart and the early stages of the plague developed (miasma poisoning/infection.)
Three powerful families came together to form a treaty: the Caeles, the Igni, and the Verna. This group was believed to have been tied together by the treaty, successors included, for the preservation of tradition and containment of the plague.
That said, the treaty of Three Tier Balance likely had no effect at any point. I believe that the three families might’ve each planned to use it to bury their own secrets, and then fought amongst each other due to the plague.
Curiously, I am unable to uncover the source of this breakout. Where was the miasma coming from?
The family masters at this time were known to be:
Caeles Animus, Ignis Adnan, & Verna Farrah.
~~~
Their children/ successors:
Caeles Viro—Twin unknown.
Ignis Bellicus and Attero (Twins).
Verna Moira (Direct successor) – Nuvem Sisinea (Twin of Moira. Verna Oracle.).
*Note: Nuvem Sisinea—I’m still unsure why her surname is different than that of her twin. Perhaps it has something to do with her being an Oracle.
The Nuvem family name carried onto Fati as well, but there’s no record of her origin. In fact, after some point, her records are fused with that of Sisinea. Did her name change, or could this be a sign of something deeper?
~~~
The Caeles Involvement:
There are also multiple versions of this historical event, but I was able to recover some reliable sources from Chi’s library. As far as I can tell, the Igni started to conquer land in order to expand their already expansive kingdom. They attacked the Caeles, and many other families, in spite of their treaty.
It was believed that the Igni won the battle, but if so, then it’s difficult to explain the founding of the Crystal Empire. Regardless, the Igni attack caused an enormous, irreparable decline in the population of the Caeles family.
~~~
Rise of the Ignis Empire:
As I mentioned before, the Igni sought to conquer more land. There were many rumors that the Igni suffered from a mass outbreak of the plague, and resorted to abducting members of other clans in order to preserve their life force.
It’s important to realize that those infected by the plague, and those who spread it, are different in nature.
~~~
*About the Tainted/Fallen:
The Tainted, also referred to as the Fallen, are not people infected by miasma, but people who spread it. They have experienced a spiritual fracture and are defective.
Miasma shares many traits with darkness, as it appears to feed off negativity and even nurture it within the Tainted.
While the people infected can secure various remedies or solutions, they differ from the Tainted, because the miasma will feed off anyone infected until they die.
On the contrary, the Tainted seem capable of thriving for a long time, especially if they succumb to the miasma’s insatiable hunger. They retain their individuality while falling victim to hidden deviances that the average person can suppress.
The Tainted suffer from innate immorality. Their voice of reason rationalizes the concept of doing wrong.
I’m not entirely sure about the consistency of miasma. I can’t understand it completely. All I can say is that its place in the world most likely resulted in the desolation of Undal.
The Council seems paranoid about it reoccurring in Mu.
Fate momentarily rested her eyes and processed everything she’d read. The history of Undal contained such convoluted and complicated information. She understood why Hero never tried to explain it, and even felt guilty about doubting him.
I’ll probably need to reference this later if I want to remember everything, but at least I have some answers... or more questions. There’s no record of Fati?
“Hey, Hero.” There was no response. “Hero?” She reached back her hand and felt around his face. “Asleep. Weren’t you the one being snarky?”
The sand in the silver hourglass glowed blue beneath his scarf. She had grown so accustomed to him wearing it, she almost forgot that he removed it at all.
“Leoht.” The name brought a nostalgic ache to her lungs. She hesitated to touch his face. “Are you really him?”
He groaned and stretched his arms, then rolled over.
He sleeps like a child. So careless.
“I suppose you’re done reading for now.” She collected the journal he was reading, and skimmed it while he slept.
INTRODUCTION:
Puppeteering is a singular skill belonging only to the Grim. When the Grim withdrew from the mortal world to make way for the Rahma, the ability was safeguarded by four families: Ka, Si, Teh, and Ra, but use of this knowledge was strictly forbidden due to the difficulty of producing an untainted result. This left the Grim as the only remaining family with the ability.
A Doll is a special being. All of them are considered children of the Grim, and yet are not Grim themselves. They are crafted from the resting souls of the Ancients, but only once a soul has been cleansed and nurtured, in the depths of the Abyss, is it safe for return to the mortal realm.
In order for a soul to have the strength to return, it must have a strong sense of purpose. Dolls must not retain their memories when they are crafted but, instead, can live out several turns, or even ages, before experiencing their first awakening. Great care must be taken to maintain the soul’s slumber. An awakening could have dire consequences, whether it be natural or not, and therefore, an awakened Doll must be sealed.
