OOC - Apologies for the late update, had to move back to Uni, then my net connection died. (I've used the best relevant Knowledge checks in the party, assumed the others used Aid Another, and have distributed up the information between you. ) (If I'm quoting a piece of information from a text * indicates damaged text where you can't make out the character).
You spend 4 hours in the library, as dusk falls the priests escort you out, explaining that this is the sacred time when certain rituals must be performed and those outside the priesthood of Aeter are not permitted within the temple. However during the long search of the library between you, you have managed to turn up the following:
Lochan was escorted to the history section and managed to turn up a small amount of information, the people of Harus's time, were harsher than they have become today they venerated for the most part, the darker aspect of Aeter as the Taker, the Keeper and the Judge Who Knows No Compassion, they had a powerful military and conquered much of the current continent which came to a peak during the Pharaoh Harus's time, he was hailed as the greatest of their monarchs and he subjagated the last unconquered parts of the continent to his rule, he was a devout believer of Aeter's darker aspects, and he required a 1 hour observance at dusk of every person in his empire to Aeter's majesty, Lochan also finds a single reference to the possibilty that Harus also required the veneration of something else during his court but the entire paragraph has been removed except for the following extract from a prayer
"... praise to the Ally Of The Keeper, He Who Made Fire From Ice, The E*g*h of the *****, The Keeper Of Secrets, The Lord Ascending, Praise be to the name of **ph**tophe*** ... "
Skor's research turns up the following, the Pharaohs were entombed within mammothian pyramids, that were always filled with traps, both mundane and magical, it was traditional to inter the highest ranking members of the Pharaoh's court with him, so that they may continue to serve him when Aeter granted the Pharaoh his reward for his service in life. The Pyramid would be built with many levels, and it was traditional to inter the pharoah at the peak, the pyramids were always warded with spells and constructed with materials that prevented entrance through other planes and prevented scrying within from the outside.
Teppic after a great deal of searching manages to turn up information about the Harus's inner court, Harus's inner court consisted of his wife, Hatem, a powerful priestess of Aeter, and his three priest-advisors Am-Rehat,Va-Hotep and Na-Rem , although they were not the most potent priests in Aeter's service they were of formidable powerful, and his court wizard and chief bodyguard, Hap-tek, it is noted that Hap-tek was a master of the longsword and always fought with two-blades both of which were constantly sheated in freezing black fire and regularly sparred with Harus, who was a consumate warrior.
Duncan's search turns up little information on the pharoah and burial rights that the others haven't found, but he does discover the following about a powerful sword that Harus won from one the vassal-kings he conquered, it was said to be made of iron that was ever cold to the touch, and carved with faces of things that dwell not in the sacred desert, its pommel was a skull and its hilt was wrapped in leather, it is said that Harus bestowed this potent blade on his chief bodyguard, apart from these details Duncan's study on the sword takes him to a section of the library dedicated to the truly ancient history of the world and he finds records of a sword that fell from the sky, that granted the wizard who found it the power to make himself the first Pharaoh of the small nation that would become Aeter , the text also contains the following extract penned by the first Pharoah in the last years of his life.
" .. although this sword was surely a gift from Aeter,something of it's nature troubled me, after a great deal of research I can only conclude that it was forged by one of Those Who Cannot Be, after a sojourn on this world and being returned to the Place That Is Not, It must have used the trophies of its victory to forge this, a spiteful strike at the essence of all that IS, and used much of the thiznat (this word resists translation even by the potent miracle your are under) it had gathered to send it here..... "
Taslia's divination leads her to the tome written by Hez-Kenneth, in the section of religion and cosmology, it seems to focus on creatures that do not die as humans do, discussing much of their natures, however the divination leads Taslia to a small section in the back, discussing that which cannot die, because it cannot exist and yet somehow they do, the paragraph that seems most important is
" ... before the world was ordered all things that could ever be WERE, but as reality was formed from the spirits that WOULD BE, those that CANNOT BE were cast out, despite great study I have found record of only one who managed to return, referenced as Xsanthiat, The Lord Between The Continuum, he rampaged across this continent almost 3000 years ago, before one of those who were drove him back to the place that is not .... " .