As much as the sands of Andash are want to swallow civilisations whole, they are not a landscape entirely unwilling to offer some respite. When investments within The Concord arrive at the dig site of Kodiri for the last time it will be named as such, they see this as clearly as the sun in the sky - despite the eroding forces of the Tanebar Sea, a path has been excavated through Kodiri down to its base, providing possible insight and possible income in the same journey.
But what will The Concord do with such a hard-earned opportunity? Will they grasp their histories with both hands, bringing life back to this unliving site? Or will they let it slink back into the sands of unknowing? Or, perhaps, something entirely else besides?
From Golden Opportunities and Dried Blood
For many Heroes in Andash, and in The Concord beyond, the Kodiri Temple dig site has been a curiosity waiting to be cracked open; a trove brimming with everything and emptiness in the same possibility.
Through its walls, any number of insights could be gleaned about the great civilisation that built it, and each room could provide a stepping stone to understanding the culture that now sits outside of The Concord’s history, mired in mystery.
The vast expanse of New Kodiri, though barely explored, tells tales of a whole settlement beyond the temple itself, built upon an even more ancient structure sunken into the sands, much like the Andashi of today. The great Keep of Kodiri tells tales of an academic and artful people through its echoing chambers of mosaics and surface after surface of broken artefacts. The red-and-white-stone War Room tells tales of organised forces, prepared both to stay in place to defend their home, and to travel great distances for reasons unknown.
Then, there are the crafts within its walls, some lost to the ravages of time and sand, but some held by great craftsmanship or greater magics; still-beating hearts to cure what ails, rituals of blood to spill even more, swords to slice down The Spheres without the blade ever touching flesh.
But, as indicated by the votes cast by the Heroes of The Concord last Summit, those in power long for more than just trinkets and vague tales of lost histories left behind in Kodiri’s abandonment. These votes, cast in Delvers’ coins, each held enough sway to send the stones of Kodiri crumbling under the weight of indecision, yet in their votes they were near unanimous.
And, when the investments sent by Concordian Heroes arrived and began excavating further, it was a pleasant if unexpected surprise when they found the work blessedly simple. Particularly given the difficulty that it seemed that the previous expeditions into Kodiri had shared, if one ignored the black stone of the darkness of the path not taken, and instead looked to the gold inlays on the stone in the path below them, it was almost pleasant.
The Treasury, the Heroes of The Concord decided, would be the final room to be excavated in the dig of Kodiri Temple. Perhaps full of gold, jewels, and resources, or perhaps full of nothing at all, it remains unopened for now, suspended in possibility.
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For many of the people in Andash, and for workers in The Concord beyond, Kodiri Temple has been a source of ambivalence, most waiting for it to be finished or abandoned with equal enthusiasm; a place that has inspired wonder and woe in the same possibility.
In its walls, many people of Obregon hoped to find a connection to their long-lost ancestors, travelling from the spired city before work had even begun. Each room could be a new discovery of an old home, a stepping stone to further stability in The Tribelands. The vast expanse of New Kodiri, though barely explored, tied them to this dream - if a whole settlement of Grand Andash could live upon these crumbling stones aeons ago, then the Andashi could rebuild and regrow in the same way.
However, the wounds sustained by many following promises made but not kept drowned out the tales that the beautiful mosaics of the Keep told - it is difficult to stare up at man-made stars in amazement when you alone are holding up scaffolding meant for two or three. It is even more difficult to do so when that scaffolding is made heavier by the loss of half your crew the day before, drowned under sands that should have been kept at bay.
The further irony of the tales that the War Room told of a great empire, struggling to keep themselves afloat, despite the plenty that surrounded them in weaponry and knowledge, was not lost on them. Especially the irony of the room being uncovered by descendants years later, again, this time without the knowledge of Priests or the picks of miners. That War Room saw more violence in the form of decimated history and broken bones crushed under unattended stone in two seasons than it had in hundreds of years. But there was no enemy there prompting this brutality - no Witch threatening to consume their grandness - just the savagery of life in the desert, so far removed from those with power.
And, as indicated by the votes cast by the Heroes of The Concord last Summit, those in power long for trophies and trinkets more than they a safe dig in Seasons past - when the golden opportunity of The Treasury came after the payment of the blood of workers, Heroes were happy to step in for that final foray.
