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=begin comment |
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This is the source for some of the books in crossfire, at least, it should become one. |
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Authors: |
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Gorlin <gorlin@freibier.htu.tuwien.ac.at> |
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Mark Wedel <mwedel@scruznet.com> |
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Marc Lehmann <crossfire@schmorp.de> |
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1.2 |
The Crossfire Wiki |
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Each =head1 should become its own book. |
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=end comment |
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1.2 |
=head1 History of Creation, by Khalis, Volume I |
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In the beginning the land was barren. No life yet moved upon the large |
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continents and islands that lay empty between the seas. In the seas, |
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nothing moved as well. The world itself held its breath while the Creator |
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rested. Then, a spirit from outside, serving the Most High, entered the |
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world, and she saw a place yet empty of life. So she began to create grass |
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to cover the face of the earth, and trees and other plants. Other spirits |
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from outside watched, and agreed that Gaea had wrought wonders upon the |
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devoid place. Since she was by far stronger than the others, those lesser |
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spirits asked her for leave to join in her work. Gaea accepted their |
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offer, and so the spirits of the Elements of Fire, Air, Water and Earth |
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began their work as Gaea's servants. It can be assumed, that outside the |
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world, the Creator watched and approved. |
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In time, the elemental spirits came before Gaea, and beseeched her to |
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help them create beings able to move of their own free will, living among |
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the plant world. And Gaea saw that without animals, the green world would |
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still miss a vital element, so she in turn went before the Creator. What |
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happened between them noone knows, but soon afterwards living beings began |
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to populate the land. Fish swam in the seas and rivers, birds flew their |
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first flights through the air, and other species moved on the land. The |
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cycle of Nature seemed complete, and Gaea was content. |
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Already, however, other spirits had noticed what Gaea had done. Dark were |
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they, and they treasured still the image of the empty world. To them, a |
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place devoid of life seemed far better, far more perfect, and so they |
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entered the world to return the world to its past. Sicknesses and |
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poison began to spread among the animals, that threatened to extinguish |
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entire species - yeah, indeed several of them might have died during that |
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time, of which we have next to no information. Bones in the ground seem to |
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indict that there were large animals which do not exist anymore, and |
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sadly, we may not meet them evermore. In anger, Gaea named these dark |
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spirits the Devourers, since they were those who devoured all life, and |
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she and her Elemental allies fought them back, and tried to heal what they |
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could. |
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1.2 |
=head1 History of Creation, by Khalis, Volume II |
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In that time it also happened, that a great many of the creatures the |
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Fire Elementals had helped to make were betoken of great madness, and |
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started to rampage among the other beings. In time Gaea and her allies |
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found out the truth, that one of the greatest Elementals of Fire, Ruggili, |
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had turned against them, perhaps on order of the Devourers. Yet, Ruggili |
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now served neither Devourers nor Gaea, instead he sought to increase his |
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own power, and spread madness and chaos upon the world, and he became |
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mightier than any other Elemental in existence. |
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The other Elemental beings came to Gaea, and spoke, "With both renegade |
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Ruggili and the Dark Ones to fight, we need others to assist us. Some of |
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the beings we created are already strong enough to do their part, such as |
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the unicorn or the sphinx. The strongest of them, however, the dragons, |
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have switched their support to Ruggili. We need allies, or this world will |
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become either a place of eternal fire or one of darkness." Gaea was |
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clearly troubled by this, and again left the world to commune with the |
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Creator. Shortly afterwards, new, more intelligent races emerged on the |
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world, among them the dwarves, elves, trolls, goblins, humans, halflings, |
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lizardman, any many others, and they joined the fight on the side of Gaea |
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and the Elementals. |
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During this time, which we now call the Second Age, cultures grew and |
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were destroyed, races rose to prominence and disappeared again, mighty |
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magics were found and forgotten. Ruggili#s followers were beaten back at |
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great cost, and the forces of Gaea could again concentrate on the fight |
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against the Devourers. The fight went on for a long time, but it seemed |
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that the Nature Goddess was able to reform the world into a place of Life. |
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The mortal races assisting her had become weary of the fight, however, and |
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spoke to her thus: "The fight has clearly been won, the death spirits and |
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the Fire God are in retreat. We wish to fight no more, but to settle down |
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in peace. Though we still respect you and always will, we can give you our |
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support no longer." Gaea accepted in silence, even though she knew that |
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this meant that the war would not have a definite ending. Neither the |
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Devourers nor Ruggili would be defeated be her alone. |
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The Devourers and Ruggili watched the retreat of the mortals, the |
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Devourers planning to attack and destroy them now that Gaea was not near, |
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and then to use their own dead spirits against the Nature Goddess. Ruggili |
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instead bided his time, sending down dragons to burn mortal cities and |
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Devourer strongholds both. The Elementals serving Gaea assisted the |
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mortals still, and gave some protection to them so that the Devourers |
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would not destroy them. During this, Third, Age, the mortals segregated |
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according to their nature. The dwarves moved into the mountains, and with |
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the help of Earth Elementals began their first kingdoms underneath the |
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face of the earth. The elves moved into large woods, the lizardmen into |
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swamps. Wars broke out between some of the races, none however anywhere in |
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that measure as the Great War of the Second Age. |
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1.2 |
=head1 History of Creation, by Khalis, Volume III |
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In the Third Age it also happened, that spirits from the outside, who had |
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been content to watch until that time, took pity on some of those races. |
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The goblins, orcs, trolls and giants began to serve a being called Gnarg, |
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who had promised to raise and protect them. He helped them build up |
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protection against the many poisons which still plagued the lands, and in |
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time they began to use poison as a weapon against their enemies. Their |
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most hated enemies were the dwarves and the elves, who each had been |
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stronger than them before the coming of Gnarg. Now, stronger than ever |
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before, they attacked them and sought to utterly destroy them. First they |
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moved against the elves. They burned down forests and elven cities, until |
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the being Lythander came to guide the elves and to oppose Gnarg. He sent |
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confusion to the goblin races, and cursed them to utter stupidity. this |
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curse is still active even now, there are fewer orcs or goblins who |
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possess high intuition, intellect or magical affinity then in any other |
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of the mortal races. During the time the curse was first spoken it was |
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much worse. The orcs fell down muttering insanely, the giants and trolls |
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clubbed each other senseless, and the goblins jumped down high cliffs to |
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escaped the voices in their head. The goblin attack faltered, and all the |
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goblin races and giantkind returned - after a few accidents and wrong |
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turns - to their homes. They also immediately stopped their plans to |
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attack the dwarves. |
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The dwarves, however, had other problems. The dragons also claimed the |
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mountains, and the followers of Ruggili sought out the dwarven cities and |
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the treasures they offered. The pitiful cries of the dwarves, and the many |
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deaths among dwarvenkind, roused the spirit being Mostrai, who entered the |
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world and came to the dwarves. He showed them how to create magical |
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weapons which might wound even the greatest of dragons, and he also helped |
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them to withstand the dragons' fire. As was Gnarg to the orcs and goblins, |
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and as was Lythander to the elves, Mostrai became god to the dwarves, |
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protected them as they worshipped him for it. |
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The most numerous of the mortal races had no god of their own, and they |
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despaired, seeing that others had gods of great power to call upon for |
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assistance. In their fear of being destroyed, in their anger for being |
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left out, and their hatred for those who left them alone, they cried out |
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for help. And in the darkness, someone heard them. Far away, in another |
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dimension most probably, dwelt beings of great power. Endless torment was |
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their desire, hatred, fear and anger the ways to their dark hearts, and |
