Local Phenomena's Catalogue: II

[Benjikhei 698]

Theories On Almaris Prehistory

A short conceptual & theoretical thesis, upon the state of Almaris pre-descendant conquest and exploration, all evidence provided in this theory piece is still being tested and reviewed at the time of publishing, this is merely one of countless and ceaseless explanations for the anomalies, scattered across the land of which we inhabit.

 

-- Published 19th of Snow's Maiden, in Year 18 (S.A.) --

Written and Developed by Beryl Jasper Carrington.

 

Preamble 

Verily, I must remember well coming to this land, only has it been a mere decade or two since our arrival here, and yet I recall when the land was little more than grass and dirt, when Providence was barely yet constructed to completion, in my folly I thought it best to ignore that of the change in our land when we arrived, when I was a mere child, ai- I deemed it right to pretend ‘ne a thing was different here than Arcas, a fools notion it was- in recent years for the benefit of my Empire, and inspiration from a close friend of mine. Anthony Alexios Basrid, that I thought it right to come to my own conclusions as to the state of the landscape that sprawled across and over the horizons, and my exploration has yielded some excellent and noteworthy theories and ideas as to it.

 

Titan’s Sea

(Terra Gigantum Reputata Est: Et Terra Mare)

Above: “An Artist's Rendition of the arid terrain surrounding the Oasis, accompanied by one of the strange, scattered fossils around the desert- of course artistic liberty was taken, and this perhaps was a more dramatic rendition of such, as the artist still remains unnamed I've no credit to place to this artwork.”  - Beryl.

 

The first theory I had to the state of this land, predating the arrival of descendants, of which I’ve seen some other intrepid researchers and archaeologists touch on as well, is regarding the colossal bones, scattered around the Kharasi Oasis. The working theories currently suggest that these titanic beasts roamed the earth, and were covered in all mass of fur and tusks and stalked the lands, in ancient times. However, I’ve a different hypothesis. 

What if I were to suggest, not only the titans in their time of life on this plane, but the entirety of Kharasi Oasis was completely, centuries ago- covered in a mass of water. Indeed I suggest that the Kharasi Oasis, nay perhaps the lands beyond, in extremities half of Almaris was completely submerged, being part of a much larger body of water, perhaps even an Ocean. 

This would make these fabled creatures, in theory deep-sea dwelling monstrous creatures, perhaps this primitive civilisation people have referenced to worship these sea monsters, were as opposed to a tribal jungle group- rather a series of nomadic islander peoples, that were in touch with the archipelago that may have stood where Almaris now is, and sustained their early civilisation using the sea as a resource and a place of bounty, worshipping these ginormous beasts as a sort of pseudo-deities.

The summary evidence for this is as follows: during my expedition to the Oasis and the surrounding land around it, near the Mother-Circle Druidic Grove and landscape near it, I concluded it to be close enough to the ocean as a point where the ocean may have risen to, scouting out multiple areas, where the sea has clearly lowered in height from where it may have originally stood. More evidence supported itself, back in the Kharasi Oasis Ravines, great gaping chasms in the sand, stretching down for miles, and as fate would have it, within these stretches, what would be found but masses of grey clumped weeds, which through some testing I have determined to be dead coral stems, again supporting the argument that at least that region of Almaris once supported some body of water, within the sweltering heat of the desert it took a fair bit longer for anything else to present itself, until I came across something revolutionary in the way of the theory, in that- multiple shipwrecks, scattered across the desert plains, clear evidence of sailable expanse once in place of the arid terrain there now, for now this theory is concluded with that, however as time goes on I’m confident more evidence shall present itself, in which case it does I should hope that the matter be put to rest, and solved indefinitely soon enough, patience is a virtue.

 

Further Notes: (Titan’s Sea)

The Bones themselves were rather smooth in texture, some of the smaller ones had a rather brittle feel to them, of course I didn’t dare test this by trying to crack or chip any of them. Along some of the others there were cracks, maybe signs of severe pressure or trauma on the creature when it was alive. Quite a bit of dust, I had to perform a fair bit of archaeology on them before it was suitable to handle them properly without risk of any further damage done- I was only however, regrettably able to uncover only the lower part of a pre-existing skeleton, merely an extra leg of some kind. Perhaps in future a large expedition will be arranged to unearth new skeletons, however for now, the true structure of these beasts are unknown- I will continue assessing the formation of the bones, perhaps in spare time I have.

