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…		…
3	=begin comment	3	=begin comment
4		4
5	This is the source for some of the books in crossfire, at least, it should become one.	5	This is the source for some of the books in crossfire, at least, it should become one.
6		6
7	Authors:	7	Authors:
		8
8	Gorlin <gorlin@freibier.htu.tuwien.ac.at>	9	Gorlin <gorlin@freibier.htu.tuwien.ac.at>
9	Mark Wedel <mwedel@scruznet.com>	10	Mark Wedel <mwedel@scruznet.com>
10	Marc Lehmann <crossfire@schmorp.de>	11	Marc Lehmann <crossfire@schmorp.de>
11	The Crossfire Wiki	12	Lalo Martins <lol.martins@gmail.com>
		13	Yann Chachkoff <yann.chachkoff@mailandnews.com>
		14	Gros
		15
		16	many stories taken from unknown authors at The Crossfire Wiki
		17	http://wiki.metalforge.net/
12		18
13	Each =head1 should become its own book.	19	Each =head1 should become its own book.
14		20
15	=end comment	21	=end comment
16		22
…		…
292		298
293	=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis.	299	=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis.
294		300
295	=head2 Volume VI: Sixth Millenia EK	301	=head2 Volume VI: Sixth Millenia EK
296		302
297	5524 EK: The Meteomage Grab of Ledh fails an experiment, making the weather mad for a while, an event remembered as “The Weather Madness”.	303	5524 EK: The Meteomage Grab of Ledh fails an experiment, making the weather mad for a while, an event remembered as "The Weather Madness".
298		304
299	Late LVIth Century EK: The Great Schism between the Simplifists led by Mish the Toon and the Stabilists: The Sedition Wars.	305	Late LVIth Century EK: The Great Schism between the Simplifists led by Mish the Toon and the Stabilists: The Sedition Wars.
300		306
301	5581 EK: Battle of the Glowing Crystal: the Order of the Careful Coders is disbanded.	307	5581 EK: Battle of the Glowing Crystal: the Order of the Careful Coders is disbanded.
302		308
303	5598 EK: The Simplifists exile themselves into the Pocket Dimension of Daï-Moh-Nî, “The World With a Future”, in Ancient Daigojij Language.	309	5598 EK: The Simplifists exile themselves into the Pocket Dimension of Daï-Moh-Nî, "The World With a Future", in Ancient Daigojij Language.
304		310
305	=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis.	311	=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis.
306		312
307	=head2 Volume VII: Seventh Millenia EK	313	=head2 Volume VII: Seventh Millenia EK
308		314
…		…
321	=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis.	327	=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis.
322		328
323	=head2 Volume IX: Ninth Millenia EK	329	=head2 Volume IX: Ninth Millenia EK
324		330
325	8009 EK: Euthville is destroyed.	331	8009 EK: Euthville is destroyed.
		332
		333
		334	=head1 The Sultanate of Darcap
		335
		336	Isolated from the rest of the region by an extensive mountain range to the
		337	south, and possessing a massive natural harbour, Darcap is a small, but
		338	easily defensible town, dominated by a pair of powerful guilds. The town
		339	is also noted for its circus, whose reputation draws visitors from all
		340	over the world.
		341
		342
		343	=head1 Santo Dominion
		344
		345	Santo Dominion sits in a small bay to the north of Scorn. It is an
		346	important port of call for ships travelling to and from Scorn and is
		347	also somewhat famous for its Opera and its Litle House of Horrors, two
		348	magnificent cultural buildings you would not expect in so small a town as
		349	Santo Dominion.
326		350
327		351
328	=head1 Euthville History	352	=head1 Euthville History
329		353
330	The Ruins of Euthville can be found just off the Imperial Highway north of	354	The Ruins of Euthville can be found just off the Imperial Highway north of
…		…
335	The Codex Skudensis tells that Euthville was founded by the Euthanasia the	359	The Codex Skudensis tells that Euthville was founded by the Euthanasia the
336	Builder, hence its name.	360	Builder, hence its name.
337		361
338	=head2 Past and Destruction	362	=head2 Past and Destruction
339		363
340	Ah, Euthville - “City of the Pearl”, in Old Hemdalite, has indeed a	364	Ah, Euthville - "City of the Pearl", in Old Hemdalite, has indeed a
341	rather sad story!!	365	rather sad story!!
342		366
343	If you went there about half a millenia ago, you’d have seen something	367	If you went there about half a millenia ago, you’d have seen something
344	very different than the field of haunted ruins it has since become. It	368	very different than the field of haunted ruins it has since become. It
345	was initially founded by a handful of industrious, clever dwarves, that	369	was initially founded by a handful of industrious, clever dwarves, that
…		…
380	young, but the story didn’t kept the record of his name, and some now	404	young, but the story didn’t kept the record of his name, and some now
381	think it is because he was damned. Who knows? The Boy sat in the middle	405	think it is because he was damned. Who knows? The Boy sat in the middle
382	of the city, playing with his flute, laughing whenever he saw one of the	406	of the city, playing with his flute, laughing whenever he saw one of the
383	demonstrations the powerful wizards and engineers failing again and again.	407	demonstrations the powerful wizards and engineers failing again and again.
384		408
385	After several days, the Commander noticed the Boy, and said: “who	409	After several days, the Commander noticed the Boy, and said: "who
386	are you to laugh, you, who has only a flute ?” “I have only a	410	are you to laugh, you, who has only a flute ?" "I have only a
387	flute for sure - but there’s more in my simple pipe than in those	411	flute for sure - but there’s more in my simple pipe than in those
388	legions of wizards.” “Really ?” said the Commander, half-laughing,	412	legions of wizards." "Really ?" said the Commander, half-laughing,
389	half-curious, “so you think you can solve my challenge ?”	413	half-curious, "so you think you can solve my challenge ?"
390		414
391	The Boy smiled. “Not only I can, but I shall - and my price will be	415	The Boy smiled. "Not only I can, but I shall - and my price will be
392	quite acceptable to give you the energy you need.” “And that would	416	quite acceptable to give you the energy you need." "And that would
393	be...?” - “A new pipe.” came the reply “That one is becoming	417	be...?" - "A new pipe." came the reply "That one is becoming
394	old.” “Agree, you have your chance.”	418	old." "Agree, you have your chance."
395		419
396	The Boy then started to play an amused melody. It sounded like an	420	The Boy then started to play an amused melody. It sounded like an
397	invitation to a great feast, the opening of a meeting where everybody was	421	invitation to a great feast, the opening of a meeting where everybody was
398	invited. And then came from earth itself sounds of steps, climbing from	422	invited. And then came from earth itself sounds of steps, climbing from
399	the depth. The fountain that stood in the middle of the place crumbled,	423	the depth. The fountain that stood in the middle of the place crumbled,
400	leaving a great hole from which flames emerged. But the fire seemed to	424	leaving a great hole from which flames emerged. But the fire seemed to
401	dance at the rythm of the music itself.	425	dance at the rythm of the music itself.
402		426
403	The Boy then said to the Commander: “As long as you keep playing for	427	The Boy then said to the Commander: "As long as you keep playing for
404	the Demons there, at least 23 hours each day, you’ll get them to make	428	the Demons there, at least 23 hours each day, you’ll get them to make
405	whatever you need.” And he gave them the score, took a brand new silver	429	whatever you need." And he gave them the score, took a brand new silver
406	flute, and left, and never was seen again at Euthville.	430	flute, and left, and never was seen again at Euthville.
407		431
408	At first, things seemed fine, and the Commander couldn’t believe his	432	At first, things seemed fine, and the Commander couldn’t believe his
409	luck, as a pipe was a feeble price to pay for such a powerful recipe of	433	luck, as a pipe was a feeble price to pay for such a powerful recipe of
410	prosperity. Who wouldn’t want to tame the Demons themselves? Quickly,	434	prosperity. Who wouldn’t want to tame the Demons themselves? Quickly,
…		…
462	The Sannista is a legendary flying boat that was powered by the reaction	486	The Sannista is a legendary flying boat that was powered by the reaction
463	of a fire and a water elemental. It was built by the tenth Commander of	487	of a fire and a water elemental. It was built by the tenth Commander of
464	Euthville, Farkennis, as a gift for the 18th Birthday of his daughter,	488	Euthville, Farkennis, as a gift for the 18th Birthday of his daughter,
465	Sannista. That’s the boat that was stolen by Fax when he fled from	489	Sannista. That’s the boat that was stolen by Fax when he fled from
466	Euthville, and that he used to get to Khelens. Giusitta the Verbous then	490	Euthville, and that he used to get to Khelens. Giusitta the Verbous then
467	sailed it back to the Continent, and hid it “somewhere in the mountains	491	sailed it back to the Continent, and hid it "somewhere in the mountains
468	of Euth”.	492	of Euth".
469		493
470	So I *guess* she would have put it there, although I’m not *sure*. Many	494	So I *guess* she would have put it there, although I’m not *sure*. Many
471	people thought the story was speaking about the mountains just east of the	495	people thought the story was speaking about the mountains just east of the
472	ruined city, but now that I’ve discovered those two caves, I’d rather	496	ruined city, but now that I’ve discovered those two caves, I’d rather
473	bet on them - it seems more logical.	497	bet on them - it seems more logical.
