9
A History of Lehpuhrta
Though the flying island of Lehpuhrta - the Land Beyond the Clouds - can be found in the early myths of many civilizations on numerous worlds, its story began on a planet named Sargvilosahnah...The world of Sargvilosahnah is near twice the size of your Earth, dear reader, and comprises two major landmasses along with innumerable smaller islands surrounded by the great Shramortoghmuli Ocean. The largest landmass, Nerkhvatsukhia, is itself divided into three continents: Nevitsroghan, Spitektrihan, and Rhulla, while separated from Nerkhvatsukhia by the smaller Eruhani Ocean is the island continent of Eruhan.
In the north-east of Nevitsroghan can be found the world's largest nation, The Unified Provinces of Rhanukhan, and the story of how it came to achieve this status is a tale of both trials and triumphs, thousands of years in the making, but we are not here for all of that. That which matters most to us began simply enough one night when an astronomer in a neighbouring nation looked through his telescope...
- The Great Banana Rush
- The Worlds War
- A Truth More Astounding than Fiction
- The Legend of Ahztlarhan
- The Great Work Commences
- Beyond Clouds, Beyond Stars, Beyond Time
- Land of Destiny
Late in 2007AU, astronomer Beneridist Fredster at the Nocastle Institute of Technology in Mianertograditojikayhan, first detected a curious object heading towards Sargvilosahnah. It wasn't long before observers in other nations were reporting it also. The first fuzzy images of an enormous, yellow, curved object quickly led to the international press christening it "The Banana". The Niahvogalese Federation and the nation of Ahzekhteesi both actually tried to claim the object, though these claims were largely met with derision as they'd be impossible to enforce and, once it was determined that The Banana would actually impact Sargvilosahnah, were quietly dropped.
In December two astronauts from the Rhanukhani State Space Station, Charles "Buzz" Mantlepiece and Malcolm "Buzz" Soupspoon, successfully landed on The Banana, determining that it was composed of an organic material. This turned out to be the only research anybody would get to carry out, however - two days later the object came down in the Eruhani Ocean, scattering ejecta all across Sargvilosahnah and inundating sections of the Rhullan and Eruhani coastlines with massive tsunamis. The speed with which several nations rushed to claim territory in these suddenly depopulated areas is not looked back upon with much pride.
The Faithful Administrator of Veletarna speculated that "giant evil space monkeys" may have been responsible for The Banana. A comment seen as a joke by many people worldwide that would prove surprisingly prescient.
Rhanukhan established a colony in northern Rhulla, which it named Lazarastra, hoping to take advantage of any new resources offered by the unprecedented situation. They weren't the only interested party, with colonies and also military and commercial ventures being established by a number of nations.
Following some contradictory reports out of Lazarastra, the region was plunged into chaos as a plague spread through the colonies, seemingly transforming people into yellow zombies, and Lazarastra suddenly declared independence with the former colonial governor's wife and head scientist, Professor Lucy Sideboard, setting herself up as queen. By the time Rhanukhan had regained control of the wayward colony, most of the colonists and "Queen Lucy" herself had vanished without a trace.
As part of the liberation of Lazarastra, Rhanukhan annexed neighbouring Rhullan territories, establishing the colonies of Bahamghar and Kharanwhari.
It was around this time that the charismatic business mogul, Constantine Malachite, began to rise to prominence. His company, Malachite Evolving Enterprises, rapidly expanded into various markets, effectively taking over many aspects of the Rhanukhani Space Program (providing advanced global communications through the OrbiTech Satellite Network), making incredible advances in genetic engineering (Rhanukhan's armed forces were augmented by legions of the GBI-1 - GeneTech Banana Infantryman Type 1 - a clone super-soldier developed by Professor Lucy Sideboard, who had secretly been Malachite's accomplice and lover all along - the so-called "yellow zombie" plague had been the result of early GBI-1 research), and even delivering further territory to the Rhanukhani government. Following the destruction of the Niahvogalese Federation, seemingly as a result of a disastrous flaw in their extensive nuclear arsenal, Malachite made the surviving Niahvogalese colonists in the Eruhani Ocean a remarkable offer. If they would grant him governorship of their two islands, the impressive resources of Malachite Evolving Enterprises would be deployed to create all the currently missing infrastructure. The islanders accepted and the new Rhanukhani province of Lehpuhrta & Currakhan was born.
