--- deliantra/server/pod/books.pod	2007/01/02 17:26:14	1.5
+++ deliantra/server/pod/books.pod	2007/01/02 22:47:40	1.6
@@ -628,3 +628,1010 @@
 into the ocean, including Kari Kori, the Technomages’ city.
 
 
+=head1 Juradiths Dissidents
+
+Juradiths, named after Juradith, Minor Spirit of Equity, were a group of
+activists that wanted to turn the Kingdom of Scorn into a republic in the
+second-half of the XXXIVth century EK. They succeeded at overthrowing King
+Karatan III, but their vengeful, fanatical excesses quickly turned most
+Scornians against them. When trying to recapture the city, their army was
+defeated by the Scornian Militia with the help of a couple city mages, who
+flooded the Juradiths into a magically created lake.
+
+Juradiths still exist as a small political faction today, although
+they’ve long traded their violent ways for some weird traditions whose
+origins and meaning are now mostly forgotten.
+
+
+=head1 The Gaean Legend of Creation
+
+=head2 Age of The Void
+
+In the beginning there was Gaea, the force of nature. SHE filled the whole
+of existence with her being. After a few billion years, this became to
+grow boring and lonely, so SHE decided to have children.
+
+At first SHE created a host of forces like Herself, eternal and
+divine. But with all their power, they couldn’t get along with each
+other, so Gaea decided that wasn’t a good idea. SHE decreed that from
+that point on all creatures but HER would have a limited lifetime. But
+most of HER first children disagreed, and went away to an unknown
+location.
+
+=head2 Age of The Small World
+
+So Gaea created a small world and populated it with limited creatures -
+animals and plants of all sorts. For a few million years she was happy
+to watch them. But her remaining faithful children were growing restless
+and wanted to make their own experimentations too. Finally SHE got bored
+again, as her creations weren’t self-aware and therefore weren’t
+much of a company. But SHE was also curious, because her creatures had
+developed many different styles of living, and SHE desired to compare
+them.
+
+And Gaea destroyed the original world, breaking it in four new ones.
+
+=head2 Age of The Four Worlds
+
+The First world was dedicated to harmony. It was populated with creatures
+that preferred to coexist peacefully and contemplate. Two of Her children
+were particularly enamoured of this world and decided to live there.
+
+The Second world was dedicated to construction. It was populated with
+creatures that liked to change the environment around them, especially
+ants, bees and beavers, and filled with wood and metal and stone usable as
+raw material. Two of Her children found the idea fascinating and decided
+to live in this world.
+
+The Third world was dedicated to war and strife. While all the three
+other worlds had equal shares of light and darkness, the Third world had
+as much light as its inhabitants desired - and it was populated with
+creatures that loved and hated light, in equal parts. So these creatures
+quickly discoreved they could influence the ambient light by battling each
+other. Two of Her children decided to live in this world: one because he
+loved light, and another because he hated his brother and therefore wished
+for darkness to prevail.
+
+The Fourth world, finally, was dedicated to predation and to survival of
+the fittest. It was populated with fierce creatures and predators. Two of
+Her children believed this was the best way to live and decided to live in
+this world.
+
+After the worlds were created, only four children of Gaea still preferred
+to live in the Void: two because they weren’t interested in any of those
+worlds, and two because they liked all of them and preferred to visit them
+whenever they wished.
+
+=head2 Age of Awakening
+
+And for a few million years Gaea delighted in observing the differences
+between the worlds. But still the creatures were not self-aware, and
+still SHE was lonely. So when Her children came and said they were lonely
+and wanted to create more interesting creatures, SHE understood them and
+quickly allowed them and gave them the power to do it.
+
+So on the First world, one of the Gods who lived there created a race of
+beings that loved peace and wildlife, and called them Elves. The other
+God in that world didn’t choose to create followers, but she teached
+language to the Elves of her brother, and when the Elves larned the art of
+naming, they named their creator Lythander, and in exchange for his name
+he gifted them with luck.
+
+On the Second world, one of the Gods created a race of builders and named
+them Dwarves. His children, in turn, named him Mostrai. His sister, in
+turn, decided not to create, but teach some of the dwarves (the ones
+willing to learn) about magic and the powers of the gods. The other
+dwarves, however, didn’t accept their changed siblings, so they went off
+to live by themselves and became known as gnomes.
+
+On the Third world, of course, none of the resident Gods wanted to
+cooperate with the other. Both created their own races: the God who fought
+for darkness created many kinds of fierce, brutal monsters he named
+“Demons”, while the God who fought for light created many kinds of
+skillful, swift warriors he named “Angels”. Befittingly, these Gods
+were named by their enemies, and not their followers: the demons gave the
+light god the name of “Valriel“, and the angels gave their enemy god
+the name “Gorokh“.
+
+And on the Fourth world, the patron Gods kept true to their philosophy
+and created not one, but innumerable races, in the hope that one of these
+would prove the strongest and most worth. So they created goblins, trolls,
+ogres, and not least, dragons. The Gods became known as Gnarg, the Patron
+of Assassins, Ruggilli, the Consuming Worm, and Ixalovh.
+
+The races in the four worlds lived on for millenia, and developed, and
+grew, and all worlds flourished. The eight patron gods believed this was
+proof that they were right, and the way they lived was the best one, while
+the two traveling gods rather believed that the success of all the worlds
+was instead proof of the wisdom and power of their Mother.