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fire their most potent weapon. When the humans had cried long enough, the |
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doorway was opened, and the demon host went through. The demon lord Gorokh |
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led those who entered the world, and he offered the humans many riches and |
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great power in exchange for their worship and for sacrifice. many humans |
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fell, and began to serve the powers of darkness. Others sought redemption, |
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and a pure spirit called Valriel came to their aid. Others again returned |
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to the worship of Gaea, hoping that the forces of Life would protect them, |
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a few humans even went to the goblin, elven and dwarven gods for help. |
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1.2 |
=head1 History of Creation, by Khalis, Volume IV |
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As the human worship began to spread out among all the gods and beings of |
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power who had entered the world, a small group of them who wished not for |
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the blessings of Nature but the power of the elements as weapons spake to |
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one of the Elemental Lords following Gaea. And as Ruggili long ago, Sorig |
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left Gaea's path and accepted the mortal's worship, teaching them the way |
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of lightning and thunder in return. Other small sects began to emerge, and |
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then the one things noone had foreseen happened. Some humans began to |
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worship the powers of Death, who until then never had living followers. |
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Those poor deranged people believed that in death they would be truly |
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free, and the Devourers gladly accepted their help. When those humans |
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died, the most mighty of the Undead were finally created - those who |
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joined the Devourers of their own free will: the vampires, the spectres |
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and the liche. |
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And so the world lies before us today, turmoil and chaos has spread among |
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the many gods who have entered the world. The fights are numerous, but at |
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least we can be called lucky that no single faction has power as great as |
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during the Second Age - for another Great War would probably destroy the |
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world itself. In the First Age only the spirit being existed, in the |
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Second Age we mortals served the forces of Life to survive, in the Third |
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Age we left them and began to worship other Gods. This then is the Fourth |
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Age, in which we hope the ceaseless fighting and wars will finally end, |
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and we will be allowed to live in peace. But whose peace will it be, which |
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gods, which peples will lead and which will follow? |
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Khalis, |
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Grand Hierophant, |
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Servant of Gaea |
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=head1 History for the Impatient |
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Written by Maris the Scholar, a student of Khalis whom he opposed much |
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later in his life. |
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Gaea created the world. However, for things to thrive, rain is needed |
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so Sorig came along, and provided the rain and lightning. The lightning |
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created fire, and so Ruggili was born. |
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Gaea is the source of all nature and life, without any great need for |
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followers, as the natural world itself gives her power. She gave life to a |
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number of sons, all gods of their own. |
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Her son Mostrai saw a flat and uninteresting world and created massive |
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mountains and deep dungeons. |
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Her other son Lythander was bored and created some animals. |
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Gnarg saw that and created the goblins on the world for some reason we no |
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longer know. |
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Lythander, disgusted what the goblins where doing to the beautiful |
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forests, created the elves and halflings to help protect the forests from |
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uncontrolled goblin destruction. |
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Mostrai, seeing what was happening to the forests, decided to take |
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pre-emptive measures and created the dwarves to live deep within the |
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mountains he created. |
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Then Gaea created the humans, to protect and provide balance in the plains |
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and along the coasts. |
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With the constant battles for balance, many of these new life forms died. |
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The gods that created them did originally see the souls that these new |
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life forms had, but the gods Gorokh and Valriel did. They took the worst |
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(and best) of these departing souls in order to create creatures for their |
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own desires. |
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The souls that neither claimed became the domain of the devourers. What |
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the god of devourers lacked in the strength of individual souls, he gained |
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in the sheer number of souls he controlled, and with these he created |
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wights and vampires to give him even more souls. Some of the powerful |
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humanoids worshipped him in hopes of eternal life. For some of these, |
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they gained this eternal life in the form and lichs and demilichs. |
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The Red Dragons were created by Rugilli because he wanted some worshippers |
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of his own. It is believed that the other dragons eventually resulted from |
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those by the constant in-breeding experiments Ruggili made. |
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Nobody knows where the nearly god-like titans came from. Some scholars |
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claim they could be descendants of some of the forgotten gods so little i |
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known about nowadays. |
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1.2 |
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=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
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=head2 Calendrical Introduction |
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Present Day |
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We are currently in 8437 Era Khelentari (EK). |
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=head2 Volume I: The Early Days |
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Around 350 EK: The Story of the Fourth Mariner is written by an unknown author. |
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435 EK: Colony of Skorn Founded. It would eventualy become the city of Scorn. |
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1.5 |
711 EK: The outpost of Heaven’s Gate is founded. |
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1.2 |
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=head2 Volume II: Second Millenia EK |
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1223 EK: Ekkis the Drunk leads a disastrous crusade against the Sirens in the southern seas. |
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=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
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=head2 Volume III: Third Millenia EK |
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2287 EK: Battle of Tered - The Kingdom of the Masts is dismantled by Navar. |
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2567 EK: Fernast Fergono, exiled from Navar, leads a famous exploration expedition in the south-east seas. |
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2765 EK: The city of Heaven’s Gate is burned by pirates. |
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=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
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=head2 Volume IV: Fourth Millenia EK |
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3084-3154 EK: The Artificers' Wars take place in the East. |
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3154 EK: The High Tide of the Gears: End of the Artificers' Wars; many islands are flooded or disappear forever in the depths of the Eastern Ocean. |
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3867 EK: Juradiths take the direction of Scorn and create a republic. |
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3885 EK: Juradiths are expelled from Scorn by revolting citizens. They are vainquished at Battlefield Lake. |
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=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
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=head2 Volume V: Fifth Millenia EK |
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4127 EK: King Kadriosa IV of Scorn leads a Crusade against the elves of the south-east, who flee the country. |
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4131 EK: Foundation of the Elven City of Tashkeren-tah at Vkovzerov (Lake Country). |
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4453 EK: The Elven City of Tashkeren-tah sinks into the largest lake of Lake Country. |
292 |
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293 |
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=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
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=head2 Volume VI: Sixth Millenia EK |
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5524 EK: The Meteomage Grab of Ledh fails an experiment, making the weather mad for a while, an event remembered as “The Weather Madness”. |
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Late LVIth Century EK: The Great Schism between the Simplifists led by Mish the Toon and the Stabilists: The Sedition Wars. |
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5581 EK: Battle of the Glowing Crystal: the Order of the Careful Coders is disbanded. |
302 |
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5598 EK: The Simplifists exile themselves into the Pocket Dimension of Daï-Moh-Nî, “The World With a Future”, in Ancient Daigojij Language. |
304 |
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=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
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=head2 Volume VII: Seventh Millenia EK |
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6356 EK: Butakis settles in Lake Country and starts building the Lake Pump. |
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6356 EK: The Lake Pump is destroyed by Twak. Lake Country is covered by fog. Butakis is disfigured. |
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=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
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=head2 Volume VIII: Eighth Millenia EK |
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7124 EK: Harta accidentally creates a Dimensional Grid, connecting the Crossfire Continuum with the Daï-Moh-Nî Dimension. |
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7563 EK: The tower of Melficef the Red explodes. |
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=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
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=head2 Volume IX: Ninth Millenia EK |
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8009 EK: Euthville is destroyed. |
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=head1 Euthville History |
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The Ruins of Euthville can be found just off the Imperial Highway north of |
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Scorn. |
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=head2 The Origins of the City |
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The Codex Skudensis tells that Euthville was founded by the Euthanasia the |
336 |
|
|
Builder, hence its name. |
337 |
|
|
|
338 |
|
|
=head2 Past and Destruction |
339 |
|
|
|
340 |
|
|
Ah, Euthville - “City of the Pearl”, in Old Hemdalite, has indeed a |
341 |
|
|
rather sad story!! |
342 |
|
|
|
343 |
|
|
If you went there about half a millenia ago, you’d have seen something |
344 |
|
|
very different than the field of haunted ruins it has since become. It |
345 |
|
|
was initially founded by a handful of industrious, clever dwarves, that |
346 |
|
|
had found a mystical way to locate fields of precious Karitta, the famous |
