Beyond the Chamber of the Moon, in the higher regio. Constantine, when he discovered the chamber was enticed by this most interesting room of associations, which at once disturbed and excite him.This room contains an ancient figure of seemingly great antiquity, Older in some senses than the pure Greek association that is easily recognized. The chamber itself is a natural cavern (27 paces in diameter), where sections of the walls blends in natural regular patterns. These patterns start rough, but as they extend up the walls that begin to take on the regular periodicity of geometrical arrays. An ideal arrangement of Order from Chaos, and as well, of balance from the two extremes. The wall patterns which seamlessly blend into mosaics as the patterns climb the walls, are not the most interesting of features in the room. The center of the room is dominated by an enormous statue of the blackest obsidian - which is one piece. The top of the room is shrouded in a darkness which resists illumination (treat as a PeIg50). The associations with the primordial night are strong. The wondrous figure of Nyx stands regally and all-encompassing within the center of the rooms. The gesture of the statue is that of a woman arms outstretched, and enfolding an enormous crystal globe. There is something in the globe, which defies attempts at Intellego. Its form is not even clear, eyes gaining purchase of the shape only on the periphery of vision. The face of the statue is shrouded by an enormous hood, the face, like the top of the chamber does not illuminate. The obsidian is preternaturally cold to the touch. As though drawing the flame of life into a never ending abyss. While, discomforting, there is no gross associated pain with the coldness. The face of Nyx changes constantly, human, then not, female, then not. Even more disturbing is the vague resemblances and feeling that you know that face.
There are inscriptions and scrawlings on the walls that indicate that the age of Chamber predates the times of antiquities, though I would swear that the styles of some of the mosaics and the statue are not that old. Of course, the statue is magical. The forms used to create it are at once both subtle and refined and primeval, almost raw in their intensity and direction. They are simple and complex, a pure delicate balance of the nature, yet their overall form is outside the scope of nature. How does one capture a primordial force?
The globe itself seems to be a literal microcosm of the universe, yet it is not. The movement, colors and shapes captured within are amazing in their complexity and profusion. The shifting colors, like winds whipping sands upon the dunes, coalesce into fleeting forms which last for less than an instant or more than a day.
| Nyx, in Greek mythology, female personification of night but also a great cosmogonical figure, feared even by Zeus, the king of the gods.
According to one tradition, she was the daughter of Chaos and the mother of numerous primordial powers, including Sleep and Death. Another tradition made her the daughter and successor of Phanes, a creator god; she continued to advise her own successors (Uranus, her son by Phanes; Cronus, youngest son of Uranus; and Zeus) by means of her oracular gifts. Throughout antiquity she caught the imagination of poets and artists but was seldom worshiped. |
Last modified: Tue Jan 5, 1999 / Jeremiah Genest