The Beast of the Mountaintop

10/12/2305

I barely escaped the clutches of a fierce creature on the planet Anori in the Viveki system.  I am lucky to be alive, but though the beast was powerful and dangerous, I feel low about its fate.  As I made my escape, it tried so hard to kill me that it fell deep into a ravine.  The last I saw of it, it was struggling on the ground upon which it had fallen, struggling to move.  Chance be its back was broken, chance be it was dead, I couldn’t tell and I couldn’t go back down to aprend for fear it may jump up and lash out at me.

The beast had tracked me.  It was partially intelligent, perhaps evolving past its brethren.  It was king of the mountain, devouring the few other animals in the area and seemingly with no equal.  It could have been the last of its kind, and if so, it would be the greatest shame of all.

I was there searching for the Siguerans, the race that seems to have spread throughout the known galaxy over millions of years, dominating others, much like the beast.  I was particularly interested in the subterranean Siguerans; a more religious sect of the Siguerans whose carving skills are unmatched in the galaxy, and who built grand underground structures.  Sometimes these structures resided on the same planets as the overland Siguerans, sometimes they are on separate planets.  When on a separate planet, such as this one, the walls have no color except the natural color of the rock, or crystals, or other sediments.  However, the walls, ceilings, and floors are differentiated by textures which are often far more fine in detail than any human could accomplish.

Inside the temple I was seeking, I found the religious artifact I was seeking.  It was a round, silver ornament with an uneven feel.  The design carved into it is different on every side, and seems to have a different meaning depending upon which side it is scried.

One side looks to have a dropping face, as though it is melting.  Behind the face, it appears like a waterfall dropped backward, almost like hair on its head.  On one side of the waterfall, flames rise up, and smoke billows away from it.  On the opposite side of the flames and smoke is a roughness that seems to have no meaning, and every meaning at the same time.  It appears as an average rock face at first sight, but I can tell there is something very carefully carved into it that I haven’t yet made out.  I think I’m going to have to learn more about the Siguerans, the underground ones in particular, before I solve this mystery.