…		…
477		501
478	I, Forag the little-known, have invested my lifetime into exploring	502	I, Forag the little-known, have invested my lifetime into exploring
479	the various names of this, our World. In this tome I wrote down all my	503	the various names of this, our World. In this tome I wrote down all my
480	knowledge. Be careful with it, else it might overwhelm you, as it did me!	504	knowledge. Be careful with it, else it might overwhelm you, as it did me!
481		505
482	In Khelens and most of its territories, it was named “The Earth”,	506	In Khelens and most of its territories, it was named "The Earth",
483	while the major western landmass was called “The Continent” while the	507	while the major western landmass was called "The Continent" while the
484	eastern landmass was called "the Wilderness".	508	eastern landmass was called "the Wilderness".
485		509
486	Fendrakis used “Raxida”, which is also the name they gave to the Fox	510	Fendrakis used "Raxida", which is also the name they gave to the Fox
487	Lady, Mother of All Things, deity.	511	Lady, Mother of All Things, deity.
488		512
489	Elves traditionally use “Eänella”, which translates as “The Land of	513	Elves traditionally use "Eänella", which translates as "The Land of
490	Green”	514	Green"
491		515
492	Dwarves of Khorolizov use “Herdankaupf”, “Country of the Horses”,	516	Dwarves of Khorolizov use "Herdankaupf", "Country of the Horses",
493	which is a reference to their mythology (see the legend of the Twelve Days	517	which is a reference to their mythology (see the legend of the Twelve Days
494	for that)	518	for that)
495		519
496	The Orcish name is “Knâgsh-Ishzeh”, “Rotten Branch”	520	The Orcish name is "Knâgsh-Ishzeh", "Rotten Branch"
497		521
498	The people of the Old Wall, used the name “Harinappa”, “Bottom of	522	The people of the Old Wall, used the name "Harinappa", "Bottom of
499	the Pit”, to designate the world.	523	the Pit", to designate the world.
500		524
501	Most people nowadays use the old Khelenti name ("The Earth") or its direct	525	Most people nowadays use the old Khelenti name ("The Earth") or its direct
502	translation in local languages/idioms.	526	translation in local languages/idioms.
503		527
504		528
…		…
541	kingdom.	565	kingdom.
542		566
543		567
544	=head1 History of Lake Country	568	=head1 History of Lake Country
545		569
546	Lake Country originaly was where the elves who where exiled from the north	570	Lake Country originally 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	571	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	572	Vkovzerov. The major elven city of Vkovzerov was Tashkeren-tah. It was
549	destroyed by a Water arch-elemental in 4453EK.	573	destroyed by a Water arch-elemental in 4453EK.
550		574
551		575
…		…
626	of their own biggest creation, The Thaumic Gear. The explosion of the Gear	650	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	651	shattered the whole east of the world, and many territories forever sank
628	into the ocean, including Kari Kori, the Technomages’ city.	652	into the ocean, including Kari Kori, the Technomages’ city.
629		653
630		654
		655	=head1 Juradiths Dissidents
		656
		657	Juradiths, named after Juradith, Minor Spirit of Equity, were a group of
		658	activists that wanted to turn the Kingdom of Scorn into a republic in the
		659	second-half of the XXXIVth century EK. They succeeded at overthrowing King
		660	Karatan III, but their vengeful, fanatical excesses quickly turned most
		661	Scornians against them. When trying to recapture the city, their army was
		662	defeated by the Scornian Militia with the help of a couple city mages, who
		663	flooded the Juradiths into a magically created lake.
		664
		665	Juradiths still exist as a small political faction today, although
		666	they’ve long traded their violent ways for some weird traditions whose
		667	origins and meaning are now mostly forgotten.
		668
		669
		670	=head1 The Gaean Legend of Creation
		671
		672	=head2 Age of The Void
		673
		674	In the beginning there was Gaea, the force of nature. SHE filled the whole
		675	of existence with her being. After a few billion years, this became to
		676	grow boring and lonely, so SHE decided to have children.
		677
		678	At first SHE created a host of forces like Herself, eternal and
		679	divine. But with all their power, they couldn’t get along with each
		680	other, so Gaea decided that wasn’t a good idea. SHE decreed that from
		681	that point on all creatures but HER would have a limited lifetime. But
		682	most of HER first children disagreed, and went away to an unknown
		683	location.
		684
		685	=head2 Age of The Small World
		686
		687	So Gaea created a small world and populated it with limited creatures -
		688	animals and plants of all sorts. For a few million years she was happy
		689	to watch them. But her remaining faithful children were growing restless
		690	and wanted to make their own experimentations too. Finally SHE got bored
		691	again, as her creations weren’t self-aware and therefore weren’t
		692	much of a company. But SHE was also curious, because her creatures had
		693	developed many different styles of living, and SHE desired to compare
		694	them.
		695
		696	And Gaea destroyed the original world, breaking it in four new ones.
		697
		698	=head2 Age of The Four Worlds
		699
		700	The First world was dedicated to harmony. It was populated with creatures
		701	that preferred to coexist peacefully and contemplate. Two of Her children
		702	were particularly enamoured of this world and decided to live there.
		703
		704	The Second world was dedicated to construction. It was populated with
		705	creatures that liked to change the environment around them, especially
		706	ants, bees and beavers, and filled with wood and metal and stone usable as
		707	raw material. Two of Her children found the idea fascinating and decided
		708	to live in this world.
		709
		710	The Third world was dedicated to war and strife. While all the three
		711	other worlds had equal shares of light and darkness, the Third world had
		712	as much light as its inhabitants desired - and it was populated with
		713	creatures that loved and hated light, in equal parts. So these creatures
		714	quickly discoreved they could influence the ambient light by battling each
		715	other. Two of Her children decided to live in this world: one because he
		716	loved light, and another because he hated his brother and therefore wished
		717	for darkness to prevail.
		718
		719	The Fourth world, finally, was dedicated to predation and to survival of
		720	the fittest. It was populated with fierce creatures and predators. Two of
		721	Her children believed this was the best way to live and decided to live in
		722	this world.
		723
		724	After the worlds were created, only four children of Gaea still preferred
		725	to live in the Void: two because they weren’t interested in any of those
		726	worlds, and two because they liked all of them and preferred to visit them
		727	whenever they wished.
		728
		729	=head2 Age of Awakening
		730
		731	And for a few million years Gaea delighted in observing the differences
		732	between the worlds. But still the creatures were not self-aware, and
		733	still SHE was lonely. So when Her children came and said they were lonely
		734	and wanted to create more interesting creatures, SHE understood them and
		735	quickly allowed them and gave them the power to do it.
		736
		737	So on the First world, one of the Gods who lived there created a race of
		738	beings that loved peace and wildlife, and called them Elves. The other
		739	God in that world didn’t choose to create followers, but she teached
		740	language to the Elves of her brother, and when the Elves larned the art of
		741	naming, they named their creator Lythander, and in exchange for his name
		742	he gifted them with luck.
		743
		744	On the Second world, one of the Gods created a race of builders and named
		745	them Dwarves. His children, in turn, named him Mostrai. His sister, in
		746	turn, decided not to create, but teach some of the dwarves (the ones
		747	willing to learn) about magic and the powers of the gods. The other
		748	dwarves, however, didn’t accept their changed siblings, so they went off
		749	to live by themselves and became known as gnomes.
		750
		751	On the Third world, of course, none of the resident Gods wanted to
		752	cooperate with the other. Both created their own races: the God who fought
		753	for darkness created many kinds of fierce, brutal monsters he named
		754	"Demons", while the God who fought for light created many kinds of
		755	skillful, swift warriors he named "Angels". Befittingly, these Gods
		756	were named by their enemies, and not their followers: the demons gave the
		757	light god the name of "Valriel", and the angels gave their enemy god
		758	the name "Gorokh".
		759
		760	And on the Fourth world, the patron Gods kept true to their philosophy
		761	and created not one, but innumerable races, in the hope that one of these
		762	would prove the strongest and most worth. So they created goblins, trolls,
		763	ogres, and not least, dragons. The Gods became known as Gnarg, the Patron
		764	of Assassins, Ruggilli, the Consuming Worm, and Ixalovh.
		765
		766	The races in the four worlds lived on for millenia, and developed, and
		767	grew, and all worlds flourished. The eight patron gods believed this was
		768	proof that they were right, and the way they lived was the best one, while
		769	the two traveling gods rather believed that the success of all the worlds
		770	was instead proof of the wisdom and power of their Mother.
		771
		772	=head2 Age of Death
		773
		774	But at some point things started to go wrong. Angels and demons would
		775	start to become priests or scholars or merchants and preach against the
		776	war. Dwarves and gnomes would start go grow sedentary and admire the
		777	crafts of the past instead of building new ones. Goblinoids would suddenly
		778	develop a taste for vegetables and become farmers, while dragons would
		779	decide that developing their magics was more important than finding
		780	food. But what was wrong was a mistery that would only begin to unfold
		781	when the High King of the elves, one day, was devoured by a dragon.
		782
		783	It was then that the Gods discovered that the worlds were not anymore
		784	completely isolated from one another. Someone had, somehow, teached all
		785	kinds of creatures how to follow the paths left by the traveling gods -
		786	flying creatures would ride the cross-world whirlwinds of the thunder god,
		787	and others would learn to tread the strange winding paths of the walking
		788	god. And as creatures became aware of different ways, things started to go
		789	wrong.
		790
		791	Promptly, the Gods tried to close all portals - but it was too late. The
		792	art of magic was already known in the four worlds, and strong enough to
		793	travel between them. And the one peaceful elves were ignited, and declared
		794	war on the dragons, goblins and trolls.
