Katib

A village located in Katib’s gloomy forest is covered by towering ancient trees. Descendants of “The Distinguished Ancestors” - Marcions - had been living here for hundreds of years. They preserved knowledge of the Ancestors and their beliefs. “They are not afraid of darkness, nor do they blindly worship the light. They believe that this life is just one of many in the cycle of life. After undergoing the past, the present and the future, their souls will finally rest within the truth” (The Stone of the Present), “These men and women in ragged clothes often get together and perform weird rituals… They were passing on the ancient mysteries in a humble gesture...” (A Letter to Nita).

Unlike Disciples of the Blessedland, Marcions continued to live in harmony with nature. They also weren’t physically developed and had no minerals to make armor so in battles usually counted on magic and things like fanatical sand or stone grass rings. Unfortunately, their skills couldn't save them from a massacre organized by the Church 15 years ago.

In various documents we can find plenty of details regarding the ritual needed to be performed to open the Grave and all the preparations before it:

“The heathen Patriarchs were discussing with our Leader secretly for days. It seemed to be about the Lost Ruins of the Marcion Ancestors. The selected girls were gathered...” (from the Records).

“... The huge pillars inlaid in the rocks have engraved words, only the Marcion Patriarchs can read them. He read those words in a language that is completely incomprehensible to outsiders. The rhythm is ridiculous, but the joy in his voice is hard to hide.” (Eckhart’s Diary Part Three).

“The sound of killing and sorrow is still echoing in the dream. Close your eyes, as if you are in this terrible underground world and chased by the ghosts wandering around… Huge twisted faces, tearful eyes, bloody hands… red-haired girls fall down one after another. The knights wearing armor and the Marcion warriors without shoes fight like beasts...” (Eckhart’s Diary Part Five).

It seems like the rest of the tribe wasn’t aware of what happened in the Ruins: “There has been no news since the Patriarchs left. The soldiers staying in the Village are just as usual. But there is something different today, the wine and meals sent to them were returned” (Scraps of Paper).

Even after the massacre some scholars and couriers under the guidance of bishop Sprenger still continued investigation inside the Sacred Tower. Their goal was to find the Seal of Yekub and reopen the Colossal Grave (Sanctifiers are yet another group of the Church. The most conservative one).

Interestingly enough, besides being one of the most conservative groups within the Church, the Sanctifiers were generally against the current Proxy’s attitude towards the Colossal Grave. Maybe it’s because they were somehow connected to Eckhart the Overseer. As the Ambition’s description states: “Higgins is a coward. The Blessedland is fading, the journey to the Colossal Grave is only halfway done and he hides from his believers...”

Johann Sprenger was a thought leader of Sanctifiers who “had made a name for himself with his strong faith and decisive execution. He believed that he is led by God and if someone can find the Colossal Grave, he must be the one… The Seal of Yekub has a plain look. Sprenger found it accidentally when he placed his hourglass on top of the Seal as the sun began flowing down then back...” (from the Broken Sand Glass description).

All the attempts to open the Seal weren’t successful as they discovered that the blood of a Marcion is needed for activating it. In addition, over time all the researchers started hearing strange sounds from underground and had to seal all access there before the situation got out of control. Besides, couriers who survived that expedition to the bottom of the Tower began suffering from a mysterious illness. To prevent its spreading, all the couriers were burned alive. However that didn’t help as gradually the scholars also got infected: “The bodies of the Church members became abnormal, their muscles started to get soft and their skin became transparent” (From the Broken Experiment Diary, Page 48).

For better or for worse, soon a Witch showed up in the Tower and claimed herself as the last Marcion. She tricked researchers and used the Seal: “The Colossus of Katib was attracted here by enormous power and grew into the Sacred Tower… Everything grows into each other… No words can describe what I have seen, it feels like standing in front of Hell...” (from the Broken Experiment Diary, Page 93).