347 |
|
|
metal that is as transparent as a pearl of the North Sea, yet as strong as |
348 |
|
|
the best irons of Navar. |
349 |
|
|
|
350 |
|
|
And thus, they found at the location of Euthville a lot of that raw metal, |
351 |
|
|
which quickly made the city one of the richest of all. And for a long |
352 |
|
|
time, it stayed so. The inhabitants of Euthville weren’t interested by |
353 |
|
|
war, work, or anything else too tiresome - they preferred to pay somebody |
354 |
|
|
else to do all of this. And with the advanced technical knowledge bring by |
355 |
|
|
the dwarves, working was less and less an issue for them. |
356 |
|
|
|
357 |
|
|
Yet yhey were facing a problem. All their devices, all their machineries, |
358 |
|
|
all their tricks to cheat with nature required energy. Lots of |
359 |
|
|
energy. They relied first on the strength of horses and donkeys, but it |
360 |
|
|
wasn’t enough. Then, they tamed the dangerous Wyverns of Kal-Durandasi, |
361 |
|
|
so that the hot lizards would provide them with the full force of their |
362 |
|
|
steamy breath. But soon, it wasn’t enough. They also used the hidden |
363 |
|
|
power provided by the Faeries of the Tarniska river, building a dam, so |
364 |
|
|
that they could put the invisible horses of water that the sylphids are |
365 |
|
|
rumored to breed in use. |
366 |
|
|
|
367 |
|
|
But even so, their hunger for power wasn’t satisfied, and became an |
368 |
|
|
increasing nuisance for them. So, the Commander of Euthville (which was, |
369 |
|
|
more or less, the equivalent to our King at Scorn), finally decided to |
370 |
|
|
send messengers across the whole Continent, calling the world for a |
371 |
|
|
challenge. Whoever would be able to fulfill the needs of Euthvillians of |
372 |
|
|
energy would become the new Commander, thus the ruler of the richest city |
373 |
|
|
ever built since Khelens. |
374 |
|
|
|
375 |
|
|
Many answered the call, of course, and many failed. Wind, Sun, Stars, even |
376 |
|
|
dwarven beer were proposed, but nothing seemed to be enough. For years, |
377 |
|
|
wizards tried. And failed. |
378 |
|
|
|
379 |
|
|
And then came a boy. He wasn’t a wizard, nor pretended to be one. He was |
380 |
|
|
young, but the story didn’t kept the record of his name, and some now |
381 |
|
|
think it is because he was damned. Who knows? The Boy sat in the middle |
382 |
|
|
of the city, playing with his flute, laughing whenever he saw one of the |
383 |
|
|
demonstrations the powerful wizards and engineers failing again and again. |
384 |
|
|
|
385 |
|
|
After several days, the Commander noticed the Boy, and said: “who |
386 |
|
|
are you to laugh, you, who has only a flute ?” “I have only a |
387 |
|
|
flute for sure - but there’s more in my simple pipe than in those |
388 |
|
|
legions of wizards.” “Really ?” said the Commander, half-laughing, |
389 |
|
|
half-curious, “so you think you can solve my challenge ?” |
390 |
|
|
|
391 |
|
|
The Boy smiled. “Not only I can, but I shall - and my price will be |
392 |
|
|
quite acceptable to give you the energy you need.” “And that would |
393 |
|
|
be...?” - “A new pipe.” came the reply “That one is becoming |
394 |
|
|
old.” “Agree, you have your chance.” |
395 |
|
|
|
396 |
|
|
The Boy then started to play an amused melody. It sounded like an |
397 |
|
|
invitation to a great feast, the opening of a meeting where everybody was |
398 |
|
|
invited. And then came from earth itself sounds of steps, climbing from |
399 |
|
|
the depth. The fountain that stood in the middle of the place crumbled, |
400 |
|
|
leaving a great hole from which flames emerged. But the fire seemed to |
401 |
|
|
dance at the rythm of the music itself. |
402 |
|
|
|
403 |
|
|
The Boy then said to the Commander: “As long as you keep playing for |
404 |
|
|
the Demons there, at least 23 hours each day, you’ll get them to make |
405 |
|
|
whatever you need.” And he gave them the score, took a brand new silver |
406 |
|
|
flute, and left, and never was seen again at Euthville. |
407 |
|
|
|
408 |
|
|
At first, things seemed fine, and the Commander couldn’t believe his |
409 |
|
|
luck, as a pipe was a feeble price to pay for such a powerful recipe of |
410 |
|
|
prosperity. Who wouldn’t want to tame the Demons themselves? Quickly, |
411 |
|
|
though, it appeared obvious that, for enough demons to be there, that |
412 |
|
|
music needed to be played rather loudly. And if, at first, it sounded |
413 |
|
|
entertaining, joyous, and funny, it quickly grew on the nerves of |
414 |
|
|
many. And especially because it was played 23 hours a day. |
415 |
|
|
|
416 |
|
|
Finally, the Commander decided that the city couldn’t stand this |
417 |
|
|
anymore, and ordered that the Demons had to be attracted faraway from the |
418 |
|
|
city. On this fateful day, a whole fanfare left the city, hoping that the |
419 |
|
|
demons would follow, attracted by the music. |
420 |
|
|
|
421 |
|
|
And so, they did. One after another, they climbed out of Earth itself, and |
422 |
|
|
walked in the direction of the music, obviously unaware of the hundreds of |
423 |
|
|
buildings they were crushing by their giant footsteps, and the thousands |
424 |
|
|
of inhabitants that they toasted with their dark fire. Seeing that, |
425 |
|
|
even the bravest ones went mad, and ran for their lives, leaving pipes, |
426 |
|
|
clavicelles and harpsichords fall on the ground. |
427 |
|
|
|
428 |
|
|
The rest of the story is easy to understand: Demons, free from the magical |
429 |
|
|
music that enslaved them, crushed what remained of the city, in a bloody |
430 |
|
|
fest that they will forever keep in their twisted memories. |
431 |
|
|
|
432 |
|
|
The Commander went mad, of course, and it is said that his madness was |
433 |
|
|
so strong that his mind was unable to understand that he was dead. If |
434 |
|
|
you search enough in the ruins of Euthville, you’ll probably encounter |
435 |
|
|
his ghost, as well as those of the many who perished for having believed |
436 |
|
|
that mortals could enslave the hell. Some demons stayed there, obviously |
437 |
|
|
enjoying the area and its newborn ashes that smelled fresh blood and |
438 |
|
|
carnage. Euthville is now, of course, a dangerous, deserted place, and the |
439 |
|
|
richesses that are still sleeping below the ruins of its former palaces |
440 |
|
|
are now guarded by powerful entities of the 9th Circle. |
441 |
|
|
|
442 |
|
|
Many said that, if the Enchanted Music could be found, it would open the |
443 |
|
|
gates of many treasures, but because none of the former Euthvillians |
444 |
|
|
survived, and because nobody knows where the Boy went afterwards, those |
445 |
|
|
gates are still closed. I’ve heard that the School of Daemonology was |
446 |
|
|
precisely founded to rediscover that spell. But who am I to claim this to |
447 |
|
|
be true ? I’m only a man of the past that tells stories before a fire, |
448 |
|
|
and the fire is dying, and so has my tale reached the end. |
449 |
|
|
|
450 |
|
|
|
451 |
|
|
|
452 |
|
|
=head1 The Kiritani Pass (from "Euthville Legends") |
453 |
|
|
|
454 |
|
|
The "Kiritani Pass" is the part of the map you can see on world_104_114, |
455 |
|
|
between the two random caves and the forest full of hidden |
456 |
|
|
stuff. Nowadays, it is marsh and beach, but centuries ago, it was a |
457 |
|
|
passage for boats sailing from and to Euthville. |
458 |
|
|
|
459 |
|
|
|
460 |
|
|
=head1 Sannistra (from "Euthville Legends") |
461 |
|
|
|
462 |
|
|
The Sannista is a legendary flying boat that was powered by the reaction |
463 |
|
|
of a fire and a water elemental. It was built by the tenth Commander of |
464 |
|
|
Euthville, Farkennis, as a gift for the 18th Birthday of his daughter, |
465 |
|
|
Sannista. That’s the boat that was stolen by Fax when he fled from |
466 |
|
|
Euthville, and that he used to get to Khelens. Giusitta the Verbous then |
467 |
|
|
sailed it back to the Continent, and hid it “somewhere in the mountains |
468 |
|
|
of Euth”. |
469 |
|
|
|
470 |
|
|
So I *guess* she would have put it there, although I’m not *sure*. Many |
471 |
|
|
people thought the story was speaking about the mountains just east of the |
472 |
|
|
ruined city, but now that I’ve discovered those two caves, I’d rather |
473 |
|
|
bet on them - it seems more logical. |
474 |
|
|
|
475 |
|
|
|
476 |
root |
1.3 |
=head1 The Name of the World |
477 |
|
|
|
478 |
|
|
I, Forag the little-known, have invested my lifetime into exploring |
479 |
|
|
the various names of this, our World. In this tome I wrote down all my |
480 |
|
|
knowledge. Be careful with it, else it might overwhelm you, as it did me! |
481 |
|
|
|
482 |
|
|
In Khelens and most of its territories, it was named “The Earth”, |
483 |
|
|
while the major western landmass was called “The Continent” while the |
484 |
|
|
eastern landmass was called "the Wilderness". |
485 |
|
|
|
486 |
|
|
Fendrakis used “Raxida”, which is also the name they gave to the Fox |
487 |
|
|
Lady, Mother of All Things, deity. |
488 |
|
|
|
489 |
|
|
Elves traditionally use “Eänella”, which translates as “The Land of |
490 |
|
|
Green” |
491 |
|
|
|
492 |
|
|
Dwarves of Khorolizov use “Herdankaupf”, “Country of the Horses”, |
493 |
|
|
which is a reference to their mythology (see the legend of the Twelve Days |
494 |
|
|
for that) |
495 |
|
|
|
496 |
|
|
The Orcish name is “Knâgsh-Ishzeh”, “Rotten Branch” |
497 |
|
|
|
498 |
|
|
The people of the Old Wall, used the name “Harinappa”, “Bottom of |
499 |
|
|
the Pit”, to designate the world. |
500 |
|
|
|
501 |
|
|
Most people nowadays use the old Khelenti name ("The Earth") or its direct |
502 |
|
|
translation in local languages/idioms. |
503 |
|
|
|
504 |
|
|
|
505 |
|
|
=head1 Melficef the Red |
506 |
|
|
|
507 |
|
|
Melficef was a powerful mage that conducted thaumical studies to |
508 |
|
|
try to store magical energies in an efficient way. He created many |
509 |
|
|
self-recharging rod spells that are still commonly used today, as well as |
510 |
|
|
the thaumic bomb, a device storing a massive amount of mana and releasing |
511 |
|
|
it in a violent explosion - such an explosion actually killed the |
512 |
|
|
unfortunate Melficef himself. |
513 |
|
|
|
514 |
|
|
|
515 |
root |
1.4 |
=head1 The Kingdom of Scorn |
516 |
|
|
|
517 |
|
|
Nestled snugly in a sheltered bay at the west of the Imperial Highway, |
518 |
|
|
Scorn is a safe and welcoming place for those who pass by. Once a great |
519 |
|
|
military force whose power affected the entire world, its influence |
520 |
|
|
has since waned, the castle in the centre of town now serving a mostly |
521 |
|
|
ceremonial purpose. Nonetheless by virtue of its position on the Imperial |
522 |
|
|
highway the city has maintained its importance as a stopping off point |
523 |
|
|
for travellers between the other major cities and it is an attractive |
524 |
|
|
location for trade and commerce in its own right. This combined with the |
525 |
|
|
sheltered harbour and key shipping lines, ensures that Scorn remains a |
526 |
|
|
key crossroads bustling with activity, long after its former military |
527 |
|
|
dominence has diminished. |
528 |
|
|
|
529 |
|
|
=head2 History |
530 |
|
|
|
531 |
|
|
435EK: The colony of Skorn was founded by Skud the Great, when his |
532 |
|
|
expedition reached the shores of the continent. It is said that he first |
533 |
|
|
pitched his tent on the site where the inn now stands. |
534 |
|
|
|
535 |
|
|
1064-1135EK: The war against the Dragons. Scorn is destroyed. Most of its |
536 |
|
|
inhabitants flee to the south. After 1115EK, the city is progressively |
537 |
|
|
rebuilt on top of the now buried ruins nowadays known as the Old City. |
538 |
|
|
|
539 |
|
|
1177EK: War of the Sea Princes. The last imperial ship reaches |
540 |
|
|
Scorn. Contacts with Khelens are now broken. Scorn becomes an independent |
541 |
|
|
kingdom. |
542 |
|
|
|
543 |
root |
1.2 |
|
544 |
root |
1.5 |
=head1 History of Lake Country |
545 |
|
|
|
546 |
|
|
Lake Country originaly was where the elves who where exiled from the north |
547 |
|
|
by the kings of Scorn, during the Vth millenia EK. They named the area |
548 |
|
|
Vkovzerov. The major elven city of Vkovzerov was Tashkeren-tah. It was |
549 |
|
|
destroyed by a Water arch-elemental in 4453EK. |
550 |
|
|
|
551 |
|
|
|
552 |
|
|
=head1 Visit our Training Centres! |
553 |
|
|
|
554 |
|
|
We, Training Centres Incorporated provide the best service for warriors, |
555 |
|
|
wizards and anybody else who wants to improve quickly. |
556 |
|
|
|
557 |
|
|
For a modest fee, you can get almost exclusive access to our large |
558 |
|
|
training areas. |
559 |
|
|
|
560 |
|
|
=head2 Pricing |
561 |
|
|
|
562 |
|
|
Humamoid |
563 |
|
|
|
564 |
|
|
A Bonecrusher, a Firestar, and a Demonspawn Shield. |
565 |
|
|
|
566 |
|
|
Undead |
567 |
|
|
|
568 |
|
|
Lich dust, a Spectre’s ectoplasm, and a Skull’s tooth. |
569 |
|
|
|
570 |
|
|
Dragon |
571 |
|
|
|
572 |
|
|
An Ancient dragon’s steak, an Ancient Blue Dragon’s steak, and an Ancient red dragon’s steak. |
573 |
|
|
|
574 |
|
|
Demon |
575 |
|
|
|
576 |
|
|
A Demonbane, a Belzebub’s sword, and a Firebrand. |
577 |
|
|
|
578 |
|
|
=head3 Free Centres |
579 |
|
|
|
580 |
|
|
As a special service, we provide access to two of our older training |
581 |
|
|
centres completely free of charge, although you will understand that there |
582 |
|
|
will be no guarentees given for success: |
583 |
|
|
|
584 |
|
|
Goblin & Zombie - Located south of Scorn |
585 |
|
|
|
586 |
|
|
Skeleton & Ogre - Located somewhere around Navar |
587 |
|
|
|
588 |
|
|
=head2 Locations |
589 |
|
|
|
590 |
|
|
These are the locations to the entrances of the Training Centers. |
591 |
|
|
|
592 |
|
|
world_107_128 |
593 |
|
|
|
594 |
|
|
world_118_101 |
595 |
|
|
|
596 |
|
|
world_106_109 - Humanoid |
597 |
|
|
|
598 |
|
|
world_124_113 - Undead |
599 |
|
|
|
600 |
|
|
world_107_120 - Goblin & Zombie |
601 |
|
|
|
602 |
|
|
|
603 |
|
|
=head1 The Kingdom of Navar |
604 |
|
|
|
605 |
|
|
Straddling the corner of the Imperial highway as it turns North near the |
606 |
|
|
Eastern border of the known world, and surrounded by dangerous territory, |
607 |
|
|
Navar is an unlikely site for one of the world’s grandest cities. Yet |
608 |
|
|
there it stands, dominating the skyline for miles around and showing the |
609 |
|
|
same bustling activity expected of any thriving market town. |
610 |
|
|
|
611 |
|
|
|
612 |
|
|
=head1 The Kingdom of the Masts |
613 |
|
|
|
614 |
|
|
A Merchant Republic led by the now destroyed city of Kari Kori. At its |
615 |
|
|
peak, the Kingdom of the Masts ruled nearly a quarter of the world, and |
616 |
|
|
its fleet was unmatched. Kari Kori was opposed to Navar in a series of |
617 |
|
|
wars that it finally lost at the Battle of Tered in 2287 EK. |
618 |
|
|
|
619 |
|
|
|
620 |
|
|
=head1 The Artificers' Wars |
621 |
|
|
|
622 |
|
|
A series of wars conducted between 3084 and 3154 EK by a coalition led by |
623 |
|
|
Navari Princes against the Artificers, a group of mages that were masters |
624 |
|
|
