The
Second Aeon
"Kadath"
For 9,000 years,
the mundanes (merely an adjective meaning
"ordinary", not the name of a race of people!) of Temuair didn't make
much in the way of progress.
It wasn't until the vast power of the gods themselves was tapped
that human civilization was truly born. How precisely did
humanity tap
into the power of the gods? Well, historians don't all agree on
that point.
What is clear is
that people ventured far to the north, to the
frozen wastes of Kadath. Kadath is the home of gods and deeper,
more powerful things. It is a land where power and madness flow
freely. Perhaps it's closer to one of Grinneal's vital organs,
who can say? Whatever the reason, far to the north, reality is
more... flexible. This is where most of the power and knowledge
that built every civilization in Temuair originated.
What's to debate,
then? It's a chicken and the egg
argument, really. Some say that the reason it took 9,000 years to
utilize the power of Kadath was because without a proper understanding
of the nature of reality nobody would have been able to even find
Kadath; that it took that long to develop a literate and sufficiently
pensive
society whose people were able to discover Kadath.
Others say that without the maddening insights of Kadath, civilization
couldn't possibly have progressed beyond simple agrarian farming
cultures struggling to survive. Which came
first?
The understanding of the path or the path to understanding?
For my coin, I'd
say that Kadath was "discovered" pretty early
on. Let us not forget that human civilization is quite young
compared to some of the other races; they worship beings from Kadath as
well. Most likely, Kadath's denizens and horrible madness have
been influencing life in Temuair since the very beginning. It's
known that the first
travelers to Kadath came back broken and utterly insane, but wielding
god-like powers and wisdom. Most of the wisdom would have been
beyond mundane comprehension. However, after enough shattered or
empty shells of minds came
back from Kadath, some fundamental understanding would have
developed. This understanding would have been what helped
civilization progress beyond simple survival, able to "discover" the
wonders and sublime terrors of Kadath around Grinneal 9000.
The first visitors
to Kadath had their minds completely
shattered; overflowed with wisdom and power beyond comprehension.
Not really much use gaining wisdom and power if your will and mind are
shattered
in the process. The true breakthrough came when humans learned to
not stare too deeply into Kadath. They skirted the edges,
diverted their gaze from the
horrors and
insanity that dwell deep in Kadath (*). Along this
periphery of madness, they found the Earth-Sea gods.
And well-met it
was. The gods were only too happy to have
people calling their names, succoring their favors, imploring their
wisdom. With the aid of the Earth-Sea gods as guides to the
horrible and terrible powers of Kadath, the first human civilization
flourished, what we call Aosda. (Aosda being the old tongue for simply
"Old".)
Next: Aosda
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