Falcra by Falcra

After being captured during the siege of Chiatakla, an astronomer finds himself in a starless land as he's forced through the veiled gate in the dungeons beneath Shyynbarak. Removed from his own world with a now useless profession, Falcra seeks out a new purpose in the fungal landscapes of his newfound home armed with nothing but a dulcimer & the robes on his back. Upon coming face to face with a god of unimaginable power, Falcra sets into motion a chain of events that would change him & the lands he inhabits forever.

Day I

In the aftermath of the Ashkadian siege on the Taklan capital, I've been taken hostage & now find myself a prisoner of war in a conflict I want no part of. The only reason I'm alive is that I'm no warrior, but a student of the constellations. The Ashkad harbor the world's finest astronomers & astrologers, so it must be out of this respect that I've been tossed in the dungeon rather than stuck on the end of a pike. There'd been a rare celestial shower going on during the battle, so while our enemies scaled the walls my eyes were elsewhere; to the detriment of my people, though there's little I could have done. The Ashkad are sure to have taken my notes & calculations by now, & while I'm in the dungeons beneath Shyynbarak there's no chance I'll be able to continue my studies to further my research. In the dungeon there's a one legged Scythorian who looks as if he's been collecting dust down here longer than the rest of us, I'm thinking of befriending him in the coming days to see what I might glean. Hopefully he knows about the alliance between our two peoples & can give me a better idea of what comes next. I sure hope he lost that leg before he was thrown in here, or I'm in serious trouble.

Day IV

I've spent a fair share of hours getting to know the Scythorian, & in exchange for some teff & barley he's given me a good idea of what to anticipate during my time here. It seems that to cure their boredom, the guards unleash scaled hounds & jackals into the dungeon for their own amusement. Many have fallen victim to these beasts, including my new companion some time ago. Guess that explains the leg. He's honestly not all that talkative, & I'm the hungrier for it; but he did mention there's a tri-gate down here deep in the dungeon that the guards routinely force prisoners through. Apparently it's a one-way trip. I have no intention of entering if I have any say in the matter, but I can't help but wonder if whatever's on the other side is better than rotting away beneath Shyynbarak. The food is covered in mold & we're so far underground there's no way of telling whether it's day or night. On the surface I've heard tales about the tri-gate in the Tarchaccan Wastes which supposedly leads to Jal'naquar, a celestial body I've only seen in the skies above my homeland of Ezzatlan. I've never had the courage to check it out for myself. I can't help but wonder what's on the other side of the gate here in the dungeon.

Day XIII

The scarabs make for finer eating than any of the grain the guards give us, but they're pretty difficult to catch & certainly smell worse than they taste. I've stopped giving away my teff & barley to the Scythorian, but this is only because he was thrown through the tri-gate himself after all the years he's spent down here avoiding the scenario. Hopefully he's doing alright on the other side, I'll likely never know for sure. I sincerely miss gazing up at the lights in the sea of stars, I've not been down here a fortnight but I can't stop thinking about the star charts I've still yet to complete back in Chiatakla. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever see the surface again or have an opportunity to return to my studies. The skies won't map themselves & I'm not sure I trust the Ashkad to get everything right, foremost in the science or not. If I ever get out of here I think I'll hire some mercenaries & head to Jal'naquar just to see it for myself, perhaps get a chance to map the constellations from there as well. Faced with the notion of never again seeing the stars which grace our skies, I pine for the chance to be among the stars themselves. There's got to be more to this life than this, this can't really be where my story ends. My work beckons me.

Day XXVI

The jackals tore the robes near my ankles, but I managed to kick one's head in & scare off the other. The other prisoners are cooking them over a spit so I guess it's not all bad. There's meat enough for all of us, not that most of them are willing to share. The smell alone is a boon in itself.

Day XXXII

I'm growing weary of all this. I begged one of the guards to ask his superiors if the Ashkad needed any more astronomers but he just spat on me through the bars. I'm not sure what I expected, but desperation brings one towards bitter ends. What's an astronomer without his stars? There's no more meat to be had, & I'm losing my taste for scarabs.