		795
		796	While a mighty army of elven warriors crossed over to the Fourth world,
		797	dwarves and gnomes found the First world almost deserted and full of wood
		798	and metal for the dwarves, and holy, peaceful places for the gnomes.
		799
		800	The part of the small peoples who remained on the Second world was faced
		801	with new problems when the demons decided they were ripe for tempting (if
		802	they could get dwarven builders and gnome sorcerers on their side, the
		803	tide of the war would turn). The angels, of course, took upon themselves
		804	to protect these strange people from their eternal enemies. So as their
		805	attention slowly shifted from the Third world to the Second, soon only
		806	the weakest of their kind were in their original world, where they began
		807	to fall prey to hungry refugees from the Fourth world, who discovered how
		808	tasty angel/demon flesh can be.
		809
		810	And while the Gods were busy trying to even understand this chaos, the
		811	dead began to come back.
		812
		813	Their leader was Hagguth, the Elven High King who had been eaten by a
		814	dragon. He came back as a powerful spectre, leading a powerful army of
		815	ghosts, wraiths, skeletons and zombies in a massive attack to the Second
		816	and Third worlds. Their goal was to kill as many dwarves, gnomes, angels
		817	and demons as possible, to strenghten the number of their own undead host.
		818
		819	And when some elven wizards tried to steal the power of the undead to
		820	their own ends, they became the first vampires, lichs and demilichs -
		821	half living, half undead, but on the side of Hagguth and his misterious
		822	masters.
		823
		824	It was only when a group of reasonable elves, dwarves, gnomes and dragons
		825	managed to get together and talk, that it became clear who these masters
		826	could be. Till this point, everyone was blaming some (any) god other
		827	than the one they worshipped. But there was only one, obvious answer:
		828	the Banished Gods, the Forgotten Children who left ages ago because
		829	they didn’t agree with he concept of death, were back, and enacting
		830	revenge by subverting death itself. In later days, these Gods would become
		831	collectively known as the Devourers.
		832
		833	Knowing the enemy was not the solution to the war, but was a start. This
		834	group, slowly, was able to form a resistence against the undead armies,
		835	and gradually turn other people to their side. Finally, after 23 hundred
		836	years, they managed to break into the horrible fortress Hagguth had built
		837	in the First world and kill (again) the undead king.
		838
		839	The chaos began to gradually settle down after that. But then the
		840	survivors were faced with a new problem: almost nobody was interested in
		841	perverting to the way things used to be.
		842
		843	Yes. Entire villages of elves were settled in corners of the Fourth world
		844	for many generations, and dwarven guilds had business troughout the
		845	worlds.
		846
		847	=head2 The Big World
		848
		849	So Gaea, in Her wisdom, gave the only possible solution to the
		850	problem. SHE took the four worlds in Her hand, and crushed them
		851	together. Then SHE looked at the single world she created, and at the
		852	creatures of Her children, and decided to again, after millions of years,
		853	create Her own followers. Thus SHE created the humans, a young race eager
		854	to explore and chart this young world.
		855
		856	It took generations for the inhabitants of the resulting world to figure
		857	out its geography and for families to reunite; when this finally happened,
		858	the stories about four different worlds becoming one were already legends
		859	not everybody believed. But still, for some reason, everyone agrees to
		860	call this world - the only one they know - Bigworld.
		861
		862
		863	=head1 The Book of Valriel
		864
		865	In the beginning, for an infinite time, all that existed was a pure light,
		866	and that light had a name, and that name was Valriel.
		867
		868	But part of the light was not content to be alone, and so did Valriel put
		869	this part of Himself aside and did He allow this part to have independent
		870	life; and this part was everything that wasn’t content, and as it
		871	wasn’t light, it surely was the darkness; and the darkness took upon
		872	itself the name of Gorokh.
		873
		874	And for many times more time than a mortal can count, Gorokh was the
		875	companion and the servant of Valriel. But Gorokh was not content, because
		876	that was his nature, and he plotted a way to change everything. And
		877	although filled with hidden motives, Gorokh’s words were always very
		878	wise, so that Valriel would hear them. So it was that Valriel followed the
		879	wise counsel of the Shadow and created a world full of living things to be
		880	His new companions and servants.
		881
		882	And as soon as Valriel had millions of new companions and servants, Gorokh
		883	said, "so now you won’t need me anymore, I can leave and find my own
		884	companions and servants". And this made Valriel unhappy because He was
		885	the only and true Lord, but Gorokh wouldn’t recognize that, and so it
		886	was Gorokh who eventually taught men to rule over other men instead of
		887	paying respect to the one true ruler of all.
		888
		889	So did Valriel upon the departure of his first servant, create new
		890	servants modeled after His beauty and grace, and elf and man and dwarf he
		891	created them. But the Shadow did feel envy and wished those followers for
		892	himself, so he came to them in the night and whispered in their ears, and
		893	some of them were tempted and started to worship and serve the Shadow.
		894
		895	But not enough were seduced by his promises. So he decided to be many,
		896	not one. And he wore different shapes and again he whispered in the ears
		897	of Valriel’s creations. And to the elves he was Lythander of the bow
		898	that never misses, and the elves did not see that if a bow never misses,
		899	and it isn’t the work of the Lord, then it can only be the work of the
		900	Enemy. And to the dwarves he wore the name of Mostrai, of the fire, of the
		901	forge, the builder of things, for the fire and the desire to change was
		902	the true face of Gorokh.
		903
		904	And he taught the men to wage war upon each other, and scared the warriors
		905	with thunder and lightning, and they would call him Sorig. And those
		906	who weren’t scared, he tempted with weapons and glory, and wore the
		907	beautiful face of a woman, and they called him Valkyrie. And as they
		908	killed each other, Gorokh was happy.
		909
		910	And much more he did. He taught women to heal and to make the soil grow
		911	crop, and they called him Gaea, and believed that Gaea created the world
		912	and Valriel was but a minor god, and by spreading this lie they made
		913	Gorokh happy. And he taught the children of Valriel to write, so that they
		914	could spread his lies further, and they called him Hekanis for that. And
		915	he taught them the abomination of filthy magic to pervert and corrupt
		916	the creation of the Lord, and to liken themselves to gods, and the evil
		917	souls that followed this path called him Byd. And also he taught elf and
		918	man and dwarf to brew alcohol and other inebriating things and to laugh
		919	in the face of Valriel and throw parties that put shame to the eye of the
		920	Lord, and he taught them all that under human guise, and they called their
		921	teacher Joyee.
		922
		923	So did Valriel look upon the world He created and so did He feel great
		924	sorrow and great shame for what had happened to it. And so did he create
		925	a new race of servants, more powerful and more faithful than any other,
		926	imbued with the mission of hunting down and undoing the work of the Enemy,
		927	and this race He called Angels.
		928
		929	But again Gorokh felt envy because the servants of the Light were more
		930	powerful than his own, and again he went to some of the angels in the
		931	night and whispered temptation in their ears, and some turned to his foul
		932	purposes and fell from grace. So did Gorokh give them new shapes, to more
		933	liken them to himself, red with hate and wearing horns to symbolize their
		934	envy, and they became demons. And the plan of Valriel was once again
		935	spoiled by the venom of the enemy, because angels had to step aside from
		936	their assigned mission to fight the demons and keep them from spreading
		937	the evil in their dark hearts.
		938
		939	And Gorokh did find great fun in changing Valriel’s creation into a new
		940	race, and so did he get elf and man and dwarf and corrupted them with
		941	his dark will, and they became goblin and orc and kobold, and troll, and
		942	giant, and ogre, and many other abominations to the eye of the Creator,
		943	and Gorokh wore the name of Gnarg to these new creations and delighted in
		944	watching the destruction and sorrow they spread in the world.
		945
		946	And in the ultimate act of defiance, the Shadow decided to create servants
		947	for him, create new life himself to liken him more to the Great Lord. And
		948	he assembled the foulest magic and the darkest hunger he could find and
		949	shaped these into the most horrible monsters he could imagine, and gave
		950	them life, and called them dragons, and sent them forth to eat the flesh
		951	of the creation of Valriel. And the dragons did call him Ruggilli and much
		952	did they please him with the terror they spread.
		953
		954	But the light and the love of Valriel knew no end, so He decided to
		955	fight evil with good, and He instructed His faithful servants to do only
		956	the good, to spread the word of His love. And by doing that did He win
		957	back many servants who saw that the righteous is more powerful than the
		958	might. Much did this enrage the Shadow, and the Shadow did respond by
		959	raising the dead themselves from their graves to fight the forces of
		960	good. Even when the dead did not win, they did force the living to abandon
		961	good in favor of war, and in doing so they would too abandon Valriel. So
		962	once again he shadow was happy.
		963
		964	Valriel finally did decide, with much sorrow in His infinite heart, that
		965	the only way to make His creation safe again was to destroy the Shadow
		966	himself. So did He cast His holy word upon His creation to banish the work
		967	of the Enemy. But the Enemy knew what would happen beforehand, due to the
		968	evil magic of his followers, and he created a safe refuge for their evil,
		969	in a world created entirely of pure evil and hate, that he had set aside
		970	from creation and called Hell. And soon enough did Gorokh find ways back
		971	into the world of the creation of Light, and resumed his foul work of evil
		972	and dissent and terror.