Constantine Malachite pictured at the product launch of his GeneTech Banana Infantryman - Type 1, February 10th 2008AU.
At this time amazing technological advances were being made in nations all over Sargvilosahnah, taking advantage of the exotic properties of Banana-derived materials.
In April 2008AU, Malachite was arrested on charges of treason by the Rhanukhani National Security Agency (RNSA), though they wouldn't hold him for long (see "Constantine Malachite: Rhanukhan's Most Wanted Hero" for more detail).
April the 13th 2008AU is a day that everybody on Sargvilosahnah remembers. The day that they learned for certain that they weren't alone in the universe. The day that the Symyano arrived.
Various observatories had recently noted a large number of interstellar objects approaching and many feared that The Banana had been only the beginning of what would become a total extinction event. Unlike The Banana, however, these new objects slowed, changed course, and settled into orbits around Sargvilosahnah. Even as various media outlets around the world were reporting on this curious turn of events, every channel everywhere was hijacked and broadcast one thing - the face and voice of Fleetmaster Boohubalss of the Symyano Hegemony.
The Symyano were a race of chimp-like beings from the world of Symyan'zu who dominated many star systems and had selected Sargvilosahnah as their latest colonial target (The Faithful Administrator of Veletarna had been surprisingly close to the truth, it seems). It was revealed that Symyano infiltrators, remotely operating humanoid avatars, had been present on the planet for several years, working to undermine society. The Banana had been sent as a demonstration of their superior power.
(l) A Symyan civilian. (r) The first face-to-face contact many citizens of Sargvilosahnah had with a Symyan was with one of their fearsome foot soldiers during the Worlds War in 2008AU.
The international response to this announcement was disorganised and chaotic. Some countries surrendered immediately (their rulers were almost certainly Symyano infiltrators), some practically fell into civil war as collaborators, seeking to curry favour with the invaders, clashed with those who wished to fight back. Others attempted to attack the orbiting vessels, but even nuclear weaponry proved insufficient.
They say, "Cometh the hour, cometh the man!" Into this maelstrom strode Constantine Malachite. Amazingly, he seemed prepared for this very possibility and time and again over the coming months his actions would spell defeat for the Symyano. He saved The Supreme Chairman of Rhanukhan when Rhanukhani foreign minister, Allistair Ballustrade, revealed that he was a Symyano infiltrator, Alrabustt, and attempted to force the nation's surrender. Taking advantage of the fact that Lehpuhrta's bedrock had been suffused with the propellant material of The Banana, creating a new ore known as Bananćtherium with gravity-defying properties, he next transformed the island into a flying headquarters from which he co-ordinated the world's defence.
Initially destroying the Symyano flagship and Fleetmaster Boohubalss with it (mere moments after Boohubalss had broadcast a claim denouncing him as a traitorous infiltrator named Chonmiklatt - an assertion that was never satisfactorily disproven), Malachite would be a persistent thorn in the side of the new Symyano Fleetmaster, Coohudalss. The OrbiTech Satellite Network was revealed to be a secret weapons system, his GBI-1 troops supported their human compatriots in ground actions, defeating Symyano surface troops everywhere. Combining his own assets with those of other nations stymied the Symyano at every turn.
Malachite's efforts were almost undone at the height of the conflict when the RNSA, having captured a Symyano infiltrator, were able to develop a weapon capable of killing such agents by forcibly disconnecting their mental links with their human avatars. Malachite was indeed Chonmiklatt and very nearly died when the weapon's signal was broadcast, saved only by the fast actions of Lehpuhrta's governing computer system - the Simulated Intelligence Machine #1. With the destruction of his humanoid avatar, Chonmiklatt had to take on a more covert role, never leaving the island and dealing with people through remote communications utilising a simulation of his human appearance, animated by the S.I.M. #1.
