1 |
=encoding utf8 |
2 |
|
3 |
=begin comment |
4 |
|
5 |
This is the source for some of the books in crossfire, at least, it should become one. |
6 |
|
7 |
Authors: |
8 |
Gorlin <gorlin@freibier.htu.tuwien.ac.at> |
9 |
Mark Wedel <mwedel@scruznet.com> |
10 |
Marc Lehmann <crossfire@schmorp.de> |
11 |
The Crossfire Wiki |
12 |
|
13 |
Each =head1 should become its own book. |
14 |
|
15 |
=end comment |
16 |
|
17 |
|
18 |
=head1 History of Creation, by Khalis, Volume I |
19 |
|
20 |
In the beginning the land was barren. No life yet moved upon the large |
21 |
continents and islands that lay empty between the seas. In the seas, |
22 |
nothing moved as well. The world itself held its breath while the Creator |
23 |
rested. Then, a spirit from outside, serving the Most High, entered the |
24 |
world, and she saw a place yet empty of life. So she began to create grass |
25 |
to cover the face of the earth, and trees and other plants. Other spirits |
26 |
from outside watched, and agreed that Gaea had wrought wonders upon the |
27 |
devoid place. Since she was by far stronger than the others, those lesser |
28 |
spirits asked her for leave to join in her work. Gaea accepted their |
29 |
offer, and so the spirits of the Elements of Fire, Air, Water and Earth |
30 |
began their work as Gaea's servants. It can be assumed, that outside the |
31 |
world, the Creator watched and approved. |
32 |
|
33 |
In time, the elemental spirits came before Gaea, and beseeched her to |
34 |
help them create beings able to move of their own free will, living among |
35 |
the plant world. And Gaea saw that without animals, the green world would |
36 |
still miss a vital element, so she in turn went before the Creator. What |
37 |
happened between them noone knows, but soon afterwards living beings began |
38 |
to populate the land. Fish swam in the seas and rivers, birds flew their |
39 |
first flights through the air, and other species moved on the land. The |
40 |
cycle of Nature seemed complete, and Gaea was content. |
41 |
|
42 |
Already, however, other spirits had noticed what Gaea had done. Dark were |
43 |
they, and they treasured still the image of the empty world. To them, a |
44 |
place devoid of life seemed far better, far more perfect, and so they |
45 |
entered the world to return the world to its past. Sicknesses and |
46 |
poison began to spread among the animals, that threatened to extinguish |
47 |
entire species - yeah, indeed several of them might have died during that |
48 |
time, of which we have next to no information. Bones in the ground seem to |
49 |
indict that there were large animals which do not exist anymore, and |
50 |
sadly, we may not meet them evermore. In anger, Gaea named these dark |
51 |
spirits the Devourers, since they were those who devoured all life, and |
52 |
she and her Elemental allies fought them back, and tried to heal what they |
53 |
could. |
54 |
|
55 |
=head1 History of Creation, by Khalis, Volume II |
56 |
|
57 |
In that time it also happened, that a great many of the creatures the |
58 |
Fire Elementals had helped to make were betoken of great madness, and |
59 |
started to rampage among the other beings. In time Gaea and her allies |
60 |
found out the truth, that one of the greatest Elementals of Fire, Ruggili, |
61 |
had turned against them, perhaps on order of the Devourers. Yet, Ruggili |
62 |
now served neither Devourers nor Gaea, instead he sought to increase his |
63 |
own power, and spread madness and chaos upon the world, and he became |
64 |
mightier than any other Elemental in existence. |
65 |
|
66 |
The other Elemental beings came to Gaea, and spoke, "With both renegade |
67 |
Ruggili and the Dark Ones to fight, we need others to assist us. Some of |
68 |
the beings we created are already strong enough to do their part, such as |
69 |
the unicorn or the sphinx. The strongest of them, however, the dragons, |
70 |
have switched their support to Ruggili. We need allies, or this world will |
71 |
become either a place of eternal fire or one of darkness." Gaea was |
72 |
clearly troubled by this, and again left the world to commune with the |
73 |
Creator. Shortly afterwards, new, more intelligent races emerged on the |
74 |
world, among them the dwarves, elves, trolls, goblins, humans, halflings, |
75 |
lizardman, any many others, and they joined the fight on the side of Gaea |
76 |
and the Elementals. |
77 |
|
78 |
During this time, which we now call the Second Age, cultures grew and |
79 |
were destroyed, races rose to prominence and disappeared again, mighty |
80 |
magics were found and forgotten. Ruggili#s followers were beaten back at |