		973
		974	So did Valriel gather together His faithful and he did gave them some time
		975	to put the love for the Lord back in the hearts of as many of His children
		976	as they could. And very soon will He again call upon the faithful, and
		977	then will He give the faithful an entire new world for them to live in the
		978	love of Valriel. And Having done that He will turn to this world, and to
		979	Hell, and to Gorokh, and He will destroy them completely with the force of
		980	His will, putting an end once and for all in the war and the evil.
		981
		982
		983	=head1 The Book of Gorokh
		984
		985	In the beginning, for an infinite time, all that existed was an empty
		986	and cold light. And the light was content to be and fill and control
		987	everything that was. But it is not right for light to be cold, and the
		988	part of the light that should have been warm, longed for warmth and for
		989	things to see and for things to do.
		990
		991	So did the light put aside the warmth, so that the fire would not disturb
		992	their cold peace. And the fire looked unto the light and called the light
		993	Valriel, the controlling father, and the fire called himself Gorokh, the
		994	Son with a Will.
		995
		996	And for many times more time than a mortal can count, Gorokh was the
		997	companion and the servant of Valriel. But Gorokh was not content, because
		998	that was his nature, and he plotted a way to change everything. And fueled
		999	by the fire of his will, Gorokh’s words were always very wise, so
		1000	Valriel would always hear them. So it was that Valriel followed the wise
		1001	counsel of the Fire and created a world full of living things to be their
		1002	new companions and servants.
		1003
		1004	And as soon as Valriel had millions of new companions and servants, Gorokh
		1005	said, "so now you won’t need me anymore, I can leave and find my own
		1006	companions and servants". And this made Valriel unhappy because he
		1007	believed he should be only and true Lord, but Gorokh couldn’t agree
		1008	to that, and so it was Gorokh who eventually taught men to rule over
		1009	themselves instead of paying respect to one self-appointed ruler of all.
		1010
		1011	So did Valriel, while Gorokh was away exploring the wonders of the new
		1012	world, create new servants of flesh and bone to adore him blindly, and elf
		1013	and man and dwarf he created them. And seeing this beautiful new creation
		1014	Gorokh wanted a part of it for himself, and he presented himself to them,
		1015	and some of them liked him and became his follower.
		1016
		1017	But Valriel was afraid that, with two gods to adore, some of his creation
		1018	could find it natural to spread creation in two equal halves, and he did
		1019	want more than an equal half. So he decided to wear different shapes so
		1020	that his children would believe him to be many, not one, and then he
		1021	would be able to get more than his fair share. And so did he create many
		1022	false gods for his children to adore. And even when Gorokh would bring
		1023	the wonderful gifts conceived by his powerful will, such as the forge,
		1024	weapons, medicine, agriculture, writing, magic, and wine and booze and
		1025	music, even then would Valriel create a false god to pose as the giver of
		1026	those gifts and take the glory for himself.
		1027
		1028	And since Gorokh kept inventing new presents, Valriel became angry,
		1029	because he doesn’t like change and he doesn’t like any good that
		1030	doesn’t come from him. And so did he create a new race of servants, more
		1031	powerful and more prone to following him blindly than any other, imbued
		1032	with the mission of hunting down and undoing the work of the Fire, and
		1033	this race He called Angels.
		1034
		1035	But again Gorokh found a cunning way to defend his work, and again he
		1036	went to some of the angels in the night and whispered promises of power
		1037	in their ears, and some turned to his great purposes and joined him. So
		1038	did Gorokh give them new shapes, to more liken them to himself, red with
		1039	the fire of his will and wearing horns to symbolize their power, and they
		1040	became demons. And the plan of Valriel was once again spoiled by the
		1041	genius of the Fire, because angels had to step aside from their assigned
		1042	mission to fight the demons and keep them from spreading the word of
		1043	Gorokh.
		1044
		1045	And Gorokh did find great fun in changing Valriel’s creation into a new
		1046	race, and so did he get elf and man and dwarf and tried to imbue them
		1047	with greater strength, and they became goblin and orc and kobold, and
		1048	troll, and giant, and ogre, and many other strong creatures. But their
		1049	intelligences greatly suffered from the process, and he was unhappy with
		1050	his creation, and while he was looking for a way to help them did Valriel
		1051	come to them under the guise of Gnarg and he told them to spread great
		1052	destruction and sorrow in the world so that the creation of Gorokh would
		1053	seem foul in the eyes of the living.
		1054
		1055	So the Fire decided the creation of Valriel was imperfect and he had to
		1056	create his own new life. So he assembled the most powerful magic and the
		1057	strongest will and mightiest strength he could find and shaped these
		1058	into the most magnificent creatures he could imagine, and gave them
		1059	life, and called them dragons, and sent them forth to take the world for
		1060	themselves. But while the dragons are still the greatest pride of Gorokh,
		1061	many of them have abandoned him to serve yet another disguise of Valriel.
		1062
		1063	And upon seeing the dragons, Valriel declared war and set his servants
		1064	upon the task of killing all the most valuables of Gorokh they could
		1065	find. Gorokh was consumed with sorrow, and devised a way to spare these
		1066	faithful servants, by allowing them to raise again from the grave even
		1067	after their deaths. But the servants of Valriel found these "un-dead"
		1068	an even greater abomination, and set forth to hunt them, and Valriel
		1069	delighted in the war and carnage that ensued.
		1070
		1071	So did Gorokh, his fire dim with sorrow, decide to create a whole world
		1072	for him and his faithful. And this world he called Hell. But when he was
		1073	slowly bringing his faithful to the new world, Valriel treacherously
		1074	brought down a great fury upon the world, killing most of the faithful
		1075	that were left behind. So the Fire was finally enraged and decided to wage
		1076	the war that the Light wanted. And he opened many passages into the world
		1077	so that his armies could enter and destroy the minions of Valriel. And to
		1078	this war we are all called to chose sides and fight.
		1079
		1080
		1081	=head1 The Dwarven Creation Tale
		1082
		1083	A play by Shakesdor the Dwarf.
		1084
		1085	- What... where we come from? You’re not old enough for this
		1086	conversation.
		1087
		1088	- No, uncle, I mean as a whole... the world, the dwarves, the others.
		1089
		1090	- Ah. I see. (Big gulp of beer.) You mean, NOW?
		1091
		1092	- Yes, please. Pleeeease?
		1093
		1094	- *sigh* all right, all right. It goes like this.
		1095
		1096	First there was the Ore and the Forge. The Ore is what existence looked
		1097	like before it existed. The Forge was the untapped will, the potential in
		1098	the Ore to be everything that is, ever will be, or won’t.
		1099
		1100	Over a span of time that is not time, because time wasn’t forged yet,
		1101	some tiny scraps of Ore drifted into the Forge. A piece of the Forge
		1102	merged with that Ore and became sentient. He has many names, but we call
		1103	him Mostrai.
		1104
		1105	He spent ages of time-that-was-not-time exploring, learning the nature
		1106	of Ore and Forge and himself. Till he decided it was time to start
		1107	forging. And then, first of all, he forged time, so that he could separate
		1108	after from before, and so that he could exist absolutely - as opposed to,
		1109	at the same "time", existing and not being created yet, which was the
		1110	case if time didn’t exist.
		1111
		1112	Then, with things in order, he began forging things. The first thing he
		1113	forged was his armor, because he liked the touch of metal against his
		1114	body. Then he forged beer, because of course, beer is essential. He forged
		1115	it red like the Forge, and black like the Ore. The yellow thing, as we all
		1116	know, is an invention of those pansy elves.
		1117
		1118	And he liked the beer. He liked it so much, that he was bored of drinking
		1119	it alone. Beer calls for a party. So he created the boar and the bird, to
		1120	be roasted; he created the mundane fire, which was a toned-down version of
		1121	the essence of the Forge, to roast them. And then he created the dwarf, to
		1122	dress in metal like him, to work the forge with him, but most importantly
		1123	of all, to party with him and partake of the sacred beer.
		1124
		1125	But the dwarf started breeding like bugs, and it was quite distracting
		1126	to have them putting about in spaceless space. At any given point, there
		1127	were thousands of dwarves partying, thousands sleeping, thousands hunting,
		1128	and thousands forging. Mostrai thought it was good, but it was also damn
		1129	annoying. So he created an enormous mountain for them to live under. He
		1130	put the boar and bird, and a few other animals he had come up with later,
		1131	on the outside, where he forged woods and forest. And so that his children
		1132	wouldn’t wander forever, he placed these places in the middle of an
		1133	infinite ocean. There you have, that’s the story.
		1134
		1135	- Whoa. What about the others?
		1136
		1137	- *sigh* You won’t let me finish my beer, will you?
		1138
		1139	- You’ll never finish your beer, uncle. When you soak that mug,
		1140	there’s plenty more in the barrel.
		1141
		1142	- All right, all rigth. (Big gulp.)
		1143
		1144	The dwarves had amazing weapons to hunt with. Eventually, the hunt was
		1145	no challenge anymore. The best hunters would play-act wars between
		1146	themselves, to best hone their skills.
		1147
		1148	Mostrai was worried that those fights might one day evolve into real
		1149	wars. So he created an enemy, something very different from the dwarf,
		1150	something very obviously wrong, which lived in the woods and preferred
		1151	bows and other coward weapons rather than hand-to-hand combat. He made
		1152	them incredibly lucky, because otherwise they would stand no chance - and
		1153	they came to believe they’re lucky because they’re protected by their
		1154	god, which of course doesn’t exist. He also made them very old, so that
		1155	they would think they existed before the dwarf - otherwise they would just
		1156	recognize our superior position and submit. And all was good and happy;
		1157	for time beyond count, dwarf and elf honed their skills against each
		1158	other, and prospered.
