test
test test
04/09/11
The scale in this spart of the city is a bit disorienting. Everywhere ekse so far has been comfortable; plenty of tall buildings but for the most part nothing like in a “big” city. This city is big, but because there’s nothing surrounding it it’s been able to spread outwards rather than upwards. Except here. Urbs speculorum, the “city of glass”. It’s named after the towering glass skyscrapers that rise above everything else in the city, even Apollo’s temple on the mountain. I haven’t been able to find out what it was called before they were built, though.
I spend some days going through the libraries, reading up on some of the myths peculiar to the area, myths centering around gods that I’m familiar with and have been since childhood, but stories I’ve never heard. Most interestingly, there’s even stories of gods from entirely different cultures interacting, like Thoth and Morpheus.
Morpheus in particular is interesting, because asides from some pop cultural references he was never a particularly powerful or widely worshipped god in his time. And yet here he’s been elevated to the core pantheon – I must remember to look into how he rose to such prominence while I’m here.
Even more interestingly, it looks like this myth has gained in popularity in the past couple years (taking advantage of the library’s network, tracking which books are checked out or cross-referenced in journals or on the net). The story’s pretty vague, though. It’s only really mentioned in passing, and I can’t seem to find the original anywhere… so why the popularity?
04/02/11
And before I knew it, the month is over and it’s time to move on. Looking at my slowly developing map, it looks like I’m off down the hill into the business district, urbs speculorum.
I can see the glittering skyscrapers from here. This is where, according to the history of the city, the scribes all gathered, and over the years the libraries and printing presses turned to newer technology and eventually laid the network for the whole area, moving into software and telecommunications.
My room here is very modern, a departure from the homey atmosphere of my room in regio lunae. very clean, and instead of a bookshelf there’s a small table with an ebook on it. Hundreds of titles, far more than I’d ever have time to read. Though libraries are still very common in this district, as the residents still have a high respect for books, they haven’t shied away from embracing new forms of technology.
03/26/11
Troubling dreams. I dreamt I was underground. No light. I had to find my way by touch and sound. Dry bones crunched under my feet. Off in the distance I could hear water falling, but there was no moisturein the air or on the rocks in my location.
After a while I began to hear a leathery fluttering, raspy breathing, as if there were creatures circling me. I began to panic. I hurried my pace; surely this cave must have an exit somewhere. I headed for the sound of the water. At one point I thought I felt something brush against my leg. I gasped and tried to scream, but no sound came.
Eventually I saw a glimmer of light ahead of me – an opening! I scrambled towards it as fast as I could, heedless of any rocks or barriers in my way. At one point I tripped and cut my knee, which caused whatever was shadowing me to stir and chitter. I ran.
And just like that, I was out. I don’t even remember crossing the threshold, but just beyond this (from the outside, deceptively small) cave opening was a tiny village. Welcoming-looking green-roofed houses clumped together in an inviting fashion, and up on the highest hill I could see a small temple in the distance.
Even before I reached it, I knew what village this must be. This was Ulthar, the dream city wherein it is forbidden to kill a cat.
03/19/11
After a couple days, I’ve gotten used to sleeping in late and doing most of my exploration at night. The temple here is only open from moon-rise to moon-set. And it’s closed on the new moon.
The temple is a smallish compared to the others in the city, sandstone with bits of marble. Regal feline statues wearing crowns guard the entrance. A large opening in the roof and an ingenious set of mirrors allow the entire main area to be lit by moonlight. I wonder what they do on a cloudy night.
By the altar, the cat-headed goddess’s statue. Polished ebony, bare-breasted and wearing exquisite golden jewelry. Wreathes of flowers around her neck and laid at her feet.