Zatur

"Oh to dream of lost Zatur! What beauty did thy green hills and measureless depths hold? What grand cities and marvelous did thy immortal races create? Yet, Alas! You are broken and cursed! Astral Terra no more!"

- Jonil Kyte, Faun'il Poet

=Name= "Zatur may be properly spelled "Za'tur" deriving from the Ancient Tongue for "Star World", or as it has been commonly translated "Astral Terra". Thus we see this language construction mirrored in the myriad unnamed Star dieties, known as the "Za'rin" or "Star People"."

- Rugen, Fae Scholar from the entry "Zatur", Encyclopedia Planitia, 14 ed.

=History=

The Protemic Account
"If what we can concretely say about the lost city of Uluk'sandria is limited, how much more limited is our ability to describe a world that was destroyed over 100,000 years ago? What information we do have is transmitted through oral history and cultural memory.

The Protemic Tablets attempted to harmonize what was known of the ancient histories into a universal canon during the First Protemic Synod, but that which could be agreed upon was necessarily brief. Zatur first appears on so-called "Tablet IV" along with the first mention of humans. Here the newly born Gods, the First Children discover the fully formed Zatur:

"And so the First Children alit upon the newly formed Zatur, the great Astral Terra, the First Plane. Upon arrival they met Humankind, Firstborn of the Races, And they said unto them, “From where do you come? Who did form you? In whose image are you made?” Humankind had no answer, for they knew not their creator, Awakened innocent upon the soil of Zatur. The First Children implored Lakana and Visaku, “Mother, Father, who made these people? Who made this world?” But both were silent." Tablet IV: 1-10

Thus we see that even the Gods themselves are baffled by this creation, and The Progenitors refuse to reveal their knowledge.

After this, the Gods in envy of humanity create their own races, and Zatur is not yet mentioned again until Tablet VI:

"So formed upon the new Zatur, the many Planar Races Spread across the surface of the world, each to their own nation. In time they became numerous on the world, for Death had not yet been unborn." Tablet VI: 1-3

This then reveals that the entirety of the known Planar races at one time inhabited Zatur, a peculiar situation that must have been if the account is to be believed. Furthermore, as is soon explained, the races were immortal! It is small wonder that what followed was the Undying War, in the wake of which Death, Shivanyx, is "unborn" by Visaku and soon threatens the extinction of all life on Zatur. We resume on Tablet VIII:

"Now did Lakana bring down her hand upon Zatur and the cosmos, As one would strike a pane of glass, and the world was sundered. Each of the First Children were banished, each to a shard of the world, Each to take their created Races with them into exile..." Tablet XIII: 3-6

This remains a very troublesome text for the natural scientists, who attempt to square this passage with what can be observed of the nature of the Planes. What does the analogy of "...as one would strike a pane of glass..." mean? How does one "break" a world? This remains especially mysterious with what is known of the fate of Zatur as described on Tablet IX:

"Broken, Zatur the First Plane, lay abandoned by all but Xymbryl, and the Stars, Who are both beyond the true understanding of any Race. So then did Shivanyx return to the place of his first victory, Finding the cold star-lit realm to his liking, called by the Races, Shadow Vale." Tablet IX :1-4

So we are told that the Shadow Vale is what remains of Zatur. (See SHADOW VALE). There the narrative of Zatur ends, and the tale of the Shadow Vale begins."

- Rugen, Fae Scholar from the entry "Zatur", Encyclopedia Planitia, 14 ed.

Other Accountings
"Fragments exist of earlier texts that pre-date the Protemic canon, but as might be expected they vary broadly, are highly inconsistent. Yet they do fill in some gaps in the Protemic narrative.

A number of accounts, i.e. The Scrolls of Q'mra, the Epic of Gal'gamu, as well as the folk tales of the Lucef'rin, describe great black stone towers, as wide as mountains that reached far into the heavens. These towers were said to be topped by the "Great Lights" which must have illuminated and warmed the new-born world before the arrival of Solaranu, the Sun. The number of these towers is unknown and varies to as few as twelve to as many as forty. The Epic of Gal'gamu, and the Lucef'rin tales claim that the towers were destroyed and toppled during the Undying War with the advent of terrible, fell, weapons created by either Humans or Demons, depending on the account.

Another point of agreement is that the early Zatur, so lit by the Great Lights, remained largely cold and ice covered. Thus, we can conclude that the Lights provided considerably less heat than the Sun would eventually do so, for in the later accounts of the Undying Wars and the later periods, cold is never mentioned."

- Rugen, Fae Scholar from the entry "Zatur", Encyclopedia Planitia, 14 ed.

=The Shadow Vale=