The Grand Herald

Devastated, but fairly advanced, architecture hints at a technologically adept humanoid species on the verge of spacefaring capability. Translated documentation and extensive monumental architecture indicates a deeply seated religion or spirituality that permeated the entire civilization.

The phrase The Grand Herald is mentioned repeatedly, and appears to be a figure or concept of divine awe and unquestioned reverence in this society.

Sifting through the abundance of documentation found in the ruins across the planet - this species sure loved their written word - one recurring concept stands out. It's referred to as The Testament of Omen, and it is some portent of impending doom that triggered paranoia and dread in the general population.

Due to the metaphorical and esoteric nature of the scriptural language, it's difficult to ascertain the true nature of this menace, but the effect on the psyche of the indigenous species is indisputable. En masse they seem to have looked to the heavens for divine intervention.

Architectural analysis has isolated the buildings that were assembled just before the civilization vanished. The pattern is the same across the planet: haphazard utilitarian constructs intended for heavy industrial work. Unlike older dwellings, these buildings are unadorned and noticeably pragmatic in their design. Perhaps a culture of iconoclasm took hold?

Over the entrance of each of these buildings is The Creed of Servitude - a prayer of service to The Grand Herald and its holy plan. The theory is that this is some kind of response to the doom foretold in The Testament of Omen.

The surface expedition made an interesting find. It was a audio-visual recording from one of the major cities. A teeming mass of beings, seeming the bulk of the inhabitants, is crowding a public square. They are chanting, the collective voices rising in crescendo like the sound of a melodic, rolling thunderstorm.

The mass chant was translated as: "The ascension is nigh. Carry us, O Grand Herald, into a new beginning. Lead us from a land of tears and dust, and grant us a new home amongst the stars. We follow thee as one. We follow thee".

The Hymn of Following was not an isolated event - it was global, every single inhabitant chanting in unison. Such an unusual event warranted further research, and that's when a new insight was gained. A document called The Pilgrimage of Last Days was uncovered, and it seems to be one of the last links in this mysterious chain of events.

The document refers to a specific location on the planet, where some final reckoning or ritual will occur; a swathe of unremarkable desert location neglected in earlier surveys. The document also speaks of something called The Rite of Lifted Veil, which is now being interpreted.