Day XXXXV

Surely this isn't punishment for not joining in the fight during the siege of our city. I'm no warrior, surely the lady of the lake knows that. Chiannana is supposed to be a merciful god to the Taklan people, protecting those in Chiatakla so long as it's inhabitants provide her with supple offerings both of man & beast. I've never been the pious sort, though I have seen her beneath the currents of lake Ezzatlan on copious occasions & witnessed many an offering. I know Chiannana is a force to be reckoned with based on the stories of old & yet there are rumours she's been slain by the Ashkad after they overtook to our capital. I don't believe this is even possible, but I'd be a fool not to even consider the possibility. The lady of the lake is massive by any standard & could swallow a thousand men in mere moments, but anyone can be overwhelmed with enough bodies thrown at them & the proper strategems. I think the Ashkad are trying to sow dissent among the Taklan prisoners here. I've never had the respect of my people, so they tend to avoid me, but I overhear them from time to time & it sounds like they believe it to be true. Their faith is beginning to fray, but time in the dungeon will do that to anyone. I'm the kind of person who has to see it to believe it, so until then I think our patron deity still lives on, even if she means little to me personally. The people of the Taklan worship her fervently, but I'm not one for piety & that's no secret. If you can make your enemy believe their god is dead, you'll have a much greater chance of extracting useful information from them. Of course, the interrogations are growing less & less common. Most of the Taklan down here are artists & entertainers after all. They couldn't have hoped for much.

Day LXV

Well. They've tossed me through the tri-gate. So much for returning to my studies. There are no stars here, in fact there are no skies at all. I'm in shambles. Looks like the Scythorian didn't make it far, there are some large bugs picking away at the bones of what appears to be the remains of a one legged man. I didn't know bugs could eat bones, but their process appears to be pretty slow. Outside the gate I found a dulcimer that I've decided to take with me. The instrument might not be one played by the Taklan, I've heard it played enough in my travels to Scythoria while working with the astronomers & astrologers there. While I haven't seen much yet, from what I have witnessed, this place is massive. It appears to be a cavern with no end in sight. There's mushrooms everywhere I look, some as tall as the watchtowers of Ashkad, others small enough to fit in your pocket & everything in-between. I'm not sure what destiny holds for me here, but this is no place for an astronomer, of that I have no doubt. Whatever brought me here, whether it was the will of Chiannana, a roll of the dice or some other force at work, I have little choice but to make the most of it. I guess now is as good a time as any for a change in profession.

Day LXIX

I've grown more & more curious by the manifold variety of fungi down here. Some glows, some fizzles, some is cold to the touch, others even emit light. There's no shortage of mushrooms of any kind. Just recording the different strains I come across on a daily basis could keep me busy for a lifetime at this rate. So far I've yet to come into contact with any of the prisoners from below Shyynbarak, though there are plenty of bones of men & even more bugs chipping away at them. I suppose some of the jackals made it through the gate too because I've seen more than a few in my time here & they seem rather out of place. The jackals seem to sustain themselves on some sort of bloated frog-like creatures of which there is plenty to go around. Luckily they're a lot more interested in these amphibians than they are with me. Seeing these creatures makes me miss the axolotls we used to catch in Lake Ezzatlan in my youth. They sure taste a lot nicer than what the jackals have to live on, or maybe they just need to be cooked properly, I'm not certain. I've eaten maybe a dozen or so different varieties of fungus since I've been down here, thankfully none of yet have been poisonous, though a couple sure gave me the runs. Some of the mushrooms in this land even collect water from the warm cave atmosphere & are shaped like large bowls & sometimes small cups. It's a real blessing as these are all over the place. So far this land has sustained me every moment since I arrived. Whether this is the will of Chiannana or blind luck is still yet to be determined. Whatever is at work here, I'm grateful for the opportunity to continue living & learning. The other day I found a club carved out of what appears to be a dense wood-like fungus. Whoever it belonged to is long gone, so I figure it can't hurt to take along with me in case I run into anything that needs a good knock on the head. So far this place has been a pleasant surprise, let's hope this journey continues on in that direction. Tears will not be shed over the lack of molded grain I've been going without. I sure wish the Scythorian lasted a bit longer, even if just to have someone to share these discoveries with. I've not been down here all that long, but I much prefer it over the dark of the dungeon in Ashkad. While there may not be any stars for me to view, there does seem to be a pattern to the glowing mushrooms that covers the cavern ceiling. Perhaps in the days to come I'll be able to map this land out based on the patterning, but only time will tell what this place has in store for me. Whatever it might be, it's surely preferable so far.

