The series of suspicious events came to a head as Melkor and Anksheptut
descended upon the rajamala village to find all of its inhabitants
murdered.

Melkor thought back to the hooded man who had visited the temple just
days before. His hands shook against a gnarled walking stick, the skin
hanging from them covered with age spots. He hadn't gotten a good look
at the man's face, but he seemed to have a cleverness to him that Melkor
hadn't encountered in centuries. Their conversation reamined ordinary
until the man began asking about the items stored within the temple.
Melkor became suspicious when the man mentioned the name Anksheptut, one
he had not heard in some time. Melkor pondered the visit for many days
before he was overcome with the urge to visit the rajamala king, the
latest in the line of the family who had settled just miles away.
Something was not right about the myserious visitor, and the only others
who had remained true to Lord Agatheis deserved fair warning.

During the fabled tribunals, Melkor had faced trial as the chosen Aldar
of Agatheis. The Elemental Lord had lived a solitary existence until the
day that Melkor adopted the habit of quietly observing his work. This
continued for any number of years before Agatheis acknowledged the
Aldar, and the two began their formal relationship as teacher and
student. Still mourning the loss of his Lord, Melkor was shamed to learn
that he would face trial with Anksheptut, the king of the rajamala who
had survived the attacks of Thoth's Quisalis assassins as he and his
family slept among the nobility. The trial was brief, with many of the
victorious parties demanding swift death. Miramar ruled their
culpability to be only partial, as both individuals had been enslaved by
the now neutralised Divine. Melkor had been stripped of his Aldar
powers, becoming a half mortal: a raceless man, unaffected by age with
the capacity to die.

As Melkor approached the discrete village, his mind had wandered to the
countless years spent wandering aimlessly and without purpose. One day,
he had stumbled across this village, and discovered the descendants of
the rajamala who had survived the War. He found the king, who still
retained the name of Anksheptut in accordance with their political
custom for every ruling male. The last time Melkor had seen the
rajamala, they had begged Miramar to return them to their home planet.
Their punishment was no more than simple abandonment on the continent of
Sapience, where they had remained confined within the small village for
generations. Melkor had been surprised to learn that the rajamala still
worshipped Agatheis, and he suddenly found the clarity he had longed
for. He walked only a couple miles before he found a suitable spot where
he began the arduous endeavor of raising a temple to the Elemental Lord.
Days became months, months became years, and years became centuries
until one day, he was done and a temple to Lord Agatheis was created.
Sole guardian of the temple since, the trip to report the mysterious man
was the first departure Melkor had made since breaking ground.

The newest King Anksheptut recognised Melkor before he was able to
introduce himself, despite never meeting him. Melkor took Anksheptut
deep into the woods to discuss the visitor. The discussion lasted for
hours before they turned to travel back to the village. Melkor had
silently watched Anksheptut search the entire village to find all of the
inhabitants murdered. He frowned at the peculiar symbols painted in
blood on the doors of each of the low huts as he became increasingly
worried about the valuable statues deep within the temple. As Anksheptut
returned to the centre of the village, Melkor produced a pouch of unique
crystals. Anksheptut nodded slowly as Melkor demanded that he go into
hiding to protect the strange gems.

As the king gathered his belongings, Melkor stroked the surface of the
crystals as he recalled the day a set of dense rocks were formed from an
unsuccessful attempt at elemental control, a day suspiciously close to
Maya's rape. Many years later, Agatheis had implemented knowledge gained
from experimenting on the Kx'Khrah to drastically alter these rocks, a
process He had never successfully replicated. Melkor relished the years
that followed spent at the side of Agatheis, experimenting on the
gemstones until the rocks proved to have a most mysterious property.

Leaving Anksheptut to fend for himself, Melkor returned to the temple
and was horrified to find the four statues had disappeared, causing him
to enter a deep depression. It took him many years to remember
Anksheptut and many more to begin searching for him. What became of
Anksheptut and the mysterious crystals? Who was the man who set these
events into motion? What property did these crystals exhibit?

Centuries would pass before the answers were revealed...

Penned by My hand on the 2nd of Aeguary, in the year 476 AF.