h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

*walks about half a mile down that tunnel on the far side of that big plant from the underground streams thread. the plant has sealed the hole.*

*walking down this smaller, drippy root/tube, comes to a split.*
*goes right, comes to a dead end, after a few hundred feet, goes back and left*
*comes to a small dusy stone chamber, closer to the Guild but still under the forest*
[Chamber]
*this chamber is square, about 15 feet to a side, has a hole in the roof with a thin shaft to the surface about 20 feet up bringing a beam of sunlight down on the pedestal in the middle of the room. On the pedestal lies a very old book. Cobwebs cover this room. On the far side of the room there is a rather ornamental door.*

*dusts off the cover of the book and looks at it. there's a sumbol, with a pentacle inside a hexagon inside a circle, and some runes and small symbols of the elements. the first page says,"chronicles of the temple of thresh"... and gives the name of a 'high priest' from 1100 years ago, named Igthis Suncaller in a modern translation.*

*picks up the tome and puts it in his back. It holds together surprisingly well.*

*goes through the other door. the doorframe flares up in black flame as he passes through then the flame spreads across the threshold and you can't see through*

*backpack

*sits on the floor on the other side of the flame door and reads a bit of the book before going on*
"1358, 8-14 (in this world it's currently 2474),
Another day, the emporer shoots the flaming arrow out inito the sky when my priests tell him to, and I am standing on the balcony with my arms raised summoning the sun. These people, these Ythins, look to me to raise the light of their world. They live by the sun, only using lamps for sacred rituals and consistently falling asleep as the sun sets and rising as it rises. But my priests have been tracking the moon, and the sun, as they have for generations, and my time will soon be up. The eclipse (translation) of the Gods will come soon, when the God of the Night possesses the God of the Moon as he does every month, but this time possesses him in the day. And the Great God of the Sun will be covered, and his light will be lost for a day, and I must be sacrificed by my successor to bring him back. Such must be done as it has always been done, and I am no exception. But I do not want to be sacrificed. I believe the Great God of the Sun can overcome the Night and the Moon, and we would have Sunlight all the time, and my job would not be needed. So then I, the one with the holy mark of the sun, would replace the emporer who has the holy mark of light. I am superior, and deserve to rule this world"
*closes book*

Well... that's interesting... I wonder what happeneded to these Ythins...

*stands up and walks down a tunnel, which has walls and ceiling delicately carved with designs protrsying the sun and the moon and day and night, and light and dark, and a great throne in the sky, and a great war on the ground*

*senses sometihng overhead and invokes a beam of red light up to the conflict*

*walks down the hallway feeling the designs wit his right hand, carrying a torch in the left*
*suddenly has a vision of the same place, lit by torches along the walls, with 4 men standing behind him carrying a coffin, silence, then the coffin explodes and a hand shoots out glowing like the sun and grabs one of the carriers and... *shakes the image out of his head*

*realizes that the tunnel is spiraling inward around something, and going up and down seemingly randomly, possibly to avoid other tunnels*

*after a while begins to get tired*

*sits down, eats lunch, and begins to read again*...


"1358, 8-16;
The moon in the sky, driven by it's God, edges ever nearer to the holiest Sun. I have but 2 days to live, but I have a great plan. Yesterday I began to prepare the rituals that will let me come back from death, after the great sacrifice, as undeath, if they do manage to sacrifice me to bring back the sun. But I know they won't. I also have another plan, to stop myself from ever dying... a hand of death, from an old High priest Suncaller, which I ventured deep into the crypts to obtain. It will kill them whent hey come for me. And when they see that the Darkness ends without my death, all will bow down to worship me. I am the Suncaller, not the Sunbringer. I only perform these rituals to keep my position, these small-minded people have forced themselves to believe that everything is the work of the Gods. But I will bring a new generation, a world where everything will be the work of man, and we shall make what WE want, and not try to guess what the Gods want. There is a greater power out there, but the Sun... is not the Face of Sol (translation), it is but a glowing orb in the sky, set there by Sol to travel it's path. 2 days, and our civilzation will change. 2 days... and I shall bring the end of the God of the Moon, and someday there will be no more night."

Well... *closes book* that was interesting...

<>

*further down the path*

"1358, 8-17, at the hour of midnight

I, although Suncaller and High Priest of these people, know fatr more about the world than any of them now. I have seen a vision, and now know that it is not the sun that is alone holy. Also holy are the moon, and the stars. But the night holds greater magic than the day, so it is now, at midnight, that I stand beofre this world upon the peak of Ulthe to the moon, to invoke the magic that will save me. Tomorrow is my last day as Suncaller, and my first day as emporer. They will come to kill me, and I will murder them with the hand, and cast my invocation to bring down the emporer and bring up priest-king. And I shall cast a most unholiest of spells, to these people, and bring upon myself a terrible condition of weakness and slowness, but with it great wisdom and knowledge, great magic, and immortality. I shall relish this next day."




*stands up, looks around a bit, and walks on. After only a few minutes, comes to a stone door in the passageway, with elaborate carvings, and elaborate keyhole, and an elaborate combination lock with 8 dials, each with 8 symbols, pictures of the sun, the night, a peasant, a priest, the sunset, the moon, the king, and something like a devil.*

*looks at it a bit, and plays with the dials, then gives up and sits down to think*

"1358, 8-18

It is time. The lesser priests come to take me away to the publc altar, the moon is less than 3 inches from the sun. It is time... for these lesser priests to die with their emporer. The sun and moon meet over the peak of Ulthe, were my dark magic was invoked. I called this sun, it is mine, the moon is also. The emporer is dead.
I hear the footsteps, I chant the last incantations, a red glow radiates from my hand..."



*after examining the images on the walls for a while, puts the dials in the order of Night, King, Priest, Sun, Peasant, Sunset, Moon, Devil*
*door creaks a bit, a red glow shines from underneath it*
*it begins to slide open*
*backs away*

*door opens fully and the doorway is filled with a red fog*
*a slight creaking noise comes from the room as the fog disappears*
*a thump*






*looks around the room a bit, pokes head inside*

*something has happened but I'm not going to tell what*


*the whole tunnel is flooded with water, though*