Day LXXIII

I've acquired a taste for these sweet orange mushrooms I've begun to call "Orangetips" as they're thin & long, but they melt in the mouth & have a seriously delectable flavour to them. I've had to bash in a few skulls since my last entry, but overall things are going quite well given that I'm in a foreign land with no forseeable way back to my home world. The club I found is getting some use as I've come across these strange fur covered creatures that wander around the fungal forests. They can't see very well from what I can tell, they're always stumbling around & there was one that ran into a fungal stalk before scampering off confused. From what I've surmised, their sense of smell seems to be pretty keen based on the size & shape of their noses, & their claws are nothing to scoff at either, though I've only received a light scratch myself. I've come to believe the ones I came across were merely fledglings however, as I've come across the corpses of a few much larger than the ones I've encountered. Not sure what's felling those, & I'm not sure I want to know. I'm getting much better at playing the dulcimer now, & it seems that some of the fungus likes the sound of it since it reacts to my playing. This is a strange land, beyond anything I could've expected.

Day LXXXIV

There's a whisper on the cavern winds, like a song in the distance you can barely hear. I could've sworn I've heard some of the melodies I played on the dulcimer echoing back at me, but this was days after I initially played the tune. I'm not certain it's just my imagination, & it's happened a little too often to be coincidental. The bed of mushrooms where I choose to rest my head are softer than the mats I slept on back in my home in Chiatakla or the cots in Scythoria, & there's no contest compared to the cold sandstone of the dungeon back in Shyynbarak. There's a beauty to everything here of the likes which I've never before experienced. I've still yet to run into any men down here, though I've found evidence of others living down here without a doubt. Some of the larger mushrooms have symbols carved into their stalks & caps, though I have no clue where to begin with deciphering them. I'm trying to catalogue all the carvings I come across so that I may reference them later on & hopefully learn to understand the symbolism in due time. While an astronomer may never lose his affinity for the stars, the world here has offered ample distraction & wonders equal in comparison. This land has kept me as busy & intrigued as any constellation might.

Day CII

There's a fungus unlike any other I've come across yet which upon consumption gave me the wildest of visions. It's as if everything came alive, & that whisper on the cavern winds became clear & vivid. It sure made me bloat up however, I can't help but wonder if this is what those frog-like creatures live on. It's only found underneath the water in small pools & on at least one riverbed, though I'd assume it's the same in the rivers I've yet to encounter. It's a wonder that eating these creatures doesn't pass on the same effects as consuming the fungus directly, but in the end this discovery is not something to be taken lightly. If this strain exists, surely there are others with similarly potent effects on the mind of man. I've begun playing the melodies & rhythms I heard while experiencing this newfound strain of mushroom. The sounds I was able to produce before paled in comparison to what the fungus revealed to me. These are of a different caliber entirely. There's still much to be explored here I feel. I've collected as many of these mushrooms as I could & stuffed the pockets of my robes with them. In the coming weeks I intend to experiment with these further & see what might come of it. I believe I've found my new profession. These mushrooms require research.

Day CXVI

After extensive usage of these, let's say enchanted shrooms, I have made a serious breakthrough in my research. There are untold songs & melodies that seem to originate from the various fungi down here, each with a different tune, each resonating notes in harmony with one another. It's marvelous & far prettier than anything I've ever heard played at the hands of men. Besides this, the fungus appears to react when I sing these tunes back to them or play them on my dulcimer. It's not so obvious when the effects of the mushrooms wear off, but while the effects are active it's undeniable. The fungus is all connected in some way or form. They are communicating to one another, & there's no question in my mind that they are aware of my existence as they actively respond to my presence & actions. I've begun speaking directly to the fungal forests in hopes that it might begin to better understand me. There is a bliss to this, knowing I'm not really alone down here. If there are men down here, I've still yet to run into any. There's truly something special about this place & I get the feeling that this journey has really only just begun. The only concern I have in this moment is that some fungus has begun to grow on me, but it could be worse, I think.

