The Celestial Egg of the Tyrannian Plateau

      Tyrannia was originally a barren land, its expansive rocky plains broken up only by a few volcanoes and hills of igneous rock formed through tectonic activity. The scorching heat of the sun, combined with the regular flow of lava that brought heat from below the surface of Neopia made for a fairly inhospitable land with no drinkable water, plants, or animals that would be able to help support life.

      However, that is not to say that there was a complete lack of visitors. The volcanoes and rocky mountains did attract the odd merchants and travellers that sought to make a living off resources that the volcanoes offered. After a large eruption was observed, regular travellers knew that the land would stay quiet for a while. Opportunistic merchants and explorers would then visit the area in caravans of wagons to gather volcanic soil and mine the volcanoes for ores that they brought to the surface. However, as many precautions as these travellers might have taken to stay safe from the volcanoes, there were times where an unexpected eruption or lava flow would force them into caves in the rocky hills, where they would have been trapped for the eruption's duration. As part of the wait for the disaster to settle, boredom probably drove travellers to draw their experience in the caves. These drawings and paintings are what have clued historians and archaeologists into Tyrannia's prehistoric events, and is one of the origins of the story of the celestial egg of the Tyrannian Plateau.

      It is unknown when it was said to have happened, but there have been many depictions, as well as oracles from seers, of an appearance of a massive egg in the middle of Tyrannia's ancient plains. Some paintings illustrate a giant bird larger than all the mountains in Tyrannia and Terror Mountain put together. The proportions and shape somewhat resembled a faerie Pteri. It had supposedly landed in the night, somehow formed a nest of rectangular blocks, and laid a massive egg. One seer described a vision of the past where, during an intense eruption, the egg fell from the heavens along with a scattering of rectangular meteors, while an ancient tablet described the egg and blocks simply passing through the ground as if they were immaterial like ghosts. When the egg finally floated to the surface entirely, it became a massive unmovable object. A religious circle with ancient roots passed a story down that a deity simply reached down from the heavens and placed blocks around to ensure stability, then deposited the massive egg on top.

      Despite the many accounts and varied tales, there are two obvious commonalities between the accounts: the idea of the existence of an egg the size of mountains, and strange rectangular blocks that were used to keep the egg in place. The strange composition of rock that makes up the boulders, while still incredibly massive, is less dense than regular rock and thus plausible to have been moved around even if limited only to ancient techniques and technology. These boulders are legendary for their durability even now, having survived eruptions of the past along with the egg, and they are seemingly unaffected by erosion. Although common folklore suggests that they are the origin of the boulders that form the modern day's Tyrannian concert hall, chemical analysis has proven these boulders to have a different origin from the surrounding rocks. While these stories could be the explanation behind the origins of these boulders, the boulders could also have inspired writers to spin these tales given their otherwise unknown history. The truth about them will always remain elusive.

      While the rectangular boulders were already large and imposing for most visitors to Tyrannia, they do not even compare to the scale at which the egg has been described. From the varied accounts, most will agree that the egg was as big as the volcanoes and mountain ranges, and created massive shadows throughout the day, as depicted in various cave paintings. The egg apparently inspired some travellers to form a community to worship it, and they created art in caverns in the mountains, portraying the egg's majesty. Based on their art, there were noises from the egg from time to time, as explained by pictures they drew of themselves putting their ears against the giant shell. These sounds had encouraged them to assemble the nearby blocks into makeshift scaffolding in order to listen to the sounds the egg produced.

      One can only imagine the sounds that the egg made. Ancient descriptions passed down through the ages call them the voices of celestials. Some cave paintings claim that the egg spread knowledge and wisdom that would bring great fortune. Whatever the sounds may have been, it seemed to have brought great joy to all who visited. This might explain why there is a concert hall made from the very same boulders in Tyrannia even today.

      Based on the progression of artistry and technology used to depict the egg, one might guess that the egg remained in place for at least a few millennia. While the egg was certainly an interesting sight, the land was still rather inhospitable, offering only the egg, the shade it gave, and the rectangular boulders that were impractical to move long distances to trade. There still were visitors that came to the area for the resources that the volcanoes provided. However, everything changed when there was a crack.