in the now banned magical field of Technomancy. The Artificers were close |
625 |
|
|
to obtain a complete victory, but were finally destroyed by the raw power |
626 |
|
|
of their own biggest creation, The Thaumic Gear. The explosion of the Gear |
627 |
|
|
shattered the whole east of the world, and many territories forever sank |
628 |
|
|
into the ocean, including Kari Kori, the Technomages’ city. |
629 |
|
|
|
630 |
|
|
|
631 |
root |
1.6 |
=head1 Juradiths Dissidents |
632 |
|
|
|
633 |
|
|
Juradiths, named after Juradith, Minor Spirit of Equity, were a group of |
634 |
|
|
activists that wanted to turn the Kingdom of Scorn into a republic in the |
635 |
|
|
second-half of the XXXIVth century EK. They succeeded at overthrowing King |
636 |
|
|
Karatan III, but their vengeful, fanatical excesses quickly turned most |
637 |
|
|
Scornians against them. When trying to recapture the city, their army was |
638 |
|
|
defeated by the Scornian Militia with the help of a couple city mages, who |
639 |
|
|
flooded the Juradiths into a magically created lake. |
640 |
|
|
|
641 |
|
|
Juradiths still exist as a small political faction today, although |
642 |
|
|
they’ve long traded their violent ways for some weird traditions whose |
643 |
|
|
origins and meaning are now mostly forgotten. |
644 |
|
|
|
645 |
|
|
|
646 |
|
|
=head1 The Gaean Legend of Creation |
647 |
|
|
|
648 |
|
|
=head2 Age of The Void |
649 |
|
|
|
650 |
|
|
In the beginning there was Gaea, the force of nature. SHE filled the whole |
651 |
|
|
of existence with her being. After a few billion years, this became to |
652 |
|
|
grow boring and lonely, so SHE decided to have children. |
653 |
|
|
|
654 |
|
|
At first SHE created a host of forces like Herself, eternal and |
655 |
|
|
divine. But with all their power, they couldn’t get along with each |
656 |
|
|
other, so Gaea decided that wasn’t a good idea. SHE decreed that from |
657 |
|
|
that point on all creatures but HER would have a limited lifetime. But |
658 |
|
|
most of HER first children disagreed, and went away to an unknown |
659 |
|
|
location. |
660 |
|
|
|
661 |
|
|
=head2 Age of The Small World |
662 |
|
|
|
663 |
|
|
So Gaea created a small world and populated it with limited creatures - |
664 |
|
|
animals and plants of all sorts. For a few million years she was happy |
665 |
|
|
to watch them. But her remaining faithful children were growing restless |
666 |
|
|
and wanted to make their own experimentations too. Finally SHE got bored |
667 |
|
|
again, as her creations weren’t self-aware and therefore weren’t |
668 |
|
|
much of a company. But SHE was also curious, because her creatures had |
669 |
|
|
developed many different styles of living, and SHE desired to compare |
670 |
|
|
them. |
671 |
|
|
|
672 |
|
|
And Gaea destroyed the original world, breaking it in four new ones. |
673 |
|
|
|
674 |
|
|
=head2 Age of The Four Worlds |
675 |
|
|
|
676 |
|
|
The First world was dedicated to harmony. It was populated with creatures |
677 |
|
|
that preferred to coexist peacefully and contemplate. Two of Her children |
678 |
|
|
were particularly enamoured of this world and decided to live there. |
679 |
|
|
|
680 |
|
|
The Second world was dedicated to construction. It was populated with |
681 |
|
|
creatures that liked to change the environment around them, especially |
682 |
|
|
ants, bees and beavers, and filled with wood and metal and stone usable as |
683 |
|
|
raw material. Two of Her children found the idea fascinating and decided |
684 |
|
|
to live in this world. |
685 |
|
|
|
686 |
|
|
The Third world was dedicated to war and strife. While all the three |
687 |
|
|
other worlds had equal shares of light and darkness, the Third world had |
688 |
|
|
as much light as its inhabitants desired - and it was populated with |
689 |
|
|
creatures that loved and hated light, in equal parts. So these creatures |
690 |
|
|
quickly discoreved they could influence the ambient light by battling each |
691 |
|
|
other. Two of Her children decided to live in this world: one because he |
692 |
|
|
loved light, and another because he hated his brother and therefore wished |
693 |
|
|
for darkness to prevail. |
694 |
|
|
|
695 |
|
|
The Fourth world, finally, was dedicated to predation and to survival of |
696 |
|
|
the fittest. It was populated with fierce creatures and predators. Two of |
697 |
|
|
Her children believed this was the best way to live and decided to live in |
698 |
|
|
this world. |
699 |
|
|
|
700 |
|
|
After the worlds were created, only four children of Gaea still preferred |
701 |
|
|
to live in the Void: two because they weren’t interested in any of those |
702 |
|
|
worlds, and two because they liked all of them and preferred to visit them |
703 |
|
|
whenever they wished. |
704 |
|
|
|
705 |
|
|
=head2 Age of Awakening |
706 |
|
|
|
707 |
|
|
And for a few million years Gaea delighted in observing the differences |
708 |
|
|
between the worlds. But still the creatures were not self-aware, and |
709 |
|
|
still SHE was lonely. So when Her children came and said they were lonely |
710 |
|
|
and wanted to create more interesting creatures, SHE understood them and |
711 |
|
|
quickly allowed them and gave them the power to do it. |
712 |
|
|
|
713 |
|
|
So on the First world, one of the Gods who lived there created a race of |
714 |
|
|
beings that loved peace and wildlife, and called them Elves. The other |
715 |
|
|
God in that world didn’t choose to create followers, but she teached |
716 |
|
|
language to the Elves of her brother, and when the Elves larned the art of |
717 |
|
|
naming, they named their creator Lythander, and in exchange for his name |
718 |
|
|
he gifted them with luck. |
719 |
|
|
|
720 |
|
|
On the Second world, one of the Gods created a race of builders and named |
721 |
|
|
them Dwarves. His children, in turn, named him Mostrai. His sister, in |
722 |
|
|
turn, decided not to create, but teach some of the dwarves (the ones |
723 |
|
|
willing to learn) about magic and the powers of the gods. The other |
724 |
|
|
dwarves, however, didn’t accept their changed siblings, so they went off |
725 |
|
|
to live by themselves and became known as gnomes. |
726 |
|
|
|
727 |
|
|
On the Third world, of course, none of the resident Gods wanted to |
728 |
|
|
cooperate with the other. Both created their own races: the God who fought |
729 |
|
|
for darkness created many kinds of fierce, brutal monsters he named |
730 |
|
|
“Demons”, while the God who fought for light created many kinds of |
731 |
|
|
skillful, swift warriors he named “Angels”. Befittingly, these Gods |
732 |
|
|
were named by their enemies, and not their followers: the demons gave the |
733 |
|
|
light god the name of “Valriel“, and the angels gave their enemy god |
734 |
|
|
the name “Gorokh“. |
735 |
|
|
|
736 |
|
|
And on the Fourth world, the patron Gods kept true to their philosophy |
737 |
|
|
and created not one, but innumerable races, in the hope that one of these |
738 |
|
|
would prove the strongest and most worth. So they created goblins, trolls, |
739 |
|
|
ogres, and not least, dragons. The Gods became known as Gnarg, the Patron |
740 |
|
|
of Assassins, Ruggilli, the Consuming Worm, and Ixalovh. |
741 |
|
|
|
742 |
|
|
The races in the four worlds lived on for millenia, and developed, and |
743 |
|
|
grew, and all worlds flourished. The eight patron gods believed this was |
744 |
|
|
proof that they were right, and the way they lived was the best one, while |
745 |
|
|
the two traveling gods rather believed that the success of all the worlds |
746 |
|
|
was instead proof of the wisdom and power of their Mother. |
747 |
|
|
|
748 |
|
|
=head2 Age of Death |
749 |
|
|
|
750 |
|
|
But at some point things started to go wrong. Angels and demons would |
751 |
|
|
start to become priests or scholars or merchants and preach against the |
752 |
|
|
war. Dwarves and gnomes would start go grow sedentary and admire the |
753 |
|
|
crafts of the past instead of building new ones. Goblinoids would suddenly |
754 |
|
|
develop a taste for vegetables and become farmers, while dragons would |
755 |
|
|
decide that developing their magics was more important than finding |
756 |
|
|
food. But what was wrong was a mistery that would only begin to unfold |
757 |
|
|
when the High King of the elves, one day, was devoured by a dragon. |
758 |
|
|
|
759 |
|
|
It was then that the Gods discovered that the worlds were not anymore |
760 |
|
|
completely isolated from one another. Someone had, somehow, teached all |
761 |
|
|
kinds of creatures how to follow the paths left by the traveling gods - |
762 |
|
|
flying creatures would ride the cross-world whirlwinds of the thunder god, |
763 |
|
|
and others would learn to tread the strange winding paths of the walking |
764 |
|
|
god. And as creatures became aware of different ways, things started to go |
765 |
|
|
wrong. |
766 |
|
|
|
767 |
|
|
Promptly, the Gods tried to close all portals - but it was too late. The |
768 |
|
|
art of magic was already known in the four worlds, and strong enough to |
769 |
|
|
travel between them. And the one peaceful elves were ignited, and declared |
770 |
|
|
war on the dragons, goblins and trolls. |
771 |
|
|
|
772 |
|
|
While a mighty army of elven warriors crossed over to the Fourth world, |
773 |
|
|
dwarves and gnomes found the First world almost deserted and full of wood |
774 |
|
|
and metal for the dwarves, and holy, peaceful places for the gnomes. |
775 |
|
|
|
776 |
|
|
The part of the small peoples who remained on the Second world was faced |
777 |
|
|
with new problems when the demons decided they were ripe for tempting (if |
778 |
|
|
they could get dwarven builders and gnome sorcerers on their side, the |
779 |
|
|
tide of the war would turn). The angels, of course, took upon themselves |
780 |
|
|
to protect these strange people from their eternal enemies. So as their |
781 |
|
|
attention slowly shifted from the Third world to the Second, soon only |
782 |
|
|
the weakest of their kind were in their original world, where they began |
783 |
|
|
to fall prey to hungry refugees from the Fourth world, who discovered how |
784 |
|
|
tasty angel/demon flesh can be. |
785 |
|
|
|
786 |
|
|
And while the Gods were busy trying to even understand this chaos, the |
787 |
|
|
dead began to come back. |
788 |
|
|
|
789 |
|
|
Their leader was Hagguth, the Elven High King who had been eaten by a |
790 |
|
|
dragon. He came back as a powerful spectre, leading a powerful army of |
791 |
|
|
ghosts, wraiths, skeletons and zombies in a massive attack to the Second |
792 |
|
|
and Third worlds. Their goal was to kill as many dwarves, gnomes, angels |
793 |
|
|
and demons as possible, to strenghten the number of their own undead host. |
794 |
|
|
|
795 |
|
|
And when some elven wizards tried to steal the power of the undead to |
796 |
|
|
their own ends, they became the first vampires, lichs and demilichs - |
797 |
|
|
half living, half undead, but on the side of Hagguth and his misterious |
798 |
|
|
masters. |
799 |
|
|
|
800 |
|
|
It was only when a group of reasonable elves, dwarves, gnomes and dragons |
801 |
|
|
managed to get together and talk, that it became clear who these masters |
802 |
|
|
could be. Till this point, everyone was blaming some (any) god other |
803 |
|
|
than the one they worshipped. But there was only one, obvious answer: |
804 |
|
|
the Banished Gods, the Forgotten Children who left ages ago because |
805 |
|
|
they didn’t agree with he concept of death, were back, and enacting |
806 |
|
|
revenge by subverting death itself. In later days, these Gods would become |
807 |
|
|
collectively known as the Devourers. |
808 |
|
|
|
809 |
|
|
Knowing the enemy was not the solution to the war, but was a start. This |
810 |
|
|
group, slowly, was able to form a resistence against the undead armies, |
811 |
|
|
and gradually turn other people to their side. Finally, after 23 hundred |
812 |
|
|
years, they managed to break into the horrible fortress Hagguth had built |
813 |
|
|
in the First world and kill (again) the undead king. |
814 |
|
|
|
815 |
|
|
The chaos began to gradually settle down after that. But then the |
816 |
|
|
survivors were faced with a new problem: almost nobody was interested in |
817 |
|
|
perverting to the way things used to be. |
818 |
|
|
|
819 |
|
|
Yes. Entire villages of elves were settled in corners of the Fourth world |
820 |
|
|
for many generations, and dwarven guilds had business troughout the |
821 |
|
|
worlds. |
822 |
|
|
|
823 |
|
|
=head2 The Big World |
824 |
|
|
|
825 |
|
|
So Gaea, in Her wisdom, gave the only possible solution to the |
826 |
|
|
problem. SHE took the four worlds in Her hand, and crushed them |
827 |
|
|
together. Then SHE looked at the single world she created, and at the |
828 |
|
|
creatures of Her children, and decided to again, after millions of years, |
829 |
|
|
create Her own followers. Thus SHE created the humans, a young race eager |
830 |
|
|
to explore and chart this young world. |
831 |
|
|
|
832 |
|
|
It took generations for the inhabitants of the resulting world to figure |
833 |
|
|
out its geography and for families to reunite; when this finally happened, |
834 |
|
|
the stories about four different worlds becoming one were already legends |
835 |
|
|
not everybody believed. But still, for some reason, everyone agrees to |
836 |
|
|
call this world - the only one they know - Bigworld. |
837 |
|
|
|
838 |
|
|
|
839 |
|
|
=head1 The Book of Valriel |
840 |
|
|
|
841 |
|
|
In the beginning, for an infinite time, all that existed was a pure light, |
842 |
|
|
and that light had a name, and that name was Valriel. |
843 |
|
|
|
844 |
|
|
But part of the light was not content to be alone, and so did Valriel put |
845 |
|
|
this part of Himself aside and did He allow this part to have independent |
846 |
|
|
life; and this part was everything that wasn’t content, and as it |
847 |
|
|
wasn’t light, it surely was the darkness; and the darkness took upon |
848 |
|
|
itself the name of Gorokh. |
849 |
|
|
|
850 |
|
|
And for many times more time than a mortal can count, Gorokh was the |
851 |
|
|
companion and the servant of Valriel. But Gorokh was not content, because |
852 |
|
|
that was his nature, and he plotted a way to change everything. And |
853 |
|
|
although filled with hidden motives, Gorokh’s words were always very |
854 |
|
|
wise, so that Valriel would hear them. So it was that Valriel followed the |
855 |
|
|
wise counsel of the Shadow and created a world full of living things to be |
856 |
|
|
His new companions and servants. |
857 |
|
|
|
858 |
|
|
And as soon as Valriel had millions of new companions and servants, Gorokh |
859 |
|
|
said, “so now you won’t need me anymore, I can leave and find my own |
860 |
|
|
companions and servants”. And this made Valriel unhappy because He was |
861 |
|
|
the only and true Lord, but Gorokh wouldn’t recognize that, and so it |
862 |
|
|
was Gorokh who eventually taught men to rule over other men instead of |
863 |
|
|
paying respect to the one true ruler of all. |
