Page 76 - Brugger Karl The chronicle of Akakor

The Chronicle of Akakor
"Woe on us. The end is near. We have come to a sorry pass. What have the Chosen Servants
done to fall so low? Oh, that the Former Masters would return." Thus spoke the men in the
high council. They spoke in sorrow and distress, with sighs and tears. For time was drawing to
a close. Black clouds covered the sun. The morning star was veiled. And the high priest bowed
low before the golden disk. He spoke in the Great Temple of the Sun: "Who are these people?
Who bore them? Whence did they come? Truly, our hearts are heavy, for what they do is evil.
Their thoughts are cruel. Their beings are full of menace. But if they force us to fight, fight we
will. Lance in hand, trusting in bow and arrow, we will die as the servants of the Former
Masters, who will soon return to avenge us."

In the year 12,452 (1971), a few moons after my return to Akakor, the Ugha Mongulala were visited by yet
another disaster: Magus, the high priest, had died. He had collapsed after a meeting of the high council,
overcome by grief and his knowledge of the impending peril. His death was like an ominous sign to the
Ugha Mongulala, an indication of the approaching doom. Beset by the advancing White Barbarians, they
lost courage and their faith in the bequest of the Former Masters.

The mourning ceremonies for Magus, the high priest of the Chosen Tribes, lasted for three days. The priests
assembled in the Great Temple of the Sun and prepared his body for the journey into the second life. They
wrapped him in fine cloth and carried him to the consecration stone before the golden mirror, the eye of the
Gods. They placed a loaf of bread and a bowl of water, the signs of life and death, at his feet. The elders of
the people offered incense, bees’ honey, and ripe fruit. The warlords recalled the wisdom and the feats of
the departed. Then the priests took the body of Magus into the prepared burial chamber in the front of the
Great Temple of the Sun. For three days, the people passed the burial chamber and, in sorrow and grief,
they took leave of Magus. On the following morning, even before the rising sun’s rays had touched the
earth, the priests closed the tomb. Magus, the wise high priest who predicted all wars and to whom
everything was revealed, had returned to the Gods.

Now we speak of Magus. He will remain in the hearts of the Chosen People forever, for he did
only what was true and just. Everything false and confused was unknown to his heart. He had
dedicated his life to the Gods. He was a master of knowledge. Every part of his body was filled
with wisdom and full of truth. He knew the balance of all things. He could see into the hearts
of people, and he understood the laws of nature. His acts were not subject to the influence of
the hour. He knew neither ambition nor envy. Obeying the laws of the Gods, he completed the
circle. And he surrendered to them in the hour of death, which is irrevocable, like the sun at
daybreak which determines the life of man.

The Retreat into the Underground Dwellings

Magus, the high priest of the Ugha Mongulala, had died. Following the bequest of the Gods, his position
passed to his firstborn son. He, like the prince, had to undergo a severe test by the high council and speak to
the Gods. Uno, the firstborn son of Magus, returned to the Great Temple of the Son after thirteen days. The
elders confirmed him as the new high priest. Lhasa’s laws had been fulfilled.

I summoned the high council to decide on the future of the Chosen Tribes. The meeting took only a short
time. The elders of the people decided unanimously to move into the underground dwellings of the Gods.

And so the Ugha Mongulala returned to the same place where their ancestors had already survived two
Great Catastrophes. They lamented as they gave up their houses and broke off all connections with the
outside world. With their black powder, the German soldiers destroyed the temples, palaces, and buildings
of Akakor. The warriors burned down the last villages and settlements. They left behind no sign, no trace
that might have pointed the way to Akakor. They even gave up the few remaining bases in the headwater
region of the Great River. The Allied Tribes were given the choice either to join the Ugha Mongulala or to
break off relations. Of the seven tribes, six decided to stay in their old tribal territories. Only the Tribe of

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