Duat Caves

Duat Caves
The Star-in-Circle Hieroglyph, Symbol for the Duat
Type	Cave system
Locality	Egyptian Desert
Inhabitation	Pre-Pharonic Dynasties
Anamolies	Outside temporal flow is stopped for individuals inside for 24 hours Temporal inertia is not preserved
Containment	Monitored
Discovery	Warehouse 2 Rediscovered: 2019
[Source]

Origin

In the Ancient Egyptian cosmology, the Duat is the realm of the dead, the underworld. Through it, the god Ra would allegedly sail every night and battle the Chaos Serpent Apophis to ensure the sun would rise the next day.

Effects

“The cave system is isolated and offers the time gap. The effects formed as a result of a primitive clan's desire to survive separately from the outside world, which resulted in a bubble of sorts; no matter what happens outside, the world inside the cave is basically the same. Unfortunately, that also meant that those who exit the cave are moved only twenty-four hours in the real world (but keep any aging they experienced; so if someone spent three decades in the cave, for example, they'd have aged three decades upon leaving. However, the minimum you have to age is one day (so it can't be used as a "immortality" system)).”

Some members of this tribe, Agent Taylor theorized, eventually came to be worshipped as the Egyptian pantheon.

He also notes that the “24 hours” clause only takes effect if one stays within for more than twenty four hours.

It is also unknown how the effect applies to those who were born and spent most of their lives within the bubble.

History

As stated, the cavern was discovered by a pre-Egyptian clan of people who wished for safety and survival strongly enough that the area generated a temporal field.

Generations passed, as above the Ancient Egyptian Empire began to form.

At an unknown point in time, two Eternal Serpents made their way into the caverns. One would later be called “Ap/p” or Apophis, and the other referred to as Mehen. Ra later would slay the former and provide the birth of the myths regarding his nightly battles against the Serpent.

Ra is born to unknown parents in the tribe. The other gods are also born as the clan discovers how to use the ambient artifact energy in Duat to create artifacts, penning the Book of Thoth with these secrets.

Ra has a daughter, Sekhmet. Upon adulthood, she receives Ra’s Scepter and goes mad with power, accidentally burning out Ra’s right eye.

Location

Near {CLASSIFIED}, Egypt. Coordinates: {CLASSIFIED}. Low risk of discovery by non-Warehouse affiliates, though not impossible.

• Only Warehouse personnel with Regent permission are allowed to know the location of the Duat. It is only recently that Agent Taylor, who is openly Kemetic, was given permission to explore and properly document the region.

Features

Duat is a massive, elaborate cave system, almost the size of that one cave with a forest in it.

• At the beginning of the cave, the immediate entrance/exit is marked by the skull of an Eternal Serpent. Agent Taylor identifies it as "Life of the Gods", and likely died around the time of the dinosaurs.
  • It is feasible that this Serpent is the parent of Mehen and/or Ap/p, but this would be impossible to confirm without genetic testing.

• The "mountains" are not actual mountains, but two steep paths leading into the caverns. They both reconnect at points farther past, but the "Bakhu" side to the east has the river and mythologies, while the "Manu" side to the west has a higher concentration of animals than the other. That being said, which you can connect to both sides further down, certain areas are on certain "sides" of the mountain.

• The Manu has signs of civilization in several areas, as well as areas with some larger animals that could provide meat for those living within the caverns. No people have been found in the present, but a few objects indicate that the last time a group may have been living here was during the Crusader invasions into Egypt, sometime between 1154 and 1169.
  • By most appearances, people who lived in the caverns seemed to primarily stay on this side. Whether this was for religious beliefs or not is unclear. Further study of the area is needed for more details (pending Regent approval).

• The Watercourse of Ra is where the river first comes up. Eventually the area was decorated with carved statues of serpents.
  • The river isn't a river, per say, but it is a moving water source. It comes up from an underground spring and flows down the cave system until it ends at two lakes. The first lake is the largest, and it, of course, slowly drains back into the underground spring. So it never empties, since it replenishes itself (plus rainwater which still soaks through from above).

• Ur-Nes, or Ouranos, contains large fancy-looking houses, some almost palaces in their own right, arranged neatly within the region. Agent Taylor believes this is where those worshipped as the gods would live, leaking the myth that righteous rulers would do so as well when they died, explaining the lack of spiritual presence, although as Agent Taylor put it, "I'm a Space guy, not a Heart."

• The Watercourse of the Only God mostly consists of a large room with a throne, with seating nearby for any who wish to observe. Situated in the center are the Scales of Ma’at. The room is extremely well-lit by several torches that don't appear to ever go out or burn the wood they are on.

• Hidden isn't actually a Boiling Lake, per say, but more of a hot spring. Though whether it's heated by an underground magma chamber or is simply heated by some sort of artifact.

• The Living One of Forms is past the "Hidden". It is a strange area that is near black and is a waterfall of water (a small one in terms of width) that flows into an abyss, which is likely the mythological Mouth of the Tomb. Strange noises come from below, and the depth is unknown. This area has a very creepy vibe overall, and there is a very creepy feeling of being watched.

• Along part of the water source is the Abyss of Water, which has several mysterious statues lining the banks on either side, as well as three shrines. These shrines appear to pre-date known civilization, though who created them and why is a complete mystery. A statue of a lion is also located there. leading to the next area. It is the only area where not a single snake can be found at any time of day.