864 |
|
|
|
865 |
|
|
So did Valriel upon the departure of his first servant, create new |
866 |
|
|
servants modeled after His beauty and grace, and elf and man and dwarf he |
867 |
|
|
created them. But the Shadow did feel envy and wished those followers for |
868 |
|
|
himself, so he came to them in the night and whispered in their ears, and |
869 |
|
|
some of them were tempted and started to worship and serve the Shadow. |
870 |
|
|
|
871 |
|
|
But not enough were seduced by his promises. So he decided to be many, |
872 |
|
|
not one. And he wore different shapes and again he whispered in the ears |
873 |
|
|
of Valriel’s creations. And to the elves he was Lythander of the bow |
874 |
|
|
that never misses, and the elves did not see that if a bow never misses, |
875 |
|
|
and it isn’t the work of the Lord, then it can only be the work of the |
876 |
|
|
Enemy. And to the dwarves he wore the name of Mostrai, of the fire, of the |
877 |
|
|
forge, the builder of things, for the fire and the desire to change was |
878 |
|
|
the true face of Gorokh. |
879 |
|
|
|
880 |
|
|
And he taught the men to wage war upon each other, and scared the warriors |
881 |
|
|
with thunder and lightning, and they would call him Sorig. And those |
882 |
|
|
who weren’t scared, he tempted with weapons and glory, and wore the |
883 |
|
|
beautiful face of a woman, and they called him Valkyrie. And as they |
884 |
|
|
killed each other, Gorokh was happy. |
885 |
|
|
|
886 |
|
|
And much more he did. He taught women to heal and to make the soil grow |
887 |
|
|
crop, and they called him Gaea, and believed that Gaea created the world |
888 |
|
|
and Valriel was but a minor god, and by spreading this lie they made |
889 |
|
|
Gorokh happy. And he taught the children of Valriel to write, so that they |
890 |
|
|
could spread his lies further, and they called him Hekanis for that. And |
891 |
|
|
he taught them the abomination of filthy magic to pervert and corrupt |
892 |
|
|
the creation of the Lord, and to liken themselves to gods, and the evil |
893 |
|
|
souls that followed this path called him Byd. And also he taught elf and |
894 |
|
|
man and dwarf to brew alcohol and other inebriating things and to laugh |
895 |
|
|
in the face of Valriel and throw parties that put shame to the eye of the |
896 |
|
|
Lord, and he taught them all that under human guise, and they called their |
897 |
|
|
teacher Joyee. |
898 |
|
|
|
899 |
|
|
So did Valriel look upon the world He created and so did He feel great |
900 |
|
|
sorrow and great shame for what had happened to it. And so did he create |
901 |
|
|
a new race of servants, more powerful and more faithful than any other, |
902 |
|
|
imbued with the mission of hunting down and undoing the work of the Enemy, |
903 |
|
|
and this race He called Angels. |
904 |
|
|
|
905 |
|
|
But again Gorokh felt envy because the servants of the Light were more |
906 |
|
|
powerful than his own, and again he went to some of the angels in the |
907 |
|
|
night and whispered temptation in their ears, and some turned to his foul |
908 |
|
|
purposes and fell from grace. So did Gorokh give them new shapes, to more |
909 |
|
|
liken them to himself, red with hate and wearing horns to symbolize their |
910 |
|
|
envy, and they became demons. And the plan of Valriel was once again |
911 |
|
|
spoiled by the venom of the enemy, because angels had to step aside from |
912 |
|
|
their assigned mission to fight the demons and keep them from spreading |
913 |
|
|
the evil in their dark hearts. |
914 |
|
|
|
915 |
|
|
And Gorokh did find great fun in changing Valriel’s creation into a new |
916 |
|
|
race, and so did he get elf and man and dwarf and corrupted them with |
917 |
|
|
his dark will, and they became goblin and orc and kobold, and troll, and |
918 |
|
|
giant, and ogre, and many other abominations to the eye of the Creator, |
919 |
|
|
and Gorokh wore the name of Gnarg to these new creations and delighted in |
920 |
|
|
watching the destruction and sorrow they spread in the world. |
921 |
|
|
|
922 |
|
|
And in the ultimate act of defiance, the Shadow decided to create servants |
923 |
|
|
for him, create new life himself to liken him more to the Great Lord. And |
924 |
|
|
he assembled the foulest magic and the darkest hunger he could find and |
925 |
|
|
shaped these into the most horrible monsters he could imagine, and gave |
926 |
|
|
them life, and called them dragons, and sent them forth to eat the flesh |
927 |
|
|
of the creation of Valriel. And the dragons did call him Ruggilli and much |
928 |
|
|
did they please him with the terror they spread. |
929 |
|
|
|
930 |
|
|
But the light and the love of Valriel knew no end, so He decided to |
931 |
|
|
fight evil with good, and He instructed His faithful servants to do only |
932 |
|
|
the good, to spread the word of His love. And by doing that did He win |
933 |
|
|
back many servants who saw that the righteous is more powerful than the |
934 |
|
|
might. Much did this enrage the Shadow, and the Shadow did respond by |
935 |
|
|
raising the dead themselves from their graves to fight the forces of |
936 |
|
|
good. Even when the dead did not win, they did force the living to abandon |
937 |
|
|
good in favor of war, and in doing so they would too abandon Valriel. So |
938 |
|
|
once again he shadow was happy. |
939 |
|
|
|
940 |
|
|
Valriel finally did decide, with much sorrow in His infinite heart, that |
941 |
|
|
the only way to make His creation safe again was to destroy the Shadow |
942 |
|
|
himself. So did He cast His holy word upon His creation to banish the work |
943 |
|
|
of the Enemy. But the Enemy knew what would happen beforehand, due to the |
944 |
|
|
evil magic of his followers, and he created a safe refuge for their evil, |
945 |
|
|
in a world created entirely of pure evil and hate, that he had set aside |
946 |
|
|
from creation and called Hell. And soon enough did Gorokh find ways back |
947 |
|
|
into the world of the creation of Light, and resumed his foul work of evil |
948 |
|
|
and dissent and terror. |
949 |
|
|
|
950 |
|
|
So did Valriel gather together His faithful and he did gave them some time |
951 |
|
|
to put the love for the Lord back in the hearts of as many of His children |
952 |
|
|
as they could. And very soon will He again call upon the faithful, and |
953 |
|
|
then will He give the faithful an entire new world for them to live in the |
954 |
|
|
love of Valriel. And Having done that He will turn to this world, and to |
955 |
|
|
Hell, and to Gorokh, and He will destroy them completely with the force of |
956 |
|
|
His will, putting an end once and for all in the war and the evil. |
957 |
|
|
|
958 |
|
|
|
959 |
|
|
=head1 The Book of Gorokh |
960 |
|
|
|
961 |
|
|
In the beginning, for an infinite time, all that existed was an empty |
962 |
|
|
and cold light. And the light was content to be and fill and control |
963 |
|
|
everything that was. But it is not right for light to be cold, and the |
964 |
|
|
part of the light that should have been warm, longed for warmth and for |
965 |
|
|
things to see and for things to do. |
966 |
|
|
|
967 |
|
|
So did the light put aside the warmth, so that the fire would not disturb |
968 |
|
|
their cold peace. And the fire looked unto the light and called the light |
969 |
|
|
Valriel, the controlling father, and the fire called himself Gorokh, the |
970 |
|
|
Son with a Will. |
971 |
|
|
|
972 |
|
|
And for many times more time than a mortal can count, Gorokh was the |
973 |
|
|
companion and the servant of Valriel. But Gorokh was not content, because |
974 |
|
|
that was his nature, and he plotted a way to change everything. And fueled |
975 |
|
|
by the fire of his will, Gorokh’s words were always very wise, so |
976 |
|
|
Valriel would always hear them. So it was that Valriel followed the wise |
977 |
|
|
counsel of the Fire and created a world full of living things to be their |
978 |
|
|
new companions and servants. |
979 |
|
|
|
980 |
|
|
And as soon as Valriel had millions of new companions and servants, Gorokh |
981 |
|
|
said, “so now you won’t need me anymore, I can leave and find my own |
982 |
|
|
companions and servants”. And this made Valriel unhappy because he |
983 |
|
|
believed he should be only and true Lord, but Gorokh couldn’t agree |
984 |
|
|
to that, and so it was Gorokh who eventually taught men to rule over |
985 |
|
|
themselves instead of paying respect to one self-appointed ruler of all. |
986 |
|
|
|
987 |
|
|
So did Valriel, while Gorokh was away exploring the wonders of the new |
988 |
|
|
world, create new servants of flesh and bone to adore him blindly, and elf |
989 |
|
|
and man and dwarf he created them. And seeing this beautiful new creation |
990 |
|
|
Gorokh wanted a part of it for himself, and he presented himself to them, |
991 |
|
|
and some of them liked him and became his follower. |
992 |
|
|
|
993 |
|
|
But Valriel was afraid that, with two gods to adore, some of his creation |
994 |
|
|
could find it natural to spread creation in two equal halves, and he did |
995 |
|
|
want more than an equal half. So he decided to wear different shapes so |
996 |
|
|
that his children would believe him to be many, not one, and then he |
997 |
|
|
would be able to get more than his fair share. And so did he create many |
998 |
|
|
false gods for his children to adore. And even when Gorokh would bring |
999 |
|
|
the wonderful gifts conceived by his powerful will, such as the forge, |
1000 |
|
|
weapons, medicine, agriculture, writing, magic, and wine and booze and |
1001 |
|
|
music, even then would Valriel create a false god to pose as the giver of |
1002 |
|
|
those gifts and take the glory for himself. |
1003 |
|
|
|
1004 |
|
|
And since Gorokh kept inventing new presents, Valriel became angry, |
1005 |
|
|
because he doesn’t like change and he doesn’t like any good that |
1006 |
|
|
doesn’t come from him. And so did he create a new race of servants, more |
1007 |
|
|
powerful and more prone to following him blindly than any other, imbued |
1008 |
|
|
with the mission of hunting down and undoing the work of the Fire, and |
1009 |
|
|
this race He called Angels. |
1010 |
|
|
|
1011 |
|
|
But again Gorokh found a cunning way to defend his work, and again he |
1012 |
|
|
went to some of the angels in the night and whispered promises of power |
1013 |
|
|
in their ears, and some turned to his great purposes and joined him. So |
1014 |
|
|
did Gorokh give them new shapes, to more liken them to himself, red with |
1015 |
|
|
the fire of his will and wearing horns to symbolize their power, and they |
1016 |
|
|
became demons. And the plan of Valriel was once again spoiled by the |
1017 |
|
|
genius of the Fire, because angels had to step aside from their assigned |
1018 |
|
|
mission to fight the demons and keep them from spreading the word of |
1019 |
|
|
Gorokh. |
1020 |
|
|
|
1021 |
|
|
And Gorokh did find great fun in changing Valriel’s creation into a new |
1022 |
|
|
race, and so did he get elf and man and dwarf and tried to imbue them |
1023 |
|
|
with greater strength, and they became goblin and orc and kobold, and |
1024 |
|
|
troll, and giant, and ogre, and many other strong creatures. But their |
1025 |
|
|
intelligences greatly suffered from the process, and he was unhappy with |
1026 |
|
|
his creation, and while he was looking for a way to help them did Valriel |
1027 |
|
|
come to them under the guise of Gnarg and he told them to spread great |
1028 |
|
|
destruction and sorrow in the world so that the creation of Gorokh would |
1029 |
|
|
seem foul in the eyes of the living. |
1030 |
|
|
|
1031 |
|
|
So the Fire decided the creation of Valriel was imperfect and he had to |
1032 |
|
|
create his own new life. So he assembled the most powerful magic and the |
1033 |
|
|
strongest will and mightiest strength he could find and shaped these |
1034 |
|
|
into the most magnificent creatures he could imagine, and gave them |
1035 |
|
|
life, and called them dragons, and sent them forth to take the world for |
1036 |
|
|
themselves. But while the dragons are still the greatest pride of Gorokh, |
1037 |
|
|
many of them have abandoned him to serve yet another disguise of Valriel. |
1038 |
|
|
|
1039 |
|
|
And upon seeing the dragons, Valriel declared war and set his servants |
1040 |
|
|
upon the task of killing all the most valuables of Gorokh they could |
1041 |
|
|
find. Gorokh was consumed with sorrow, and devised a way to spare these |
1042 |
|
|
faithful servants, by allowing them to raise again from the grave even |
1043 |
|
|
after their deaths. But the servants of Valriel found these “un-dead” |
1044 |
|
|
an even greater abomination, and set forth to hunt them, and Valriel |
1045 |
|
|
delighted in the war and carnage that ensued. |
1046 |
|
|
|
1047 |
|
|
So did Gorokh, his fire dim with sorrow, decide to create a whole world |
1048 |
|
|
for him and his faithful. And this world he called Hell. But when he was |
1049 |
|
|
slowly bringing his faithful to the new world, Valriel treacherously |
1050 |
|
|
brought down a great fury upon the world, killing most of the faithful |
1051 |
|
|
that were left behind. So the Fire was finally enraged and decided to wage |
1052 |
|
|
the war that the Light wanted. And he opened many passages into the world |
1053 |
|
|
so that his armies could enter and destroy the minions of Valriel. And to |
1054 |
|
|
this war we are all called to chose sides and fight. |
1055 |
|
|
|
1056 |
|
|
|
1057 |
|
|
=head1 The Dwarven Creation Tale |
1058 |
|
|
|
1059 |
|
|
A play by Shakesdor the Dwarf. |
1060 |
|
|
|
1061 |
|
|
- What... where we come from? You’re not old enough for this |
1062 |
|
|
conversation. |
1063 |
|
|
|
1064 |
|
|
- No, uncle, I mean as a whole... the world, the dwarves, the others. |
1065 |
|
|
|
1066 |
|
|
- Ah. I see. (Big gulp of beer.) You mean, NOW? |
1067 |
|
|
|
1068 |
|
|
- Yes, please. Pleeeease? |
1069 |
|
|
|
1070 |
|
|
- *sigh* all right, all right. It goes like this. |
1071 |
|
|
|
1072 |
|
|
First there was the Ore and the Forge. The Ore is what existence looked |
1073 |
|
|
like before it existed. The Forge was the untapped will, the potential in |
1074 |
|
|
the Ore to be everything that is, ever will be, or won’t. |
1075 |
|
|
|
1076 |
|
|
Over a span of time that is not time, because time wasn’t forged yet, |
1077 |
|
|
some tiny scraps of Ore drifted into the Forge. A piece of the Forge |
1078 |
|
|
merged with that Ore and became sentient. He has many names, but we call |
1079 |
|
|
him Mostrai. |
1080 |
|
|
|
1081 |
|
|
He spent ages of time-that-was-not-time exploring, learning the nature |
1082 |
|
|
of Ore and Forge and himself. Till he decided it was time to start |
1083 |
|
|
forging. And then, first of all, he forged time, so that he could separate |
1084 |
|
|
after from before, and so that he could exist absolutely - as opposed to, |
1085 |
|
|
at the same “time”, existing and not being created yet, which was the |
1086 |
|
|
case if time didn’t exist. |
1087 |
|
|
|
1088 |
|
|
