Away from Home by William Bell

[Sternhund]

Away from Home
The Journal of William Bell


Never in my life have I been a man who immersed himself in conflict.
Always have I been a dreamer.

My experiences here atop this Ziggurat have forever changed my life. Away from home, I have become stronger to uphold the ideals of which I believe. Prior to my arrival, it was my greatest interest to uncover the curiosities of this world. I tackled questions of all magnitude and subject. My explorations taught me how a seed sprouts into a redwood, and how celestial bodies move across our night sky. This curiosity is all I have left of home.

Upon my arrival, I met the grumpiest dwarf of my life. Together, we founded The Archaeological Society, to gather and shelter scholars lost from their homes. It was our dream that we would someday find a way home, away from this island community where bad men assert dominance over good men.

In both this life and my previous, I have avoided politics to the best of my ability. With politics comes conflict, which inhibits the process of discovery. It has been my experience that while there is need for order, government is not the cure. Government is the arena of dishonest politicians and kings who demand all to bow. In my wildest of dreams is a perfect society composed of individuals with high virtue. There is no need for hierarchy or bureaucracy. Instead, everyone collectively contributes to the whole.

Although this is a dream which cannot be fulfilled on this earth, I do believe the Archaeological Society has come close to meeting it. My leadership in the Society was not ordering members to write or make research. It was instead to recognize and encourage their efforts, asking nothing of them, yet applauding those who made any steps to satisfy the Lord's will. There is no hierarchy or bureaucracy. All members partake in major decisions through ballot, and participate by their own will. Here, we are all equal. Here, we may serve as a model for world governance.

In our quest for discovery, the most curious discussions we've held regarded the ancient ruins and the ziggurat which brought us here. We carefully scrutinized every detail at microscopic level, receiving small pictures of an astronomically advanced society run by the Netherese and their successors.

It has become my hypothesis that the working ruins today are broken. The ziggurat which brought us here was not constructed for this purpose. Yet what brings us here can take us home, and our knowledge will uncover how to manipulate the ruins for our purposes. This is an immense feat, which requires us to understand our past, fix what is broken, and successfully reprogram.

We have been given a thread to pull upon. We take little steps toward success, which leaves room for much speculation. While we will only understand this island with time, it is my speculation that the crystals with multidimensional purpose hold the way home.

I have always considered my time here a rude interruption of my life. There is nothing more that I desire than to return home.