81 |
great cost, and the forces of Gaea could again concentrate on the fight |
82 |
against the Devourers. The fight went on for a long time, but it seemed |
83 |
that the Nature Goddess was able to reform the world into a place of Life. |
84 |
The mortal races assisting her had become weary of the fight, however, and |
85 |
spoke to her thus: "The fight has clearly been won, the death spirits and |
86 |
the Fire God are in retreat. We wish to fight no more, but to settle down |
87 |
in peace. Though we still respect you and always will, we can give you our |
88 |
support no longer." Gaea accepted in silence, even though she knew that |
89 |
this meant that the war would not have a definite ending. Neither the |
90 |
Devourers nor Ruggili would be defeated be her alone. |
91 |
|
92 |
The Devourers and Ruggili watched the retreat of the mortals, the |
93 |
Devourers planning to attack and destroy them now that Gaea was not near, |
94 |
and then to use their own dead spirits against the Nature Goddess. Ruggili |
95 |
instead bided his time, sending down dragons to burn mortal cities and |
96 |
Devourer strongholds both. The Elementals serving Gaea assisted the |
97 |
mortals still, and gave some protection to them so that the Devourers |
98 |
would not destroy them. During this, Third, Age, the mortals segregated |
99 |
according to their nature. The dwarves moved into the mountains, and with |
100 |
the help of Earth Elementals began their first kingdoms underneath the |
101 |
face of the earth. The elves moved into large woods, the lizardmen into |
102 |
swamps. Wars broke out between some of the races, none however anywhere in |
103 |
that measure as the Great War of the Second Age. |
104 |
|
105 |
=head1 History of Creation, by Khalis, Volume III |
106 |
|
107 |
In the Third Age it also happened, that spirits from the outside, who had |
108 |
been content to watch until that time, took pity on some of those races. |
109 |
The goblins, orcs, trolls and giants began to serve a being called Gnarg, |
110 |
who had promised to raise and protect them. He helped them build up |
111 |
protection against the many poisons which still plagued the lands, and in |
112 |
time they began to use poison as a weapon against their enemies. Their |
113 |
most hated enemies were the dwarves and the elves, who each had been |
114 |
stronger than them before the coming of Gnarg. Now, stronger than ever |
115 |
before, they attacked them and sought to utterly destroy them. First they |
116 |
moved against the elves. They burned down forests and elven cities, until |
117 |
the being Lythander came to guide the elves and to oppose Gnarg. He sent |
118 |
confusion to the goblin races, and cursed them to utter stupidity. this |
119 |
curse is still active even now, there are fewer orcs or goblins who |
120 |
possess high intuition, intellect or magical affinity then in any other |
121 |
of the mortal races. During the time the curse was first spoken it was |
122 |
much worse. The orcs fell down muttering insanely, the giants and trolls |
123 |
clubbed each other senseless, and the goblins jumped down high cliffs to |
124 |
escaped the voices in their head. The goblin attack faltered, and all the |
125 |
goblin races and giantkind returned - after a few accidents and wrong |
126 |
turns - to their homes. They also immediately stopped their plans to |
127 |
attack the dwarves. |
128 |
|
129 |
The dwarves, however, had other problems. The dragons also claimed the |
130 |
mountains, and the followers of Ruggili sought out the dwarven cities and |
131 |
the treasures they offered. The pitiful cries of the dwarves, and the many |
132 |
deaths among dwarvenkind, roused the spirit being Mostrai, who entered the |
133 |
world and came to the dwarves. He showed them how to create magical |
134 |
weapons which might wound even the greatest of dragons, and he also helped |
135 |
them to withstand the dragons' fire. As was Gnarg to the orcs and goblins, |
136 |
and as was Lythander to the elves, Mostrai became god to the dwarves, |
137 |
protected them as they worshipped him for it. |
138 |
|
139 |
The most numerous of the mortal races had no god of their own, and they |
140 |
despaired, seeing that others had gods of great power to call upon for |
141 |
assistance. In their fear of being destroyed, in their anger for being |
142 |
left out, and their hatred for those who left them alone, they cried out |
143 |
for help. And in the darkness, someone heard them. Far away, in another |
144 |
dimension most probably, dwelt beings of great power. Endless torment was |
145 |
