Excerpts from The Antiquities War
| Excerpts from The Antiquities War | |
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[[File:{{#setmainimage:Sarpadian Empires.jpg}}|250px]] | |
| Characteristics | |
| Origin | Dominaria |
| Status | Unknown |
Excerpts from the Antiquities War, by Kayla bin-Kroog: A New Translation and Commentary is a short work by Taysir of Rabiah.
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Excerpts from the Antiquities War, by Kayla bin-Kroog.
A new translation and commentary by Taysir of Rabiah.
It is my purpose to provide a contemporary version of The Antiquities War, a classic in Argivian literature. Although "The Story of Urza and Mishra" is well-known throughout Terisiare, a modern interpretation was overdue. The text speaks for itself. I shall therefore confine my expository comments to footnotes.
"The Story of Urza and Mishra" takes place thousands of years after the fall of the mysterious Thran Empire. Some say that the Thran discovered a source of great power, but they were not ready to use this power properly-- and it destroyed them.
During the time of Urza and Mishra, Fallaji nomads routinely searched for Thran artifacts in the Western Desert. With caravans filled with bits and pieces of the past, the Fallaji traveled east-- to the edge of the desert, where they traded with various city-states and schools specializing in the study of Thran antiquities.
Sometimes, the nomads brought more than artifacts to the schools. Following the deaths of their parents, the two brothers came to one of the archeological schools. Here is where the tale of Urza and Mishra begins.
This is the story of Urza and Mishra[1], brothers from Argive.
Urza was the older brother, quiet and clever--
While Misha was rash and hot-headed.
With both parents in the land of the dead,
The two brothers made the journey to the School of Tocasia.
- ↑ The language of The Antiquities War is very compact, like the language of myth. We are told only what is important, and left to uncover the meaning for ourselves. "The Story of Urza and Mishra", the fourth of a five-part cycle, was written in the High Argivian "pictoglyph" language and takes the traditional form of sixty five-line stanzas, which are further divided into groups of five "facets." We will examine this gem symbolism in greater detail as our study progresses.
The School of Tocasia was in the land of Argive.
Urza and Mishra lived for many years at her school,
Where they studied the secrets of a lost race.
One day, after the brothers had learned much from Tocasia,
They found treasure buried beneath the surface of things.[1]
- ↑ One of the definitions of the phrase, "beneath the surface of things," in High Argivian, is "the world of the senses." In the thinking of the old Argivian scholars, the world of the senses is an "outer world" contrasting with the "inner world" of the soul. The reader should examine how this symbolic process relates to his own "inner world," where jewels may still await discovery.
After Urza and Mishra had studied for many years,
They went with Tocasia deep into the Western Desert,
Where they found the secrets of the Thran in the Cave of Koilos[1].
Beneath the Earth, Urza and Mishra found what was lost,
And each brother took his first step on the path of fate.
- ↑ The word "koilos" is a derivation of the High Argivian word for "secret." The brothers and Tocasia traveled deep into the Western Desert-- a place no one else dared go. Only those willing to face the unknown will ever find the stone of power waiting inside their own "inner worlds."
In the cave, Urza and Mishra found the secrets of the Thran.
There, the brothers discovered something long forgotten--
They found the crystal[1]; it gave them power, but they were foolish, and now they're dead.
Two stones of great power left behind in the darkness.
The stones-- each with six facets of five sides, were two halves of a perfect whole.
- ↑ These Thran stones of power had lain hidden in the cave for a thousand generations. Each half of the twelve-sided gem stone, had six facets of five sides, which represented the five forces of mana. Twelve multiplied by five gives sixty-- the number of stanzas in "The Story of Urza and Mishra."
Urza and Mishra left the darkness of the cave,
As if they had stepped from the world of dreams.
The sun sparkled on the stones and each brother coveted both.
Tocasia was the first to see the path before them--
A dark path of fate that had to be followed.