The Story of the Crystal

This is a story on the Green Crystal, the central artifiact besides the Great Fortress itself in the story The Great Fortress. The crystal is also known as the Green Shard, the Great Green Crystal, Great Crystal, or simply as The Crystal. The crystal, of Calathonian origin, has considerable powers and abilities.

Section 1: Origins and Facts on History of Calathon
Calathon was one of the most advanced planets in the Known Universe, equaling and even surpassing Krypton's technology in several areas. The planet was covered by frozen plains packed with ice, as well crystalline structures and ice plateaus. Over 900,000 years ago, the planet had been covered by forests and grassy plains, but that changed.

Around 15 million years ago, a species first appeared on Calathon, that looked similar to the later Humans on Earth: the Calathonians. They had eight times the intelligence of even the smartest human, and they were almost like the Vulcans in the Star Trek dimension, holding little emotion and strictly keeping their opinions to themselves. They were physically weaker then humans, due to both genetic mistakes and also to their adherence to a theory of non-violence and peaceful negotiation.

Around 20,000 years after first appearing, the Calathonians developed the use of stone tools, hunting, and fire-making. This could be compared to the Human race, which only developed fire-making skills 1.5 million years after their first appearance. A million years after developing fire-making, stone-making, and hunting skills, the Calathonians learned how to use animal fur for clothing and shelters and how to plant growing seeds. They advanced quickly from that point.

By at least 13 million years ago, the Calathonians were already domesticating animals and speaking the Old Calathonian language. They had also developed their earliest organized religion and a primitive form of writing. In circa 12.8 million BC, the Calathonians developed their first historical records and also invented a primitive form of gunpowder.

Several major advances occured in 10 million BC. In that year, the Calathonians developed the Calathonian language and alphabet used until the death of their species, invented a early calculating machine, significantly advanced farming technology, developed a more organized religion, and developed revolutionary weapons technology, including the first guns and cannons, for "self-defence" only.

Starting in 8 million BC, a family called the El's came to become one of the most prestigious groups of people in the history of Calathon. That year, the entire planet was unified under one government, and a person named Joe-El wrote the first planetary constitution.

Over the next several million years, numerous more advances were made, all spearheaded by the El's. 7.5 million BC, the first mechanically-run factories were invented by Ross-El, Joe-El's direct descendant. Just 20 years later, Ross-El's son, Ross-El the Younger, invented Calathon's first writing machine. Ross-El the Younger also invented rascilli, a medicine that could be used to cure infections and burns.