+
+=head2 Age of Death
+
+But at some point things started to go wrong. Angels and demons would
+start to become priests or scholars or merchants and preach against the
+war. Dwarves and gnomes would start go grow sedentary and admire the
+crafts of the past instead of building new ones. Goblinoids would suddenly
+develop a taste for vegetables and become farmers, while dragons would
+decide that developing their magics was more important than finding
+food. But what was wrong was a mistery that would only begin to unfold
+when the High King of the elves, one day, was devoured by a dragon.
+
+It was then that the Gods discovered that the worlds were not anymore
+completely isolated from one another. Someone had, somehow, teached all
+kinds of creatures how to follow the paths left by the traveling gods -
+flying creatures would ride the cross-world whirlwinds of the thunder god,
+and others would learn to tread the strange winding paths of the walking
+god. And as creatures became aware of different ways, things started to go
+wrong.
+
+Promptly, the Gods tried to close all portals - but it was too late. The
+art of magic was already known in the four worlds, and strong enough to
+travel between them. And the one peaceful elves were ignited, and declared
+war on the dragons, goblins and trolls.
+
+While a mighty army of elven warriors crossed over to the Fourth world,
+dwarves and gnomes found the First world almost deserted and full of wood
+and metal for the dwarves, and holy, peaceful places for the gnomes.
+
+The part of the small peoples who remained on the Second world was faced
+with new problems when the demons decided they were ripe for tempting (if
+they could get dwarven builders and gnome sorcerers on their side, the
+tide of the war would turn). The angels, of course, took upon themselves
+to protect these strange people from their eternal enemies. So as their
+attention slowly shifted from the Third world to the Second, soon only
+the weakest of their kind were in their original world, where they began
+to fall prey to hungry refugees from the Fourth world, who discovered how
+tasty angel/demon flesh can be.
+
+And while the Gods were busy trying to even understand this chaos, the
+dead began to come back.
+
+Their leader was Hagguth, the Elven High King who had been eaten by a
+dragon. He came back as a powerful spectre, leading a powerful army of
+ghosts, wraiths, skeletons and zombies in a massive attack to the Second
+and Third worlds. Their goal was to kill as many dwarves, gnomes, angels
+and demons as possible, to strenghten the number of their own undead host.
+
+And when some elven wizards tried to steal the power of the undead to
+their own ends, they became the first vampires, lichs and demilichs -
+half living, half undead, but on the side of Hagguth and his misterious
+masters.
+
+It was only when a group of reasonable elves, dwarves, gnomes and dragons
+managed to get together and talk, that it became clear who these masters
+could be. Till this point, everyone was blaming some (any) god other
+than the one they worshipped. But there was only one, obvious answer:
+the Banished Gods, the Forgotten Children who left ages ago because
+they didn’t agree with he concept of death, were back, and enacting
+revenge by subverting death itself. In later days, these Gods would become
+collectively known as the Devourers.
+
+Knowing the enemy was not the solution to the war, but was a start. This
+group, slowly, was able to form a resistence against the undead armies,
+and gradually turn other people to their side. Finally, after 23 hundred
+years, they managed to break into the horrible fortress Hagguth had built
+in the First world and kill (again) the undead king.
+
+The chaos began to gradually settle down after that. But then the
+survivors were faced with a new problem: almost nobody was interested in
+perverting to the way things used to be.
+
+Yes. Entire villages of elves were settled in corners of the Fourth world
+for many generations, and dwarven guilds had business troughout the
+worlds.
+
+=head2 The Big World
+
+So Gaea, in Her wisdom, gave the only possible solution to the
+problem. SHE took the four worlds in Her hand, and crushed them
+together. Then SHE looked at the single world she created, and at the
+creatures of Her children, and decided to again, after millions of years,
+create Her own followers. Thus SHE created the humans, a young race eager
+to explore and chart this young world.
+
+It took generations for the inhabitants of the resulting world to figure
+out its geography and for families to reunite; when this finally happened,
+the stories about four different worlds becoming one were already legends
+not everybody believed. But still, for some reason, everyone agrees to
+call this world - the only one they know - Bigworld.
+
+
+=head1 The Book of Valriel
+
+In the beginning, for an infinite time, all that existed was a pure light,
+and that light had a name, and that name was Valriel.
+
+But part of the light was not content to be alone, and so did Valriel put
+this part of Himself aside and did He allow this part to have independent
+life; and this part was everything that wasn’t content, and as it
+wasn’t light, it surely was the darkness; and the darkness took upon
+itself the name of Gorokh.
+
+And for many times more time than a mortal can count, Gorokh was the
+companion and the servant of Valriel. But Gorokh was not content, because
+that was his nature, and he plotted a way to change everything. And
+although filled with hidden motives, Gorokh’s words were always very
+wise, so that Valriel would hear them. So it was that Valriel followed the
+wise counsel of the Shadow and created a world full of living things to be
+His new companions and servants.
+
+And as soon as Valriel had millions of new companions and servants, Gorokh
+said, “so now you won’t need me anymore, I can leave and find my own
+companions and servants”. And this made Valriel unhappy because He was
+the only and true Lord, but Gorokh wouldn’t recognize that, and so it
+was Gorokh who eventually taught men to rule over other men instead of
+paying respect to the one true ruler of all.
+
+So did Valriel upon the departure of his first servant, create new
+servants modeled after His beauty and grace, and elf and man and dwarf he
+created them. But the Shadow did feel envy and wished those followers for
+himself, so he came to them in the night and whispered in their ears, and
+some of them were tempted and started to worship and serve the Shadow.
+
+But not enough were seduced by his promises. So he decided to be many,
+not one. And he wore different shapes and again he whispered in the ears
+of Valriel’s creations. And to the elves he was Lythander of the bow
+that never misses, and the elves did not see that if a bow never misses,
+and it isn’t the work of the Lord, then it can only be the work of the
+Enemy. And to the dwarves he wore the name of Mostrai, of the fire, of the
+forge, the builder of things, for the fire and the desire to change was
+the true face of Gorokh.