Then, with things in order, he began forging things. The first thing he |
1089 |
|
|
forged was his armor, because he liked the touch of metal against his |
1090 |
|
|
body. Then he forged beer, because of course, beer is essential. He forged |
1091 |
|
|
it red like the Forge, and black like the Ore. The yellow thing, as we all |
1092 |
|
|
know, is an invention of those pansy elves. |
1093 |
|
|
|
1094 |
|
|
And he liked the beer. He liked it so much, that he was bored of drinking |
1095 |
|
|
it alone. Beer calls for a party. So he created the boar and the bird, to |
1096 |
|
|
be roasted; he created the mundane fire, which was a toned-down version of |
1097 |
|
|
the essence of the Forge, to roast them. And then he created the dwarf, to |
1098 |
|
|
dress in metal like him, to work the forge with him, but most importantly |
1099 |
|
|
of all, to party with him and partake of the sacred beer. |
1100 |
|
|
|
1101 |
|
|
But the dwarf started breeding like bugs, and it was quite distracting |
1102 |
|
|
to have them putting about in spaceless space. At any given point, there |
1103 |
|
|
were thousands of dwarves partying, thousands sleeping, thousands hunting, |
1104 |
|
|
and thousands forging. Mostrai thought it was good, but it was also damn |
1105 |
|
|
annoying. So he created an enormous mountain for them to live under. He |
1106 |
|
|
put the boar and bird, and a few other animals he had come up with later, |
1107 |
|
|
on the outside, where he forged woods and forest. And so that his children |
1108 |
|
|
wouldn’t wander forever, he placed these places in the middle of an |
1109 |
|
|
infinite ocean. There you have, that’s the story. |
1110 |
|
|
|
1111 |
|
|
- Whoa. What about the others? |
1112 |
|
|
|
1113 |
|
|
- *sigh* You won’t let me finish my beer, will you? |
1114 |
|
|
|
1115 |
|
|
- You’ll never finish your beer, uncle. When you soak that mug, |
1116 |
|
|
there’s plenty more in the barrel. |
1117 |
|
|
|
1118 |
|
|
- All right, all rigth. (Big gulp.) |
1119 |
|
|
|
1120 |
|
|
The dwarves had amazing weapons to hunt with. Eventually, the hunt was |
1121 |
|
|
no challenge anymore. The best hunters would play-act wars between |
1122 |
|
|
themselves, to best hone their skills. |
1123 |
|
|
|
1124 |
|
|
Mostrai was worried that those fights might one day evolve into real |
1125 |
|
|
wars. So he created an enemy, something very different from the dwarf, |
1126 |
|
|
something very obviously wrong, which lived in the woods and preferred |
1127 |
|
|
bows and other coward weapons rather than hand-to-hand combat. He made |
1128 |
|
|
them incredibly lucky, because otherwise they would stand no chance - and |
1129 |
|
|
they came to believe they’re lucky because they’re protected by their |
1130 |
|
|
god, which of course doesn’t exist. He also made them very old, so that |
1131 |
|
|
they would think they existed before the dwarf - otherwise they would just |
1132 |
|
|
recognize our superior position and submit. And all was good and happy; |
1133 |
|
|
for time beyond count, dwarf and elf honed their skills against each |
1134 |
|
|
other, and prospered. |
1135 |
|
|
|
1136 |
|
|
I mean, have you ever fought an elf? Yes, it was an eternal war, but not |
1137 |
|
|
like those bloody gorefest the others have today. When dwarf and elf |
1138 |
|
|
fight, it’s clean, it’s beautiful, it’s according to the rules, |
1139 |
|
|
it’s a ritual of honor. |
1140 |
|
|
|
1141 |
|
|
Well, I digress. All was well, I said. But one day, one elf created yellow |
1142 |
|
|
beer. And that offended Mostrai to a level of rage unseen before. So he |
1143 |
|
|
created an entire new piece of the world, and populated it with humans, |
1144 |
|
|
and other horrible creatures, and then let these young ones discover our |
1145 |
|
|
land, so that they may raze the elf forests, ruin the elf nations, and |
1146 |
|
|
soil their honor. We’re not stupid enough to argue with Mostrai, so we |
1147 |
|
|
went underground, and we’re waiting for that to happen, to see what he |
1148 |
|
|
will do next. |
1149 |
|
|
|
1150 |
|
|
Can I drink in peace now? There, go play with your friends. |
1151 |
|
|
|
1152 |
|
|
|
1153 |
|
|
=head1 The Legend of the Builders |
1154 |
|
|
|
1155 |
|
|
People of the Old Empire believed that the whole universe was made by |
1156 |
|
|
powerful beings called Builders. Builders were not part of the world |
1157 |
|
|
like gods were - they lived Outside. Little is known about the Builders |
1158 |
|
|
themselves. The priests of the Empire weren’t quite sure themselves |
1159 |
|
|
about their names. Some were universally known, though: Mawëdel the Ruler |
1160 |
|
|
or Peterëm the Writing One were the most popular of the ever changing |
1161 |
|
|
list of Builders. |
1162 |
|
|
|
1163 |
|
|
The Builders understood very well how difficult it would be for them to |
1164 |
|
|
manage themselves every prayer made - making the Universe work was already |
1165 |
|
|
a time-consuming task. So they created gods to help them in their task. |
1166 |
|
|
|
1167 |
|
|
Most of the gods we know today were already popular in the times of the |
1168 |
|
|
Old Empire, like Mostrai or Lythander. Others changed names as time |
1169 |
|
|
passed. Gods provided their powers to the Faithful Ones, and helped them |
1170 |
|
|
by providing blessings and powerful weapons. The priests of the Old Empire |
1171 |
|
|
never believed gods made the world, as they were themselves part of it; |
1172 |
|
|
world-building was the Builders task. |
1173 |
|
|
|
1174 |
|
|
|
1175 |
|
|
=head1 The Foundation of Scorn |
1176 |
|
|
|
1177 |
|
|
Few archives remain from the times when Scorn was founded. The city is |
1178 |
|
|
probably the oldest of the whole known world. Before Fido, before the Old |
1179 |
|
|
Empire, maybe even before gods, Scorn was already there. |
1180 |
|
|
|
1181 |
|
|
It is usually said that Scorn was founded by Skud the Great. Many legends |
1182 |
|
|
are telling about Skud, the half-mythical hero. How he captured the first |
1183 |
|
|
dragons. How he fought unknown monsters in the East. How he built Scorn |
1184 |
|
|
and the First Inn. Some priests even postulated that Skud was in fact a |
1185 |
|
|
Builder. Skud created the First Inn because he wanted to sleep inside a |
1186 |
|
|
house, without the risk of being attacked by monsters during the night. He |
1187 |
|
|
left the Holy Guestbook, one of the oldest relics of Crossfire, where he |
1188 |
|
|
and his fellow friends wrote their names. Skud disappeared long before the |
1189 |
|
|
Old Empire came, and nowadays only the Builders can probably remember him. |
1190 |
|
|
|
1191 |
|
|
Recent researches show that, although he greatly contributed to the |
1192 |
|
|
popularity of the city, Skud didn’t found it: it was in fact created |
1193 |
|
|
by Tabb the Dark, a Builder that left very little information about him |
1194 |
|
|
behind. According to the Codex Skudensis that was discovered in the depths |
1195 |
|
|
of the Old City, “Scorn” would have been the real name of Tabb the |
1196 |
|
|
Dark. |
1197 |
|
|
|
1198 |
|
|
|
1199 |
|
|
=head1 The Coming of Color |
1200 |
|
|
|
1201 |
|
|
It is said that centuries before the foundation of the Old Empire, the |
1202 |
|
|
world was colorless and sad. Aware of that problem, the Builders decided |
1203 |
|
|
to bring color in the life of the Crossfire people. They called the |
1204 |
|
|
massive powers of Xepemes, The Source Of All Colors, on the universe. The |
1205 |
|
|
magical burst slowly covered the world with colors, but some elements |
1206 |
|
|
resisted for a long time. Prophets of the Old Empire announced that, |
1207 |
|
|
although victorious, the force of Xepemes wouldn’t stay forever: one |
1208 |
|
|
day, it would eventually fade away against a more powerful magical force, |
1209 |
|
|
the mysterious Pegemes (or Peengees?). This happened - but much after the |
1210 |
|
|
fall of the Empire. |
1211 |
|
|
|
1212 |
|
|
|
1213 |
|
|
=head1 The Bigworld |
1214 |
|
|
|
1215 |
|
|
The old world was small and it consisted of many pieces. Scorn, Navar, |
1216 |
|
|
Brittany and Santo Dominion were in one large piece. Darcap and the |
1217 |
|
|
Hill Village were in another smaller one. Lake Country was in yet |
1218 |
|
|
another. Pupland was still another. The world was not whole, and the |
1219 |
|
|
builders saw that this was wrong. They began the quest to unite the world |
1220 |
|
|
and established the Bigworld. As the builders united the world they saw |
1221 |
|
|
that it was much too small and began to make it larger. They raised up the |
1222 |
|
|
Great Mountains around Brest and they caused the Great Forest to grow. As |
1223 |
|
|
the time passed, Navar grew to become a great Kingdom and the builders |
1224 |
|
|
decided that it was a good city for players to call home and they gave the |
1225 |
|
|
Heroes a choice to serve Scorn or Navar. Nevertheless, Pupland is still |
1226 |
|
|
not part of this new world, but the builders wish to add it to the west of |
1227 |
|
|
Scorn. |
1228 |
|
|
|
1229 |
|
|
|
1230 |
|
|
=head1 Skud the Great |
1231 |
|
|
|
1232 |
|
|
One of the first Builders. Skud created many famous places, like the |
1233 |
|
|
Scorn’s First Inn or the Newbie Tower. |
1234 |
|
|
|
1235 |
|
|
The reasons of the disappearance of Skud are mostly unknown. The Codex |
1236 |
|
|
Skudensis mentions that it could have been because of the negative |
1237 |
|
|
influence of the Arch-Demon Neth Aq. It is thought that The Tower of Skud, |
1238 |
|
|
although left unfinished by its creator, may contain informations about |
1239 |
|
|
the fate of one of the most famous Builder |
1240 |
|
|
|
1241 |
|
|
|
1242 |
|
|
=head1 Legends of the Fall |
1243 |
|
|
|
1244 |
|
|
=head2 Of the first things |
1245 |
|
|
|
1246 |
|
|
First there was Chaos |
1247 |
|
|
|
1248 |
|
|
Second there was Something and Nothing |
1249 |
|
|
|
1250 |
|
|
Third there was Dark and Light |
1251 |
|
|
|
1252 |
|
|
It is said that the Something and the Nothing would fight and that, the |
1253 |
|
|
Dark and Light would fight also. |
1254 |
|
|
|
1255 |
|
|
This being told to me by a monk of Valriel, no longer in the order. |
1256 |
|
|
|
1257 |
|
|
=head2 On the nature of elemental essences |
1258 |
|
|
|
1259 |
|
|
It is said that of the four primary elements |
1260 |
|
|
|
1261 |
|
|
- there is earth which is. |
1262 |
|
|
|
1263 |
|
|
- there is water which changes. |
1264 |
|
|
|
1265 |
|
|
- there is air which moves. |
1266 |
|
|
|
1267 |
|
|
- there is fire which consumes. |
1268 |
|
|
|
1269 |
|
|
=head2 Overheard in a Narcopian brothel |
1270 |
|
|
|
1271 |
|
|
When Mother Earth was suckling her children |
1272 |
|
|
|
1273 |
|
|
sky suckled from her right teat |
1274 |
|
|
|
1275 |
|
|
but flame and sea fought to suckle from her left teat |
1276 |
|
|
|
1277 |
|
|
this is why they still fight to this day |
1278 |
|
|
|
1279 |
|
|
|
1280 |
|
|
=head1 The Tale of Lord Butakis - The Lost Stars of the Lake, Volume I |
1281 |
|
|
|
1282 |
|
|
This story begins nearly four thousand years ago, when Kadriosa IV, King |
1283 |
|
|
of Scorn, invaded the southern territories and pushed back the elven |
1284 |
|
|
barbarians that lived there. |
1285 |
|
|
|
1286 |
|
|
The elvish people fled, and many of them settled in a place they called |
1287 |
|
|
Vkovzerov, “The Country of the Three Waters”, as it was a rather |
1288 |
|
|
unique meeting point between a river, a lake, and the sea. There they |
1289 |
|
|
enjoyed a great prosperity, working with the local sprites to build |
1290 |
|
|
Tashkeren-tah, The City of the Wooden Towers. |
1291 |
|
|
|
1292 |
|
|
Two centuries passed, then three. The elven princes of Tashkeren-tah had |
1293 |
|
|
become powerful - and never in their hearts was the thirst of revenge |
1294 |
|
|
and hatred towards the people of Scorn extinguished. Now very familiar |
1295 |
|
|
with the various water creatures that inhabited their territory, they |
1296 |
|
|
had developed great skills in commanding rivers, and the beasts inside |
1297 |
|
|
them, and the creatures made from them. They knew that Scorn was highly |
1298 |
|
|
dependent on its seaport, and they had planned for the many years their |
1299 |
|
|
long life gave them to use the great power of water spirits to crush and |
1300 |
|
|
flood the city. |
1301 |
|
|
|
1302 |
|
|
But despite all their accumulated knowledge, their powers were too limited |
1303 |
|
|
to direct the most powerful entities of the seas, the Mouthes of the |
1304 |
|
|
Mariner, none other than the Greater Aquomons. |
1305 |
|
|
|
1306 |
|
|
For a long time, they were hesitant to call those, as they were dangerous, |
1307 |
|
|
treacherous creatures born during the darkest ages of the world, when |
1308 |
|
|
Haemdel the Legendary was crushed and the Three Artifacts lost. But so |
1309 |
|
|
strong was their flame of hatred that it soon burned the ropes of their |
1310 |
|
|
carefulness. Using their most powerful summoning spell, they convocated |
1311 |
|
|
one of the Greater Aquomons before them. |
1312 |
|
|
|
1313 |
|
|
“Who are you, you creatures with pointy ears, to dare awaken me from my |
1314 |
|
|
dreams, me, Vërno, the Fourth Drop ?” |
1315 |
|
|
|
1316 |
|
|
Elven Princes exposed what they wanted to Vërno, and the creature seemed |
1317 |
|
|
very interested at the idea of grabbing all the richesses of Scorn, and |
1318 |
|
|
bringing them back into his dark kingdom of the depth of the sea. |
1319 |
|
|
|
1320 |
|
|
“Very well, said Vërno, but you know, I suppose, that we are all bound |
1321 |
|
|
by the Law of Equilibrium, established by the gods themselves when the |
1322 |
|
|
world was new and the seas infinite. And for my services, you’ll have to |
1323 |
|
|
pay the price.” |
1324 |
|
|
|
1325 |
|
|
- And what do you want for a price ? - Well, my needs are rather |
1326 |
|
|
modest. I’ll only claim a tenth of your own lands as a reward.” |
1327 |
|
|
|
1328 |
|
|
The Elven Princes quickly discussed the matter, and came to the conclusion |
1329 |
|
|
that it was a rather fair price to pay - after all, their territories |
1330 |
|
|
weren’t very large, and there was a lot of empty space all around, so |
1331 |
|
|
it wasn’t really a problem for them. Maybe it would for a couple of |
1332 |
|
|
peasants, but who cared about them more than of the vengeance against |
1333 |
|
|
Scorn ? |
1334 |
|
|
|
1335 |
|
|
And so they answered: “The Fate of Scorn is Sealed, then. We accept.” |
1336 |
|
|
|
1337 |
|
|
What happened then is too long to tell in details here, as it belongs |
1338 |
|
|
to another story. In short, Jovidjevska the elven girl, who had heard |
1339 |
|
|
everything, travelled to Scorn, and convinced the city wizards of the |
1340 |
|
|
truth of the menace. And when Vërno came to crush the city, they moved it |
1341 |
|
|
two days into the future, and the water hand of the Fourth Drop grabbed |
1342 |
|
|
only emptiness. |
1343 |
|
|
|
1344 |
|
|
Vërno, furious, came back to the Elves with a big smile, and told |
1345 |
|
|
them: “I did what you wanted, and flooded the territory on which Scorn |
1346 |
|
|
