Ode to Howard's Madness

Somewhere amid the frozen mountains,
Out beyond the sea,
Unimaginable wealth and wisdom sits
Tempting the bravest explorers.
Here, in the pits of ice,
Standing out against the blinding white
Once shone a temple of
Universal power.
Then came the aquatic
Hordes, tearing and rending tentacles from face.
Each race found its losses terminal,
And the sapien slaves found foothold in rebellion.
Silently, now, the temple waits. Undisturbed in the frozen wastelands.
To mankind, its secrets reveal the masters, and their unpaid debt to the ageless races.