+
+And he taught the men to wage war upon each other, and scared the warriors
+with thunder and lightning, and they would call him Sorig. And those
+who weren’t scared, he tempted with weapons and glory, and wore the
+beautiful face of a woman, and they called him Valkyrie. And as they
+killed each other, Gorokh was happy.
+
+And much more he did. He taught women to heal and to make the soil grow
+crop, and they called him Gaea, and believed that Gaea created the world
+and Valriel was but a minor god, and by spreading this lie they made
+Gorokh happy. And he taught the children of Valriel to write, so that they
+could spread his lies further, and they called him Hekanis for that. And
+he taught them the abomination of filthy magic to pervert and corrupt
+the creation of the Lord, and to liken themselves to gods, and the evil
+souls that followed this path called him Byd. And also he taught elf and
+man and dwarf to brew alcohol and other inebriating things and to laugh
+in the face of Valriel and throw parties that put shame to the eye of the
+Lord, and he taught them all that under human guise, and they called their
+teacher Joyee.
+
+So did Valriel look upon the world He created and so did He feel great
+sorrow and great shame for what had happened to it. And so did he create
+a new race of servants, more powerful and more faithful than any other,
+imbued with the mission of hunting down and undoing the work of the Enemy,
+and this race He called Angels.
+
+But again Gorokh felt envy because the servants of the Light were more
+powerful than his own, and again he went to some of the angels in the
+night and whispered temptation in their ears, and some turned to his foul
+purposes and fell from grace. So did Gorokh give them new shapes, to more
+liken them to himself, red with hate and wearing horns to symbolize their
+envy, and they became demons. And the plan of Valriel was once again
+spoiled by the venom of the enemy, because angels had to step aside from
+their assigned mission to fight the demons and keep them from spreading
+the evil in their dark hearts.
+
+And Gorokh did find great fun in changing Valriel’s creation into a new
+race, and so did he get elf and man and dwarf and corrupted them with
+his dark will, and they became goblin and orc and kobold, and troll, and
+giant, and ogre, and many other abominations to the eye of the Creator,
+and Gorokh wore the name of Gnarg to these new creations and delighted in
+watching the destruction and sorrow they spread in the world.
+
+And in the ultimate act of defiance, the Shadow decided to create servants
+for him, create new life himself to liken him more to the Great Lord. And
+he assembled the foulest magic and the darkest hunger he could find and
+shaped these into the most horrible monsters he could imagine, and gave
+them life, and called them dragons, and sent them forth to eat the flesh
+of the creation of Valriel. And the dragons did call him Ruggilli and much
+did they please him with the terror they spread.
+
+But the light and the love of Valriel knew no end, so He decided to
+fight evil with good, and He instructed His faithful servants to do only
+the good, to spread the word of His love. And by doing that did He win
+back many servants who saw that the righteous is more powerful than the
+might. Much did this enrage the Shadow, and the Shadow did respond by
+raising the dead themselves from their graves to fight the forces of
+good. Even when the dead did not win, they did force the living to abandon
+good in favor of war, and in doing so they would too abandon Valriel. So
+once again he shadow was happy.
+
+Valriel finally did decide, with much sorrow in His infinite heart, that
+the only way to make His creation safe again was to destroy the Shadow
+himself. So did He cast His holy word upon His creation to banish the work
+of the Enemy. But the Enemy knew what would happen beforehand, due to the
+evil magic of his followers, and he created a safe refuge for their evil,
+in a world created entirely of pure evil and hate, that he had set aside
+from creation and called Hell. And soon enough did Gorokh find ways back
+into the world of the creation of Light, and resumed his foul work of evil
+and dissent and terror.
+
+So did Valriel gather together His faithful and he did gave them some time
+to put the love for the Lord back in the hearts of as many of His children
+as they could. And very soon will He again call upon the faithful, and
+then will He give the faithful an entire new world for them to live in the
+love of Valriel. And Having done that He will turn to this world, and to
+Hell, and to Gorokh, and He will destroy them completely with the force of
+His will, putting an end once and for all in the war and the evil.
+
+
+=head1 The Book of Gorokh
+
+In the beginning, for an infinite time, all that existed was an empty
+and cold light. And the light was content to be and fill and control
+everything that was. But it is not right for light to be cold, and the
+part of the light that should have been warm, longed for warmth and for
+things to see and for things to do.
+
+So did the light put aside the warmth, so that the fire would not disturb
+their cold peace. And the fire looked unto the light and called the light
+Valriel, the controlling father, and the fire called himself Gorokh, the
+Son with a Will.
+
+And for many times more time than a mortal can count, Gorokh was the
+companion and the servant of Valriel. But Gorokh was not content, because
+that was his nature, and he plotted a way to change everything. And fueled
+by the fire of his will, Gorokh’s words were always very wise, so
+Valriel would always hear them. So it was that Valriel followed the wise
+counsel of the Fire and created a world full of living things to be their
+new companions and servants.
+
+And as soon as Valriel had millions of new companions and servants, Gorokh
+said, “so now you won’t need me anymore, I can leave and find my own
+companions and servants”. And this made Valriel unhappy because he
+believed he should be only and true Lord, but Gorokh couldn’t agree
+to that, and so it was Gorokh who eventually taught men to rule over
+themselves instead of paying respect to one self-appointed ruler of all.
