The Ancients
From Mondays
Most inhabitants of the Delmundo valley are unaware of the existence of the ancients. Such knowledge is deemed dangerous by the Church of the Seven Good Gods and is therefore ruthlessly surpressed by the Inquisition. Starting player characters would be extremely unlikely to know any of this information.
The ancients were the rulers of the Delmundo valley until about a thousand years ago. They were short and stocky by human standards, but otherwise human in appearance. They dug vast underground cities, consisting of hemi-spherical chambers, connected by tunnels radiating at right-angles to each other, and wide shafts with narrow staircases spiralling round their walls. At the heart of each city is an enormous fissure. The origin and purpose of these fissures remains unclear.
Despite the size of their cities, where ancient burials have been found, they always contain exactly seven bodies, encased in stone sarcophagi, and buried with ornate armour and weaponry, especially axes. No more than one such burial chamber has been found in a single city.
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The Exodus
Ancient cities have been loosely categorised into three types - A, B, and C - representing the progress of their civilisation. All three types have been found in rocky land in the heart of the Delmundo valley. A fourth type - D - is both cruder and apparently later, and only known in the south-west of the valley. They appear to have been briefly occupied, possibly accounting for the poor quality of decoration. A possible new type E city has recently been discovered in the mountains. This shows the most recent signs of occupation yet discovered, and contains features, such as a raised saddle of stone within the fissure, which are unknown elsewhere.
This pattern of migration is confirmed by references to an exodus discovered in ancient writings. It appears that around a thousand years ago the ancients passed over the mountains, leaving the Delmundo to their human slaves.
Ancient Religion
The number seven appears to have been significant to the ancients. Their worship of the Seven Good Gods is clear from the iconography commonly found on the walls of their cities. However, they appear to have given equal worship to the Seven Evil Gods, and do not appear to have seen these entities as "evil" or "inimicable". In addition, a fifteenth figure is given greater prominence. It appears to represent transcendence or mastery, and its icons are often associated with burials.
The Ancients and the Church
The Church of the Seven Good Gods derives its dogma from the writings of the ancients. The Church is selective in its interpretation, using the magic and teachings gleaned from the Good Gods, but surpressing anything connected with the so-called "Evil Gods". Knowledge of the ancients is surpressed entirely. Those who discover ancient ruins are given a stark choice - accept a large payment in return for their silence and the constant supervision of the Inquisition or be burned for heresy.
The Zappatore family, whose fortune was initially based on their discovery of an ancient city, are quietly undertaking the archaeological survey of a number of ancient sites so far hidden from the Church. Zetico Zappatore fears that the ancients may return. He hopes that understanding them will prove central to defending against them.
Automata
The ancients made extensive use of clockwork automata. These complex servants came in many forms, acting as messengers, cleaners, guards, and warriors. When not working, the automata retreated to stone nests, from which they draw energy. Even in the cities that have been abandoned for millenia, some of the automata are still active, and in the case of the more hostile models, highly dangerous.
Humanity
The ancients used human slaves, to farm food, to fight in their wars, and for intricate labour that was beyond their automata. There is some evidence that it the ancients that first brought humanity to the Delmundo valley. Indeed, the yellow elves have claimed that humans were created by black elves at the request of the ancients.
Some have theorised that a revolt amongst the human slaves was the initial cause of the ancients' exodus.
Gods
Uniquely, the recently discovered type E city has a saddle of stone built into its fissure. This saddle supports a slab of stone, upon which was discovered a forty-foot tall human, apparently alive but in a deep coma. This being bore a close resemblance to the standard representations of the Father, in light of which he was referred to as a "god". The significance of this being is currently unknown.
