Fiction:New Dawn/Revelations to Come



"If there is a thing I have learned in my studies, it's that every living thing in Andromeda... has a purpose."

- Thessina Venoriel

Six billion years ago, an ancient species that called Andromeda home, known as the Demiurges, vanished from existence among with the rest of the Four Precursors. Why did they disappear? Who - or what - was powerful enough to sweep entire civilisations from from the face of the galaxy? This is not our story.

The story we will hear today is the story of the Demiurges' legacy, of their children and creations. Why were they created? What secrets do they hide in their blood and genetic code? Were their creation an error, a mistake in the Demiurges' quest for the Truth, or were they a part of a grand design of some sort? Now it is time to discover this. Now it is time for revelations to come...

The Universal Truth
I'kt - ''Faster, faster! There is no time to wait!''

Figures clad in black armour dashed through the vermilion jungles of Satyameva, a small world located on the outskirts of Segmentum Crepusculum. They were not the first visitors of that ancient world and they were certainly not the last, for Satayema was no ordinary planet; billions of years ago, it was a Sophiana, one of the most prolific worlds ruled by the Rades. And though the ancient precursors were long gone, the ruins they had left behind drew many explorers to Satyameva, who were attracted to it like moths to flames. And few returned alive.

But those who sought to uncover the mysteries of the ancient ones that day were no ordinary explorers either: they swore allegiance to the Commonwealth's Reclamation Service, one of the most influential organisations in the entire AGC. They were professionals: equipped with the most advanced technology in the entire galaxy, protected by an entire squad of former Dei'Ar and United Confederate Guard marines, led by the brightest minds in the Segmentum, they were meant to get the job done. In charge of the archaeologist team was professor I'kt, a Sader scientist well-known in the Divinarium for his ingenious, brilliant mind... as well as his obsessiveness, paranoia and apparent insanity.

I'kt - ''It must be here, yes! The Sanctum Sanctorum, the key to all knowledge of the Demiurges, yes... all these years... - I'kt slipped into mad, barely coherent ramblings - Wait, what was that noise?''

I'kt twitched and turned his head to one of the larger trees in the jungle, staring at it without blinking. With a gesture, he told the security guard to draw their weapons.

I'kt - ''Intruders! Attack!''

The guard sighed at the professor's paranoid order: but rules were rules, and he was their superior. Without further objections, they aimed their gauss rifles at the tree and made their shots: in a next second, a good portion of the tree was reduced to ashes, along with a small bird-like creature (which was apparently the source of the noise) whose skeleton fell to the ground. I'kt looked at the remains of the tree, appearing content.

I'kt - ''Perfect. The path is clear.''

As if by instinct, I'kt approached a large crag covered in vegetation which jutted from the rest of the jungle and touched it gently. The crag's rock responded by starting to crack and glow; these cracks expanded, grew, and slowly turned into patterns and symbols, which I'kt recognised all too well: it was ancient Radessic. The Sader professor smiled upon seeing the antediluvian language of the precursors and started to whisper in it; as he did, a slate of rock before him retreated into the ground, opening a way to the Rades temple. I'kt let a quiet laughter as he walked into the darkness, driven by insatiable curiosity, but was stopped by the security guard commander, a large Val'kar clad in heavy armour. He had a stern expression on his face, his eyes piercing painfully right into I'kt's soul, and the Sader professor stepped back, unnerved.

Gr'roz - ''It is too dangerous to go alone! My men will go first.'' I'kt - ''I am the supreme authority here, commander Gr'roz! I have been searching for this place for years, and I am going to be the first to see the revelations it hides!'' Gr'roz - ''Ugh. Fine. Do whatever you want, but we won't be responsible if a Rades biomech kills you or something.''

Ignoring the commander's warnings, I'kt turned on his flashlight and entered the Revelation; a shrine and a laboratory in one, it was the place where the Rades studied the primal laws of the multiverse in order to achieve their ultimate goal: the Universal Truth. And that truth was about to be revealed for I'kt, or so he hoped. Observing the shadowy corridor of the Rades temple, the Sader scientist walked slowly, followed by his compatriots. He wanted to see every detail, every message the precursors had left for their descendants, every stone of the Revelation.

I'kt - ''Ah... look at these... pictures. The Demiurges have saved their history for us using these... frescoes. Just look at them!''

I'kt pointed his flashlight at one of the walls and froze in awe; his jaw dropped. A massive picture engraved on the rocks: it depicted a Rades waving his hand, with young Radeons, Saders, Ryketians, Val'kar, Razzit, Colmarians, and many other creatures bowing before him. Radessic hieroglyphics were also engraved, stating: "HERE, THEY WERE CREATED." I'kt couldn't have been more joyous. His theory had been proven. The Revelation he found was indeed the place where all species created by the Rades had been made.

I'kt - ''...Yes! YES! It is upon us...''

I'kt looked closer at the fresco. He noticed that the creatures were surrounded by a purple aura, with ghostly creatures depicted behind them. Were they the messengers? I'kt was about to find out, for right before him stood his species's cradle. The Sader professor turned his head up, seeing a huge, circular gate made of the same organic rock-like material as the rest of the temple's interior; large, ominous, it appeared to be immovable, implacable, invincible. But it wasn't, and I'kt knew that. All he needed was the right password.

I'kt - ''Thralemnia? Lamrenathi? Qualathina? Aediremnia?'' Scientist - ''Professor, is it truly a right decision? We have to find out everything about that place, perh-'' I'kt - I will not be stopped by cowards.

I'kt kept chanting words in the ancient tongue of the Demiurges, not caring about the rest of the team, about the skeletons of dead explorers that surrounded him... all he wanted was to uncover the secrets of the Ancients. Realising that something horrible was about to happen, Gr'roz stepped back and promptly escaped the temple: the rest of the guards, however, remained, captivated by I'kt aura of obsessive curiosity. The only person that came with Gr'roz was a young Radeon scientist: small and weak even for her age and her species, she was fearful of things that were about to come and as such followed the Val'kar commander. The professor continued rambling, thinking, coming up with theories. And then, a sudden realisation came to his mind. He knew the word.

I'kt - Quaenosophi.

The word I'kt just said meant many things in Old Radessic. Knowledge. Wisdom. Revelation. The ultimate goal of the entire Rades species. Gnosis. What else could open a way to such an important facility? The professor's guess was right: as I'kt finished proclaiming the last letter of the word, the circular gates opened nigh-immediately.

And inside was insanity, nightmares, and the horrifying revelation of all the dark truths that had been hidden before.