		1159
		1160	I mean, have you ever fought an elf? Yes, it was an eternal war, but not
		1161	like those bloody gorefest the others have today. When dwarf and elf
		1162	fight, it’s clean, it’s beautiful, it’s according to the rules,
		1163	it’s a ritual of honor.
		1164
		1165	Well, I digress. All was well, I said. But one day, one elf created yellow
		1166	beer. And that offended Mostrai to a level of rage unseen before. So he
		1167	created an entire new piece of the world, and populated it with humans,
		1168	and other horrible creatures, and then let these young ones discover our
		1169	land, so that they may raze the elf forests, ruin the elf nations, and
		1170	soil their honor. We’re not stupid enough to argue with Mostrai, so we
		1171	went underground, and we’re waiting for that to happen, to see what he
		1172	will do next.
		1173
		1174	Can I drink in peace now? There, go play with your friends.
		1175
		1176
		1177	=head1 The Legend of the Builders
		1178
		1179	People of the Old Empire believed that the whole universe was made by
		1180	powerful beings called Builders. Builders were not part of the world
		1181	like gods were - they lived Outside. Little is known about the Builders
		1182	themselves. The priests of the Empire weren’t quite sure themselves
		1183	about their names. Some were universally known, though: Mawëdel the Ruler
		1184	or Peterëm the Writing One were the most popular of the ever changing
		1185	list of Builders.
		1186
		1187	The Builders understood very well how difficult it would be for them to
		1188	manage themselves every prayer made - making the Universe work was already
		1189	a time-consuming task. So they created gods to help them in their task.
		1190
		1191	Most of the gods we know today were already popular in the times of the
		1192	Old Empire, like Mostrai or Lythander. Others changed names as time
		1193	passed. Gods provided their powers to the Faithful Ones, and helped them
		1194	by providing blessings and powerful weapons. The priests of the Old Empire
		1195	never believed gods made the world, as they were themselves part of it;
		1196	world-building was the Builders task.
		1197
		1198
		1199	=head1 The Foundation of Scorn
		1200
		1201	Few archives remain from the times when Scorn was founded. The city is
		1202	probably the oldest of the whole known world. Before Fido, before the Old
		1203	Empire, maybe even before gods, Scorn was already there.
		1204
		1205	It is usually said that Scorn was founded by Skud the Great. Many legends
		1206	are telling about Skud, the half-mythical hero. How he captured the first
		1207	dragons. How he fought unknown monsters in the East. How he built Scorn
		1208	and the First Inn. Some priests even postulated that Skud was in fact a
		1209	Builder. Skud created the First Inn because he wanted to sleep inside a
		1210	house, without the risk of being attacked by monsters during the night. He
		1211	left the Holy Guestbook, one of the oldest relics of Crossfire, where he
		1212	and his fellow friends wrote their names. Skud disappeared long before the
		1213	Old Empire came, and nowadays only the Builders can probably remember him.
		1214
		1215	Recent researches show that, although he greatly contributed to the
		1216	popularity of the city, Skud didn’t found it: it was in fact created
		1217	by Tabb the Dark, a Builder that left very little information about him
		1218	behind. According to the Codex Skudensis that was discovered in the depths
		1219	of the Old City, "Scorn" would have been the real name of Tabb the
		1220	Dark.
		1221
		1222
		1223	=head1 The Coming of Color
		1224
		1225	It is said that centuries before the foundation of the Old Empire, the
		1226	world was colorless and sad. Aware of that problem, the Builders decided
		1227	to bring color in the life of the Crossfire people. They called the
		1228	massive powers of Xepemes, The Source Of All Colors, on the universe. The
		1229	magical burst slowly covered the world with colors, but some elements
		1230	resisted for a long time. Prophets of the Old Empire announced that,
		1231	although victorious, the force of Xepemes wouldn’t stay forever: one
		1232	day, it would eventually fade away against a more powerful magical force,
		1233	the mysterious Pegemes (or Peengees?). This happened - but much after the
		1234	fall of the Empire.
		1235
		1236
		1237	=head1 The Bigworld
		1238
		1239	The old world was small and it consisted of many pieces. Scorn, Navar,
		1240	Brittany and Santo Dominion were in one large piece. Darcap and the
		1241	Hill Village were in another smaller one. Lake Country was in yet
		1242	another. Pupland was still another. The world was not whole, and the
		1243	builders saw that this was wrong. They began the quest to unite the world
		1244	and established the Bigworld. As the builders united the world they saw
		1245	that it was much too small and began to make it larger. They raised up the
		1246	Great Mountains around Brest and they caused the Great Forest to grow. As
		1247	the time passed, Navar grew to become a great Kingdom and the builders
		1248	decided that it was a good city for players to call home and they gave the
		1249	Heroes a choice to serve Scorn or Navar. Nevertheless, Pupland is still
		1250	not part of this new world, but the builders wish to add it to the west of
		1251	Scorn.
		1252
		1253
		1254	=head1 Skud the Great
		1255
		1256	One of the first Builders. Skud created many famous places, like the
		1257	Scorn’s First Inn or the Newbie Tower.
		1258
		1259	The reasons of the disappearance of Skud are mostly unknown. The Codex
		1260	Skudensis mentions that it could have been because of the negative
		1261	influence of the Arch-Demon Neth Aq. It is thought that The Tower of Skud,
		1262	although left unfinished by its creator, may contain informations about
		1263	the fate of one of the most famous Builder
		1264
		1265
		1266	=head1 Legends of the Fall
		1267
		1268	=head2 Of the first things
		1269
		1270	First there was Chaos
		1271
		1272	Second there was Something and Nothing
		1273
		1274	Third there was Dark and Light
		1275
		1276	It is said that the Something and the Nothing would fight and that, the
		1277	Dark and Light would fight also.
		1278
		1279	This being told to me by a monk of Valriel, no longer in the order.
		1280
		1281	=head2 On the nature of elemental essences
		1282
		1283	It is said that of the four primary elements
		1284
		1285	- there is earth which is.
		1286
		1287	- there is water which changes.
		1288
		1289	- there is air which moves.
		1290
		1291	- there is fire which consumes.
		1292
		1293	=head2 Overheard in a Narcopian brothel
		1294
		1295	When Mother Earth was suckling her children
		1296
		1297	sky suckled from her right teat
		1298
		1299	but flame and sea fought to suckle from her left teat
		1300
		1301	this is why they still fight to this day
		1302
		1303
		1304	=head1 The Tale of Lord Butakis - The Lost Stars of the Lake, Volume I
		1305
		1306	This story begins nearly four thousand years ago, when Kadriosa IV, King
		1307	of Scorn, invaded the southern territories and pushed back the elven
		1308	barbarians that lived there.
		1309
		1310	The elvish people fled, and many of them settled in a place they called
		1311	Vkovzerov, "The Country of the Three Waters", as it was a rather
		1312	unique meeting point between a river, a lake, and the sea. There they
		1313	enjoyed a great prosperity, working with the local sprites to build
		1314	Tashkeren-tah, The City of the Wooden Towers.
		1315
		1316	Two centuries passed, then three. The elven princes of Tashkeren-tah had
		1317	become powerful - and never in their hearts was the thirst of revenge
		1318	and hatred towards the people of Scorn extinguished. Now very familiar
		1319	with the various water creatures that inhabited their territory, they
		1320	had developed great skills in commanding rivers, and the beasts inside
		1321	them, and the creatures made from them. They knew that Scorn was highly
		1322	dependent on its seaport, and they had planned for the many years their
		1323	long life gave them to use the great power of water spirits to crush and
		1324	flood the city.
		1325
		1326	But despite all their accumulated knowledge, their powers were too limited
		1327	to direct the most powerful entities of the seas, the Mouthes of the
		1328	Mariner, none other than the Greater Aquomons.
		1329
		1330	For a long time, they were hesitant to call those, as they were dangerous,
		1331	treacherous creatures born during the darkest ages of the world, when
		1332	Haemdel the Legendary was crushed and the Three Artifacts lost. But so
		1333	strong was their flame of hatred that it soon burned the ropes of their
		1334	carefulness. Using their most powerful summoning spell, they convocated
		1335	one of the Greater Aquomons before them.
		1336
		1337	"Who are you, you creatures with pointy ears, to dare awaken me from my
		1338	dreams, me, Vërno, the Fourth Drop ?"
		1339
		1340	Elven Princes exposed what they wanted to Vërno, and the creature seemed
		1341	very interested at the idea of grabbing all the richesses of Scorn, and
		1342	bringing them back into his dark kingdom of the depth of the sea.
		1343
		1344	"Very well, said Vërno, but you know, I suppose, that we are all bound
		1345	by the Law of Equilibrium, established by the gods themselves when the
		1346	world was new and the seas infinite. And for my services, you’ll have to
		1347	pay the price."
		1348
		1349	- And what do you want for a price ? - Well, my needs are rather
		1350	modest. I’ll only claim a tenth of your own lands as a reward."
