The Gaze from Beneath
[A manuscript discovered in Axu, although the ruins it lay in predate the nation itself.] We are Dun-Kiham, lone stars in the abyss. Alone among the mortal races, we have endured the endless onslaught of the Dark, and found the Kaelur - the resting place of the Watcher of Stars. Yet He is long gone, and what we have survived thus far is only the vanguard of the vanguard of the forces lurking within this place. How much more did that truthseeker face to earn his Exaltation? It matters not. Here follow the words of She Who Beholds the Abyss, our great leader and matriarch. Even should we fall to the starless sky that envelops the world, let her wisdom shine as a light to all - closer to mortal hearts than that remote star which we long for..."But salvation is beyond our reach. To chase the most distant star in the night sky is no different than to falter in the darkness that surrounds it."- Nur-Iloni
I am Nur-Iloni, for I can no longer see the light. I am She Who Beholds the Abyss, for I have gazed into the deepest depths and glimpsed the horror that lies within. It is perilous to delve too deep into the ocean, and even more so the starless sky that lies beneath and beside and beyond reality. The corrosion of the Dark only intensifies with distance, and it is no small feat even to enter that layer where the world's confines fade. But even without that destructive power which only night mages may resist, those who first explore such depths may slip into and out of it unconsciously. No mortal should remain here. Yet I have spent so long pursuing answers... I and my followers have severed all ties with reality, and fought to reach this glade of shadows with our wills as blades, and our blood as sacrifice. Here we find respite, such as it is, before the tides rise again and the Dark surges against us. The secret of the Midnight is this: it yields no answers, and brooks no questions. In the face of the unadorned truth, one must give their own answer to the question that the Dark demands of them: Is starlight equal to shadow? And, if all is shrouded in darkness, why do we still chase that stellar radiance? I have found my answer, and yet... the abyssal depths are too much for any mortal to withstand. In exchange for the lives of my followers, I sacrificed my vision of the world of light. And in exchange for this knowledge, the sacrifice must be a 'self' in its entirety. That truthseeker lost a mortal form, but was granted an immortal one by his patron Wolf. I have no such fallback. The depths will claim... their due.
Our Lady has fallen silent. I, Ndea, am charged with taking these writings back to reality, that someone may understand what it is to drown in shadow. The 'tides' of this place are rising. Here end the words of the Dun-Kiham.
"Ah. My Lady..." "Yes?" "You have not given your answer to be inscribed." "... It is not worth recording. All must... find their own answer..." "Then it shall not be written down. But, my Lady - someone should preserve your strength of spirit. I... do not wish to have your 'self' forgotten by all." "... I met the gaze from beneath, and witnessed the final truth. Salvation is unreachable, and chasing that remote star is meaningless... but meaninglessness itself is not for us to decide."
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