~~~
Awakening:
The event in which a soul recovers its memories of a past life. This process is often triggered by artifacts pertaining to their past, but can be initiated in other ways, such as coming in contact with a soul, object, or place recognized as a familiar.
<
br /> A Doll’s Awakening is not to be confused with the natural process of awakening experienced by older Ancients, who have returned to the mortal realm through reincarnation. Many believe that Ancients, who go through an Awakening, are superior, and regard them as gods. There is much debate and concern that the awakening of a Doll may yield the same growth in strength, and so they are, by law, to remain asleep or be sealed. If the seal is unsuccessful, the Doll must be discarded.
~~~
Semi:
After the fall of the One Hundred, many Ancients in Inoue Com began to practice Puppeteering. While they could not successfully bring a Doll to life, they managed to succeed in creating Semis.
A Semi is a partial Doll. Even though the body is fully functional, a Semi has no soul. A Semi will only serve the purpose it was intended to serve. If its creator cannot think of any direct objective, a Semi will not survive its creation.
There is much hope for the evolution of the Semi. They are easy to control and have no chance of an awakening experience. If there is a flaw in the creation of a Semi, it will simply collapse upon commencement.
~~~
Birth of a Doll – Process & Construction:
In order to give life to a Doll, a Puppeteer must first collect materials. Oftentimes, it is important to recover an artifact that belonged to the returning soul.
Puppeteering is a process that requires specific procedures. Even though it is not impossible to bring back a soul at random, it is forbidden, and previous attempts have been catastrophic. Returning souls must first go through a cleansing process, hence this task is given only to the Grim.
~~~
Puppeteering – In-Depth Procedure:
Puppeteering follows a strict process, which generally cannot be altered without repercussion. These steps are kept in order to prevent a soul from being Tainted.
Purpose:
A Puppeteer should always have a purpose for making a soul return. Without a purpose, a Doll can find it difficult to live, especially when they have already accepted death. Even supposing a soul has accepted their own death, it must have a strong purpose for living again.
~~~
Purity:
A soul must first be cleansed and acknowledged by the Grim in order to prevent the birth of a Ghoul. Once a soul has been accepted, it is imperative that the Puppeteer holds pure intentions, so as not to taint the returning soul.
~~~
Acceptance:
This is the process that gives life to a Doll. A Puppeteer must accept and endure the suffering of the returning soul. Through this pain, the Puppeteer is able to sew that soul to an empty shell or vessel (Doll).
~~~
Guidance:
A Doll, more often than not, returns disoriented. Each Doll must be given a current realm purpose for existing that is tied directly to their maker. It is important that their Creator give the returning soul guidance, so they do not get lost. A lost Doll can easily awaken or become a Ghoul.
Fate stared at the letters on the pages and ran her fingers over her brother’s handwriting. She asked him, though she knew he couldn’t hear, if this book told of their kind. She wanted to know if she and Abyssus were created as the journal suggested.
The Grim were Creators. No wonder Abyssus wanted to be like them.
Many of the mentioned names and titles surpassed her current knowledge and understanding, but she wanted to study them and learn more about the origin of Dolls.
The final book held knowledge of the folklore. She opened it, unsure of what she might uncover about her visions.
The Book of Ages:
The more time I’ve spent bonding with Hero, the more I’ve learned about The Book of Ages. To note the most basic fact, it’s one of three old scriptures, still referenced to this day. Some of the contents connect to other books and tales, written long after the original scriptures.
Since I can’t read the Language of Ages, I had to ask Hero to read the stories referenced by the Rebellion.
~~~
Rota Fortunae:
The story of a girl with the ability to alter fate based on the decisions she makes. Her presence alone seems to alter the plot of any tale she enters. This is notable in fiction, such as Sands of Time, when the death of the Lady Ulnaire triggers the collapse of the entire plot.
The Spinner seems to have a positive and nurturing character. Even the Lady Ulnaire is depicted as someone soft-hearted. The correlation between Ulnaire and Solaris seems to actually portray the relationship between Leoht Miina and Fata Miina. I’ve heard that the folklore written by this author is supposed to tie into the scriptures somehow and explain something confidential, but I’m not so sure I understand the messages yet.