		1351
		1352	The Elven Princes quickly discussed the matter, and came to the conclusion
		1353	that it was a rather fair price to pay - after all, their territories
		1354	weren’t very large, and there was a lot of empty space all around, so
		1355	it wasn’t really a problem for them. Maybe it would for a couple of
		1356	peasants, but who cared about them more than of the vengeance against
		1357	Scorn ?
		1358
		1359	And so they answered: "The Fate of Scorn is Sealed, then. We accept."
		1360
		1361	What happened then is too long to tell in details here, as it belongs
		1362	to another story. In short, Jovidjevska the elven girl, who had heard
		1363	everything, travelled to Scorn, and convinced the city wizards of the
		1364	truth of the menace. And when Vërno came to crush the city, they moved it
		1365	two days into the future, and the water hand of the Fourth Drop grabbed
		1366	only emptiness.
		1367
		1368	Vërno, furious, came back to the Elves with a big smile, and told
		1369	them: "I did what you wanted, and flooded the territory on which Scorn
		1370	was established. Now I take my due price."
		1371
		1372	And that said, he selected the area on which the Elven City itself was
		1373	built, and covered it with water, its inhabitants trapped and killed there
		1374	without understanding what was happening.
		1375
		1376
		1377	=head1 The Tale of Lord Butakis - The Lost Stars of the Lake, Volume II
		1378
		1379	Two thousand years passed. The lineage of the kings of Scorn died,
		1380	and another dynasty came, and another one after that. Wars were
		1381	conducted. Wizards of Scorn fled, and most of the knowledge disappeared,
		1382	and there were nothing but lakes and forests above the dead city of the
		1383	elves.
		1384
		1385	And then, a man came. Where did he come from ? Nobody knows for
		1386	sure. Butakis was his name.
		1387
		1388	Butakis was an ambitious young man. He had heard here and there strange
		1389	pieces of a weird story, about a sunken city, about a dark pact, about the
		1390	secret power of elves...
		1391
		1392	For years, he studied the Arcanes, hunting for traces of the city, as he
		1393	was convinced that the lost wisdom of the elves of Vkovzerov would give
		1394	him a great power. And, finally, after 20 long years of searching, he
		1395	concluded that the secret was in the area now called "Lake Country".
		1396
		1397	And there, he came, and there was a small house made of wood, and there
		1398	was a tree, and there was a young elvish woman, dreaming at the stars,
		1399	under the tree. And Butakis fell in love, and the elvish lady fell in
		1400	love, and they both watched the stars. But soon, Butakis felt the need of
		1401	getting back into action, and finding the lost city and getting its power.
		1402
		1403	The lady told him: "The true wisdom is in those stars, and in that
		1404	tree, and in that house you see. You’ll only find unrest by aiming for
		1405	more."
		1406
		1407	But Butakis had already made up his mind, and he brought back engineers,
		1408	and sappers, and miners, and they all worked to build a huge machine to
		1409	pump the water, and discover the city. During ten years, Butakis worked on
		1410	this, hoping that in the end, the elvish lady would be at his side, and
		1411	that she would be his wife, princess of the restored city.
		1412
		1413	During all the work, he was perpetually annoyed by a small group of
		1414	bandits, lead by Twak the Red Fox. Twak and his men conducted a real
		1415	guerilla war against Butakis, as they saw him as a danger for the whole
		1416	country, because his plans were damaging nature and could also have awaken
		1417	dark power sleeping in the sunken city. Several times, they sabotaged
		1418	the machine, stole tools, raped engineers and designers. But each time,
		1419	Butakis and his followers repaired the machines, engaged new people, and
		1420	increased security.
		1421
		1422
		1423	=head1 The Tale of Lord Butakis - The Lost Stars of the Lake, Volume III
		1424
		1425	And now, ten years after the beginning, the work was completed, and he
		1426	invited the elvish lady to come and see the accomplishment of a lifelong
		1427	dream.
		1428
		1429	The Elvish lady came, as beautiful as ever. And on the balcony at the top
		1430	of the pump, they watched the stars, and she kissed him, and she when they
		1431	were in the bed he had prepared for that very special night before the
		1432	pumping started, she whispered at his ear.
		1433
		1434	That, Butakis had waited for long, but he didn’t expect what she told
		1435	him then.
		1436
		1437	"Ten years you were away, and ten years I watched the stars with
		1438	Twak. And now for him, and for he choose me and my heart, I’ll
		1439	disappear, and so does your dream."
		1440
		1441	Butakis understood that he had been fooled, that she only kept her
		1442	attention away enough for Twak and three of his faithful men to sabotage
		1443	the pump. And so came a great rumble from the basis of the huge building,
		1444	and so the huge engines exploded, and so was his dream reduced to smoke,
		1445	smoke that still covers most of Lake Country nowadays. The Elvish lady
		1446	probably died, as nobody saw her again after that. And so did the brave
		1447	Twak, but his spirit survived in the wind - or so say some people.
		1448
		1449	Butakis, so strange as it may look, managed to survive, although in bad
		1450	shape, as one would expect. Disfigured, he survived until now using black
		1451	magic or machines to keep him alive, and he tried to gather again men to
		1452	restart his project. But it was now said all around that it was a doomed,
		1453	broken man - and so he in fact was Lake country was said to be haunted by
		1454	Twak, and several travellers saw a young elvish lady, watching the stars
		1455	at night, under a tree, near the lake.
		1456
		1457	Nobody ever accepted to work on the foolish project again. Butakis now
		1458	awaits in his sinister castle, ruling a shattered kingdom lost in the fog
		1459	his machine left behind. A tormented man, that is said to look in the
		1460	direction of the lake from the highest tower of his castle, every night.
		1461
		1462	But for him never came again the Elvish girl, and forever his soul stays
		1463	alone. And so ends what we know about Butakis and Twak, and so dies my
		1464	story.
		1465
		1466
		1467	=head1 The Wizard School of Blue
		1468
		1469	"Although the School disappeared with the Empire itself from The World,
		1470	several wizards claimed to be the heirs of their ancient, secret wisdom,
		1471	and nicknamed "the Blue Ones", a reference to the color of the School
		1472	Banner." – Gros, the Irrelevant One
		1473
		1474
		1475	=head1 The Great Heliograph
		1476
		1477	A device made by Mer’Eric the Walker. Built on the highest point of the
		1478	Brestian Hills, it is basically a giant magnifying glass, using a complex
		1479	mechanism commanding several mirrors, that is able to concentrate the
		1480	sunlight into a powerful beam. The concentrator is associated to a Sun
		1481	Stone that can receive similar long-range light signals and transform
		1482	them into pure thaumic energy. A keyboard is attached to a mechanical
		1483	obturator, allowing a single operator to send coded messages to very long
		1484	distances. A magically-powered scriptor writes any such incoming message
		1485	capted by the Sun Stone.
		1486
		1487	Although Mer’Eric only saw the Great Heliograph as a research project
		1488	and as a way to communicate easily across huge distances, this device
		1489	is also a powerful weapon that can burn nearly anything several miles
		1490	away. This is probably why he decided to hide it in a sealed cave.
		1491
		1492	A similar device was built by the Mad Mage of Scorn, but its fate is
		1493	unknown.
		1494
		1495
		1496	=head1 The Harelkirjan Sisters
		1497
		1498	Also called the Twin Witches, they were two powerful women wizards; Herin
		1499	was specialized in White Magic, while her sister Urdin was a master of the
		1500	Black Art. Both of them tried to improve the life of the people living
		1501	all around their house, and introduced the use of cats as spirit-watchers
		1502	in Scorn. Unfortunately for them, they were burned by an angry Brestian
		1503	fanatical mob for "illegal use of Arcane Powers".
		1504
		1505
		1506	=head1 Ilrya, The Mountain Huntress
		1507
		1508	Ilrya was an elven spellcaster and huntress from the underground city of
		1509	Eallera, that is venerated as a lesser god by most of the dwarves living
		1510	in the Northern Territories. She killed the Bear of Snuddenrach in 3657EK.
		1511
		1512
		1513	=head1 Irial, The Fast One, The Shy Light
		1514
		1515	Irial is a lesser spirit of flashlight - the light that you can see when
		1516	there’s thunder, for example. It is represented as a small, jumpy and
		1517	fast fairy with a temperamental mood.
		1518
		1519
		1520	=head1 Khorolizov
		1521
		1522	One of the three great dwarven kingdoms. "Khorolizov" means "Green
		1523	Gold", which is a reference to the Green Sand, an alchemical component
		1524	the dwarves of Khorolizov are the only ones to produce. It is probably
		1525	the oldest of the three kingdoms, founded long before the Old Empire of
		1526	Khelens reached the shores of the Continent.
		1527
		1528
		1529	=head1 Kragi, The Crocodile One, Fish-Hunter
		1530
		1531	Kragi is a very ancient spirit, representing the Dangerous Waters, and
		1532	the creatures hidden in stagnant swamps. Kragi was already feared by
		1533	Ancient Jiradittis, 2000 years before Khelens. A lot of river fishermen
		1534	symbolically throw one fish out of what they gathered, to appease the
		1535	spirit of Kragi so that the next fishing will go without trouble.
		1536
		1537
		1538	=head1 Cromli, The Rocky One
		1539
		1540	Crolmi is the Dwarven Spirit of Rocs and Mountains. It has no temples, as
		1541	it is said that buildings made of stone anger him (it is like "building
		1542	with his own flesh").
		1543
		1544
		1545	=head1 Glamdri, The Darkness Breaker, The Last Standing One
		1546
		1547	Glamdri is a lesser spirit of light - it is said that candlelights are
		1548	manifestations of Glamdri, for example.