      Among the various accounts, a vivid vision that a seer shared described the events around the egg cracking most lucidly. The egg in her vision had cracked with a thunderous noise, and propagated to circumvent the thickest part of the egg vertically. Everyone in the area was deafened by the incredible noise, and those who could see the egg in the distance stopped whatever they were doing. Everyone who had seen this was apparently brought to their knees by the magnificence of the sight. A clear liquid, which she described as an ambrosia with incredible energies, burst forth from the egg and flowed from it in a seemingly endless stream. It was unlike water, as it seemed to move with a purpose and felt full of life, flowing far across the open plain until it collected in a pool and appeared to seep into the ground. As it flowed, the liquid brought forth life of all kinds. Various plants of unknown origin sprung up and the environment started becoming more hospitable. It can be seen in many cave paintings that everyone was encouraged to drink the ambrosia from this new strange river, with the art depicting how nourishing and delicious it was. After years of watching it flow, travellers started to settle down. Tyrannia now had plenty to offer to settlers, given the rich volcanic resources they could peddle to travelling merchants, and be fed by the new plants and critters that sprung up from around the ambrosia.

      At the end of the flow of ambrosia, a pond formed that had seemed to slowly grow. Year after year, a wide variety of plants of unknown origin would emerge. There were no seeds at all scattered in the area, and one could only surmise that they were the creation of the ambrosia. As more and more plants started to grow in the area, strange new critters started scurrying around in the vegetation too. While one might have expected an oasis of sorts, lush plants that were more commonly seen in forests started to grow in the area, as can be seen in the drawings of leaves in some caves. Instructional guides in cave paintings illustrated that almost all of the plants were edible, and some of the fruits that grew were incredibly delicious and would even give you strength. With the egg's opening and the flow of ambrosia, a great amount of life had been brought to Tyrannia.

      While there were those that decided to live closer to where the egg was to be closer to the source of ambrosia and volcanoes, other tribes decided to utilize the volcanic soil and settled in the jungle where it was possible to hunt and farm. As the egg continued to provide for the region, the settlers in Tyrannia prospered and traded many rich resources to the communities around them, and even those in distant lands. From the egg's providence, Tyrannia had become one of the oldest societies in all of Neopia.

      Those in Tyrannia prospered for several million years, but as time passed, the landscape evolved. The ambrosia from the egg had never stopped flowing from its source in all that time, and the liquid had carved the land bit by bit into the canyons that presently make up the Tyrannian Plateau. Small offshoots became caves eventually inhabited by fierce and imposing beasts, whilst the shade within the canyons made for a comfortable and enjoyable place to be. The communities that lived for all this time in the various parts of Tyrannia thrived and developed their own culture. At some point, the blocks that had apparently supported the egg were used to build the concert hall and the arena. These famous buildings have always been important for Tyrannian culture, providing entertainment and regular ritualistic battle to resolve disputes. Within the canyon, merchants settled, peddling wares that shared the culture of the area, sharing local games, and providing food and drink. Many found success providing entertainment to travelling merchants and eventually tourists. The society that lived in Tyrannia no longer thrived only from its volcanic resources, but from its culture, tourism, and locally produced goods. It has certainly come a long way from being only a place where people travelled to gather volcanic resources.

      The shell of the egg had withered greatly over the years. Depictions showed that it crumbled over time, as it was worn down by wind and water over the ages. It eventually became a pile of flat fragmented eggshells resembling flat rocks. The legendary celestial egg is said to be now hidden in the deepest parts of the canyon, its own ambrosia carved, situated at the origin of the small stream that flows through the canyon. While many expeditions have been made to seek this source, the path to it is so dangerous and treacherous that even to this day, no one has successfully pinpointed the source of the river.

      At the end of the river, the pond had developed over the ages into a lake. It provided nourishment for those that settled in the area and the nature that surrounds it. The plants in the area grew and propagated incredibly quickly. The previous rocky landscape it once was has become a lush and dense forest. The river and lake provided for the people, agriculture, and the forest itself. Many of the creatures that started off as tiny scurrying critters are said to have evolved over millions of years to become part of the varied species and natives that now live in the land. Migratory birds that used the lake as a place to settle enjoyed the nourishment of the ambrosia over millions of years. Some have claimed that this is the origin of Pteris, whose eggs surprisingly had patterns similar to those seen in cave paintings of the celestial egg, though this may also be a result of a long artificial selection caused by the natives, as they revered the celestial egg had protected patterned eggs with great care. Such ancient history will never be definitively clear, but will always be entertaining to explore and theorize about.

      The story of the celestial egg of Tyrannia is one that recently resurfaced when an archaeologist with a taste for the surreal found several newly-discovered caves deep in the mountains and canyons, containing drawings and artefacts that depicts various points of Tyrannia's prehistory in a fantastical manner. Many seers and prophets of the past have spoken about the egg to propagate a religion of the egg and those that provided it, but their stories were so far removed from known history that they often are dismissed as fairy tales that were simply imagined. Whether or not this story is to be believed is hard to be certain, but the story of the celestial egg of Tyrannia is certainly a fascinating tale of what could have been the origin of life in Tyrannia.

     The End.