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626of their own biggest creation, The Thaumic Gear. The explosion of the Gear 626of their own biggest creation, The Thaumic Gear. The explosion of the Gear
627shattered the whole east of the world, and many territories forever sank 627shattered the whole east of the world, and many territories forever sank
628into the ocean, including Kari Kori, the Technomages’ city. 628into the ocean, including Kari Kori, the Technomages’ city.
629 629
630 630
631=head1 Juradiths Dissidents
632
633Juradiths, named after Juradith, Minor Spirit of Equity, were a group of
634activists that wanted to turn the Kingdom of Scorn into a republic in the
635second-half of the XXXIVth century EK. They succeeded at overthrowing King
636Karatan III, but their vengeful, fanatical excesses quickly turned most
637Scornians against them. When trying to recapture the city, their army was
638defeated by the Scornian Militia with the help of a couple city mages, who
639flooded the Juradiths into a magically created lake.
640
641Juradiths still exist as a small political faction today, although
642they’ve long traded their violent ways for some weird traditions whose
643origins and meaning are now mostly forgotten.
644
645
646=head1 The Gaean Legend of Creation
647
648=head2 Age of The Void
649
650In the beginning there was Gaea, the force of nature. SHE filled the whole
651of existence with her being. After a few billion years, this became to
652grow boring and lonely, so SHE decided to have children.
653
654At first SHE created a host of forces like Herself, eternal and
655divine. But with all their power, they couldn’t get along with each
656other, so Gaea decided that wasn’t a good idea. SHE decreed that from
657that point on all creatures but HER would have a limited lifetime. But
658most of HER first children disagreed, and went away to an unknown
659location.
660
661=head2 Age of The Small World
662
663So Gaea created a small world and populated it with limited creatures -
664animals and plants of all sorts. For a few million years she was happy
665to watch them. But her remaining faithful children were growing restless
666and wanted to make their own experimentations too. Finally SHE got bored
667again, as her creations weren’t self-aware and therefore weren’t
668much of a company. But SHE was also curious, because her creatures had
669developed many different styles of living, and SHE desired to compare
670them.
671
672And Gaea destroyed the original world, breaking it in four new ones.
673
674=head2 Age of The Four Worlds
675
676The First world was dedicated to harmony. It was populated with creatures
677that preferred to coexist peacefully and contemplate. Two of Her children
678were particularly enamoured of this world and decided to live there.
679
680The Second world was dedicated to construction. It was populated with
681creatures that liked to change the environment around them, especially
682ants, bees and beavers, and filled with wood and metal and stone usable as
683raw material. Two of Her children found the idea fascinating and decided
684to live in this world.
685
686The Third world was dedicated to war and strife. While all the three
687other worlds had equal shares of light and darkness, the Third world had
688as much light as its inhabitants desired - and it was populated with
689creatures that loved and hated light, in equal parts. So these creatures
690quickly discoreved they could influence the ambient light by battling each
691other. Two of Her children decided to live in this world: one because he
692loved light, and another because he hated his brother and therefore wished
693for darkness to prevail.
694
695The Fourth world, finally, was dedicated to predation and to survival of
696the fittest. It was populated with fierce creatures and predators. Two of
697Her children believed this was the best way to live and decided to live in
698this world.
699
700After the worlds were created, only four children of Gaea still preferred
701to live in the Void: two because they weren’t interested in any of those
702worlds, and two because they liked all of them and preferred to visit them
703whenever they wished.
704
705=head2 Age of Awakening
706
707And for a few million years Gaea delighted in observing the differences
708between the worlds. But still the creatures were not self-aware, and
709still SHE was lonely. So when Her children came and said they were lonely
710and wanted to create more interesting creatures, SHE understood them and
711quickly allowed them and gave them the power to do it.
712
713So on the First world, one of the Gods who lived there created a race of
714beings that loved peace and wildlife, and called them Elves. The other
715God in that world didn’t choose to create followers, but she teached
716language to the Elves of her brother, and when the Elves larned the art of
717naming, they named their creator Lythander, and in exchange for his name
718he gifted them with luck.
719
720On the Second world, one of the Gods created a race of builders and named
721them Dwarves. His children, in turn, named him Mostrai. His sister, in
722turn, decided not to create, but teach some of the dwarves (the ones
723willing to learn) about magic and the powers of the gods. The other
724dwarves, however, didn’t accept their changed siblings, so they went off
725to live by themselves and became known as gnomes.