+
+So did Valriel, while Gorokh was away exploring the wonders of the new
+world, create new servants of flesh and bone to adore him blindly, and elf
+and man and dwarf he created them. And seeing this beautiful new creation
+Gorokh wanted a part of it for himself, and he presented himself to them,
+and some of them liked him and became his follower.
+
+But Valriel was afraid that, with two gods to adore, some of his creation
+could find it natural to spread creation in two equal halves, and he did
+want more than an equal half. So he decided to wear different shapes so
+that his children would believe him to be many, not one, and then he
+would be able to get more than his fair share. And so did he create many
+false gods for his children to adore. And even when Gorokh would bring
+the wonderful gifts conceived by his powerful will, such as the forge,
+weapons, medicine, agriculture, writing, magic, and wine and booze and
+music, even then would Valriel create a false god to pose as the giver of
+those gifts and take the glory for himself.
+
+And since Gorokh kept inventing new presents, Valriel became angry,
+because he doesn’t like change and he doesn’t like any good that
+doesn’t come from him. And so did he create a new race of servants, more
+powerful and more prone to following him blindly than any other, imbued
+with the mission of hunting down and undoing the work of the Fire, and
+this race He called Angels.
+
+But again Gorokh found a cunning way to defend his work, and again he
+went to some of the angels in the night and whispered promises of power
+in their ears, and some turned to his great purposes and joined him. So
+did Gorokh give them new shapes, to more liken them to himself, red with
+the fire of his will and wearing horns to symbolize their power, and they
+became demons. And the plan of Valriel was once again spoiled by the
+genius of the Fire, because angels had to step aside from their assigned
+mission to fight the demons and keep them from spreading the word of
+Gorokh.
+
+And Gorokh did find great fun in changing Valriel’s creation into a new
+race, and so did he get elf and man and dwarf and tried to imbue them
+with greater strength, and they became goblin and orc and kobold, and
+troll, and giant, and ogre, and many other strong creatures. But their
+intelligences greatly suffered from the process, and he was unhappy with
+his creation, and while he was looking for a way to help them did Valriel
+come to them under the guise of Gnarg and he told them to spread great
+destruction and sorrow in the world so that the creation of Gorokh would
+seem foul in the eyes of the living.
+
+So the Fire decided the creation of Valriel was imperfect and he had to
+create his own new life. So he assembled the most powerful magic and the
+strongest will and mightiest strength he could find and shaped these
+into the most magnificent creatures he could imagine, and gave them
+life, and called them dragons, and sent them forth to take the world for
+themselves. But while the dragons are still the greatest pride of Gorokh,
+many of them have abandoned him to serve yet another disguise of Valriel.
+
+And upon seeing the dragons, Valriel declared war and set his servants
+upon the task of killing all the most valuables of Gorokh they could
+find. Gorokh was consumed with sorrow, and devised a way to spare these
+faithful servants, by allowing them to raise again from the grave even
+after their deaths. But the servants of Valriel found these “un-dead”
+an even greater abomination, and set forth to hunt them, and Valriel
+delighted in the war and carnage that ensued.
+
+So did Gorokh, his fire dim with sorrow, decide to create a whole world
+for him and his faithful. And this world he called Hell. But when he was
+slowly bringing his faithful to the new world, Valriel treacherously
+brought down a great fury upon the world, killing most of the faithful
+that were left behind. So the Fire was finally enraged and decided to wage
+the war that the Light wanted. And he opened many passages into the world
+so that his armies could enter and destroy the minions of Valriel. And to
+this war we are all called to chose sides and fight.
+
+
+=head1 The Dwarven Creation Tale
+
+A play by Shakesdor the Dwarf.
+
+- What... where we come from? You’re not old enough for this
+conversation.
+
+- No, uncle, I mean as a whole... the world, the dwarves, the others.
+
+- Ah. I see. (Big gulp of beer.) You mean, NOW?
+
+- Yes, please. Pleeeease?
+
+- *sigh* all right, all right. It goes like this.
+
+First there was the Ore and the Forge. The Ore is what existence looked
+like before it existed. The Forge was the untapped will, the potential in
+the Ore to be everything that is, ever will be, or won’t.
+
+Over a span of time that is not time, because time wasn’t forged yet,
+some tiny scraps of Ore drifted into the Forge. A piece of the Forge
+merged with that Ore and became sentient. He has many names, but we call
+him Mostrai.
+
+He spent ages of time-that-was-not-time exploring, learning the nature
+of Ore and Forge and himself. Till he decided it was time to start
+forging. And then, first of all, he forged time, so that he could separate
+after from before, and so that he could exist absolutely - as opposed to,
+at the same “time”, existing and not being created yet, which was the
+case if time didn’t exist.
+
+Then, with things in order, he began forging things. The first thing he
+forged was his armor, because he liked the touch of metal against his
+body. Then he forged beer, because of course, beer is essential. He forged
+it red like the Forge, and black like the Ore. The yellow thing, as we all
+know, is an invention of those pansy elves.
+
+And he liked the beer. He liked it so much, that he was bored of drinking
+it alone. Beer calls for a party. So he created the boar and the bird, to
+be roasted; he created the mundane fire, which was a toned-down version of
+the essence of the Forge, to roast them. And then he created the dwarf, to
+dress in metal like him, to work the forge with him, but most importantly
+of all, to party with him and partake of the sacred beer.
+
+But the dwarf started breeding like bugs, and it was quite distracting
+to have them putting about in spaceless space. At any given point, there
+were thousands of dwarves partying, thousands sleeping, thousands hunting,
+and thousands forging. Mostrai thought it was good, but it was also damn
+annoying. So he created an enormous mountain for them to live under. He
+put the boar and bird, and a few other animals he had come up with later,
+on the outside, where he forged woods and forest. And so that his children
+wouldn’t wander forever, he placed these places in the middle of an
+infinite ocean. There you have, that’s the story.