their desire, hatred, fear and anger the ways to their dark hearts, and |
146 |
fire their most potent weapon. When the humans had cried long enough, the |
147 |
doorway was opened, and the demon host went through. The demon lord Gorokh |
148 |
led those who entered the world, and he offered the humans many riches and |
149 |
great power in exchange for their worship and for sacrifice. many humans |
150 |
fell, and began to serve the powers of darkness. Others sought redemption, |
151 |
and a pure spirit called Valriel came to their aid. Others again returned |
152 |
to the worship of Gaea, hoping that the forces of Life would protect them, |
153 |
a few humans even went to the goblin, elven and dwarven gods for help. |
154 |
|
155 |
=head1 History of Creation, by Khalis, Volume IV |
156 |
|
157 |
As the human worship began to spread out among all the gods and beings of |
158 |
power who had entered the world, a small group of them who wished not for |
159 |
the blessings of Nature but the power of the elements as weapons spake to |
160 |
one of the Elemental Lords following Gaea. And as Ruggili long ago, Sorig |
161 |
left Gaea's path and accepted the mortal's worship, teaching them the way |
162 |
of lightning and thunder in return. Other small sects began to emerge, and |
163 |
then the one things noone had foreseen happened. Some humans began to |
164 |
worship the powers of Death, who until then never had living followers. |
165 |
Those poor deranged people believed that in death they would be truly |
166 |
free, and the Devourers gladly accepted their help. When those humans |
167 |
died, the most mighty of the Undead were finally created - those who |
168 |
joined the Devourers of their own free will: the vampires, the spectres |
169 |
and the liche. |
170 |
|
171 |
And so the world lies before us today, turmoil and chaos has spread among |
172 |
the many gods who have entered the world. The fights are numerous, but at |
173 |
least we can be called lucky that no single faction has power as great as |
174 |
during the Second Age - for another Great War would probably destroy the |
175 |
world itself. In the First Age only the spirit being existed, in the |
176 |
Second Age we mortals served the forces of Life to survive, in the Third |
177 |
Age we left them and began to worship other Gods. This then is the Fourth |
178 |
Age, in which we hope the ceaseless fighting and wars will finally end, |
179 |
and we will be allowed to live in peace. But whose peace will it be, which |
180 |
gods, which peples will lead and which will follow? |
181 |
|
182 |
Khalis, |
183 |
Grand Hierophant, |
184 |
Servant of Gaea |
185 |
|
186 |
|
187 |
=head1 History for the Impatient |
188 |
|
189 |
Written by Maris the Scholar, a student of Khalis whom he opposed much |
190 |
later in his life. |
191 |
|
192 |
Gaea created the world. However, for things to thrive, rain is needed |
193 |
so Sorig came along, and provided the rain and lightning. The lightning |
194 |
created fire, and so Ruggili was born. |
195 |
|
196 |
Gaea is the source of all nature and life, without any great need for |
197 |
followers, as the natural world itself gives her power. She gave life to a |
198 |
number of sons, all gods of their own. |
199 |
|
200 |
Her son Mostrai saw a flat and uninteresting world and created massive |
201 |
mountains and deep dungeons. |
202 |
|
203 |
Her other son Lythander was bored and created some animals. |
204 |
|
205 |
Gnarg saw that and created the goblins on the world for some reason we no |
206 |
longer know. |
207 |
|
208 |
Lythander, disgusted what the goblins where doing to the beautiful |
209 |
forests, created the elves and halflings to help protect the forests from |
210 |
uncontrolled goblin destruction. |
211 |
|
212 |
Mostrai, seeing what was happening to the forests, decided to take |
213 |
pre-emptive measures and created the dwarves to live deep within the |
214 |
mountains he created. |
215 |
|
216 |
Then Gaea created the humans, to protect and provide balance in the plains |
217 |
and along the coasts. |
218 |
|
219 |
With the constant battles for balance, many of these new life forms died. |
220 |
The gods that created them did originally see the souls that these new |
221 |
life forms had, but the gods Gorokh and Valriel did. They took the worst |
222 |
(and best) of these departing souls in order to create creatures for their |
223 |
own desires. |
224 |
|
225 |
The souls that neither claimed became the domain of the devourers. What |
226 |
the god of devourers lacked in the strength of individual souls, he gained |
227 |
in the sheer number of souls he controlled, and with these he created |