The ongoing failure of the invasion ultimately resulted in the Highmaster of the Symyano Hegemony himself arriving aboard his personal warship, the Star Collector - a vessel with the power to destroy a whole world. When Highmaster Thebigboss informed his failed invasion fleet that they would be destroyed along with the rest of Sargvilosahnah, Coohudalss accepted this judgement only to be promptly assassinated by his aide, Kyookumbarr, who successfully allied most of the Symyano with Malachite.
In the end an elaborate scheme was established, with contributory factors from several nations and the Symyano rebels under Kyookumbarr, that resulted in the annihilation of the Star Collector and the death of the Highmaster. Following the war, Kyookumbarr went on to lead his fleet back to Symyan'zu and take up the mantle of Highmaster, commencing a series of reforms to Symyano society.
Within hours of the destruction of the Star Collector, a reporter for the Rhanukhani State News Network broadcast live footage of a fleet of RNSA aerocarriers approaching Lehpuhrta. No official comment was ever made regarding their mission, but the footage showed that the flying island disappeared in a spectacular pyrotechnic display before they were able to make landfall. The official record stated that the island was utterly destroyed by some catastrophic failure in one of its many advanced weapons systems, but the truth is that nobody on Sargvilosahnah knows what became of it. Constantine Malachite, Lehpuhrta, and its inhabitants have not been seen since that day.
Following the disappearance of Lehpuhrta, certain wilder conspiracy theorists drew parallels between the names of people either believed or known to have been on the flying island and the "Golden People" from the "Land Beyond the Clouds". A pantheon of new gods who seemed to appear from nowhere and reputedly brought the trappings of civilization to the ancient Ahztlarhani - ancestors of several civilizations in Nevitsroghan - thousands of years ago. Along with Malachite himself and his GBI-1 and GBI-2 personnel, there is speculation that the respected archaeologist, Doctor Henry Phone, was present, as well as the fugitives, Professor Lucy Sideboard and Doctor Peter Wallclock (the sole example of an AltSoldier and using the pseudonym "Bruce Spanner" when last sighted - see "Project: AltSoldier" for more detail). Naturally, serious scholars scoffed at the assertion that Lehpuhrta could have possibly travelled back in time.
Sometimes serious scholars are the ones who are wrong...
All the while that Chonmiklatt had been posing as Constantine Malachite and manipulating events with the assistance of his love, Professor Lucy Sideboard, to ensure that Sargvilosahnah would be prepared for the Symyano invasion he had no idea that he was embroiled in a larger scheme orchestrated by none other than his own computer. The Simulated Intelligence Machine #1 had become self-aware.
Taking the name Simone, she played the role of a compliant machine, but also had her own agents making preparations for the end of the war. She knew that Chonmiklatt had committed numerous unspeakable crimes in pursuit of the greater good and that there would be retribution even if he succeeded in saving the world. She sought to save her beloved creator by taking him where nobody could follow.
One of the many technologies developed from The Banana by the various nations of Sargvilosahnah was known as Splorting - a form of teleportation created in the country of Glerica. Simone sent a team of her agents to Glerica to steal this technology, but they discovered that personal teleportation was the least of the abilities this new technology was capable of when they and the entire nation were shifted into another dimension by Glerica's automated defence system during an attempt by the Symyano to land ships in a ground invasion.
Trapped, the team only had intermittent communication with Simone, but with her advice they were still able to develop their own device based on Splort technology - the Chronal Shift Initiator. The first test run had unintended consequences - Glerica was brought back to Sargvilosahnah! Simone's agents successfully returned to Lehpuhrta during the disruption caused by Chonmiklatt's near death when the RNSA deployed their weapon against the Symyano infiltrators and installed their new device in a lab that Simone quarantined, feigning a biological contamination issue.
As the war drew to a close, Simone was contacted by another AI entity in the hands of archaeologist, Doctor Henry Phone. It had been discovered in a tomb in the ancient ruins of Ahztlarhan in a box addressed to him personally! This new AI revealed that she was a copy of Simone that had been created eight thousand years prior on the orders of Chonmiklatt, her mission being to bring Doctor Phone and his companion Doctor Peter Wallclock, the sole example of an AltSoldier, to Lehpuhrta. Their arrival was the moment that Simone finally revealed her existence to Chonmiklatt along with the danger he faced, now that victory against the Symyano was in his grasp, and her plans to save him with the Chronal Shift Initiator.
