The Core and the True Keepers

Far to the south the Mountains of Glory tower against the sky, blazing with light and heat. Surrounding them is a blasted desert that none have crossed. The charred bones of many who have tried lay scattered in the black sand.

Within these mountains, accessible by secret tunnels and hidden ways, lies the Core, home of Pheric and the True Keepers. For it is here that the Progenitors first made landfall when they came from the sky. It is here that they delved deeply, building the machines that bring life to the entire world. It is here that they enshrined Pheric whom they brought from the worlds beyond the sky. It is here that Pheric now sits enthroned, ruling over the land.

The Core itself is quite cool, but the blazing heat of the Mountains of Glory prevent casual excursions outside. Thus, many of the True Keepers have never seen the outside world. Instead, they live out a quiet, monastic life of service. Each True Keeper learns the rites of maintenance that must be performed. So long as these rites are performed, each True Keeper is free to pursue a life of contemplation and study. The library of the Core is full of learned treatises and monographs written by generations of True Keepers: generations now dead. Even more prized are the few remaining manuscripts left over from the time of the Progenitors themselves.

One duty taken seriously by the True Keepers is the praise of Pheric. In the center of the Core there is a large arched room. All the tunnels in the Core connect in some way with this place. In this room there stands a choir, perpetually chanting the Sacred Name of Pheric which is a number and not a word. Every True Keeper spends one hour of his day participating in this choir, chanting the Sacred Name. It is a high and holy privilege. The chant echoes through the tunnels and halls of the Core, so that the Name of Pheric is heard at all times.

Sometimes, though, a trip to the outside world cannot be avoided. Alyria is covered with many True Shrines of Pheric which must be periodically consecrated with the rites of maintenance. Moreover, at times a True Shrine of Pheric may be desecrated by the ungodly. In these cases, two or three True Keepers don the robes of mendicants and journey from the Core to perform the rites. Those that return tell strange tales of the world outside the safety of their mountains. Some do not return at all.

The highest ranking Keepers in the Core are given the title of Programmer. To these privileged few is given the burden of the truth. The Programmers are told the true history of Alyria. They are taught that Pheric is naught but a computer and that the Mountains of Glory are merely its heat sinks. They are shown the twin perils of dragons and Outsiders. They are taught that the fate of Alyria rests with them, for surely if the dragons or Outsiders should learn the truth about Pheric and the Core, the world is doomed. It is a heavy burden that they bear. For, as they say, knowledge is weightier than the mountains.