 

The Nightmare Plague

(Per Plaga Terras Caeli Et Terrae)

To the nations of Elveness, Talon’s Port and Krugmar, of course they may well be aware more than the nations to the East of the Idols Garden, an odd area towards the three nations mentioned above, filled with all manner of odd fungi, a stone quarry and plenty of moss. All humor and jesting aside, this place harbours an odd mystery- in the form of where the namesake comes from, an odd path, signs strewn along it, dubbing it a “path of pilgrimage” which leads to a small clearly filled with three odd idols, tall and wide, one from old stone, another of chiselled quartz and the simplest one of whittled spruce wood, another- a fourth idol was seemingly in construction in another area of the clearing, I would’ve gone to inspect such, before I was stopped by a peculiar man in a weathered old mask, I’m not certain as to the mental state of the poor creature, however his ramblings were rather insightful as he continued to use his drawl to go on and on, about some sort of plague that he referred to as the “Nightmare” which had ravaged the land some years prior to our settling on Almaris, mentioning something of tombs being sealed across the land, with corpses of the afflicted nestled within, of course- he could just be an old, doddering fool stalking through the mossy growth of the garden, or perhaps his words are truth, as to the news presented of crypts found across the land, these crypts most likely the very same of his mention, if indeed he speaks true- and yet another piece of history upon this land has been uncovered, it may be a plausible explanation as to why very little, but skeletons and structures of this old civilisation are present today in Almaris, yet very little trace of the actual peoples behind their construction.

 

Miscellaneous Anomalies

(Quae Nemine Tradi Possunt,)

It is also of note, I’ve observed quite a number of anomalous structures around the continent, ranging from seemingly abstract stone structures and statues- to what some have speculated to be altars and carvings, along naturally occurring structure which are layn dormant across the land for a phenomenal amount of time, I also have concluded that there may be something in the frozen lands of close proximity to the Kingdom of Hasenti-Ruska, that may also support the previously mentioned notion of a sea continent, if the water perhaps did not drain from the land, and sea levels lowered, perhaps it froze over in the colder regions, and thusly resulted in a distinct portion of the land taking a sudden cold turn as opposed to the parts of the land where the water may have drained, resulting in a bone-dry desert terrain. Another structure observed may be an odd statuette of some kind of Aengul, or likeness equating to such, with paper chains drawn around its wings, off the path to Providence from Southbridge, an eerie presence was felt to me when I journeyed there on horseback, prompting me to leave in an utmost haste, admittedly shaken from the first encounter with it, more curious than shaken, perhaps in truth- as well as this, or the path to Malinor and the Ferry to the Haelun’or Isle between the rocky path of a hill, a small cavern was observed by myself, the structure upon a short study there, by observing the patterns of dilapidation sprawled across the stone, suggested that it may have been hollowed out by purpose, as a means of shelter, or perhaps a primitive dwelling space.

These are, perhaps, much more minor anomalies as opposed to the rather obvious and distressing theories proposed prior to them, however it is worth keeping a tally or rather, an informal registry of all anomalous structures and places upon Almaris, perhaps a future project to be considered moving forward, I'll have to make note of such.

 

Conclusion

I find myself at the end of this thesis, finding my own weeks of labour, now with hindsight to be a little off-putting, at the notions of a climate-related catastrophe which now dormant, may resurface at any time and pose an imminent danger to this land being in my head as an idea  for several days as I compile my theories, I must confess to finding the thought rather grim and depressing. Of course, when one writes theories, one must always remember to think that they could be (and most likely are) completely wrong in their analysis, still - I think it fair to express my thoughts and opinions on this land, and to indeed prove in that, my constant worry for affairs occurring in the world constantly, knowing in that - if I am aware something goes terribly wrong, I shall simply sit and chuckle to myself with the satisfaction of knowing, prior to a few, other than that- I shall sign off, wishing all who find themselves privy to this thesis, a fair Adio and deepest thanks for reading.

 

Theós Bless You,

- Beryl Jasper Carrington.

 

Special Thanks

I’d like to offer special thanks to those who contributed greatly to the thesis and those who I dedicate it to , I’m pleased and proud that I was able to do you well with this, and I dedicate this to you all, for the profoundly wondrous empire and to all who reside and thrive within it day by day, ceaselessly and perfectly.

 

To the NGS (Northern Geographical Society) I offer this piece as a thesis, to contribute to the archives for the society to review and preserve as they please. And do thank them for their contribution and warm support to my exploits.

 

To Sir Anthony Alexios Basrid, I thank you for inspiring me to come to my own conclusions and to write more often, I dedicate this piece to you as well as a thanks for all your kind support to my endeavours.

 

[greygre 259]

"A fascinating thesis, Mister Carrington!  The Land of the Titans holds many mysteries indeed!"  Says Dilvyn D. Deveral, "We must compare notes sometime, I've a few theories and insights of my own which you may find interesting."

[BobBox 3798]

The Basrid folded over the paper and added it to his shelves once he had finished reading it. "Perhaps I am not alone in my work." He mused before going back to his own papers.