~~~
Leoht Miina (The Story of Space and Time):
This story and Rota Fortunae seem to take place back to back and this one, as far as I can see, happens first. Leoht’s story and that of Fati (Fata Miina) are directly correlated, be it by character or subject. They’re both children who’ve been separated from their parents and adopted by the God of Life, except Leoht refuses help while Fati follows in the God’s footsteps.
If you follow Fati’s story you can see that by some means, Leoht eventually chose a path, but if you read the tale directly from The Book of Ages—he’s taken from the God. I’m not sure what this means. Both tales have multiple endings depending on which scripture you reference. I honestly don’t know which one is accurate. It could be possible that there’s an implied difference between the universe of Fati and Leoht, but the Beyond is supposed to be a timeless place.
What in the world is happening in the scriptures?
~~~
The Man Who Stood at the Edge of Time:
This tale fits everywhere, and nowhere, in The Book of Ages. I suppose it could be a misunderstanding that this timeless character has been squished into Solaris for Sands of Time, but I have yet to spot another character with such precise traits.
When I questioned some of the other members of the Rebellion, they referred me to other texts, which summarized the general relationship between the three unusual characters noted above.
~~~
The Spinner – Ulnaire:
Manipulator of chaos. You could call her the wild card. Usually her role is to oversee the fates of others, but when she becomes involved the odds change. In The Book of Ages, the Spinner is swayed by her concern over Leoht, and this changes how the stories unfold. More specifically, her character changes how all stories unfold.
~~~
Time – ???: Lover of fate (the Kismet?):
*Note: though the reference book said this, I’m not sure if it’s referring to the concept of the Kismet or the Spinner. This could be why Solaris is expressed in such an odd fashion. The wording here is very strange and difficult to understand.
In any case, his role is vaguely similar in all renditions—he travels the Halls of Eternity and oversees the variables of time and space to manipulate fate or the Kismet. This character is similar to Solaris in the sense that he is duty-bound and drawn to the concept of altering or manipulating fate (the Kismet?).
~~~
Chaos – Leoht:
The will of fate. Bestows judgment as dictated by the Spinner. Nemesis of Time. Prone to a bad choice of judgment and horrific tempests.
Fate rubbed her face, trying to clear her blurring view of the text. All the words on the page jumbled, and her eyelids grew heavy. She lay back, grasping Hero’s hand as the book slipped from her fingers.
The chime of the Ussan ignited a vision. She stood in the Centre, staring at the glowing white trees and adjusting her eyes. Frost covered the stone path as an icy gale brushed against her burning skin.
Before the Ussan sat a white fox, waiting patiently for her to notice. As she approached, it ran off towards the forest, glancing back as though beckoning her to follow.
She recalled Hero speaking about the Ussan causing blindness, and she hesitated to follow, but after a w
hile, she decided to enter anyway. Although it was reckless, she ran through the opening of the branches into the glaring haze of the Ussan’s light.
The fox led her deeper and deeper, until the haze cleared and the trees chimed all around her. She glanced around at the iridescent sheen that twinkled against the night sky.
The fox called out to her from beside a figure on the ground.
Blood puddled around a woman in a crystal gown. She lay lifeless and entangled in long black hair, like a web.
Fate staggered back against a tree as her eyes fell on the woman. “Is that... me?” The shock numbed her mind, but she soon remembered to breathe and regained her focus.
No, think. That must be Fati. What happened to her?
She crept closer and stretched out her hand. The chime disrupted her, and she lifted her head towards the fox yelling from a short distance ahead.
“I’m not supposed to disrupt her? But... she’s....”
The fox whined and bounded towards the next opening.
Eventually, she crossed over the Spinner and followed the fox through the winding trees. They crawled through numerous traps of crystal into a deep passage.
Leoht, the child, rested inside, curled up on the shadows.
“Leoht?” She crawled deeper, reaching out as far as she could. “Leoht, wake up. I can’t fit in there.”
He stirred from his rest. “Mistress?”
“No, I’m Fate. The Spinner... she’s....”
Despite her protest, he slunk out from the burrow and flung his arms around her. “You came like you promised!”
She rested her hand on his head. “I’m here. Shall I help you escape?”
“I cannot see, so I was lost.”
“Even though you can’t see, you still find me very well.”
“Mistress, you always smell nice. That is why I can find you.”
“What?” She laughed as she considered the difference in scent between herself and Fati. The more she pondered, the more she realized he may have been referring to her soul. “Come with me. I’ll lead you out of here.”
He raised his arms up towards her.