When the investments sent by Concordian Heroes arrived and began excavating further, it was near infuriating how simple the work was. When all those promised and more attend, no farmers are crushed under sliding stones. When all those in power use it, no miners are trapped behind walls they cannot carve through. When Heroes of The Concord choose it, no one has to die, especially not for a Treasury.
For those working on Kodiri these past Seasons, living or dead, many are glad to see the back of it. They hope that whatever The Concordian Heroes may find down there will be worth the blood and bodies it cost along the way.
Game Information
As decided by the votes cast last Summit by the Senator of The Tribelands, Delvers, and those whose investments attended the previous Kodiri dig, the excavation has focussed on uncovering the Treasury, down in the depths of the structure.
Due to the endeavour receiving all of the workers it required, none of the investments that ventured there were damaged, with the Heroes responsible receiving a small number of resources or coin, based on caches found on the way down through the temple.
Further, the workers have managed to secure the entrance to the Treasury, enabling a small contingent of Concordian Heroes to enter, to determine what treasures Grand Andash held most near. Given decisions made last Summit, a conflux will be made available this Summit, with details to be provided to The Headmaster of the Andashi School of Gifts.
As the Kodiri dig suffered a number of difficulties, including losses of life, in previous Seasons, all sections of Kodiri not explored, excluding the New Kodiri site at the surface, have been swallowed by the sands of the Tanebar. As such, they are lost to The Concord, either due to being destroyed by the weight of the landscape, or being inaccessible due to resentment from the workers - it is near impossible to say which is a heavier burden.
Our Knowledge Brings Us Near to Our Ignorance
Diego tried to wipe the sweat from their brow with the bottom of their shirt - though the air was cold and musty this far beneath the sands, hammering the final few nails into the structures to support the entrance to the Treasury was difficult work, and they were perspiring quite profusely.
As they clambered back up the sandstone stairs, restored by the hard work of labourers from all over The Concord, they felt a twinge in their chest. The same twinge that they felt each time they reached the junction of the stairs.
They did not like looking at it, Diego decided. The granite void on the southern side. Even in their peripheral vision, with most of it now filled with the shifting sands, they could see the remnants of what used to be - hooded figures scratched, gouged, almost erased from history. The discomfort that sat heavy in their chest as they continued climbing convinced them that it was a good thing that The Concord had let it sink away, back into the depths.
But as they traced the red and white stones with their dust-coated, callus-covered hands, they couldn’t help but mourn for the loss of the knowledge, even if it left a foul feeling in the air.
Diego had always loved history - they had grown up with tales from the Wreathkeepers who wandered with and through their Clan, consuming their stories of Grand Andash like a wild dog would - with a fervour that was never quite sated. They wandered The True Wilds and the Tanebar Sea with their siblings, clambering over and under, around and through ancient homesteads now crumbled to ruins, and imagined themselves restoring Andash to its former grandeur.
One of the Mages from the School brushed past their shoulder, attentions focussed elsewhere as they took notes on some of the carvings in the War Room, and Diego had to stifle a sigh.
If the words didn’t swim around on the page while they were being written, they thought, perhaps that could be me. Perhaps some of the mysteries of this place wouldn’t have been lost. Perhaps I could have been a Mage, or an Archivist, or a researcher for The Concord.
Diego shook their head, dislodging themselves from their reverie - to be someone who takes notes is well and good, but there needs to be someone to do the digging first. There needs to be historians who will put their literal blood and sweat into uncovering the past thought lost. There needs to be Delvers, Wreathkeepers, and Sagites.
Casting their eyes about the chamber for likely the last time this Season, Diego paused for a moment, their rope belt shifting on their hips. They surveyed the room, trying to absorb every detail, to carve it all into their brain as best they could. They looked to the great stone map spread out before them in wonder; it covered most of Southern Esterra, though the names were incomprehensible.
Diego squinted their eyes, and tried to look just at one word at a time as they had been taught, but they still sat unreadable to them. They could feel frustration building up, irritation at themselves that they couldn’t take all of the history being offered by the bones of this place, when the voice of the Mage called out.
“It’s in Grand Andashi, friend - Mages and Priests last Season translated them,” the voice said, nose still buried in their notebook.