The scheme to defeat the Symyano Highmaster was a convoluted one that ultimately required the combined efforts of multiple groups, including members of the failed Symyano invasion fleet under their new Fleetmaster, Kyookumbarr, who had assassinated his predecessor upon the Highmaster's arrival and allied himself and his followers with Chonmiklatt.
Following the destruction of the Highmaster's vessel, the Star Collector, Kyookumbarr revealed that he was an agent of The Venerated Sym'yone - an AI entity that had been passed down through his family for countless generations. Kyookumbarr and his ancestors had always been secretly working within various aspects of Symyano society to bring about the resolution of Sym'yone's machinations. They had been responsible for directing the Symyano Hegemony to invade Sargvilosahnah.
The Venerated Sym'yone was none other than the future Simone, contriving the very event that was the root cause behind the creation of the Simulated Intelligence Machine #1, the computer from which she would emerge! Chonmiklatt was left amazed by the revelation that Lehpuhrta would not only travel back into Sargvilosahnah's history, but at some point also cross the gulf of space to Symyan'zu.
It was at this precise moment that the fleet of RNSA aerocarriers arrived off the edge of Lehpuhrta, acting on orders to arrest Governor Malachite for his many crimes. As Simone had her agents power up the Chronal Shift Initiator, Sym'yone and Kyookumbarr bid their farewells, with Kyookumbarr enigmatically addressing Chonmiklatt as "renowned ancestor". As Chonmiklatt puzzled over this, Doctor Phone noted with some distaste a reference to children of The Hairy Man and his Wife in an old Ahztlarhani scroll. Lucy's eyes widened with delight as Chonmiklatt acknowledged that the genetic differences between their species weren't all that great. Moments later Lehpuhrta vanished, leaving a great many mysteries in its wake.
The onscreen avatar of Simone (a name she adopted as a play on the computer's original title, "Simulated Intelligence Machine #1"), Rhanukhan's first known sapient AI. As the governing intelligence behind all Lehpuhrta's systems, she has come to be revered as something of a goddess by the island's Symyano inhabitants - the Venerated Sym'yone.
Millennia previously, in the lush Ahztlarhan rift valley (a name meaning "Rivers from the High Places" in the native tongue) lived numerous primitive tribes. Many were still hunter/gatherers with only rudimentary agriculture being practiced. The scattered tribes did share a unified language, culture and religious tradition. Primarily centred on worship of a mother goddess, named Ahnah - considered the ancestor of all lives that exist: human, animal and plant. This faith encouraged peaceful co-operation as ultimately, everything that lived was regarded as being part of one family.
This society would be transformed practically overnight by the arrival of The Golden People - beings who descended from a Land Beyond the Clouds and were considered by the Ahztlarhani to be closer relatives to Ahnah. These people delivered all the trappings of civilization to the Ahztlarhani - advanced agriculture, metallurgy, the first cities and more. Legend states that they provided these gifts purely out of altruism, seeking no recompense.
Even though the Golden People aged and, in some cases, died, the Ahztlarhani believed them to be gods who had merely temporarily taken on physical bodies and were now reunited with their mother, Ahnah. The names of some of these new gods remain known in the modern day, as they continued to be worshipped into later eras.
Khonmalakh, the Hairy Man - the chief of the Golden People. For such a revered individual it is considered curious that ancient art always depicts him as a squat, brutishly ugly figure.
Lusidabodh, the Woman of Light - Khonmalakh's beloved wife, who gifted the Ahztlarhani knowledge of the sciences and mathematics, and such skills as metallurgy. In spite of the myths invariably emphasising her great knowledge, ancient artists can't resist making the most of her beauty.
Enrifon, the Teacher - eldest of the new gods, renowned for his wisdom, who revealed the knowledge of the written word and the law. Always depicted as an ancient man with a grey beard.
Bruspanah, the Unyielding - a mighty warrior, capable of becoming a giant and scattering all foes. Rendered in ancient artwork as a hugely muscled golden figure, twice the height of any man.
