Who were the Ancient Empire that crafted the Akashic Record? It should come as little surprise that the name "Ancient Empire" is a modern invention. In their own time, they were certainly not ancient. Unfortunately, the true name of their civilization has been lost to time. Or, perhaps more accurately, scoured from existence. The extreme lack of information regarding the Ancient Empire despite its obvious scale and power has lead many scholars to believe some outside force intentionally expunged them from history. Even the vaunted 'Grand Art' or 'Great Art' of the Empire holds very little information about its own creator.

Thus far, very few things have been concretely identified about the Empire. It is known that they were human biased in their use of language; some argue human supremacists, though there is no solid evidence for this. It is known that the Empire possessed great skill and power in manipulating the fabric of reality; it is theorized that, at minimum, it would require multiple tier nines to craft the Akashic Record. And finally, it is known that they crafted the Akashic Record. Aside from those three facts, nothing is known for certain about the Empire, or their people.

Personally, I believe they were destroyed as an unforeseen side-effect of crafting the Record. It seems fitting that a magic designed to spread knowledge could backfire by destroying knowledge. Or, perhaps they angered a God with their arrogance and were smote as recompense. That is, of course, merely my speculation. Until more information surfaces, the fate of the Ancient Empire will remain a mystery.

-Excerpt from History of the Akashic Record

The furry, dog-eared demi-human reappeared a moment later with a stretcher and a fit man in casual clothing. Mud recognized him as one of the guards playing cards at the gates when it had entered the city previously. His hair was ruffled and it let out a yawn, but despite his discomposure he performed his job admirably. Zeek and the guardsman unwrapped the corpse of Hale from Mud's back and gently placed him on the stretcher, then carried him back towards the city.

Turning towards the rescued male human, Mud crafted a Paracusia.

"I have delivered you to Geltheas. Give me a reward."

The man shifted uncomfortably and gestured towards his tattered clothes. "Um, I'm afraid I don't have anything with me at the moment. It will take me some time to get resettled... is there any place I can send you a reward at a later date? Um, I understand it was my life at stake, so it will be suitable, I assure you."

"Send my reward to the Cithlar estate. Anyone who answers the door there may accept the reward in my place."

The man bowed deeply. "Thank you so much. Really, thank you."

The woman stepped closer, then suddenly lunged forward and wrapped Mud in a powerful grip. Is this an attack? Mud began charging a Force Bolt.

"Thank you!" After one more tight squeeze, the woman released her grip and stood up. Then, the two humans were led towards the interior of the walls by the guardswoman. Mud dispersed the Force Bolt.

As Mud prepared to leave, the guardswoman called over her shoulder. "Wait there, I'll be right back." Mud immediately stopped all movement, frozen in place. The guardswoman disappeared into the interior wall for only a moment, then returned to Mud's position and handed him a slip of paper. Mud made no motion to take it.

"Well, go on and take it."

"Can I stop waiting now?" came the monotone male voice.

"Huh? Uh, yeah."

No sooner had the words left her lips did a cloaked arm snatch the paper out of her hand. The paper appeared to be an official form, printed with a watermark of the city seal of Geltheas. Sloppy handwriting in black ink covered the surface.

Commendation for the rescue of two civilians and recovery of one civilian remains.

Witnesses: Guard Captain Remer, Guard Zeek

Mud stared at the slip of paper for a moment. Perhaps sensing the golem's incomprehension, she explained. "You're a delver, right? Hand that in the Association and you can get some credit with them. We could just reward you ourselves, but it helps you out more if we do it this way."

Mud tucked the precious paper into its cloak. "How did you know I am a Delver's Association member?"

Captain Remer smirked and crossed her arms. "We have ways of telling. One delver throwing a fit can do more damage to the city than a riot of hundreds of civilians. It only makes sense to keep a special eye on you."

Mud did not like having a special eye on it.

Turning towards the gate, Mud proceeded towards the city.

"Um, goodbye. What a weird kid."

Sliding over the cobblestone bricks, Mud retraced its path back to the Delver's Association. In the black of night, the city was very different. There were much fewer humans and demi-humans walking the streets, for one thing. All of the shops and carts on the street bizarre were closed, aside from a few food stands. The few Sapients still on the street were also acting more erratically, singingly loudly or clinging to each other in the dark alleyways. Often, Mud heard humans shouting about the upcoming festival excitedly.

Eventually, Mud arrived at the Association. Entering the towering white building, the golem was surprised to see it nearly the same as during the daytime. Crowds still filled the tables and surrounded the bill wall, the room brightly lit with heated filaments in the roof. Turning right from the entrance, Mud got into one of the lines behind a thick human woman with glowing purple eyes.

As Mud finally reached the front of the line, he was greeted by a bald, wrinkly faced man with a wispy white beard wearing a vibrantly colored plaid vest. Despite his age, the old man spoke energetically.

"Hello there, what business do you have for the Association today?"

"My goal is to exchange several items in my possession for money."

A look of surprise momentarily crossed the old man's face as the illusion struck him, and he gave Mud a quick scan with his eyes. "Oh my, you're the new kid Videre told me about! She was right about potential, you only signed up earlier today and you already have something to turn in? Well, let's see what you got. Oh, and your card please."

Mud immediately produced its card and placed it on the table, along with the note it had received from the guard human.

"Oh, rescued some civilians?" The old man looked up from his paper and nodded towards Mud with a smile, revealing several missing teeth. The few remaining, however, sparkled pure white. "Good on ya. It's up to the strong to help out the weak. We're all in this together, and all that. So, what else did you have for me?"

At his prompting, Mud began setting Goblin Ears on the table, one at a time. As the golem steadily placed the fresh ears on the table, transformations came over the teller's face. First disappointment, then admiration, then surprise, then incredulousness. After Mud placed the final normal Goblin ear on the table and placed the Goblin General ear on the table, he could no longer stay silent.

"And a Goblin General too!? You're only tier one. Kid, you didn't actually do this alone, did you?" The old man squinted at Mud, mouth a thin line.

"No, I was assisted by Jabrax the Red."

The old man raised his eyebrows, perhaps not expecting such a blunt answer. "Oh, she's the other one you joined with, right?" The old man seemed to relax at this. "Look, you're new so I'll let you off, but if you do work with another delver you're supposed to give them credit, alright? Rank is important to some people, and forgetting to tell us can get you in hot water down the road."

"I understand."

Nodding in satisfaction, the old man leaned down to reach under his desk. A moment later he pulled his hands back up, filled with sparkling metal. Pushing the Goblin ears to one side, he handed the coins to Mud. "Now, make sure you give half to Jabrax the Red."

"I will do so." The most beneficial way to follow that order would be to give Jabrax the half of the coins that are worth less, the copper coins.

It's business concluded, Mud turned to leave. Before it left completely, the golem suddenly had an idea. Turning back towards the old man, it asked a question. "Where can I find a blacksmith I can afford that can complete a custom order within three days?"