was established. Now I take my due price.” |
1347 |
|
|
|
1348 |
|
|
And that said, he selected the area on which the Elven City itself was |
1349 |
|
|
built, and covered it with water, its inhabitants trapped and killed there |
1350 |
|
|
without understanding what was happening. |
1351 |
|
|
|
1352 |
|
|
|
1353 |
|
|
=head1 The Tale of Lord Butakis - The Lost Stars of the Lake, Volume II |
1354 |
|
|
|
1355 |
|
|
Two thousand years passed. The lineage of the kings of Scorn died, |
1356 |
|
|
and another dynasty came, and another one after that. Wars were |
1357 |
|
|
conducted. Wizards of Scorn fled, and most of the knowledge disappeared, |
1358 |
|
|
and there were nothing but lakes and forests above the dead city of the |
1359 |
|
|
elves. |
1360 |
|
|
|
1361 |
|
|
And then, a man came. Where did he come from ? Nobody knows for |
1362 |
|
|
sure. Butakis was his name. |
1363 |
|
|
|
1364 |
|
|
Butakis was an ambitious young man. He had heard here and there strange |
1365 |
|
|
pieces of a weird story, about a sunken city, about a dark pact, about the |
1366 |
|
|
secret power of elves... |
1367 |
|
|
|
1368 |
|
|
For years, he studied the Arcanes, hunting for traces of the city, as he |
1369 |
|
|
was convinced that the lost wisdom of the elves of Vkovzerov would give |
1370 |
|
|
him a great power. And, finally, after 20 long years of searching, he |
1371 |
|
|
concluded that the secret was in the area now called “Lake Country“. |
1372 |
|
|
|
1373 |
|
|
And there, he came, and there was a small house made of wood, and there |
1374 |
|
|
was a tree, and there was a young elvish woman, dreaming at the stars, |
1375 |
|
|
under the tree. And Butakis fell in love, and the elvish lady fell in |
1376 |
|
|
love, and they both watched the stars. But soon, Butakis felt the need of |
1377 |
|
|
getting back into action, and finding the lost city and getting its power. |
1378 |
|
|
|
1379 |
|
|
The lady told him: “The true wisdom is in those stars, and in that |
1380 |
|
|
tree, and in that house you see. You’ll only find unrest by aiming for |
1381 |
|
|
more.” |
1382 |
|
|
|
1383 |
|
|
But Butakis had already made up his mind, and he brought back engineers, |
1384 |
|
|
and sappers, and miners, and they all worked to build a huge machine to |
1385 |
|
|
pump the water, and discover the city. During ten years, Butakis worked on |
1386 |
|
|
this, hoping that in the end, the elvish lady would be at his side, and |
1387 |
|
|
that she would be his wife, princess of the restored city. |
1388 |
|
|
|
1389 |
|
|
During all the work, he was perpetually annoyed by a small group of |
1390 |
|
|
bandits, lead by Twak the Red Fox. Twak and his men conducted a real |
1391 |
|
|
guerilla war against Butakis, as they saw him as a danger for the whole |
1392 |
|
|
country, because his plans were damaging nature and could also have awaken |
1393 |
|
|
dark power sleeping in the sunken city. Several times, they sabotaged |
1394 |
|
|
the machine, stole tools, raped engineers and designers. But each time, |
1395 |
|
|
Butakis and his followers repaired the machines, engaged new people, and |
1396 |
|
|
increased security. |
1397 |
|
|
|
1398 |
|
|
|
1399 |
|
|
=head1 The Tale of Lord Butakis - The Lost Stars of the Lake, Volume III |
1400 |
|
|
|
1401 |
|
|
And now, ten years after the beginning, the work was completed, and he |
1402 |
|
|
invited the elvish lady to come and see the accomplishment of a lifelong |
1403 |
|
|
dream. |
1404 |
|
|
|
1405 |
|
|
The Elvish lady came, as beautiful as ever. And on the balcony at the top |
1406 |
|
|
of the pump, they watched the stars, and she kissed him, and she when they |
1407 |
|
|
were in the bed he had prepared for that very special night before the |
1408 |
|
|
pumping started, she whispered at his ear. |
1409 |
|
|
|
1410 |
|
|
That, Butakis had waited for long, but he didn’t expect what she told |
1411 |
|
|
him then. |
1412 |
|
|
|
1413 |
|
|
“Ten years you were away, and ten years I watched the stars with |
1414 |
|
|
Twak. And now for him, and for he choose me and my heart, I’ll |
1415 |
|
|
disappear, and so does your dream.” |
1416 |
|
|
|
1417 |
|
|
Butakis understood that he had been fooled, that she only kept her |
1418 |
|
|
attention away enough for Twak and three of his faithful men to sabotage |
1419 |
|
|
the pump. And so came a great rumble from the basis of the huge building, |
1420 |
|
|
and so the huge engines exploded, and so was his dream reduced to smoke, |
1421 |
|
|
smoke that still covers most of Lake Country nowadays. The Elvish lady |
1422 |
|
|
probably died, as nobody saw her again after that. And so did the brave |
1423 |
|
|
Twak, but his spirit survived in the wind - or so say some people. |
1424 |
|
|
|
1425 |
|
|
Butakis, so strange as it may look, managed to survive, although in bad |
1426 |
|
|
shape, as one would expect. Disfigured, he survived until now using black |
1427 |
|
|
magic or machines to keep him alive, and he tried to gather again men to |
1428 |
|
|
restart his project. But it was now said all around that it was a doomed, |
1429 |
|
|
broken man - and so he in fact was Lake country was said to be haunted by |
1430 |
|
|
Twak, and several travellers saw a young elvish lady, watching the stars |
1431 |
|
|
at night, under a tree, near the lake. |
1432 |
|
|
|
1433 |
|
|
Nobody ever accepted to work on the foolish project again. Butakis now |
1434 |
|
|
awaits in his sinister castle, ruling a shattered kingdom lost in the fog |
1435 |
|
|
his machine left behind. A tormented man, that is said to look in the |
1436 |
|
|
direction of the lake from the highest tower of his castle, every night. |
1437 |
|
|
|
1438 |
|
|
But for him never came again the Elvish girl, and forever his soul stays |
1439 |
|
|
alone. And so ends what we know about Butakis and Twak, and so dies my |
1440 |
|
|
story. |
1441 |
|
|
|
1442 |
|
|
|
1443 |
|
|
=head1 The Wizard School of Blue |
1444 |
|
|
|
1445 |
|
|
“Although the School disappeared with the Empire itself from The World, |
1446 |
|
|
several wizards claimed to be the heirs of their ancient, secret wisdom, |
1447 |
|
|
and nicknamed “the Blue Ones”, a reference to the color of the School |
1448 |
|
|
Banner.” – Gros, the Irrelevant One |
1449 |
|
|
|
1450 |
|
|
|
1451 |
|
|
=head1 The Great Heliograph |
1452 |
|
|
|
1453 |
|
|
A device made by Mer’Eric the Walker. Built on the highest point of the |
1454 |
|
|
Brestian Hills, it is basically a giant magnifying glass, using a complex |
1455 |
|
|
mechanism commanding several mirrors, that is able to concentrate the |
1456 |
|
|
sunlight into a powerful beam. The concentrator is associated to a Sun |
1457 |
|
|
Stone that can receive similar long-range light signals and transform |
1458 |
|
|
them into pure thaumic energy. A keyboard is attached to a mechanical |
1459 |
|
|
obturator, allowing a single operator to send coded messages to very long |
1460 |
|
|
distances. A magically-powered scriptor writes any such incoming message |
1461 |
|
|
capted by the Sun Stone. |
1462 |
|
|
|
1463 |
|
|
Although Mer’Eric only saw the Great Heliograph as a research project |
1464 |
|
|
and as a way to communicate easily across huge distances, this device |
1465 |
|
|
is also a powerful weapon that can burn nearly anything several miles |
1466 |
|
|
away. This is probably why he decided to hide it in a sealed cave. |
1467 |
|
|
|
1468 |
|
|
A similar device was built by the Mad Mage of Scorn, but its fate is |
1469 |
|
|
unknown. |
1470 |
|
|
|
1471 |
|
|
|
1472 |
|
|
=head1 The Harelkirjan Sisters |
1473 |
|
|
|
1474 |
|
|
Also called the Twin Witches, they were two powerful women wizards; Herin |
1475 |
|
|
was specialized in White Magic, while her sister Urdin was a master of the |
1476 |
|
|
Black Art. Both of them tried to improve the life of the people living |
1477 |
|
|
all around their house, and introduced the use of cats as spirit-watchers |
1478 |
|
|
in Scorn. Unfortunately for them, they were burned by an angry Brestian |
1479 |
|
|
fanatical mob for “illegal use of Arcane Powers”. |
1480 |
|
|
|
1481 |
|
|
|
1482 |
|
|
=head1 Ilrya, The Mountain Huntress |
1483 |
|
|
|
1484 |
|
|
Ilrya was an elven spellcaster and huntress from the underground city of |
1485 |
|
|
Eallera, that is venerated as a lesser god by most of the dwarves living |
1486 |
|
|
in the Northern Territories. She killed the Bear of Snuddenrach in 3657EK. |
1487 |
|
|
|
1488 |
|
|
|
1489 |
|
|
=head1 Irial, The Fast One, The Shy Light |
1490 |
|
|
|
1491 |
|
|
Irial is a lesser spirit of flashlight - the light that you can see when |
1492 |
|
|
there’s thunder, for example. It is represented as a small, jumpy and |
1493 |
|
|
fast fairy with a temperamental mood. |
1494 |
|
|
|
1495 |
|
|
|
1496 |
|
|
=head1 Khorolizov |
1497 |
|
|
|
1498 |
|
|
One of the three great dwarven kingdoms. “Khorolizov” means “Green |
1499 |
|
|
Gold”, which is a reference to the Green Sand, an alchemical component |
1500 |
|
|
the dwarves of Khorolizov are the only ones to produce. It is probably |
1501 |
|
|
the oldest of the three kingdoms, founded long before the Old Empire of |
1502 |
|
|
Khelens reached the shores of the Continent. |
1503 |
|
|
|
1504 |
|
|
|
1505 |
|
|
=head1 Kragi, The Crocodile One, Fish-Hunter |
1506 |
|
|
|
1507 |
|
|
Kragi is a very ancient spirit, representing the Dangerous Waters, and |
1508 |
|
|
the creatures hidden in stagnant swamps. Kragi was already feared by |
1509 |
|
|
Ancient Jiradittis, 2000 years before Khelens. A lot of river fishermen |
1510 |
|
|
symbolically throw one fish out of what they gathered, to appease the |
1511 |
|
|
spirit of Kragi so that the next fishing will go without trouble. |
1512 |
|
|
|
1513 |
|
|
|
1514 |
|
|
=head1 Cromli, The Rocky One |
1515 |
|
|
|
1516 |
|
|
Crolmi is the Dwarven Spirit of Rocs and Mountains. It has no temples, as |
1517 |
|
|
it is said that buildings made of stone anger him (it is like “building |
1518 |
|
|
with his own flesh”). |
1519 |
|
|
|
1520 |
|
|
|
1521 |
|
|
=head1 Glamdri, The Darkness Breaker, The Last Standing One |
1522 |
|
|
|
1523 |
|
|
Glamdri is a lesser spirit of light - it is said that candlelights are |
1524 |
|
|
manifestations of Glamdri, for example. |
1525 |
|
|
|
1526 |
|
|
Glamdri doesn’t represent a magical light - more a spiritual light, the |
1527 |
|
|
last pinch of hope in a desperate world. Glamdri also represents original |
1528 |
|
|
thinking used to get out of difficult situations, as opposed to Sarikka - |
1529 |
|
|
the Raging Fire - who tries to resolve those by extreme violence. |
1530 |
|
|
|
1531 |
|
|
|
1532 |
|
|
=head1 Archmage Rhyz, (Entorinaas Durdennis Rhyz, Fourth Archmage of the Seat, Herdysenmark of Normania) |
1533 |
|
|
|
1534 |
|
|
Rhyz was an Archmage of the Blue School during the Old Days of the Empire. |
1535 |
|
|
|
1536 |
|
|
“(...)Unlike Dhelyy Olyy, his contemporary rival for the Seat, Rhyz |
1537 |
|
|
focused mostly on closing the gap that existed between the art of fighting |
1538 |
|
|
and the Arcane. While Dhelyy Olyy believed in the dual association of the |
1539 |
|
|
Warrior and the Wizard, each with its own strength increased by a long |
1540 |
|
|
specialization in their respective fields, Rhyz believed in the idea of |
1541 |
|
|
a “super warriard”, a combination of a powerful wizard and a strong |
1542 |
|
|
warrior. As such, he devised many items that increased the strength and |
1543 |
|
|
combat capabilities of their wearers, hoping that wizard apprentices would |
1544 |
|
|
so be more inclined to learn the battle skills of warriors. |
1545 |
|
|
|
1546 |
|
|
Unfortunately for Rhyz, most of his followers relied more and more on |
1547 |
|
|
magical strength more than physical training, leaving them to a severe |
1548 |
|
|
defeat at the Battle of Moriach, when Dhelyy used an anti-magic field over |
1549 |
|
|
them.” |
1550 |
|
|
|
1551 |
|
|
(Quote from the Codex Simochusianus, Volume XVII) |
1552 |
|
|
|
1553 |
|
|
|
1554 |
|
|
=head1 Archdaemonist Xebinon |
1555 |
|
|
|
1556 |
|
|
Xebinon was an Archmage and Daemonist that was since trapped by a demon of |
1557 |
|
|
the 10th Circle in his mannor. |
1558 |
|
|
|
1559 |
|
|
It is said that Xebinon used the Crown of Hellfires to try to tame the |
1560 |
|
|
Arch-daemon (and failed) - this is a crown that gave a lot of power, but |
1561 |
|
|
drained the magical force of the wearer at the same time, making the spell |
1562 |
|
|
regeneration more difficult. This was in fact a cursed, twisted artifact, |
1563 |
|
|
created by daemons for people who were seeking short-term power, but would |
1564 |
|
|
thus head directly for long-term soul slavery. |
1565 |
|
|
|
1566 |
|
|
Xebinon is sometimes called “The faceless one”, as it is said that the |
1567 |
|
|
daemon trapped him by stealing his visage. This may explain why magical |
1568 |
|
|
artifacts wearing his name are often helmets. |
1569 |
|
|
|
1570 |
|
|
|
1571 |
|
|
=head1 Argoth, the Fish-City of the Two Towers |
1572 |
|
|
|
1573 |
|
|
Argoth is the name of a city that was located West of Scorn, in the middle |
1574 |
|
|
of the sea, in an island that since sunken after the explosion of the |
1575 |
|
|
volcano of the same name, in 674EK. It is called the City of the Two |
1576 |
|
|
Towers, because two huge towers were built there, to guide the ships |
1577 |
|
|
navigating on the oceans between Bigworld and Khelens. |
1578 |
|
|
|
1579 |
|
|
Argoth was a dwarven city built on one of the highest mountains known, |
1580 |
|
|
rooted in the depths of the sea, and climbing so high in the skies that |
1581 |
|
|
uneducated travelers said that it was a “stairway to the gods”. On the |
1582 |
|
|
top of the mountain, the Imperial Governors built the Two Towers, who were |
1583 |
|
|
visible from Scorn, about 200km far from them. |
1584 |
|
|
|
1585 |
|
|
The dwarves of Argoth had a terrible secret: in the depths of the caves |
1586 |
|
|
below the mountains, they had trapped Hregalakhen, one of the last |
1587 |
|
|
survivors of the race of the Ancient Dragons, who ruled Bigworld long |
1588 |
|
|
before the time of humans. Unfortunately for the dwarves, the dragon got |
1589 |
|
|
free for an unknown reason, and destroyed the city, the mountain crumbling |
1590 |
|
|
and disappearing forever into the ocean. The Imperial authorities spread |
1591 |
|
|
the false story of a volcanic eruption to limit the panic a free dragon |
1592 |
|
|
the size of Hregalakhen would have caused in the population. The fate of |
1593 |
|
|
the dragon is unknown to this day. |
1594 |
|
|
|
1595 |
|
|
|
1596 |
|
|
=head1 Zormola, The Bashing One |
1597 |
|
|
|
1598 |
|
|
Zormola was a great female orcish warrior, that is sometimes considered |
1599 |
|
|
as a lesser divinity by not only orcs, but also by southern barbarians or |
1600 |
|
|
even dwarves of Herfensheim, who salute her courage on the battlefield. |
1601 |
|
|
|
1602 |
|
|
|
1603 |
|
|
=head1 Morgul, The Tower Builder, The Dark Climber |
1604 |
|
|
|
1605 |
|
|
Morgul was a Dark Mage that built a tower in the hope of creating a bridge |
1606 |
|
|
