...Within the forest tangle I discovered an entrance leading down into the central dome of a great underground edifice once dedicated to Magnus, the God of Sight, Light, and Insight. Dimly lit by the faded power of its magical pools, the shattered white walls of the enclosure shimmered with a cold blue light…
...The marble benches of the central plaza faced out across the surrounding waters to tall columns and sharp arches supporting the high dome. From the central island, stately bridges spanned the still pools to narrow walkways behind the columns, with broad vaulted avenues and limpid canals leading away through ever-deeping gloom into darkness. Reflected in the pools were the tumbled columns, collapsed walls, and riotous root and vine growth thriving the dark half-light of the magical fountains…
...The ancient Ayleids recognized not the four elements of modern natural philosophy - earth, water, air, and fire - but the four elements of High Elf religion - earth, water, air, and light. The Ayleids considered fire to be but a weak and corrupt form of light, which Ayleid philosophers identified with primary magical principles. Thus their ancient subterranean temples and sanctuaries were lit by lamps, globes, pools, and fountains of purest magic…
...It was by these ancient, faded, but still active magics that I knelt and contemplated the departed glories of the long-dead Ayleid architects. Gazing through the glass-smooth reflections of the surrounding pools, I could see, deep below, the slow pulse, the waxing and waning of the Welkynd stones…
...The chiefest perils of these ruins to the explorer are the cunning and deadly mechanisms devised by the Ayleids to torment and confound those would invade their underground sanctuaries. What irony that after these many years, these devices should still stand vigilant against those who would admire the works of the Ayleids. For it is clear... these devices were crafted in vain. They did not secure the Ayleids against their true enemies, which were not the slaves who revolted and overthrew their cruel masters, nor were they the savage beast peoples who learned the crafts of war and magic from their Ayleid masters. No, it was the arrogant pride of their achievements, their smug self-assurance that their empire would last forever, that doomed them to fail and fade into obscurity...
Excerpts from the book “Glories and Laments,” by Alexandre Hetrard
0:00 - Ancient Sorrow
1:05 - Wind from the Depths
2:46 - Deep Waters
3:56 - Tension
6:28 - Unmarked Stone
7:34 - Wind from the Depths
9:15 - Deep Waters
10:25 - Ancient Sorrow
11:30 - Tension
14:02 - Unmarked Stone
15:08 - Ancient Sorrow
16:14 - Wind from the Depths
17:54 - Deep Waters
19:05 - Tension
21:37 - Unmarked Stone
22:43 - Wind from the Depths
24:23 - Deep Waters
25:33 - Ancient Sorrow
26:39 - Tension
29:11 - Unmarked Stone
30:17 - Ancient Sorrow
31:22 - Wind from the Depths
33:03 - Deep Waters
34:14 - Tension
36:46 - Unmarked Stone
37:52 - Wind from the Depths
39:32 - Deep Waters
40:42 - Ancient Sorrow
41:47 - Tension
44:19 - Unmarked Stone
45:25 - Ancient Sorrow
46:31 - Wind from the Depths
48:12 - Deep Waters
49:22 - Tension
51:54 - Unmarked Stone
53:00 - Wind from the Depths
54:41 - Deep Waters
55:50 - Ancient Sorrow
56:56 - Tension
59:28 - Unmarked Stone
Composed by Jeremy Soule.
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