228 |
wights and vampires to give him even more souls. Some of the powerful |
229 |
humanoids worshipped him in hopes of eternal life. For some of these, |
230 |
they gained this eternal life in the form and lichs and demilichs. |
231 |
|
232 |
The Red Dragons were created by Rugilli because he wanted some worshippers |
233 |
of his own. It is believed that the other dragons eventually resulted from |
234 |
those by the constant in-breeding experiments Ruggili made. |
235 |
|
236 |
Nobody knows where the nearly god-like titans came from. Some scholars |
237 |
claim they could be descendants of some of the forgotten gods so little i |
238 |
known about nowadays. |
239 |
|
240 |
|
241 |
=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
242 |
|
243 |
=head2 Calendrical Introduction |
244 |
|
245 |
Present Day |
246 |
|
247 |
We are currently in 8437 Era Khelentari (EK). |
248 |
|
249 |
=head2 Volume I: The Early Days |
250 |
|
251 |
Around 350 EK: The Story of the Fourth Mariner is written by an unknown author. |
252 |
|
253 |
435 EK: Colony of Skorn Founded. It would eventualy become the city of Scorn. |
254 |
|
255 |
711 EK: The outpost of Heaven’s Gate is founded. |
256 |
|
257 |
=head2 Volume II: Second Millenia EK |
258 |
|
259 |
1223 EK: Ekkis the Drunk leads a disastrous crusade against the Sirens in the southern seas. |
260 |
|
261 |
=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
262 |
|
263 |
=head2 Volume III: Third Millenia EK |
264 |
|
265 |
2287 EK: Battle of Tered - The Kingdom of the Masts is dismantled by Navar. |
266 |
|
267 |
2567 EK: Fernast Fergono, exiled from Navar, leads a famous exploration expedition in the south-east seas. |
268 |
|
269 |
2765 EK: The city of Heaven’s Gate is burned by pirates. |
270 |
|
271 |
=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
272 |
|
273 |
=head2 Volume IV: Fourth Millenia EK |
274 |
|
275 |
3084-3154 EK: The Artificers' Wars take place in the East. |
276 |
|
277 |
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. |
278 |
|
279 |
3867 EK: Juradiths take the direction of Scorn and create a republic. |
280 |
|
281 |
3885 EK: Juradiths are expelled from Scorn by revolting citizens. They are vainquished at Battlefield Lake. |
282 |
|
283 |
=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
284 |
|
285 |
=head2 Volume V: Fifth Millenia EK |
286 |
|
287 |
4127 EK: King Kadriosa IV of Scorn leads a Crusade against the elves of the south-east, who flee the country. |
288 |
|
289 |
4131 EK: Foundation of the Elven City of Tashkeren-tah at Vkovzerov (Lake Country). |
290 |
|
291 |
4453 EK: The Elven City of Tashkeren-tah sinks into the largest lake of Lake Country. |
292 |
|
293 |
=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
294 |
|
295 |
=head2 Volume VI: Sixth Millenia EK |
296 |
|
297 |
5524 EK: The Meteomage Grab of Ledh fails an experiment, making the weather mad for a while, an event remembered as “The Weather Madness”. |
298 |
|
299 |
Late LVIth Century EK: The Great Schism between the Simplifists led by Mish the Toon and the Stabilists: The Sedition Wars. |
300 |
|
301 |
5581 EK: Battle of the Glowing Crystal: the Order of the Careful Coders is disbanded. |
302 |
|
303 |
5598 EK: The Simplifists exile themselves into the Pocket Dimension of Daï-Moh-Nî, “The World With a Future”, in Ancient Daigojij Language. |
304 |
|
305 |
=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
306 |
|
307 |
=head2 Volume VII: Seventh Millenia EK |
308 |
|
309 |
6356 EK: Butakis settles in Lake Country and starts building the Lake Pump. |
310 |
|
311 |
6356 EK: The Lake Pump is destroyed by Twak. Lake Country is covered by fog. Butakis is disfigured. |
312 |
|
313 |
=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
314 |
|
315 |
=head2 Volume VIII: Eighth Millenia EK |
316 |
|
317 |
7124 EK: Harta accidentally creates a Dimensional Grid, connecting the Crossfire Continuum with the Daï-Moh-Nî Dimension. |
318 |
|
319 |
7563 EK: The tower of Melficef the Red explodes. |
320 |
|
321 |
=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
322 |
|
323 |
=head2 Volume IX: Ninth Millenia EK |
324 |
|
325 |
8009 EK: Euthville is destroyed. |
326 |
|
327 |
|
328 |
=head1 Euthville History |
329 |
|
330 |
The Ruins of Euthville can be found just off the Imperial Highway north of |
331 |
Scorn. |
332 |
|
333 |
=head2 The Origins of the City |
334 |
|
335 |
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 |
=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 |
=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 |
|
544 |
=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 |
|