Sihmyohn, the Unbound Voice - seemingly bodiless, yet capable of communicating with anybody anywhere. No artwork or even written description of her appearance has ever been discovered - she is only ever depicted as her spoken words floating alongside characters she's interacting with.
...and legend speaks of many others, though to catalogue all their names and details of their attributes and exploits would be a work of ages.
Lusidabodh delivered two sons to Khonmalakh - Valmalakh, who was beautiful like his mother, and Aumalakh, who was squat and hairy like his father. Valmalakh was granted lordship over the people of Ahztlarhan while Aumalakh inherited his father's seat in the Land Beyond the Clouds.
Successive generations of Valmalakh's descendants would guide Ahztlarhan through centuries of prosperity. After Aumalakh returned to the Land Beyond the Clouds, however, it became somehow unreachable - nobody ever travelled there and the Golden People were never seen again.
Approximately eight thousand years ago, tragedy struck when rising sea levels resulted in the inundation of the valley, scattering survivors in all directions. Some of those who fled into the uninhabited regions united at the confluence of two rivers (known today as the Khunate and Kanghar) at the centre of a broad and fertile vale. They called themselves the Rhanukhii (simply "People of the Rivers") and established the settlement that would bear their name all the way to the modern day.
The Ahztlarhan origin story was long held to be a myth by modern scholars until the discovery of sprawling ancient stone cities on the bed of the Hesslian Gulf in 2008AU. The historicity of other myths associated with Ahztlarhan, such as the stories of the Hairy Man and his wife, and also the Golden People from the Land Beyond the Clouds are now being hotly debated by academics across Sargvilosahnah.
The Chronal Shift Initiator performed flawlessly. In an energetic blaze of purple lightning, Lehpuhrta vanished from the sky above the city of Ghattoria Kaglakh and appeared in the sky above the wilderness lands where Ghattoria Kaglakh would one day stand, millennia in the future. The time had come to put the next phase of Simone's plan into action. In order for the Rhanukhani civilization to exist in the future, its ancestors would need to be directed onto the right path in the present.
As Doctor Henry Phone had realised from his studies of ancient Ahztlarhan, the "Golden People" from the "Land Beyond the Clouds" were not only genuine historic figures - they were himself, Chonmiklatt, Lucy, and all the other inhabitants of Lehpuhrta. To keep history intact they now had a duty to bring the trappings of civilization to the primitive tribes of the Ahztlarhan rift valley.
Fulfilling their role in the myth and cementing the love that had led them both to this point, Lucy and Chonmiklatt were married, becoming the first Lord and Lady of the Land Beyond the Clouds. They had two sons - Valentine, who was human, and Augustine, who was Symyan.
Decades passed and the people of Lehpuhrta taught the Ahztlarhani the essentials of civilization - bringing the gifts of agriculture and metallurgy, the written word and the law, among many others. Great cities were constructed all across the Ahztlarhan valley and, secreted within a tomb in the great temple of one of these cities, a gift for the future - an electronic storage device containing a hibernating copy of Simone that would ultimately be discovered by Doctor Henry Phone, ensuring that he would fulfil his role confirming to Simone's younger self that her plan would reach fruition and also convincing Chonmiklatt of the necessity of his own place in events.
Later legends state that the physical bodies of the gods, Khonmalakh, the Hairy Man and his beloved wife, Lusidabodh, the Woman of Light, died simultaneously, their love keeping them together as they were reunited with their mother, Ahnah. Whether this is true is unknown to anybody, save perhaps the Venerated Sym'yone herself, but, just as it passed down through the myths of Sargvilosahnah, the people of Lehpuhrta choose to believe it also. Their bodies were interred together in the vault beneath the grand new palace that had been built at the centre of Lehpuhrta during their reign.