“Ah! Wonderful!” Diego smiled back. “So, what do they mean?”
“They don’t know.”
Diego’s eyebrows creased slightly, confused for a moment. “But, you just said they translated them?”
The Mage looked up from her book now, a single eyebrow raised in slight condescension. “Yes, I did. But they don’t know what they mean, historically. No point of reference.”
Diego’s eyebrows did not move. “No point of reference? We’re on a dig site? Surely the collective research done about this place gives some idea as to what they might mean? What about the huge mosaic upstairs? That’s like the Shrines - surely there’s something in that?” The questions tumbled out of their mouth like sand through an uncontained dig - quickly, and with a fair sting to them.
“Probably,” the Mage replied, already back beneath her pages. “When they do some research about it, I’m sure we’ll know.”
Game Information
As the academic community of The Andashi School of Gifts is allowed into the Kodiri dig site, there are a series of unanswered questions left behind by previous expeditions, many of which cannot be answered by Mages alone. What was Kodiri built for? What did it become? Why was it abandoned in the state that it was?
As the news that the Kodiri dig is nearing its end begins to spread, more academics flock to Kodiri, attempting to uncover its secrets, and answer its questions. However, like any team, researchers need some guidance and support - a flock of researchers with no focus is less of a team, and more of a mass of hypothesising and squabbling. There will be additional information and decisions to be made by the High Historian, the High Priest of Stallia, the Headmaster of the School of Embers, and the Headmaster of the Andashi School of Gifts in regards to the academic endeavours of Kodiri.
Due to the influx of academics from across The Concord to Kodiri this past Season, all Farm investments in The Tribelands have received income as if one Tier higher, reflecting the need of all at Kodiri to refuel after days of solid labour and speculation.
Foundations Built Upon Echoes of the Past
Andash is no stranger to the ruins that hide beneath its sands. Even at the heart of Obregon stands a reminder of the far past, the arcane mystery that is The Andashi School of Gifts. A great structure that has seen trials and tribulations, especially in recent years, but has withstood the test of time and become the very foundation for The Tribeland’s largest city. To learn of and utilise the past is to truly be a part of Andash’s great legacy, and the Kodiri Dig is no exception.
Like any pursuit worth taking, the dig site of Kodiri has faced troubles. From the most mundane of logistical concerns, to the death of hard-working Concordians, and loss of ancient knowledge, years of effort and trials have finally reached their ultimate goal. Despite this, the previously explored layers of Kodiri remain, empty now of all but the echoes of their past. Is it in the nature of Andash to simply take, leaving nothing of worth behind? Or is there something hidden beneath the disturbed dust that can reveal yet more secrets to The Concord?
The efforts of The Concord have ensured that these rooms will remain usable, sturdily reinforced to ensure travel between them is at least possible, even if difficult. While only time will tell if these passages will continue to be safe, for now they allow for movement throughout the parts of Kodiri that have not been forever lost. Whispers of wonder and thought by those Mages of the Andash School of Gifts fill these passages, but these whispers are often overturned by the laborious gruntings of those workers still carrying out their important duties.
Beneath the sands hides many decisions, but above them hovers in the minds of the Andashi equal questions. Does Kodiri become the site of a new town? Are the ruins beneath worth settling above and around them? Is there a reason to do so at all, or is it a simple desire to create a false impression of success? Can we draw from Kodiri the same benefits that we have drawn from The School of Gifts?
Yet even still, one room remains hidden at the very bottom of Kodiri, its secrets perhaps the keys to these questions and more.
Game Information
The previous floors of the Kodiri site have seen many rooms cut off and made inaccessible, lost to the sands forever more. But there remains those rooms that have been explored, and there may be opportunities hiding within them that could only be revealed upon closer inspection. Do they continue to hide hints to the past, or has Kodiri given up everything it has to offer?
Ruins have long been a building block of Andashi society, both physically and culturally. Obregon stands a testament to the benefits of building around particularly renowned sites of Grand Andash, which begs the question of whether Kodiri could represent the same. Despite the loss of certain parts of Kodiri to the sands of Andash, what remains could be repurposed rather than researched, should enough support be acquired and its final treasures prove adequate.
There will be decisions to be made in regards to the Kodiri dig site by the Senator of The Tribelands, Delvers and The Andashi School of Gifts.