Journey of the Sarune [intro]

Deep in the jungles of Draizune, an archaeological project had taken a surprising turn. It became clear that those jungles had once been cold deserts; arid, windy wastelands. And before that, stretching back into what had once been thought as prehistory, the land had been wild grasslands. Such is the progression of life in the cycles of time.

Beneath the jungle canopy at a place called the Mounds, carved stones had been discovered. And those stones seemed to be arranged into a rough structure. The structure proved to be a long domed burial arrangement with several collapsed pillars on each side. A large Babel tree, of the dark Akasis variety,  grew out of the main dome, while shegka thorns crawled in amongst the pillars.

The peoples of the Zenit A|B cultures were of a short, stocky build, as seen in the burials lower down the valley. Their art and design appeared simple and limited, yet solid and well prepared. In the preparation of the domed tomb, they used white Sana stone, and green Jodis within. The ruins outside, and scattered around the site, were crafted from rough hewn gobat and riven zhist. Rough patterns and symbols were recorded adorning the surfaces of the pillars and near the mound portal.

There appeared to be evidence of large fires at some point in the past, dating to after the construction of the main tomb site.

After an extensive study of the Zenit B tomb mound, D.A.G. Nuri discovered, by way of a fortuitous accident, that the structure had been built upon a previous site. Having survived his fall after the collapse of the subfloor, Nuri found himself in a dark chamber of significant size. After he was extricated from the rubble, they returned with lights and began to explore the first level of what they came to call the Desert Tomb, or the AniZenib Complex.

It was while cataloging the contents of one of the larger chambers that the map of Mengiben was discovered. It was deemed an unusual decorative curiosity for quite some time. It was some years later that Nuri surmised that it was, in fact, an ancient map, and not merely a highly out of place artifact of paper-making thousands of years before any such paper craft was known to exist. It would be some years more before he could unravel some of its mysteries and put together a path he could follow.

And that is how Nuri fell into the journey of the Sarune, the ship captained by Glorin Pohl; adventurer and savvy explorer. She agreed to take Nuri and his crew on the voyage to seek out the sites believed to be marked upon that ancient map.

Sailing out from the port of Thokmu, in old Tagatak, now in the east of modern Draizune, the Sarune headed southwest toward the icy seas of the mostly unknown southern wastes, there to encounter destiny.

This story, and the illustration that goes with it, began on my patreon account. That's the best place at the moment to support my work. If you like my work, consider supporting my patreon - https://www.patreon.com/imaginebetterworlds

Cheers, J