• The "Procession of Images/Abyss of Waters, Lofty of Banks" is an area where you are surrounded by water. It's the lowest part of the cave system, one which could be connected in some way to the Abyss of Waters far above. The walls are surrounded by water, and they offer glimpses of anything and everything the user could ever want to see. In a way, you could spend eternity here, playing out whatever life you'd like all around you.
  • Two skeletons found down here imply that that indeed likely happened to at least two people.

• The Realm of Day and Night (The Realm of Night and Darkness) is a strange chamber which has a mixture of various bioluminescence. Part of the chamber is very dim, with small spots of light on the ceiling resembling stars. The day side is a lot brighter overall, and there is one spot in particular which is significantly brighter than it's surroundings, almost acting like a sun. The ground is also covered in a variant of grass which is similar (though obviously adapted to thrive in the low-light, no sun conditions), and extremely soft. This makes the area, as Aden noted, very relaxing.
  • The chamber is large enough that the day and night sides are significantly large, each having areas where you cannot see the other side. There are also many trees within this chamber, with some areas almost appearing like a forest.

• The Secret Cavern is a battleground, still bearing the massive scorch marks identifiable as being from Ra's Scepter at its fullest power. Also here is the skeleton of the Eternal Serpent known as Apophis, with a hole burned through its skull. (See Notes below)
  • Another Eternal Serpent, identified as Mehen, also lives here, and is one of the few members of the species known to be alive. Agent Taylor regularly visits, sometime bringing the corpse of a beached and dead whale with him for the serpent to eat.

• The Sarcophagus of the Gods is an area where there are many graves. It appears those who chose to live in the cave forever eventually buried themselves here. The graves are in a surprisingly large "field", and the total is 50 (number subject to change).

• The Mouth of the Caverns is a dangerous place, near the bottom along a separate pathway from the one leading to the "Procession of Images", where explosive gases linger. They never spread higher than the mouth, and the small explosions appear to stay contained by some unknown force.
  • Agent Taylor comments that “it is said that it is darkest before the dawn. The Mouth of the Cavern, representing the hour before sunrise, is no exception, as in the myth that is the ultimate punishment-to be so close to Khepri’s morning light, yet barred forever from it. The fire is just a bonus injury to insult.”
  • During the initial observation of this area, one scream was reported to have emanated from the depths. Due to it having only occurred one time from an unknown source, it is suspected that it was likely just an odd, unobservable occurrence of something happening deeper in the depth.
    • A second trip down to The Mouth did not result in any detectable screams or other sounds indicating life.

Artifacts Within

A few artifacts have been recorded as being present within the Duat Caverns. There are likely several more. Regent permission must be obtained before the collection of any artifacts from the Cavern can occur; violation of this is subject to severe punishment.

• Scales of Ma’at - Agent Taylor has requested that the Scales remain in the caverns. His exact reasoning for this is unknown, but he has commented that “something tells [him] that it’s important they not be removed.”
• Book of Ra
• Book of Osiris - This particular tome is allegedly the first “Book of the Dead”, and can identify the true cause of death of any person.

Artifacts formerly within

• Book of Thoth - A tome containing countless secrets of knowledge, including instructions on how to forge an artifact into being.
• Khepra Amulet, Ra’s Scepter, Sun Boat, and Khnum’s Ankh: Collectively referred to as the “Ra collection”, these artifacts formed the various myths of Ra as a solar and creation deity.

Artifacts Created

A large number of artifacts are believed to have been created within the caverns, most of these being the Neteru Collection - artifacts associated with the ancient Egyptian or Kemetic Pantheon. It is likely that other artifacts unrelated to ancient Egypt directly were created here as well, though it is highly unlikely that many could be identified as having originated from this area specifically.

• The Book of Thoth

Known Animals that Exist in the Caverns

• Snakes (several species)
  • One of these species appears to be a mutation, and they have the ability to breathe poisonous gas. While it does not appear to be large amounts of it, it is enough to kill a mouse instantly. Thankfully, this particular species appears to be very rare and does not grow to more than two meters in length, and they also appear to have a fear of humans.
• Scarab Beetles
  • One of these species has bioluminescence, and has been called "Kepra" by Agent Taylor in honor of the mythology.
• Eternal Serpents

Notes on the Duat

• The remains in The Secret Cavern have been determined to be the remains of an Eternal Serpent, most likely Apophis, as shown in Egyptian Mythology. This lends credence to the possibility that Ra was an actual person. Based on the damage, it is also likely that several artifacts at least were used to take down the Serpent.
  • A second Eternal Serpent, Mehen, has been noted to exist in the Duat as well. Seeing as this serpent is benevolent, it has been determined by the Regents that it is perfectly acceptable to leave it be.
  • Other, similarly large cave systems are believed to exist around the region, thus leading to the assumption that Egypt was a breeding ground for the species.
• While it is extremely difficult to pin down precisely when the cave may have been formed as an AEZ, or which people may have formed it, it has been theorized that further observation of details in the caverns could wield results to an approximate date of occupation. So far, the Regents have not authorized any collection of anything that could provide dates.
• It is hypothesized that, within the Realm of Night and Day, one of the trees could be a World Tree. However, this has not been confirmed, as the Regents and Caretaker have not, as of May 2020, authorized any testing that might confirm this.