A tiara worn by those tasked with offering sacrifices in ancient times. After being subjected to the dancing sacrificial flames year in and year out, it possesses remarkable resistance.

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They say that,

Once upon a time, the people of the land could hear revelations from the heavens directly.

The envoys of the gods walked among benighted humanity then.

The eternal ice had just begun to thaw, and the first fires were still new.

It was a time of great prosperity, when all was left in the hands of such heavenly revelations.

The envoys of heaven said that the world would soon enter a new and brighter age.

This was predestined, that future immutable.

But would a day come when such wonderful times might come to an end?

To this question the envoys gave no answer. so, the people chose from among them a chief priest,

And adorning his head with a crown of white branches, they sent him out into the deep places of the world,

To antediluvian ruins and long-buried altars of sacrifice, to seek answers and enlightenment...

A tiara worn by those tasked with offering sacrifices in ancient times. Because it was submerged in water year in and year out, it possesses remarkable resistance.

====

They say that,

Once upon a time, the people of the land could hear revelations from the heavens directly.

Then, the envoys of the gods would walk among benighted humanity, and the ancient flames were extinguished amidst the first falling rains.

It was a prosperous time, a period of bountiful harvest.

Then the earth was blessed and ruled by heaven, and the elemental flows were smooth and well-ordered.

A hundred years of bounty were written in the stars, and none could change this divine law.

But what of the time after, a hundred, a thousand years from now? Would they have famine where they had plenty, poverty where once were riches?

Would their altars and palaces become one with the soil, with only that silver-white tree for company?

The heavenly envoys, who ever spoke what they knew, were silent. So to understand this doom,

The chief priest, head crowned with white branches, would delve into the deep places of the world...

A tiara worn by those tasked with offering sacrifices in ancient times. Because it harkened the call of thunder year in and year out, it possesses remarkable resistance.

====

They say that,

Once upon a time, the people of the land could hear revelations from the heavens directly.

Then, the envoys of the gods would walk among benighted humanity, and the waters ran dry as thunder first pierced the skies.

People enjoyed untold wisdom, and that wisdom was their boon.

Their prosperity brought pride and ambition, and the mind to question.

So they questioned the heavens' authority, and schemed to enter the garden of gods.

And though they had promised to the people divine love, prosperity and wisdom, the envoys of heaven were angry.

For to question eternity was forbidden,

For earth to challenge sky, inexpiable.

So the chief priest who wore the white-branched crown went forth to appease the divine envoys,

And into the deep places he went, seeking the hidden wisdom of the silver tree in the ancient capitol...

A tiara worn by those tasked with offering sacrifices in ancient times. Because it once weathered years of icy cold, it possesses remarkable resistance.

====

They say that,

The line of chief priests have always seen this same sight as their days draw to an end:

A mountain of crowns in a secret place, beneath a withered tree——each one hiding a lifetime of secrets kept.

Each retiring chief priest offers up their crown of flawless white branches to this world.

Every mighty and ancient city, and every austere place of sacrifice must one day return to profundity in the earth.

All prosperity must someday end.

But this does not mean that nothing is eternal.

At the end of a cycle, the earth shall be renewed. Thus eternity is cyclical.

The search for truth is a product of prosperity, and not the seed that plants it.

They say that,

Once upon a time, the people of the land could hear revelations from Celestia directly.

The envoys of the gods walked among benighted humanity then. In those days, life was weak, and the earth was blanketed in unending ice.