		1549
		1550	Glamdri doesn’t represent a magical light - more a spiritual light, the
		1551	last pinch of hope in a desperate world. Glamdri also represents original
		1552	thinking used to get out of difficult situations, as opposed to Sarikka -
		1553	the Raging Fire - who tries to resolve those by extreme violence.
		1554
		1555
		1556	=head1 Archmage Rhyz, (Entorinaas Durdennis Rhyz, Fourth Archmage of the Seat, Herdysenmark of Normania)
		1557
		1558	Rhyz was an Archmage of the Blue School during the Old Days of the Empire.
		1559
		1560	"(...)Unlike Dhelyy Olyy, his contemporary rival for the Seat, Rhyz
		1561	focused mostly on closing the gap that existed between the art of fighting
		1562	and the Arcane. While Dhelyy Olyy believed in the dual association of the
		1563	Warrior and the Wizard, each with its own strength increased by a long
		1564	specialization in their respective fields, Rhyz believed in the idea of
		1565	a "super warriard", a combination of a powerful wizard and a strong
		1566	warrior. As such, he devised many items that increased the strength and
		1567	combat capabilities of their wearers, hoping that wizard apprentices would
		1568	so be more inclined to learn the battle skills of warriors.
		1569
		1570	Unfortunately for Rhyz, most of his followers relied more and more on
		1571	magical strength more than physical training, leaving them to a severe
		1572	defeat at the Battle of Moriach, when Dhelyy used an anti-magic field over
		1573	them."
		1574
		1575	(Quote from the Codex Simochusianus, Volume XVII)
		1576
		1577
		1578	=head1 Archdaemonist Xebinon
		1579
		1580	Xebinon was an Archmage and Daemonist that was since trapped by a demon of
		1581	the 10th Circle in his mannor.
		1582
		1583	It is said that Xebinon used the Crown of Hellfires to try to tame the
		1584	Arch-daemon (and failed) - this is a crown that gave a lot of power, but
		1585	drained the magical force of the wearer at the same time, making the spell
		1586	regeneration more difficult. This was in fact a cursed, twisted artifact,
		1587	created by daemons for people who were seeking short-term power, but would
		1588	thus head directly for long-term soul slavery.
		1589
		1590	Xebinon is sometimes called "The faceless one", as it is said that the
		1591	daemon trapped him by stealing his visage. This may explain why magical
		1592	artifacts wearing his name are often helmets.
		1593
		1594
		1595	=head1 Argoth, the Fish-City of the Two Towers
		1596
		1597	Argoth is the name of a city that was located West of Scorn, in the middle
		1598	of the sea, in an island that since sunken after the explosion of the
		1599	volcano of the same name, in 674EK. It is called the City of the Two
		1600	Towers, because two huge towers were built there, to guide the ships
		1601	navigating on the oceans between Bigworld and Khelens.
		1602
		1603	Argoth was a dwarven city built on one of the highest mountains known,
		1604	rooted in the depths of the sea, and climbing so high in the skies that
		1605	uneducated travelers said that it was a "stairway to the gods". On the
		1606	top of the mountain, the Imperial Governors built the Two Towers, who were
		1607	visible from Scorn, about 200km far from them.
		1608
		1609	The dwarves of Argoth had a terrible secret: in the depths of the caves
		1610	below the mountains, they had trapped Hregalakhen, one of the last
		1611	survivors of the race of the Ancient Dragons, who ruled Bigworld long
		1612	before the time of humans. Unfortunately for the dwarves, the dragon got
		1613	free for an unknown reason, and destroyed the city, the mountain crumbling
		1614	and disappearing forever into the ocean. The Imperial authorities spread
		1615	the false story of a volcanic eruption to limit the panic a free dragon
		1616	the size of Hregalakhen would have caused in the population. The fate of
		1617	the dragon is unknown to this day.
		1618
		1619
		1620	=head1 Zormola, The Bashing One
		1621
		1622	Zormola was a great female orcish warrior, that is sometimes considered
		1623	as a lesser divinity by not only orcs, but also by southern barbarians or
		1624	even dwarves of Herfensheim, who salute her courage on the battlefield.
		1625
		1626
		1627	=head1 Morgul, The Tower Builder, The Dark Climber
		1628
		1629	Morgul was a Dark Mage that built a tower in the hope of creating a bridge
		1630	with the skies, so that demons could attack heavens. Fortunately for
		1631	angels, a group of adventurers defeated him in 2374EK.
		1632
		1633
		1634	=head1 Wolfen the White, The White Hunter, The One Who Listens
		1635
		1636	Wolfen is one of the three moons orbiting around The World. It is said to
		1637	be the spirit of the legendary hunter Wolfen, who tracked Kalkaruntes, God
		1638	of the Dragons, to is cavern and vainquished it.
		1639
		1640	In astrology, Wolfen is the symbol of practical mind, swiftness and
		1641	flexibility, but also cowardice and stealing. It is associated with the
		1642	Earth element in Alchemancy. Wolfen is seen as a protector by hunters and
		1643	rangers. Priests of Lythander think it is the reincarnation of the wolf
		1644	that hunts with Lythander in the divine forests of Nerënna. Fenxes see it
		1645	as Fixas, the one that saved them from the Humans so long ago.
		1646
		1647
		1648	=head1 Ranisha the Red, The Red Death, The One Who Commands
		1649
		1650	Ranisha is one of the three moons orbiting around the world of
		1651	Crossfire. It is said to be the spirit of the legendary warrior Ranisha,
		1652	who was supposed to be an invincible general that was even able to
		1653	vainquish gods themselves on the battlefield.
		1654
		1655	In astrology, Ranisha is the symbol of violence, hatred, murder, but
		1656	also of strength and courage. It is associated with the fire element in
		1657	Alchemancy. Priests of Ruggili consider it as the watchful eye of their
		1658	god.
		1659
		1660
		1661	=head1 Asferenn the Blue, The Blue Sister, The One Who Suggests
		1662
		1663	Asferenn is one of the three moons orbiting around the world of
		1664	Crossfire. It is said to be the spirit of the legendary wizard Asferenn,
		1665	who was said to have been able to force the gate of the divine dimension.
		1666
		1667	In astrology, Asferenn is the symbol of wisdom, endurance in effort,
		1668	diplomacy, but also treachery and dark secrets. It is associated with the
		1669	water element in Alchemancy. It is said that the cycle of water creatures
		1670	are strongly influenced by Asferenn.
		1671
		1672
		1673	=head1 Story of Lorkas the Fallen, Volume I
		1674
		1675	I’ll tell you about Lorkas of Amudrias, and how he found the White Bird
		1676	of Hope, and how he capitained it, opening the Gates of the Sun, and some
		1677	stuff like that.
		1678
		1679	Some say that Lorkas was an angel of Valriel, that fell long ago from the
		1680	Skies, stealing a couple of highly holy artifacts, and hiding them in his
		1681	new underground domains.
		1682
		1683	Some also say that Lorkas is a dark spirit, a lost soul, an unclean,
		1684	unfaithful, untrusty creature of Doom and Chaos.
		1685
		1686	But, for what matters, some also said that Fido was a fiction, or that
		1687	the Empire never was more than a dream of a past that never existed. Some
		1688	definitely are foolishly uninformed for sure, and speak more than they
		1689	think.
		1690
		1691	Because, if they were less quick on jumping to conclusions, they’d
		1692	quickly notice how difficult it is for an angel to fall from the sky and
		1693	never be able to climb back, as if wild gooses were never able to take off
		1694	again once they land after their long journey to the South.
		1695
		1696	Anyway, as every wise man knows, Lorkas was no angelic creature of divine
		1697	essence, or even a magical creation of a godly force.
		1698
		1699	Some say that Khelens is the Beginning, first of the Cities of Men. That,
		1700	too, is untrue: before the Age of Khelens was the Time of the Kingdoms
		1701	at War. And before them, the Era of Songor the Great. And going back
		1702	through the thick book of history, you’ll cross Arnistar of the Desert
		1703	Dwellers, the Republic of the Two Rivers, and the Ancient Haemdel, and the
		1704	Kingdom of the Long Wall. And before it, the forgotten towers of light
		1705	that Horadrists built.
		1706
		1707
		1708	=head1 Story of Lorkas the Fallen, Volume II
		1709
		1710	Lorkas was born in Kuratas, a small agrarian state that existed on the
		1711	Coronian Valley, when Songer and Khelens were still in infancy. He was a
		1712	boy that wanted to see everything, to understand the world and its stars,
		1713	and discover its limits, for it was extending much further than the mists
		1714	of his home valley.
		1715
		1716	But life was rude in Kuratas, and trying to think about anything else than
		1717	your next harvest wasn’t well perceived by most; and, more than often,
		1718	Lorkas dreamed with tears and despair about the Mountains with the white
		1719	tops, and Seas that ended only when they touched the sky, far away.
		1720
		1721	Tired of his senseless life, he left his parents, his village, his
		1722	friends, when he was only 12, and for weeks walked to the West, until he
		1723	reached the Coast of the Stonewalls.
		1724
		1725	And there, he saw Ottarakans, the Infinite Ocean that extends west of the
		1726	Old World, and so fell in love for the sea. He then joined the Port of
		1727	Kridatta, which was famous for its ships, as its inhabitants had mastered
		1728	a powerful arcane, so that their boats roamed not only the seas, but the
		1729	very clouds themselves.
