hore of a
sea, where now was no sea; and it had been raised by those wandering
humans who had grown weary of wandering, and weary of the danger of
night attacks by the tribes of half-human monsters which began to
inhabit the earth even so early as the days when the half-gloom was upon
the world. And he that had made the plan upon which it was builded, was
one who had seen the Great Redoubt, having lived there in the beginning,
but escaped because of a correction set upon him for his spirit of
irresponsibility, which had made him to cause disturbance among the
orderly ones in the lowest city of the Great Redoubt.

Yet, in time, he too had come to be tamed by the weight of fear of the
ever-growing hordes of monsters, and the Forces that were abroad. And so
he, being a master-spirit, planned and builded the smaller Redoubt,
being aided thereto by four millions, who also were weary of the harass
of the monsters; but until then had been wanderers, because of the
restlessness of their blood.

And they had chosen that place, because there they had discovered a sign
of the Earth-Current in a great valley which led to the shore; for
without the Earth-Current no Refuge could have existence. And whilst
many builded and guarded, and cared for the Great Camp in which all
lived, others worked within a great shaft; and in ten years had made
this to a distance of many miles, and therewith they tapt the
Earth-Current; but not a great stream; yet a sufficiency, as was
believed.

And, presently, after many years, they had builded the Pyramid, and
taken up their refuge there, and made them instruments, and ordained
Monstruwacans; so that they had speech daily with the Great Pyramid; and
thus for many long ages.

And the Earth-Current then to begin to fail; and though they laboured
through many thousands of years, they came to no better resource. And so
it was they ceased to have communication with the Great Redoubt; for the
current had a lack of power to work the instruments; and the recording
instruments ceased to be sensible of our messages.

And thereafter came a million years, maybe, of silence; with ever the
birthing and marrying and dying of those lonesome humans. And they grew
less; and some put this to the lack of the Earth-Current, which dwindled
slowly through the centuries of that Eternity.

And once in a thousand years, maybe, one among them would be Sensitive,
and abled to hear beyond ordinary; and to these, at times, t