+
+- Whoa. What about the others?
+
+- *sigh* You won’t let me finish my beer, will you?
+
+- You’ll never finish your beer, uncle. When you soak that mug,
+there’s plenty more in the barrel.
+
+- All right, all rigth. (Big gulp.)
+
+The dwarves had amazing weapons to hunt with. Eventually, the hunt was
+no challenge anymore. The best hunters would play-act wars between
+themselves, to best hone their skills.
+
+Mostrai was worried that those fights might one day evolve into real
+wars. So he created an enemy, something very different from the dwarf,
+something very obviously wrong, which lived in the woods and preferred
+bows and other coward weapons rather than hand-to-hand combat. He made
+them incredibly lucky, because otherwise they would stand no chance - and
+they came to believe they’re lucky because they’re protected by their
+god, which of course doesn’t exist. He also made them very old, so that
+they would think they existed before the dwarf - otherwise they would just
+recognize our superior position and submit. And all was good and happy;
+for time beyond count, dwarf and elf honed their skills against each
+other, and prospered.
+
+I mean, have you ever fought an elf? Yes, it was an eternal war, but not
+like those bloody gorefest the others have today. When dwarf and elf
+fight, it’s clean, it’s beautiful, it’s according to the rules,
+it’s a ritual of honor.
+
+Well, I digress. All was well, I said. But one day, one elf created yellow
+beer. And that offended Mostrai to a level of rage unseen before. So he
+created an entire new piece of the world, and populated it with humans,
+and other horrible creatures, and then let these young ones discover our
+land, so that they may raze the elf forests, ruin the elf nations, and
+soil their honor. We’re not stupid enough to argue with Mostrai, so we
+went underground, and we’re waiting for that to happen, to see what he
+will do next.
+
+Can I drink in peace now? There, go play with your friends.
+
+
+=head1 The Legend of the Builders
+
+People of the Old Empire believed that the whole universe was made by
+powerful beings called Builders. Builders were not part of the world
+like gods were - they lived Outside. Little is known about the Builders
+themselves. The priests of the Empire weren’t quite sure themselves
+about their names. Some were universally known, though: Mawëdel the Ruler
+or Peterëm the Writing One were the most popular of the ever changing
+list of Builders.
+
+The Builders understood very well how difficult it would be for them to
+manage themselves every prayer made - making the Universe work was already
+a time-consuming task. So they created gods to help them in their task.
+
+Most of the gods we know today were already popular in the times of the
+Old Empire, like Mostrai or Lythander. Others changed names as time
+passed. Gods provided their powers to the Faithful Ones, and helped them
+by providing blessings and powerful weapons. The priests of the Old Empire
+never believed gods made the world, as they were themselves part of it;
+world-building was the Builders task.
+
+
+=head1 The Foundation of Scorn
+
+Few archives remain from the times when Scorn was founded. The city is
+probably the oldest of the whole known world. Before Fido, before the Old
+Empire, maybe even before gods, Scorn was already there.
+
+It is usually said that Scorn was founded by Skud the Great. Many legends
+are telling about Skud, the half-mythical hero. How he captured the first
+dragons. How he fought unknown monsters in the East. How he built Scorn
+and the First Inn. Some priests even postulated that Skud was in fact a
+Builder. Skud created the First Inn because he wanted to sleep inside a
+house, without the risk of being attacked by monsters during the night. He
+left the Holy Guestbook, one of the oldest relics of Crossfire, where he
+and his fellow friends wrote their names. Skud disappeared long before the
+Old Empire came, and nowadays only the Builders can probably remember him.
+
+Recent researches show that, although he greatly contributed to the
+popularity of the city, Skud didn’t found it: it was in fact created
+by Tabb the Dark, a Builder that left very little information about him
+behind. According to the Codex Skudensis that was discovered in the depths
+of the Old City, “Scorn” would have been the real name of Tabb the
+Dark.
+
+
+=head1 The Coming of Color
+
+It is said that centuries before the foundation of the Old Empire, the
+world was colorless and sad. Aware of that problem, the Builders decided
+to bring color in the life of the Crossfire people. They called the
+massive powers of Xepemes, The Source Of All Colors, on the universe. The
+magical burst slowly covered the world with colors, but some elements
+resisted for a long time. Prophets of the Old Empire announced that,
+although victorious, the force of Xepemes wouldn’t stay forever: one
+day, it would eventually fade away against a more powerful magical force,
+the mysterious Pegemes (or Peengees?). This happened - but much after the
+fall of the Empire.
+
+
+=head1 The Bigworld
+
+The old world was small and it consisted of many pieces. Scorn, Navar,
+Brittany and Santo Dominion were in one large piece. Darcap and the
+Hill Village were in another smaller one. Lake Country was in yet
+another. Pupland was still another. The world was not whole, and the
+builders saw that this was wrong. They began the quest to unite the world
+and established the Bigworld. As the builders united the world they saw
+that it was much too small and began to make it larger. They raised up the
+Great Mountains around Brest and they caused the Great Forest to grow. As
+the time passed, Navar grew to become a great Kingdom and the builders
+decided that it was a good city for players to call home and they gave the
+Heroes a choice to serve Scorn or Navar. Nevertheless, Pupland is still
+not part of this new world, but the builders wish to add it to the west of
+Scorn.
+
+
+=head1 Skud the Great
+
+One of the first Builders. Skud created many famous places, like the
+Scorn’s First Inn or the Newbie Tower.
