Prayers for Destiny

They say that, Once upon a time, the people of the land could hear revelations from the heavens directly. Then, the envoys of the gods would walk among benighted humanity, and the ancient flames were extinguished amidst the first falling rains. It was a prosperous time, a period of bountiful harvest. Then the earth was blessed and ruled by heaven, and the elemental flows were smooth and well-ordered. A hundred years of bounty were written in the stars, and none could change this divine law. But what of the time after, a hundred, a thousand years from now? Would they have famine where they had plenty, poverty where once were riches? Would their altars and palaces become one with the soil, with only that silver-white tree for company? The heavenly envoys, who ever spoke what they knew, were silent. So to understand this doom, The chief priest, head crowned with white branches, would delve into the deep places of the world...