"Tomb of the
Immortals"
In
an age long lost to the races of the supercluster, and on a dead world circling
a forgotten star, massive structures were built by human hands within a fertile
river land. Dominating the landscape for many miles around, and the details of
their construction remaining apocryphal, these pyramid-shaped stone marvels
were built with but one purpose in mind: to commemorate the power and divinity
of their leaders.
An ambitious
monarch orders the building of their own stone monument. Huge slabs of rock are
hewn from the earth, transported over large distances, and slowly stacked on
top of each other in layer after layer. Using no heavy machinery or mechanized
transportation, workers labor for many years, stacking block after block, until
at last the final stone is laid, and the structure magnificently capped with
precious metals.
And there the stone
monument stands, until at last the final day comes to pass for the monarch, and
their body is preserved, wrapped, and sealed within a sarcophagus of solid
gold.
It is then that
the structure slowly fills with the treasures accumulated by the monarch over a
lifetime: thousands of coins stuffed into chests, handcrafted sculptures of
figures and gods, texts detailing great knowledge and feats, jewelry of
fabulous craftsmanship, and various items of sentimental value all begin to
line the hollow chambers of stone. With the many long years of the monarch’s
reign, so too does the treasure trove of items destined to forever lie within
the stone halls alongside them grow ever more numerous.
As the monument
fills with treasure, servants of the monarch gather within the stone halls, and
consume toxins to still their hearts. One by one, they succumb to death’s embrace
to join their beloved leader. With all in its proper place, the stone halls are
sealed shut, the entrances buried under mountains of sand, and the monarch
begins their eternal reign from their glorious palace of the afterlife.
Set upon by
envious eyes with the greed of many hundreds, the monuments seals are torn
asunder, its great walls begin to wither, its stone halls begin to crumble, the
bodies of servants are disturbed, and the treasures slowly turned to dust. At
the end of time’s great test, the decayed body of the monarch within rules as the
master of a broken palace.
As time passes, so
too does it betray a secret: great monuments often meet inglorious ends.
Ancient by the
time that they were recorded in contemporary history, the stone monuments
captured the imagination of untold generations since. Despite being a mere
remnant of their former glory, history would preserve the monarchs of the stone
halls, their memory living on for untold millennia after.
Tens of thousands
of years into the future, great monuments are still being built.
An ambitious
leader orders the construction of their own monument. Thousands upon thousands
of tons of rock are mined from great stones floating within the dark void. The
minerals are shaped and refined into great building blocks, stacked alongside
of each other to form the structure, while workers give form to the labyrinth
within.
The many miles of
halls inside are lined with the crème de la crème of technological progress:
sealed bulkheads, ammunition stores, crew quarters, launch tubes, medical bays,
hangar arrays, sensor suites, and clone vats. Before long, belongings and
treasures of the immortals begin to fill the chambers, and countless souls
dwell within the corridors, giving a pulse of life to the cold metal construct.
At long last, the monument’s construction is capped, bestowed upon with a
weapon of unfathomable power to prevail against time’s long test.
And in the cold
void the monument stays, until at last the final day comes to pass for the immortals
within their capsules.
Set upon by
envious eyes with the strength of many thousands, the monuments seals are torn
asunder, its great walls begin to wither, its metal halls begin to crumble, the
countless lives within snuffed out, and the treasures slowly turned to dust. At
the end of time’s great test, the shattered bodies of the immortals within rule
as the masters of a broken palace.
As time passes, so
too does it betray another secret: great monuments often meet violent ends.
And the great
monument’s scorched hulk remains within the cold void for all time, having been destined
to serve as a bastion of power in life, and as the tomb of the immortals in the
afterlife.