		1730
		1731	Because he was smart and quick-brained, Lorkas soon got enrolled in the
		1732	team of Capt’n Bortaras; and after several adventures I shall maybe tell
		1733	about another day, he took the succession of the old mariner.
		1734
		1735	Horizon was the name of his ship, and famous was his crew, exploring huge
		1736	territories and fighting the Princes of Sinas, who back then tried to put
		1737	the whole area under their iron, greedy grasps.
		1738
		1739
		1740	=head1 Story of Lorkas the Fallen, Volume III
		1741
		1742	But Lorkas heard about a wonder that him and his crew soon wanted to
		1743	find: The White Bird of Hope.
		1744
		1745	Buried in the Very East, it was said to be. And so he sailed east; he
		1746	crossed the Great Desert, passed the Mountains of Daigojij, reached the
		1747	forests oft he western normanika. But still was the Bird further away.
		1748
		1749	Reaching the Eastern Ocean, they decided to try to cross it, despite that
		1750	it was said to be the end of the world. And for 30 days and nights, across
		1751	tempests and monsters, they firmly kept heading east, east, east.
		1752
		1753	When despair was growing on them, mists magically opened, revealing a
		1754	golden city built on what seemed to be a rich, fertile coastal plain.
		1755
		1756	People there spoke a strange language; they were small and not unlike
		1757	joyful foxes, and they welcomed Lorkas and his men (and women)
		1758	warmly. Soon, they learned to understand each other enough.
		1759
		1760	They called themselves "The People of the Mother", and they had
		1761	never seen the "Flat-Eared Giants" before, although they already met
		1762	"Flat-Eared Beards" and "Flat-Eared Greens" before.
		1763
		1764	But there was a lady called Sonja. And, although she wasn’t human, she
		1765	seemed brighter, smarter, more beautiful than any other woman Lorkas had
		1766	ever seen before.
		1767
		1768	Those months were the most wonderful for him - and her - and time seemed
		1769	to have stopped for them in their endless love. But of course it hadn’t.
		1770
		1771	And after a while, some of his men wanted to go back to their own homes,
		1772	and some wanted for their families to come to the Golden City. And, also,
		1773	there was the Bird.
		1774
		1775	They had no problem to find the White Bird of Hope - a statue entirely
		1776	made of the purest of the white marble, with gemstones of red ruby as
		1777	eyes. But so much the inhabitants liked it, so they thought that a
		1778	valuable friend was much better than a valuable statue.
		1779
		1780	And so they said: "Take the bird as a gift of us to your masters, to
		1781	show them we want to make friendship with them. Welcome are the friends of
		1782	the children of the White Bird."
		1783
		1784	And so Lorkas left, promising Sonja that he’d soon return.
		1785
		1786	The people of the Golden City also told him that "The Bird is imbued
		1787	with powerful magic: the one owning it will always keep hope."
		1788
		1789
		1790	=head1 Story of Lorkas the Fallen, Volume IV
		1791
		1792	When Lorkas came back, he and his men were welcomed as heroes. So where
		1793	does the story turns sour, as Lorkas is said to have fallen from the skies?
		1794
		1795	Well, when he and his crew came back home, Kridatta was at war with Sinas,
		1796	and for several years, he and his crew fought, using the power of the Bird
		1797	to help them. And during those years, Lorkas kept in his heart the hope of
		1798	seeing again Sonja.
		1799
		1800	Then came the Fever Plague, that killed a third of the people in the
		1801	Ancient World. And again was the Bird used, and again did Lorkas help all
		1802	those he could help, still having hope of seeing the Golden City again
		1803	soon.
		1804
		1805	And then, he sent messengers and explorers, as he had become influent,
		1806	rich, and powerful, across the seas, to rebind the ties with the Golden
		1807	City, as he promised. But they all came without finding their way to
		1808	those faraway shores; yet all that time, and for each new mission sent to
		1809	explore the seas and the skies, they seemed closed and closer from the
		1810	goal.
		1811
		1812	Sixty years passed. The world changed; new kingdoms ruled old cities;
		1813	Lorkas was now an old man that lived in a small house looking at the
		1814	Ocean.
		1815
		1816	And still, each day, he spent hours waiting, watching the line where the
		1817	sea met the sky, hoping that one day, one would sail back and tell him:
		1818	"we found the Golden City !". And always he hoped, but never received.
		1819
		1820	Nearly all of his companions were now dead, and the Horizon had been
		1821	retired long ago, now slowly rotting in the bay, fading souvenir of a long
		1822	forgotten past.
		1823
		1824
		1825	=head1 Story of Lorkas the Fallen, Volume V
		1826
		1827	Lorkas walked to his boat, and where there was only tarnished wood and
		1828	corroded metal, he still saw the fierce ship on which he saw Sonja for the
		1829	first time, so long ago. Who knows what he did, then? One thing is sure:
		1830	the vigile of the Sea Tower of Kridatta, that watched boats coming and
		1831	leaving from dozens of miles away, reported that an ancient ship left the
		1832	bay, with Lorkas sitting at the front of it, holding the Bird, as if he
		1833	was sleeping.
		1834
		1835	Nobody knows exactly where he went. Was he even dead? Nobody knows. But
		1836	everybody kept hope that, one day, he’d reach the Golden City
		1837	again. Lots of people tried to find the Bird after that event. They all
		1838	accused Lorkas of having "stolen" it. The story became legend. The
		1839	legend became fairy tale. And the fairy tale got forgotten by most.
		1840
		1841	Yet, Centuries ago, deep in the oldest parts of the Old City of Scorn,
		1842	people claimed to have found an ancient mausoleum, a relic of the
		1843	past. All made of the purest, finest gold. On the walls were engraved a
		1844	man at the wheel of a strange ship, and a woman with pointy ears, watching
		1845	the skies. And many nowadays keep the Hope that the White Bird now sleeps
		1846	down below the streets, having found its way back to home with Lorkas.
		1847
		1848	But who could tell if it is the truth, or only a silly story? Who
		1849	knows? As for myself, I don’t care: I just hold hope it is. And so ends
		1850	the Story of Lorkas, and so keeps Hope running.
		1851
		1852
		1853	=head1 The Prison of Madness
		1854
		1855	It is said that deep in the underworld there is a vast maze that will make
		1856	everybody who dares to enter die of madness.
		1857
		1858	It starts in a room, with a row of mirrors to the south. pass through
		1859	those, and carry on slightly further, and you are in the maze proper.
		1860
		1861	Little is known about the maze, but Worus the Wanderer claimed to have been
		1862	in it, seen many of its wonders and returned.
		1863
		1864	He also wrote a book that details all the ways and passages, alas, nobody
		1865	could decipher it yet:
		1866
		1867	gb2trg2gb2gur2rkvg:
		1868	2jnaqre2nebhaq2hagvy2lbh2ybpngr2n2znc2aN,
		1869	2vg2vf2ba2gur2obggbz2ragenapr2bs2n2znc.
		1870	2bapr2gung2vf2ybpngrq2tb2evtug,
		1871	2hc,
		1872	2evtug,
		1873	2evtug,
		1874	2evtug,
		1875	2evtug,
		1876	2evtug,
		1877	2lbh2jvyy2or2ng2gur2rkvg.
		1878	2gb2trg2gb2gur2inhyg:
		1879	2jnaqre2ebhaq2hagvy2lbh2trg2gb2znc2aN1,
		1880	vg2vf2gb2gur2evtug2bs2n2abezny2znc.
		1881	2tb2hc,
		1882	2yrsg,
		1883	2hc,
		1884	2yrsg,
		1885	2qbja,
		1886	2qbja,
		1887	2evtug,
		1888	2qbja,
		1889	2qbja,
		1890	2qbja.2Lbh2jvyy2or2va2gur2unyy,
		1891	2tb2guebhtu2naq2gb2gur2yrsg2gb2ernpu2gur2inhyg.
		1892
		1893
		1894	=head1 Order of the Gravestone
		1895
		1896	An ancient order of druids, that venerated the supposed gravestone of
		1897	the Spirit of Khalbow. The Spirit was supposed to be a symbol of eternal
		1898	renewal and redemption, that lived a regular, short-term dead/revival
		1899	cycle. The Order of the Gravestone was very popular during the first
		1900	Millenia EK, but then went extinct. No druid is known to exist today, and
		1901	the exact location of the gravestone has long been forgotten.
		1902
		1903
		1904	=head1 Rule of Dictus
		1905
		1906	If you get killed twice at the same place - go elsewhere.
		1907
		1908	- Dictus the Fat, EK 323
		1909
		1910
		1911	=head1 Heaven and Hell
		1912
		1913	It is said that the church of Valriel in Scorn has direct access to
		1914	Heaven. The priests of Valriel claim that you can enter Heaven freely, and
		1915	even come back to the world of mortals. The priests of Gorokh claim that
		1916	their church has a connection to Hell. The Valriel priests claim they were
		1917	first, and, in their usual attitude, the Gorokh priests claim the priests
		1918	of Valriel are useless maggots that lie to their followers.
		1919
		1920	Although a number of people have travelled to both Heaven and Hell, their
		1921	reports are inconclusive as to wether it was real "Hell" (or Heaven) they
		1922	visited.
		1923
		1924	Some people claim this Heaven and Hell business is just some magic
		1925	illusion forged by some magicians of those churches, mostly because you
		1926	can still die in Heaven, Hell doesn't look all that impressive (and it
		1927	is so easy to come back), and why would only the churches in Scorn have
		1928	access to those in the first place?
		1929

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