Day CXXXI

After many days & nights of trying to communicate with the fungus, it spoke back. Words were conveyed in my own native language, even in my own specific dialect. It's learning about me as I learn about it, this is confirmation. The words spoken were rudimentary at best, but it managed to tell me it is listening & seeks further understanding. I am continually amazed by this place.

Day CXXXXIV

The fungus has shown an incredible capacity for learning, at this point we can carry on full conversations & have grown to speak to one another on a first name basis. It knows I am Falcra of the Taklan & I have learned it's name is Alebaun. When I've asked it about the different strains of fungi, he ensures I know they are all one despite their differences in size, shape & pigmentation. Alebaun speaks for all, & all is Alebaun. This whole time I've been speaking to the fungal forests I was talking directly to one sentient being. There is still much to learn, but he's asked that I travel deeper into this land he calls Maeruun, so that I might speak to him face to face. It seems I'm going on a pilgrimage for a fungal deity in the coming days. I'm now speechless.

Day CCIV

Alebaun saved me from a nasty encounter on my trek into central Maeruun. I'd describe it as a miracle, something I'd previously thought impossible. Those large fur covered creatures, which Alebaun calls buwarn, swarmed me as I walked through a fungal grove. Apparently these buwarn burrow underground, something I'd yet to see until this point. I seemed to have disturbed their hibernation. One clawed through my robes, tearing them along with the flesh underneath it. In an instant following this attack, a towering fungal stalk whipped itself around the buwarn & flung it far off into the distance. I never heard it drop. The other two creatures were next, & before I knew it I was alone. Laying there catching my breath, Alebaun, the one that is all, spoke to me telepathically. There were no audible words resonating from any of the surrounding fungus. It was clear, from directly inside my skull. He said sleep, & I drifted off in mere moments. When I awoke, my wounds were healed completely. There was a bit more fungus growing on my skin than I remembered, but that didn't alarm me. I was healed, I was taken care of. This fungal god was the real deal. There was no mistaking it, I'd been led to this land by no accident, there was in fact some higher purpose to all this.

Day CCXVIII

I arrived at the destination the deity directed me towards. To my amazement, Alebaun had a central physical form. In this massive fungal stalk I could see his face clearly. As I've said countless times in my life, I've never been the pious sort. Even having seen Chiannana the great serpent in the lake surrounding my home in Chiatakla, I still doubted her ability to work wonders. The lady of the lake was fearsome, but that's about where it stopped. She demanded sacrifices & offerings regularly, but she wouldn't make conversation with her followers, only requests & statements before submerging back beneath the waters of Lake Ezzatlan. This god before me however showed me it was capable of so much more. I could feel it's appreciation for me, as strange as that sounds. I was beginning to feel at home here in this new world, more at home than I ever felt anywhere in all of Tryn. It was obvious to me upon seeing the face of Alebaun that there was still much to learn, but that none of my trials would ever be faced alone again. I had a friend & a god in one. My heart overflowed with a joy, the kind of which I'd never known, not even when dedicating my life to mapping out the stars & constellations. This was where I was meant to be. I had a renewed purpose, & I had a true friend.

Day CCXXII

At this point there was no difficulty communicating with one another. Alebaun & I grew as friends by the day. He learned of my world, my people & the profession I'd previously dedicated my life to. I in turn learned of his world, known as the Sebra. In my tongue that roughly translates to the land beneath. Alebaun is simply a name, I've asked him on a few occasions what it could mean but his reply is always simple, it's the name he chose for himself. I suppose it doesn't need to be any more complicated than that when you're a god with as much power & influence as this one. There's not a place in all the Sebra where you could be outside of his influence from what I could tell. As the fungus continued to grow on my body, I seemed to gain some of the knowledge & wisdom of my new god. There were things I knew then which I couldn't possibly have known any other way, like which strains of fungi were likely poisonous to me, & which strains to combine for certain medicinal uses. It seemed that I was interfacing with some sort of web of knowledge as time went on, like some of the memory of Alebaun himself was becoming a part of my own memory. I couldn't access all his knowledge, but the parts I could were a welcome boon for sure.