+
+The reasons of the disappearance of Skud are mostly unknown. The Codex
+Skudensis mentions that it could have been because of the negative
+influence of the Arch-Demon Neth Aq. It is thought that The Tower of Skud,
+although left unfinished by its creator, may contain informations about
+the fate of one of the most famous Builder
+
+
+=head1 Legends of the Fall
+
+=head2 Of the first things
+
+First there was Chaos
+
+Second there was Something and Nothing
+
+Third there was Dark and Light
+
+It is said that the Something and the Nothing would fight and that, the
+Dark and Light would fight also.
+
+This being told to me by a monk of Valriel, no longer in the order.
+
+=head2 On the nature of elemental essences
+
+It is said that of the four primary elements
+
+- there is earth which is.
+
+- there is water which changes.
+
+- there is air which moves.
+
+- there is fire which consumes.
+
+=head2 Overheard in a Narcopian brothel
+
+When Mother Earth was suckling her children
+
+sky suckled from her right teat
+
+but flame and sea fought to suckle from her left teat
+
+this is why they still fight to this day
+ 
+
+=head1 The Tale of Lord Butakis - The Lost Stars of the Lake, Volume I
+
+This story begins nearly four thousand years ago, when Kadriosa IV, King
+of Scorn, invaded the southern territories and pushed back the elven
+barbarians that lived there.
+
+The elvish people fled, and many of them settled in a place they called
+Vkovzerov, “The Country of the Three Waters”, as it was a rather
+unique meeting point between a river, a lake, and the sea. There they
+enjoyed a great prosperity, working with the local sprites to build
+Tashkeren-tah, The City of the Wooden Towers.
+
+Two centuries passed, then three. The elven princes of Tashkeren-tah had
+become powerful - and never in their hearts was the thirst of revenge
+and hatred towards the people of Scorn extinguished. Now very familiar
+with the various water creatures that inhabited their territory, they
+had developed great skills in commanding rivers, and the beasts inside
+them, and the creatures made from them. They knew that Scorn was highly
+dependent on its seaport, and they had planned for the many years their
+long life gave them to use the great power of water spirits to crush and
+flood the city.
+
+But despite all their accumulated knowledge, their powers were too limited
+to direct the most powerful entities of the seas, the Mouthes of the
+Mariner, none other than the Greater Aquomons.
+
+For a long time, they were hesitant to call those, as they were dangerous,
+treacherous creatures born during the darkest ages of the world, when
+Haemdel the Legendary was crushed and the Three Artifacts lost. But so
+strong was their flame of hatred that it soon burned the ropes of their
+carefulness. Using their most powerful summoning spell, they convocated
+one of the Greater Aquomons before them.
+
+“Who are you, you creatures with pointy ears, to dare awaken me from my
+dreams, me, Vërno, the Fourth Drop ?”
+
+Elven Princes exposed what they wanted to Vërno, and the creature seemed
+very interested at the idea of grabbing all the richesses of Scorn, and
+bringing them back into his dark kingdom of the depth of the sea.
+
+“Very well, said Vërno, but you know, I suppose, that we are all bound
+by the Law of Equilibrium, established by the gods themselves when the
+world was new and the seas infinite. And for my services, you’ll have to
+pay the price.”
+
+- And what do you want for a price ? - Well, my needs are rather
+modest. I’ll only claim a tenth of your own lands as a reward.”
+
+The Elven Princes quickly discussed the matter, and came to the conclusion
+that it was a rather fair price to pay - after all, their territories
+weren’t very large, and there was a lot of empty space all around, so
+it wasn’t really a problem for them. Maybe it would for a couple of
+peasants, but who cared about them more than of the vengeance against
+Scorn ?
+
+And so they answered: “The Fate of Scorn is Sealed, then. We accept.”
+
+What happened then is too long to tell in details here, as it belongs
+to another story. In short, Jovidjevska the elven girl, who had heard
+everything, travelled to Scorn, and convinced the city wizards of the
+truth of the menace. And when Vërno came to crush the city, they moved it
+two days into the future, and the water hand of the Fourth Drop grabbed
+only emptiness.
+
+Vërno, furious, came back to the Elves with a big smile, and told
+them: “I did what you wanted, and flooded the territory on which Scorn
+was established. Now I take my due price.”
+
+And that said, he selected the area on which the Elven City itself was
+built, and covered it with water, its inhabitants trapped and killed there
+without understanding what was happening.
+
+
+=head1 The Tale of Lord Butakis - The Lost Stars of the Lake, Volume II
+
+Two thousand years passed. The lineage of the kings of Scorn died,
+and another dynasty came, and another one after that. Wars were
+conducted. Wizards of Scorn fled, and most of the knowledge disappeared,
+and there were nothing but lakes and forests above the dead city of the
+elves.
+
+And then, a man came. Where did he come from ? Nobody knows for
+sure. Butakis was his name.
+
+Butakis was an ambitious young man. He had heard here and there strange
+pieces of a weird story, about a sunken city, about a dark pact, about the
+secret power of elves...
+
+For years, he studied the Arcanes, hunting for traces of the city, as he
+was convinced that the lost wisdom of the elves of Vkovzerov would give
+him a great power. And, finally, after 20 long years of searching, he
+concluded that the secret was in the area now called “Lake Country“.
+
+And there, he came, and there was a small house made of wood, and there
+was a tree, and there was a young elvish woman, dreaming at the stars,
+under the tree. And Butakis fell in love, and the elvish lady fell in
+love, and they both watched the stars. But soon, Butakis felt the need of
+getting back into action, and finding the lost city and getting its power.
+
+The lady told him: “The true wisdom is in those stars, and in that
+tree, and in that house you see. You’ll only find unrest by aiming for
+more.”