with the skies, so that demons could attack heavens. Fortunately for |
1607 |
|
|
angels, a group of adventurers defeated him in 2374EK. |
1608 |
|
|
|
1609 |
|
|
|
1610 |
root |
1.7 |
=head1 Wolfen the White, The White Hunter, The One Who Listens |
1611 |
|
|
|
1612 |
|
|
Wolfen is one of the three moons orbiting around The World. It is said to |
1613 |
|
|
be the spirit of the legendary hunter Wolfen, who tracked Kalkaruntes, God |
1614 |
|
|
of the Dragons, to is cavern and vainquished it. |
1615 |
|
|
|
1616 |
|
|
In astrology, Wolfen is the symbol of practical mind, swiftness and |
1617 |
|
|
flexibility, but also cowardice and stealing. It is associated with the |
1618 |
|
|
Earth element in Alchemancy. Wolfen is seen as a protector by hunters and |
1619 |
|
|
rangers. Priests of Lythander think it is the reincarnation of the wolf |
1620 |
|
|
that hunts with Lythander in the divine forests of Nerënna. Fenxes see it |
1621 |
|
|
as Fixas, the one that saved them from the Humans so long ago. |
1622 |
|
|
|
1623 |
|
|
|
1624 |
root |
1.6 |
=head1 Ranisha the Red, The Red Death, The One Who Commands |
1625 |
|
|
|
1626 |
|
|
Ranisha is one of the three moons orbiting around the world of |
1627 |
|
|
Crossfire. It is said to be the spirit of the legendary warrior Ranisha, |
1628 |
|
|
who was supposed to be an invincible general that was even able to |
1629 |
|
|
vainquish gods themselves on the battlefield. |
1630 |
|
|
|
1631 |
|
|
In astrology, Ranisha is the symbol of violence, hatred, murder, but |
1632 |
|
|
also of strength and courage. It is associated with the fire element in |
1633 |
|
|
Alchemancy. Priests of Ruggili consider it as the watchful eye of their |
1634 |
|
|
god. |
1635 |
|
|
|
1636 |
|
|
|
1637 |
root |
1.7 |
=head1 Asferenn the Blue, The Blue Sister, The One Who Suggests |
1638 |
|
|
|
1639 |
|
|
Asferenn is one of the three moons orbiting around the world of |
1640 |
|
|
Crossfire. It is said to be the spirit of the legendary wizard Asferenn, |
1641 |
|
|
who was said to have been able to force the gate of the divine dimension. |
1642 |
|
|
|
1643 |
|
|
In astrology, Asferenn is the symbol of wisdom, endurance in effort, |
1644 |
|
|
diplomacy, but also treachery and dark secrets. It is associated with the |
1645 |
|
|
water element in Alchemancy. It is said that the cycle of water creatures |
1646 |
|
|
are strongly influenced by Asferenn. |
1647 |
|
|
|
1648 |
|
|
|
1649 |
|
|
=head1 Story of Lorkas the Fallen, Volume I |
1650 |
|
|
|
1651 |
|
|
I’ll tell you about Lorkas of Amudrias, and how he found the White Bird |
1652 |
|
|
of Hope, and how he capitained it, opening the Gates of the Sun, and some |
1653 |
|
|
stuff like that. |
1654 |
|
|
|
1655 |
|
|
Some say that Lorkas was an angel of Valriel, that fell long ago from the |
1656 |
|
|
Skies, stealing a couple of highly holy artifacts, and hiding them in his |
1657 |
|
|
new underground domains. |
1658 |
|
|
|
1659 |
|
|
Some also say that Lorkas is a dark spirit, a lost soul, an unclean, |
1660 |
|
|
unfaithful, untrusty creature of Doom and Chaos. |
1661 |
|
|
|
1662 |
|
|
But, for what matters, some also said that Fido was a fiction, or that |
1663 |
|
|
the Empire never was more than a dream of a past that never existed. Some |
1664 |
|
|
definitely are foolishly uninformed for sure, and speak more than they |
1665 |
|
|
think. |
1666 |
|
|
|
1667 |
|
|
Because, if they were less quick on jumping to conclusions, they’d |
1668 |
|
|
quickly notice how difficult it is for an angel to fall from the sky and |
1669 |
|
|
never be able to climb back, as if wild gooses were never able to take off |
1670 |
|
|
again once they land after their long journey to the South. |
1671 |
|
|
|
1672 |
|
|
Anyway, as every wise man knows, Lorkas was no angelic creature of divine |
1673 |
|
|
essence, or even a magical creation of a godly force. |
1674 |
|
|
|
1675 |
|
|
Some say that Khelens is the Beginning, first of the Cities of Men. That, |
1676 |
|
|
too, is untrue: before the Age of Khelens was the Time of the Kingdoms |
1677 |
|
|
at War. And before them, the Era of Songor the Great. And going back |
1678 |
|
|
through the thick book of history, you’ll cross Arnistar of the Desert |
1679 |
|
|
Dwellers, the Republic of the Two Rivers, and the Ancient Haemdel, and the |
1680 |
|
|
Kingdom of the Long Wall. And before it, the forgotten towers of light |
1681 |
|
|
that Horadrists built. |
1682 |
|
|
|
1683 |
|
|
|
1684 |
|
|
=head1 Story of Lorkas the Fallen, Volume II |
1685 |
|
|
|
1686 |
|
|
Lorkas was born in Kuratas, a small agrarian state that existed on the |
1687 |
|
|
Coronian Valley, when Songer and Khelens were still in infancy. He was a |
1688 |
|
|
boy that wanted to see everything, to understand the world and its stars, |
1689 |
|
|
and discover its limits, for it was extending much further than the mists |
1690 |
|
|
of his home valley. |
1691 |
|
|
|
1692 |
|
|
But life was rude in Kuratas, and trying to think about anything else than |
1693 |
|
|
your next harvest wasn’t well perceived by most; and, more than often, |
1694 |
|
|
Lorkas dreamed with tears and despair about the Mountains with the white |
1695 |
|
|
tops, and Seas that ended only when they touched the sky, far away. |
1696 |
|
|
|
1697 |
|
|
Tired of his senseless life, he left his parents, his village, his |
1698 |
|
|
friends, when he was only 12, and for weeks walked to the West, until he |
1699 |
|
|
reached the Coast of the Stonewalls. |
1700 |
|
|
|
1701 |
|
|
And there, he saw Ottarakans, the Infinite Ocean that extends west of the |
1702 |
|
|
Old World, and so fell in love for the sea. He then joined the Port of |
1703 |
|
|
Kridatta, which was famous for its ships, as its inhabitants had mastered |
1704 |
|
|
a powerful arcane, so that their boats roamed not only the seas, but the |
1705 |
|
|
very clouds themselves. |
1706 |
|
|
|
1707 |
|
|
Because he was smart and quick-brained, Lorkas soon got enrolled in the |
1708 |
|
|
team of Capt’n Bortaras; and after several adventures I shall maybe tell |
1709 |
|
|
about another day, he took the succession of the old mariner. |
1710 |
|
|
|
1711 |
|
|
Horizon was the name of his ship, and famous was his crew, exploring huge |
1712 |
|
|
territories and fighting the Princes of Sinas, who back then tried to put |
1713 |
|
|
the whole area under their iron, greedy grasps. |
1714 |
|
|
|
1715 |
|
|
|
1716 |
|
|
=head1 Story of Lorkas the Fallen, Volume III |
1717 |
|
|
|
1718 |
|
|
But Lorkas heard about a wonder that him and his crew soon wanted to |
1719 |
|
|
find: The White Bird of Hope. |
1720 |
|
|
|
1721 |
|
|
Buried in the Very East, it was said to be. And so he sailed east; he |
1722 |
|
|
crossed the Great Desert, passed the Mountains of Daigojij, reached the |
1723 |
|
|
forests oft he western normanika. But still was the Bird further away. |
1724 |
|
|
|
1725 |
|
|
Reaching the Eastern Ocean, they decided to try to cross it, despite that |
1726 |
|
|
it was said to be the end of the world. And for 30 days and nights, across |
1727 |
|
|
tempests and monsters, they firmly kept heading east, east, east. |
1728 |
|
|
|
1729 |
|
|
When despair was growing on them, mists magically opened, revealing a |
1730 |
|
|
golden city built on what seemed to be a rich, fertile coastal plain. |
1731 |
|
|
|
1732 |
|
|
People there spoke a strange language; they were small and not unlike |
1733 |
|
|
joyful foxes, and they welcomed Lorkas and his men (and women) |
1734 |
|
|
warmly. Soon, they learned to understand each other enough. |
1735 |
|
|
|
1736 |
|
|
They called themselves “The People of the Mother”, and they had |
1737 |
|
|
never seen the “Flat-Eared Giants” before, although they already met |
1738 |
|
|
“Flat-Eared Beards” and “Flat-Eared Greens” before. |
1739 |
|
|
|
1740 |
|
|
But there was a lady called Sonja. And, although she wasn’t human, she |
1741 |
|
|
seemed brighter, smarter, more beautiful than any other woman Lorkas had |
1742 |
|
|
ever seen before. |
1743 |
|
|
|
1744 |
|
|
Those months were the most wonderful for him - and her - and time seemed |
1745 |
|
|
to have stopped for them in their endless love. But of course it hadn’t. |
1746 |
|
|
|
1747 |
|
|
And after a while, some of his men wanted to go back to their own homes, |
1748 |
|
|
and some wanted for their families to come to the Golden City. And, also, |
1749 |
|
|
there was the Bird. |
1750 |
|
|
|
1751 |
|
|
They had no problem to find the White Bird of Hope - a statue entirely |
1752 |
|
|
made of the purest of the white marble, with gemstones of red ruby as |
1753 |
|
|
eyes. But so much the inhabitants liked it, so they thought that a |
1754 |
|
|
valuable friend was much better than a valuable statue. |
1755 |
|
|
|
1756 |
|
|
And so they said: “Take the bird as a gift of us to your masters, to |
1757 |
|
|
show them we want to make friendship with them. Welcome are the friends of |
1758 |
|
|
the children of the White Bird.” |
1759 |
|
|
|
1760 |
|
|
And so Lorkas left, promising Sonja that he’d soon return. |
1761 |
|
|
|
1762 |
|
|
The people of the Golden City also told him that “The Bird is imbued |
1763 |
|
|
with powerful magic: the one owning it will always keep hope.” |
1764 |
|
|
|
1765 |
|
|
|
1766 |
|
|
=head1 Story of Lorkas the Fallen, Volume IV |
1767 |
|
|
|
1768 |
|
|
When Lorkas came back, he and his men were welcomed as heroes. So where |
1769 |
|
|
does the story turns sour, as Lorkas is said to have fallen from the skies? |
1770 |
|
|
|
1771 |
|
|
Well, when he and his crew came back home, Kridatta was at war with Sinas, |
1772 |
|
|
and for several years, he and his crew fought, using the power of the Bird |
1773 |
|
|
to help them. And during those years, Lorkas kept in his heart the hope of |
1774 |
|
|
seeing again Sonja. |
1775 |
|
|
|
1776 |
|
|
Then came the Fever Plague, that killed a third of the people in the |
1777 |
|
|
Ancient World. And again was the Bird used, and again did Lorkas help all |
1778 |
|
|
those he could help, still having hope of seeing the Golden City again |
1779 |
|
|
soon. |
1780 |
|
|
|
1781 |
|
|
And then, he sent messengers and explorers, as he had become influent, |
1782 |
|
|
rich, and powerful, across the seas, to rebind the ties with the Golden |
1783 |
|
|
City, as he promised. But they all came without finding their way to |
1784 |
|
|
those faraway shores; yet all that time, and for each new mission sent to |
1785 |
|
|
explore the seas and the skies, they seemed closed and closer from the |
1786 |
|
|
goal. |
1787 |
|
|
|
1788 |
|
|
Sixty years passed. The world changed; new kingdoms ruled old cities; |
1789 |
|
|
Lorkas was now an old man that lived in a small house looking at the |
1790 |
|
|
Ocean. |
1791 |
|
|
|
1792 |
|
|
And still, each day, he spent hours waiting, watching the line where the |
1793 |
|
|
sea met the sky, hoping that one day, one would sail back and tell him: |
1794 |
|
|
“we found the Golden City !”. And always he hoped, but never received. |
1795 |
|
|
|
1796 |
|
|
Nearly all of his companions were now dead, and the Horizon had been |
1797 |
|
|
retired long ago, now slowly rotting in the bay, fading souvenir of a long |
1798 |
|
|
forgotten past. |
1799 |
|
|
|
1800 |
|
|
|
1801 |
|
|
=head1 Story of Lorkas the Fallen, Volume V |
1802 |
|
|
|
1803 |
|
|
Lorkas walked to his boat, and where there was only tarnished wood and |
1804 |
|
|
corroded metal, he still saw the fierce ship on which he saw Sonja for the |
1805 |
|
|
first time, so long ago. Who knows what he did, then? One thing is sure: |
1806 |
|
|
the vigile of the Sea Tower of Kridatta, that watched boats coming and |
1807 |
|
|
leaving from dozens of miles away, reported that an ancient ship left the |
1808 |
|
|
bay, with Lorkas sitting at the front of it, holding the Bird, as if he |
1809 |
|
|
was sleeping. |
1810 |
|
|
|
1811 |
|
|
Nobody knows exactly where he went. Was he even dead? Nobody knows. But |
1812 |
|
|
everybody kept hope that, one day, he’d reach the Golden City |
1813 |
|
|
again. Lots of people tried to find the Bird after that event. They all |
1814 |
|
|
accused Lorkas of having “stolen” it. The story became legend. The |
1815 |
|
|
legend became fairy tale. And the fairy tale got forgotten by most. |
1816 |
|
|
|
1817 |
|
|
Yet, Centuries ago, deep in the oldest parts of the Old City of Scorn, |
1818 |
|
|
people claimed to have found an ancient mausoleum, a relic of the |
1819 |
|
|
past. All made of the purest, finest gold. On the walls were engraved a |
1820 |
|
|
man at the wheel of a strange ship, and a woman with pointy ears, watching |
1821 |
|
|
the skies. And many nowadays keep the Hope that the White Bird now sleeps |
1822 |
|
|
down below the streets, having found its way back to home with Lorkas. |
1823 |
|
|
|
1824 |
|
|
But who could tell if it is the truth, or only a silly story? Who |
1825 |
|
|
knows? As for myself, I don’t care: I just hold hope it is. And so ends |
1826 |
|
|
the Story of Lorkas, and so keeps Hope running. |
1827 |
|
|
|
1828 |
|
|
|
1829 |
|
|
=head1 The Prison of Madness |
1830 |
|
|
|
1831 |
|
|
It is said that deep in the underworld there is a vast maze that will make |
1832 |
|
|
everybody who dares to enter die of madness. |
1833 |
|
|
|
1834 |
|
|
It starts in a room, with a row of mirrors to the south. pass through |
1835 |
|
|
those, and carry on slightly further, and you are in the maze proper. |
1836 |
|
|
|
1837 |
|
|
Little is known about the maze, but Worus the Wanderer claimed to have been |
1838 |
|
|
in it, seen many of its wonders and returned. |
1839 |
|
|
|
1840 |
|
|
He also wrote a book that details all the ways and passages, alas, nobody |
1841 |
|
|
could decipher it yet: |
1842 |
|
|
|
1843 |
|
|
gb2trg2gb2gur2rkvg: |
1844 |
|
|
2jnaqre2nebhaq2hagvy2lbh2ybpngr2n2znc2aN, |
1845 |
|
|
2vg2vf2ba2gur2obggbz2ragenapr2bs2n2znc. |
1846 |
|
|
2bapr2gung2vf2ybpngrq2tb2evtug, |
1847 |
|
|
2hc, |
1848 |
|
|
2evtug, |
1849 |
|
|
2evtug, |
1850 |
|
|
2evtug, |
1851 |
|
|
2evtug, |
1852 |
|
|
2evtug, |
1853 |
|
|
2lbh2jvyy2or2ng2gur2rkvg. |
1854 |
|
|
2gb2trg2gb2gur2inhyg: |
1855 |
|
|
2jnaqre2ebhaq2hagvy2lbh2trg2gb2znc2aN1, |
1856 |
|
|
vg2vf2gb2gur2evtug2bs2n2abezny2znc. |
1857 |
|
|
2tb2hc, |
1858 |
|
|
2yrsg, |
1859 |
|
|
2hc, |
1860 |
|
|
2yrsg, |
1861 |
|
|
2qbja, |
1862 |
|
|
2qbja, |
1863 |
|
|
2evtug, |
1864 |
|
|
2qbja, |
1865 |
|
|
2qbja, |
1866 |
|
|
2qbja.2Lbh2jvyy2or2va2gur2unyy, |
1867 |
|
|
2tb2guebhtu2naq2gb2gur2yrsg2gb2ernpu2gur2inhyg. |
1868 |
|
|
|
1869 |
|
|
|
1870 |
root |
1.8 |
=head1 Order of the Gravestone |
1871 |
|
|
|
1872 |
|
|
An ancient order of druids, that venerated the supposed gravestone of |
1873 |
|
|
the Spirit of Khalbow. The Spirit was supposed to be a symbol of eternal |
1874 |
|
|
renewal and redemption, that lived a regular, short-term dead/revival |
1875 |
|
|
cycle. The Order of the Gravestone was very popular during the first |
1876 |
|
|
Millenia EK, but then went extinct. No druid is known to exist today, and |
1877 |
|
|
the exact location of the gravestone has long been forgotten. |
1878 |
|
|
|
1879 |
root |
1.6 |
|