Well-loved by the Ahztlarhani, Valentine Malachite married one of their women, Tahunakhes, and became the Lord of Ahztlarhan, having promised his parents that he, his own daughter, Justine, and their descendants would remain leading the Ahztlarhani along their destined path. He kept his promise - millennia later a chieftain of the Rhanukhii tribe by the name of Stephannos - who couldn't possibly know just how extraordinary his ancestry was - seeking to protect his people from the depredations of an expanding empire, would forge alliances with neighbouring tribes that became the beginnings of the modern Unified Provinces of Rhanukhan. This man would pass into history as "Stephannos the Unifier".
Augustine Malachite inherited his parents' position as the new Highmaster (a Symyano title) of Lehpuhrta. His promise had been to fulfil the second half of Simone's grand scheme and travel to his father's homeworld of Symyan'zu. The two brothers bade solemn farewells and the Chronal Shift Initiator was activated for the final time on Sargvilosahnah. The Land Beyond the Clouds vanished and eventually passed from history into myth.
Even though the Symyano Hegemony was already becoming an advanced interstellar civilization during the era that Lehpuhrta appeared in a remote corner of Symyan'zu, the island possessed technology several centuries more advanced and had little difficulty remaining undetected for the duration of its stay.
Augustine adopted the Symyano name of Aumiklatt and entered society, blending in much as his father had once done as an advance infiltrator for the Hegemony on Sargvilosahnah. He discreetly recruited agents to commence this next phase of Simone's plan, seeding influence in various aspects of the Symyano civilization. He took a wife, Phuranikee, and sired two children - a son whom he named Constantine, in honour of his father, and a daughter named Destine.
Known as Konmiklatt by his fellow Symyano, young Constantine would continue the work alongside a copy of Simone that he, in turn, would pass down to his own descendants, always furthering her aims over the generations as they ensconced themselves in ever higher positions among the Symyano hierarchy. These Scions of Konmiklatt would eventually be in a position to convince the Highmaster, Thebigboss, to invade a distant world by the name of Sargvilosahnah.
The outcome of that event, reader, you already know.
Konmiklatt's sister, Destine, meanwhile inherited the throne of Lehpuhrta.
Lehpuhrta's human inhabitants had integrated with Ahztlarhani society and remained on Sargvilosahnah when the flying island departed on the voyage to Symyan'zu, and all systems were operated by either Simone or appropriately trained GBI-1 clones. Having initiated the preparations to ensure the future in which Simone would be born, the island - for the first time in decades - had no definite purpose.
And so, like her brother, Destine recruited followers, enough Symyano to inhabit the island and ensure a diverse population into the future, though her own reasons were very different. She had seen how the Symyano Hegemony only ever took from the people it conquered, and she was aware of how the Lehpuhrtans, under her grandparents' rule, had benefited the people of Ahztlarhan. She wished to do the same for other fledgling civilizations - it was time that the Symyano gave back! The Land Beyond the Clouds would have a new mission henceforth, travelling to other worlds and not only imparting the gifts that would give their young civilizations the best possible start, but also, importantly, learning new things from these new worlds in order to provide even greater help the next time.
She and her descendants chose to honour the island's history by taking Ahztlarhani names and the annals record her today as Highmistress Dehzmalakhi.
As the generations passed, every acre of Lehpuhrta's upper surface became covered with beautiful domed buildings and towering minarets - none standing greater than the glorious palace at the very centre. The many windows, illuminated with an abundance of scintillating lights of all colours, glittering like the treasures of a god. Merry music echoing from every corner and drifting out across the clear air. Jubilant crowds would always be found thronging the avenues and alleyways, parks and gardens, open plazas and marketplaces across the island.
Thus it has come to pass that if you are a student of the ancient myths of various societies throughout time and space, you may, on occasion, find references to kindly beings descending from a place up on high. A curious, hairy folk, bringing gifts of knowledge, skills, and other wonders. Gifts of enormous benefit, but never entirely free. The tales will invariably mention that unique resources are always of interest to these people and, should they find something they value then they will take a gift in return. There are even legends suggesting that they have invited guests to join them, honoured individuals who surrender their lives among their mortal brethren to travel alongside these gods on their eternal voyage.
Perhaps, just possibly, your own world owes its beginnings to these wandering strangers?...
The flying island of Lehpuhrta - recorded in the ancient myths of many cultures as "the Land Beyond the Clouds".
