The Girl and the Guardian

CHAPTER 15. The wisdom of the Crystalline Entities was at the core of the Makers’ Order, like a diamond, priceless, containing all other jewels, flashing forth in lightnings and thunderings as of the Uncreated and Uncaused, harbouring within the chord of the knowledge of the Absolute Infinite, fenced off from the sight of weaker minds, which, if they glimpsed it, would perish instantly. On this foundation of adamantine thought was built the doctrine of life for softer things, creatures of fur and feather and flesh and blood that walk upon the lesser worlds beneath the softer radiances of the smaller stars. For surely there is an hierarchy of being, of which that which is greater sees more, and the lesser see less, even denying that there is anything beyond themselves in the cosmos, but only lesser things. Great was the sacrifice, but also the vision of beauty that might be, when one of the crystals was taken to the Green planet to merge its life with the trees of that place, to form a link between the Nine Worlds.

  When the Order was threatened, the crystals closed off their world lest it be pillaged for the beauty and power of their crystal bodies – though indeed they were not defenceless, being able to disrupt at will the minds of any who approached with evil intent, sending them witless back. But this was not their way, so the door to that world remains closed but for the dreamwalkers of good will. For some of the Dark travellers dared to invade in dreams the crystal minds. But they were undone, though not before relaying some of that which they learned there to their dark brethren. -Ennead of Aeden, Of the Crystal World

  The way that the paths of beauty came to be was this: some Travellers saw a gleam from afar as of the crystal spires of their own world, and so landed upon the Crystal planet, where they found the Crystalline Entities. (Aeons before, diamond-like minerals had formed the basis of a life-form of harmonies within crystals, whose great ability and delight was in the linking of things that had likenesses, no matter what distances separated them. Through this the Crystalline Entities had knowledge of many things, existing and being delighted with knowledge purely for its own sake).

  The good Travellers that came there dwelt among the crystals and, gazing into them, learnt many things, of the Green planet and the Makers, and finally one of their number, Emerglim, attained to such a harmony with the Makers that he was able to tread the path over the void, bearing one of the crystals, named Greenlight, to the Green planet.

  This first meeting of three kindreds: the Makers, the Travellers, and the Crystalline Entities, led to the First Age of Aeden, the Golden age. – Ibid.