+
+But Butakis had already made up his mind, and he brought back engineers,
+and sappers, and miners, and they all worked to build a huge machine to
+pump the water, and discover the city. During ten years, Butakis worked on
+this, hoping that in the end, the elvish lady would be at his side, and
+that she would be his wife, princess of the restored city.
+
+During all the work, he was perpetually annoyed by a small group of
+bandits, lead by Twak the Red Fox. Twak and his men conducted a real
+guerilla war against Butakis, as they saw him as a danger for the whole
+country, because his plans were damaging nature and could also have awaken
+dark power sleeping in the sunken city. Several times, they sabotaged
+the machine, stole tools, raped engineers and designers. But each time,
+Butakis and his followers repaired the machines, engaged new people, and
+increased security.
+
+
+=head1 The Tale of Lord Butakis - The Lost Stars of the Lake, Volume III
+
+And now, ten years after the beginning, the work was completed, and he
+invited the elvish lady to come and see the accomplishment of a lifelong
+dream.
+
+The Elvish lady came, as beautiful as ever. And on the balcony at the top
+of the pump, they watched the stars, and she kissed him, and she when they
+were in the bed he had prepared for that very special night before the
+pumping started, she whispered at his ear.
+
+That, Butakis had waited for long, but he didn’t expect what she told
+him then.
+
+“Ten years you were away, and ten years I watched the stars with
+Twak. And now for him, and for he choose me and my heart, I’ll
+disappear, and so does your dream.”
+
+Butakis understood that he had been fooled, that she only kept her
+attention away enough for Twak and three of his faithful men to sabotage
+the pump. And so came a great rumble from the basis of the huge building,
+and so the huge engines exploded, and so was his dream reduced to smoke,
+smoke that still covers most of Lake Country nowadays. The Elvish lady
+probably died, as nobody saw her again after that. And so did the brave
+Twak, but his spirit survived in the wind - or so say some people.
+
+Butakis, so strange as it may look, managed to survive, although in bad
+shape, as one would expect. Disfigured, he survived until now using black
+magic or machines to keep him alive, and he tried to gather again men to
+restart his project. But it was now said all around that it was a doomed,
+broken man - and so he in fact was Lake country was said to be haunted by
+Twak, and several travellers saw a young elvish lady, watching the stars
+at night, under a tree, near the lake.
+
+Nobody ever accepted to work on the foolish project again. Butakis now
+awaits in his sinister castle, ruling a shattered kingdom lost in the fog
+his machine left behind. A tormented man, that is said to look in the
+direction of the lake from the highest tower of his castle, every night.
+
+But for him never came again the Elvish girl, and forever his soul stays
+alone. And so ends what we know about Butakis and Twak, and so dies my
+story.
+
+
+=head1 Wolfen the White, The White Hunter, The One Who Listens
+
+Wolfen is one of the three moons orbiting around The World. It is said to
+be the spirit of the legendary hunter Wolfen, who tracked Kalkaruntes, God
+of the Dragons, to is cavern and vainquished it.
+
+In astrology, Wolfen is the symbol of practical mind, swiftness and
+flexibility, but also cowardice and stealing. It is associated with the
+Earth element in Alchemancy. Wolfen is seen as a protector by hunters and
+rangers. Priests of Lythander think it is the reincarnation of the wolf
+that hunts with Lythander in the divine forests of Nerënna. Fenxes see it
+as Fixas, the one that saved them from the Humans so long ago.
+
+
+=head1 The Wizard School of Blue
+
+“Although the School disappeared with the Empire itself from The World,
+several wizards claimed to be the heirs of their ancient, secret wisdom,
+and nicknamed “the Blue Ones”, a reference to the color of the School
+Banner.” – Gros, the Irrelevant One
+
+
+=head1 The Great Heliograph
+
+A device made by Mer’Eric the Walker. Built on the highest point of the
+Brestian Hills, it is basically a giant magnifying glass, using a complex
+mechanism commanding several mirrors, that is able to concentrate the
+sunlight into a powerful beam. The concentrator is associated to a Sun
+Stone that can receive similar long-range light signals and transform
+them into pure thaumic energy. A keyboard is attached to a mechanical
+obturator, allowing a single operator to send coded messages to very long
+distances. A magically-powered scriptor writes any such incoming message
+capted by the Sun Stone.
+
+Although Mer’Eric only saw the Great Heliograph as a research project
+and as a way to communicate easily across huge distances, this device
+is also a powerful weapon that can burn nearly anything several miles
+away. This is probably why he decided to hide it in a sealed cave.
+
+A similar device was built by the Mad Mage of Scorn, but its fate is
+unknown.
+
+
+=head1 The Harelkirjan Sisters
+
+Also called the Twin Witches, they were two powerful women wizards; Herin
+was specialized in White Magic, while her sister Urdin was a master of the
+Black Art. Both of them tried to improve the life of the people living
+all around their house, and introduced the use of cats as spirit-watchers
+in Scorn. Unfortunately for them, they were burned by an angry Brestian
+fanatical mob for “illegal use of Arcane Powers”.
+
+
+=head1 Ilrya, The Mountain Huntress
+
+Ilrya was an elven spellcaster and huntress from the underground city of
+Eallera, that is venerated as a lesser god by most of the dwarves living
+in the Northern Territories. She killed the Bear of Snuddenrach in 3657EK.
+
+
+=head1 Irial, The Fast One, The Shy Light
+
+Irial is a lesser spirit of flashlight - the light that you can see when
+there’s thunder, for example. It is represented as a small, jumpy and
+fast fairy with a temperamental mood.
