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…		…
250		250
251	Around 350 EK: The Story of the Fourth Mariner is written by an unknown author.	251	Around 350 EK: The Story of the Fourth Mariner is written by an unknown author.
252		252
253	435 EK: Colony of Skorn Founded. It would eventualy become the city of Scorn.	253	435 EK: Colony of Skorn Founded. It would eventualy become the city of Scorn.
254		254
255	711 EK:
256
257	The outpost of Heaven’s Gate is founded.	255	711 EK: The outpost of Heaven’s Gate is founded.
258		256
259	=head2 Volume II: Second Millenia EK	257	=head2 Volume II: Second Millenia EK
260		258
261	1223 EK: Ekkis the Drunk leads a disastrous crusade against the Sirens in the southern seas.	259	1223 EK: Ekkis the Drunk leads a disastrous crusade against the Sirens in the southern seas.
262		260
…		…
512	the thaumic bomb, a device storing a massive amount of mana and releasing	510	the thaumic bomb, a device storing a massive amount of mana and releasing
513	it in a violent explosion - such an explosion actually killed the	511	it in a violent explosion - such an explosion actually killed the
514	unfortunate Melficef himself.	512	unfortunate Melficef himself.
515		513
516		514
		515	=head1 The Kingdom of Scorn
517		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
		631	=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	=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	=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	=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

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