Endymion Starch, "Lords of Knowledge"
I devoted my whole life to studying the Great Andali.These long-lived creatures collect knowledge. Art, music, and poetry are ubiquitous in their culture, often incomprehensible to others. It takes truly a lot of time, far beyond human life, to understand it all. Philosophy, psychology, magic, and even forbidden knowledge—their reservoir of knowledge is truly impressive.
Andali are extremely slender and tall beings, with gray skin.They have eight small, black eyes and powerful mandibles. Their long, six-limbed bodies end in razor-sharp fingers, giving them a menacing appearance.Despite their intimidating looks, they are gentle creatures, more inclined to settle disputes through intellect than violence. However, if necessary, they can wield weapons and magic with incredible precision, unmatched by any.
Their capital, known as the City of Dreamers, is a sight etched into memory like scars. The city, built of a milky white metal, is surrounded by walls of immense size, richly adorned with statues and reliefs depicting their greatest achievements and heroes who have served the society.
The city itself is a maze, with white, towering towers covered in fluorescent moss of irregular shapes, with round entrances adorned with rich stained glass.
Transparent bridges between them, occasionally illuminated by multicolored stones.Above the city stretches a dome resembling a spider's web, from which plants hang.
Atop the web sits a statue of a huge creature, an insect resembling a spider.
This statue was erected in honor of their god of knowledge and dreams, Ananasi.
Their entire culture and life focus on understanding the world and themselves, acquiring knowledge.
The process of acquiring knowledge occurs in a specific way because all Andali knowledge is recorded in the threads of a spiderweb.
The process of gaining knowledge is called "dreaming."
A person wishing to gain knowledge drank a potion, the composition of which was a secret.
After drinking this liquid, the dreamer fell asleep, and the Andali, using their pointed fingers, played on the threads of knowledge, influencing what the person dreamed about.
They considered this process a connection to a higher collective consciousness, whose knowledge was contained in the threads.
The act of dreaming itself was considered sacred, and the knowledge gained in this way came very easily to the dreamer's mind.
The dreamer could feel, see, and taste everything that was recorded on the threads; the dream itself was as real as if the dreamer were participating in the events they saw.
Unfortunately, this process was intended for people with strong minds because the dream initially flowed like a small stream.
A bit of carelessness or getting lost in this beautiful dream world was enough for the river of knowledge to carry the dreamer's mind into further recesses, from which it was difficult to return to reality.
The Andali themselves compared this to drinking salty water from the sea—you will never drink all the water, and with each sip, your thirst increases.
How many bright minds have been lost in this process?
Many times it happened that the dream world seemed more beautiful than the real one, so many did not return.
The bodies of dreamers died entangled in the web, when they were immersed in a beautiful, albeit dangerous dream.
This phenomenon was called "a good death."
Your mind became part of something greater, your knowledge was passed on.
Sometimes dreamers claimed to see deceased individuals and could communicate with them.
The process of acquiring knowledge was considered approaching a god, becoming someone else, better.
By acquiring knowledge, you expanded horizons, got to know yourself, evolved.
All my knowledge about these great, luminous minds I passed on to posterity by writing about them in my books.
This is the last entry in my life, which will soon end due to my age.
Writing this final entry, I reached the age of 170, which is quite an achievement for a human.
I will go on my final journey into eternal sleep.