파 볼렌의 피라미드

파 볼렌이라는 섬은 쿠나리가 테다스에서 가장 처음으로 점령한 땅으로, 그 이후로 그들의 영토가 되었다. 섬에 정착한 쿠나리는 우리가 떠올리는 바와 같이 그들의 유명한 도시 쿠난다르와 같은 경이로운 문화를 세웠지만, 사실 파 볼렌은 쿤이 이 섬의 해변에 도착하기 전부터 이미 풍부한 역사를 가지고 있었다. 쿠난다르의 경이로움에서 잠시 눈을 떼고 우거진 숲속으로 시선을 돌려보자. 침묵 속에서 "우리가 여기에 있었다."라고 외치는 듯한 거대한 도시의 유적을 발견할 수 있을 것이다.

우거진 숲속에 자리를 잡은 파 볼렌의 독특한 피라미드는, 본래의 목적을 상실한 지금도 대부분 온전한 상태로 남아있다. 무덤으로 보이진 않지만, 피라미드의 어떤 방에는 세심하게 보존된 시신들도 있다. 놀랍게도 이 피라미드의 비율은 수학적으로 완벽하다. 그 정렬이 매우 정확하기 때문에, 일각에서는 이것들이 과학적인 목적을 위해 세워졌다고 주장하기도 한다. 예를 들면 천문대 같은 것 말이다. 안드반 테라스테스는 파 볼렌 피라미드의 모양이 솔리움 별자리와 완벽하게 맞아떨어진다는 사실을 알아내기도 했다.

하지만 이 건축물을 지은 자들에 관한 건 거의 알려지지 않았다. 쿠나리는 파 볼렌에 정복자로서 당도했지만, 이곳에 대한 역사적 기록은 존재하지 않으며 이 섬의 해안에서 전투를 벌인 흔적도 거의 남아 있지 않다. 이 정도로 거대한 도시를 건설할 정도의 문명이라면 분명 쿠나리족에 맞설 방어체계, 군대, 혹은 무기를 가지고 있을 것이다. 그런데 어째서 저항의 흔적이 거의 남아 있지 않은 걸까?

그 답이라고 할 만한 것 중 하나가 사원의 유적 안에 남아있다. 벽을 뒤덮고 있는 잎과 덩굴을 헤치면, 그 아래 양식화된 부조 벽장식들이 잠들어있다. 위에 칠해진 색은 오래전에 이미 벗겨져 나갔지만, 형태만큼은 선명히 남아있다. 복잡한 바다 생물, 조선공, 음악가, 궁수, 그리고 왕. 이곳저곳에 기묘한 인물들이 그려져 있다. 그들은 키가 크고 뿔이 나 있으며, 늘 권위를 지니고 존경받는 위치에 있는 모습으로 묘사되어 있다.

파 볼렌의 고대인들에게 이 뿔 달린 인물들은 무엇이었을까? 의식용 왕관을 쓴 제사장일까? 영웅들? 어쩌면 신일지도? 그 진실은 영원히 알 수 없을지도 모른다. 하지만 뿔이 달리고 쿤의 언어를 쓰는 쿠나리가 바다 너머에서 도착했을 때, 어쩌면 파 볼렌 사람들은 그들에게서 정복자가 아닌 오래된 전설의 재래를 보았는지도 모른다.

이는 모두 추측에 지나지 않는다. 파 볼렌의 주인은 이제 쿠나리이고, 원주민들의 고대 문명은 어린아이의 장난감처럼 버려졌다. 그러나 피라미드는 오래된 도시들, 그리고 섬과 함께 남아있다. 후대의 학자들은 그들의 비밀을 풀 수 있을지도 모른다.

—에이즐리의 레나투스 저, 정복된 북부의 역사 편찬록에서 발췌 

 

The Pyramids of Par Vollen

The island called Par Vollen was the first land in Thedas to be taken by the Qunari, and has been held by them ever since. But while the Qunari have raised their own marvels on the island—the famed city of Qunandar comes to mind—Par Vollen had a rich history before the Qun ever came to its shores. Tear your eyes from Qunandar's wonders and look instead to the jungle. There you'll see the ruins of vast cities that proclaim in silence: "We were here."

Par Vollen's distinctive pyramids, looming from the overgrowth, have remained largely intact, even if their intended purpose has been lost. They do not seem to be tombs, though some chambers contain bodies that have been carefully preserved. Amazingly, the pyramids' proportions are mathematically perfect. Since their alignment is so precise, one suspects they served some scientific purpose. Observatories, perhaps? Andvan Therastes has observed that the shape of the Par Vollen pyramids seems perfectly to match the constellation Solium.

We know more of the pyramids than we do of the humans who built them. The Qunari came to Par Vollen as conquerors, but there is no history and little sign of battles fought on the island's shores. A civilization that could build such vast cities would surely have defenses, armies, perhaps weapons alien even to the Qunari. So why is there so little proof of resistance?

One answer may lie in what remains of their temples. Beneath the leaves and vines covering the walls, you can still make out the stylized carvings that adorn them. The paint has long since flaked away, but the silhouettes are clear: intricate sea creatures, shipwrights, musicians, archers, and kings. Here and there, odd figures are depicted, tall, horned, always in a position of authority and respect.

What were these horned figures to the ancients of Par Vollen? Priests, ritualistically crowned? Heroes? Gods, perhaps? We may never know the truth. But when the Qunari arrived from the sea, horned and carrying the word of the Qun, perhaps instead of conquerors, the people of Par Vollen saw an old legend returning to them.

This is all supposition. The humans of Par Vollen are Qunari now, their ancient civilization discarded like a child's toy. Yet the pyramids remain, along with the old cities, the island itself. One day, greater scholars may hear what they have to say.

—From A Compiled History of the Occupied North, by Renatus of Ayesleigh