The Great Ark

The legend of "The Great Ark" is probably the most widespread and commonly told stories about how intelligent life came to be upon Lens. Like any widespread myth, no one can agree on the particulars. Historical evidence is sketchy, different versions contradict one another and there are portions that are almost certainly folklore or embellishment. It's unlikely any two people could agree on the story in all of its elements, but it remains the basis of the common narrative for the society of not just humans but multiple sapient species across the planet of Lens.
In the beginning, the ancestors were somewhere else. No one knows precisely where, but all agree it was far away. A great journey had to be undertaken, and a vessel was constructed to hold the multitudes who were to go. That vessel was the ark.
When the vessel sent out, it was on a mission of great importance. Not only the lives of those on board, but of all living things were potentially at risk, and the best of the old world pooled their resources and talents to set out on the longest journey ever undertaken. Some say that at first it was only humans aboard the ark. Others say that every species on Lens came on the ark, though fossil records establish fairly definitively that Lens was inhabited before the great migration arrived. Regardless, some portion of the sapient life journeyed from some other place to Lens, and they did not come alone.
They brought with them entities. Some would call them gods, others, demons. These entities lacked physical bodies, but could move about from form to form and conduct miraculous works, and each reigned over specific aspects of the vessel's function. At first they were united as one in fellowship with those aboard the Ark, and for a time everything was well.
It was at the very last moment, with the goal in sight, that things went wrong. As the Ark neared Lens, some form of conflict was taking place on board. Those on the journey had broken into factions, arguing over who would rule the new world they had discovered and what was to be done about those who were already living there, for most versions of the story agree that Lens was in fact inhabited, a fact unknown to those who had made the long journey.
Conflict bred violence, and in the confusion of the Ark's descent from the heavens, a great disaster tore the Ark asunder and broke it beyond all saving. Some survived, though many did not, and very quickly the survivors began anew their arguments, their demands, their casting of blame. With them were the entities, some trying to stop the conflict, others to encourage it and still others are said to have abandoned the Ark altogether at the first opportunity. Perhaps they are still out there, somewhere, in the wilds of Lens.
The Great Fall, as it came to be known, had still more dire consequences, however. The Ship's descent and destruction brought about enormous instability into the already volatile reality of Lens, and as the different factions established themselves and began to clash, their existence was already in far greater danger from the coming storms.
The storms came with little warning, tearing apart the very fabric of existence as they rampaged across the surface of the planet. Again, the survivors fractured. Some wanted to try and return to the heavens, though that was likely impossible. Others wished to wait out the storms in the great sleep that was still possible in surviving fragments of the ark. Still others decided to venture out and study the storms, seeking a way to adapt themselves to this new danger and survive in the harrowing new circumstances that their dissension and selfishness had brought into being.
There are as many versions of the tale as there are those who tell it, but there are a few points on which most agree. The great mission, the very reason the Ark had brought the people to Lens, was abandoned in favor of the immediate dangers facing the populace. It has since been lost to time, and rediscovering the great mission is a pursuit to which some scholars have dedicated their entire lives.
Most also agree that the entities who made the journey still exist, somewhere on the planet, perhaps taking forms that would not allow them to be so easily recognized. Though it is well understood that these entities are not deities, and indeed came to the planet as contemporaries and allies of the ancestral settlers, their immortal lifespan and mysterious origins have lent them a mystique not unlike the pantheons of older civilizations. Some of them are known and named, and when events tip this way or that, the more superstitious among the populace will attribute it to this or that great entity, working its grand designs over the centuries from some secret place.
Finally, most everyone agrees that the sleepers are still alive, at least some of them. There are still places on the surface of Lens where people cannot reach, regions too dangerous to traverse, but some of the first who came to this world are still out there, waiting to be discovered, along with much of their technology and magic. This, more than anything else, has fueled the legend and kept it alive. The great mystery of where the lost ancestors are and what will become of them and their power is a source of endless fascination to all those who ask: Where is the Ark?