+
+
+=head1 Khorolizov
+
+One of the three great dwarven kingdoms. “Khorolizov” means “Green
+Gold”, which is a reference to the Green Sand, an alchemical component
+the dwarves of Khorolizov are the only ones to produce. It is probably
+the oldest of the three kingdoms, founded long before the Old Empire of
+Khelens reached the shores of the Continent.
+
+
+=head1 Kragi, The Crocodile One, Fish-Hunter
+
+Kragi is a very ancient spirit, representing the Dangerous Waters, and
+the creatures hidden in stagnant swamps. Kragi was already feared by
+Ancient Jiradittis, 2000 years before Khelens. A lot of river fishermen
+symbolically throw one fish out of what they gathered, to appease the
+spirit of Kragi so that the next fishing will go without trouble.
+
+
+=head1 Cromli, The Rocky One
+
+Crolmi is the Dwarven Spirit of Rocs and Mountains. It has no temples, as
+it is said that buildings made of stone anger him (it is like “building
+with his own flesh”).
+
+
+=head1 Glamdri, The Darkness Breaker, The Last Standing One
+
+Glamdri is a lesser spirit of light - it is said that candlelights are
+manifestations of Glamdri, for example.
+
+Glamdri doesn’t represent a magical light - more a spiritual light, the
+last pinch of hope in a desperate world. Glamdri also represents original
+thinking used to get out of difficult situations, as opposed to Sarikka -
+the Raging Fire - who tries to resolve those by extreme violence.
+
+
+=head1 Archmage Rhyz, (Entorinaas Durdennis Rhyz, Fourth Archmage of the Seat, Herdysenmark of Normania)
+
+Rhyz was an Archmage of the Blue School during the Old Days of the Empire.
+
+“(...)Unlike Dhelyy Olyy, his contemporary rival for the Seat, Rhyz
+focused mostly on closing the gap that existed between the art of fighting
+and the Arcane. While Dhelyy Olyy believed in the dual association of the
+Warrior and the Wizard, each with its own strength increased by a long
+specialization in their respective fields, Rhyz believed in the idea of
+a “super warriard”, a combination of a powerful wizard and a strong
+warrior. As such, he devised many items that increased the strength and
+combat capabilities of their wearers, hoping that wizard apprentices would
+so be more inclined to learn the battle skills of warriors.
+
+Unfortunately for Rhyz, most of his followers relied more and more on
+magical strength more than physical training, leaving them to a severe
+defeat at the Battle of Moriach, when Dhelyy used an anti-magic field over
+them.”
+
+(Quote from the Codex Simochusianus, Volume XVII)
+
+
+=head1 Archdaemonist Xebinon
+
+Xebinon was an Archmage and Daemonist that was since trapped by a demon of
+the 10th Circle in his mannor.
+
+It is said that Xebinon used the Crown of Hellfires to try to tame the
+Arch-daemon (and failed) - this is a crown that gave a lot of power, but
+drained the magical force of the wearer at the same time, making the spell
+regeneration more difficult. This was in fact a cursed, twisted artifact,
+created by daemons for people who were seeking short-term power, but would
+thus head directly for long-term soul slavery.
+
+Xebinon is sometimes called “The faceless one”, as it is said that the
+daemon trapped him by stealing his visage. This may explain why magical
+artifacts wearing his name are often helmets.
+
+
+=head1 Argoth, the Fish-City of the Two Towers
+
+Argoth is the name of a city that was located West of Scorn, in the middle
+of the sea, in an island that since sunken after the explosion of the
+volcano of the same name, in 674EK. It is called the City of the Two
+Towers, because two huge towers were built there, to guide the ships
+navigating on the oceans between Bigworld and Khelens.
+
+Argoth was a dwarven city built on one of the highest mountains known,
+rooted in the depths of the sea, and climbing so high in the skies that
+uneducated travelers said that it was a “stairway to the gods”. On the
+top of the mountain, the Imperial Governors built the Two Towers, who were
+visible from Scorn, about 200km far from them.
+
+The dwarves of Argoth had a terrible secret: in the depths of the caves
+below the mountains, they had trapped Hregalakhen, one of the last
+survivors of the race of the Ancient Dragons, who ruled Bigworld long
+before the time of humans. Unfortunately for the dwarves, the dragon got
+free for an unknown reason, and destroyed the city, the mountain crumbling
+and disappearing forever into the ocean. The Imperial authorities spread
+the false story of a volcanic eruption to limit the panic a free dragon
+the size of Hregalakhen would have caused in the population. The fate of
+the dragon is unknown to this day.
+
+
+=head1 Zormola, The Bashing One
+
+Zormola was a great female orcish warrior, that is sometimes considered
+as a lesser divinity by not only orcs, but also by southern barbarians or
+even dwarves of Herfensheim, who salute her courage on the battlefield.
+
+
+=head1 Morgul, The Tower Builder, The Dark Climber
+
+Morgul was a Dark Mage that built a tower in the hope of creating a bridge
+with the skies, so that demons could attack heavens. Fortunately for
+angels, a group of adventurers defeated him in 2374EK.
+
+
+=head1 Ranisha the Red, The Red Death, The One Who Commands
+
+Ranisha is one of the three moons orbiting around the world of
+Crossfire. It is said to be the spirit of the legendary warrior Ranisha,
+who was supposed to be an invincible general that was even able to
+vainquish gods themselves on the battlefield.
+
+In astrology, Ranisha is the symbol of violence, hatred, murder, but
+also of strength and courage. It is associated with the fire element in
+Alchemancy. Priests of Ruggili consider it as the watchful eye of their
+god.
+
+
+