Introduction - The first gate
Once upon a time, in an old Mesopotamian city, a prophecy was told and retold. Counted by the elders since the time of the "ancients*", it was so simple that it probably did not undergo any significant modifications.
"One day, when a new city will rise through the ashes of the ancient cradle of our civilization, men and women will first build a city, whose splendour would never be equalled.
Afterwards, when abundance will strike the city, the inhabitants will build a tower, a tower so gigantic that it will eventually reach God.
Damned will be the people that would be that foolish to try it so without any goodwill.
*Even if we, in the current times, speak of the inhabitants of Babylon as "ancients" they had their own ancients, from long-lost peoples whose memories faltered day by day. Of those, we barely have any traces, except some oral traditions and tales that somehow survived through the ages.
If someone with a pure heart reaches the top and reaches God, he may go to heaven.
But if someone whose heart is darkened tries to do so, may they be struck by lightning and thrown at the bottom of the tower where the gate of Hell will await them."
This prophecy was the blueprint for the infamous tower of Babylon, in the middle of the walled city it stood, made of the whitest stones and crafted carefully so it could be as magnificent as possible. This is one the biggest and most recognizable landmarks of the country, even outshining the hanging gardens that were the pride and glory of the Babylonian king. The pride of Men was clearly visible in the tower, even if it was still in construction one could feel the never-ending thirst men had to go higher and higher, this primordial need could never be quenched.
However, there were some shadows and mysteries to this tower that no current inhabitants really knew the origins of.
Underneath the tower was a cave, not a natural cave, but a construct made by men, that was the root of the tower, like a tree, were rooted making it able to stand even if it was high enough to reach the lowest clouds.
In this cave stood the infamous gate to hell, the one from the prophecies. This was the secret gate of Babylon, the one that none dared to touch nor even approach.
It was found by sheer luck by one of the engineers surveying the field, the young man was trying to find the most suitable ground to make space for the tower and found that there was someplace under a residential area that was hollow. Going through a cave where wine was stored, he found an old pathway to the soon-to-be foundation for the tower. He was not able to open the door but knew that this place was magical enough to let the root of the tower take hold.
Finding the Gate was the first error toward the downfall of Mankind.
One day, a young man went through the first gate of Babylon, he walked for a long time, and as an itinerant stone decorator, he travelled through the whole region and already knew much more than most young men of his age. However, this knowledgeable and skilled man never dared to visit Babylon, even if he heard a lot of things about it and was always curious, his master disliked the city from the bottom of his heart.
Now that he was the master of his art, he went by himself to the city, in the hope to find his destiny.
As soon as he got close to the city the first thing that struck the young man was the walls, of a pure bright white, reflecting the sun away. It was quite stunning and he had to cover his eyes with his hands while walking through the main gate of the city. The guard did not ask any questions but quickly realizing that the young man was stepping into the city for the first time, they spoke to him and said 'hello, welcome to our city. The young man thanked them without even really looking, his sight still targeted at the city.