Day CCXXXIX

I've been given the task to start gathering others to learn from this great god. The place I need to go to is illuminated in my mind. At last I've found other men down here, not that I've been lacking for company, but it's been quite some time since I've seen another of my own kind. Alebaun & I speak more & more without any words needing to be uttered. There's a comfort in knowing he can hear my thoughts, as I've grown in awe & reverence during our time spent together. He's asked me to bring others back to central Maeruun, where we might start building a great people like the Taklan he's grown so fondly of hearing about. I'm honored to have been chosen for this. Knowing now that I really wasn't the only man down here, I feel a sense of gratitude to have been the one to teach this god the language of my people, & begin civilization anew with him guiding the way ahead. As I head further into this journey, the thoughts of imprisonment in the dungeons below Shyynbarak feel like a vaporous memory of another life. A life I've since left behind. I have a grand purpose now. In this moment here & now I am the confidante of a deity with more power & scope than I can comprehend. Now piety comes naturally, when before it was an impossibility.

Day CCCXVII

I am becoming one with Alebaun. Our followers grow in number, with many joining our ranks as they hear what's been shared. There are men & women here from many worlds, some from Tryn, others from a place known as Devoria, & others still from Jal'naquar. I never would've guessed there was a place where all these worlds could converge. Among these newfound acolytes, I have found brothers & sisters of the spore. We are building our great city slowly but surely. Alebaun said I must choose the name of our people & this great city. I've settled on Gilliad as the name of our new home, named after a constellation discovered by the astronomers of Ashkad. I've forgiven them for taking me prisoner, now I even thank them as it was this act that led me to this wondrous new world. We are to be known as the Gelroud, the astrological sign in the Ashkadian Zodiac I was born under. This sign represents a people not of this world, the Ashkad say the Gelroud descend from the stars in order to teach them the ways of their people. The Ashkadian people don't worship gods, but they have befriended a god-like race of people from another world. It's no wonder their towers practically scrape the heavens, they wish to be closer to their friends among the stars. While I personally have never seen these visitors from the stars with my own eyes, I have seen strange anomalies that could be explained as the Gelroud visiting the Ashkadian Empire & later ascending back to their home in the celestial expanse. The reason I've settled on adopting this name from the Ashkadian astrological system is that we are a people who have descended from a land filled with stars, & made friends with a god-like entity which teaches us & seeks to coexist alongside us, or rather wishes for us to coexist along-side him. There are a number of Ashkad here now with us, along with people from the Malu of the Barren Isles, the Teng of the Red Mountains, my own people the Taklan of Ezzatlan & our neighbors the Scythorians, many among others from worlds I am still learning of. We are a great many now, & the vision of Alebaun flows through our veins, pumping through our hearts & resonating with our spirits. Though we've come from faraway lands & had our fair share of cultural differences, there is a place for us yet for us to learn & grow in unity. The prospect of something like this seems impossible on the surface of Tryn, with my nation & the Ashkad remaining at war for countless generations. Yet now the Gelroud of Gilliad have been weaved into the fungal landscape of the Sebra, serving our beloved god Alebaun. - Falcra

These entries are now considered the original works of the Scrolls of Alebaun, having been studied by generations of Gelroud since it's inception & later compiled into a larger text for future generations. The nation of Gilliad continues to grow strong, & it's progenitor lives on eternally like Alebaun, in sporeflesh. Falcra has become one completely & totally with the fungal deity he's devoted his life to. Now as a sporeclad, Falcra continues to teach & share the wisdom of his benevolent god, ensuring the future of the Gelroud continues on in the right direction.

The other texts in the Scrolls of Alebaun chronicle the life & times of Falcra, & the many adventures he shared alongside his deity, but among the Gelroud this is considered the most important portion of work recorded, as it details the humble origin of their faith. The Gelroud of Gilliad wish to give thanks to our progenitor & the first of our kind.

Falcra, the Unending.

An astronomer in a starless land.