User blog comment:Guildmaster Grovyle/JLE Role Play, Fall 2017/@comment-7345250-20170904062725


 * Inari learns much in a short span of time. Cowthay is an ancient land far across the South Luna Ocean, marking the edge of the map as Equestria understands it, though the sheer remoteness of the country coupled with the natives' minimal interest in foreign affairs have kept Cowthay obscure and largely unknown to ponies. Cowthay uses stamped paper banknotes that degrade easily for currency, so archaeological records of Cowthaysian government are virtually nonexistent. Conversely, myths of dynasties and kings abound. These have been hard to substantiate, but they have led to the discovery of several royal Cowthaysian tombs.


 * Among these myths is that of the Aurochs—the Son of Heaven—the primordial emperor who descended to earth and sired bull, and buffalo, and yak alike. The promise of a common ancestor to whom all modern bovines can be traced is of immense interest to those in Culture Shock's field, but the tomb of the Aurochs has never been identified. No name is ascribed to him. Neither is any time of death. The Aurochs is said to have ascended whence he came.


 * One tomb of particular interest is that of Temoojin, a general who is said to have held a militaristic dictatorship over Cowthay lasting hundreds of moons. His reign caused much hardship for the cattle of Cowthay, for their farms were often ransacked to keep the army supplied. It is prophesied that Temoojin will return from death and bring ruin to Cowthay once again, for which reason the local governing body was happy to sell what was identified as Temoojin's sword to Culture Shock on his last visit.


 * Efforts to excavate the tomb have been met with resistance out of fear of Temoojin's return. A landmark permit was secured to open the tomb five years ago. In the amphitheater were found exactly 4,900 funerary statues of gilded terra-cotta, each depicting a unique bovine soldier: a great and terrible Golden Army.


 * Following this, a number of unspecified accidents befell Culture Shock's fellow explorers—all attributed to Temoojin's curse by the locals—and forced the expedition to withdraw. To this day, the nature of the statues is not fully understood.


 * Special thanks are given to an undercover Equestrian agent from an undisclosed bureau for his quick thinking. He is credited with saving Culture Shock from the so-called curse, which is briefly hinted to have manifested as a venomous beast.


 * Celestia answers Inari's question.

Princess Celestia: "It's a faraway land of bright green hills. I believe it's still around. Now, let's dig in."