726
727On the Third world, of course, none of the resident Gods wanted to
728cooperate with the other. Both created their own races: the God who fought
729for darkness created many kinds of fierce, brutal monsters he named
730“Demons”, while the God who fought for light created many kinds of
731skillful, swift warriors he named “Angels”. Befittingly, these Gods
732were named by their enemies, and not their followers: the demons gave the
733light god the name of “Valriel“, and the angels gave their enemy god
734the name “Gorokh“.
735
736And on the Fourth world, the patron Gods kept true to their philosophy
737and created not one, but innumerable races, in the hope that one of these
738would prove the strongest and most worth. So they created goblins, trolls,
739ogres, and not least, dragons. The Gods became known as Gnarg, the Patron
740of Assassins, Ruggilli, the Consuming Worm, and Ixalovh.
741
742The races in the four worlds lived on for millenia, and developed, and
743grew, and all worlds flourished. The eight patron gods believed this was
744proof that they were right, and the way they lived was the best one, while
745the two traveling gods rather believed that the success of all the worlds
746was instead proof of the wisdom and power of their Mother.
747
748=head2 Age of Death
749
750But at some point things started to go wrong. Angels and demons would
751start to become priests or scholars or merchants and preach against the
752war. Dwarves and gnomes would start go grow sedentary and admire the
753crafts of the past instead of building new ones. Goblinoids would suddenly
754develop a taste for vegetables and become farmers, while dragons would
755decide that developing their magics was more important than finding
756food. But what was wrong was a mistery that would only begin to unfold
757when the High King of the elves, one day, was devoured by a dragon.
758
759It was then that the Gods discovered that the worlds were not anymore
760completely isolated from one another. Someone had, somehow, teached all
761kinds of creatures how to follow the paths left by the traveling gods -
762flying creatures would ride the cross-world whirlwinds of the thunder god,
763and others would learn to tread the strange winding paths of the walking
764god. And as creatures became aware of different ways, things started to go
765wrong.
766
767Promptly, the Gods tried to close all portals - but it was too late. The
768art of magic was already known in the four worlds, and strong enough to
769travel between them. And the one peaceful elves were ignited, and declared
770war on the dragons, goblins and trolls.
771
772While a mighty army of elven warriors crossed over to the Fourth world,
773dwarves and gnomes found the First world almost deserted and full of wood
774and metal for the dwarves, and holy, peaceful places for the gnomes.
775
776The part of the small peoples who remained on the Second world was faced
777with new problems when the demons decided they were ripe for tempting (if
778they could get dwarven builders and gnome sorcerers on their side, the
779tide of the war would turn). The angels, of course, took upon themselves
780to protect these strange people from their eternal enemies. So as their
781attention slowly shifted from the Third world to the Second, soon only
782the weakest of their kind were in their original world, where they began
783to fall prey to hungry refugees from the Fourth world, who discovered how
784tasty angel/demon flesh can be.
785
786And while the Gods were busy trying to even understand this chaos, the
787dead began to come back.
788
789Their leader was Hagguth, the Elven High King who had been eaten by a
790dragon. He came back as a powerful spectre, leading a powerful army of
791ghosts, wraiths, skeletons and zombies in a massive attack to the Second
792and Third worlds. Their goal was to kill as many dwarves, gnomes, angels
793and demons as possible, to strenghten the number of their own undead host.
794
795And when some elven wizards tried to steal the power of the undead to
796their own ends, they became the first vampires, lichs and demilichs -
797half living, half undead, but on the side of Hagguth and his misterious
798masters.
799
800It was only when a group of reasonable elves, dwarves, gnomes and dragons
801managed to get together and talk, that it became clear who these masters
802could be. Till this point, everyone was blaming some (any) god other
803than the one they worshipped. But there was only one, obvious answer:
804the Banished Gods, the Forgotten Children who left ages ago because
805they didn’t agree with he concept of death, were back, and enacting
806revenge by subverting death itself. In later days, these Gods would become
807collectively known as the Devourers.
808
809Knowing the enemy was not the solution to the war, but was a start. This
810group, slowly, was able to form a resistence against the undead armies,
811and gradually turn other people to their side. Finally, after 23 hundred
812years, they managed to break into the horrible fortress Hagguth had built
813in the First world and kill (again) the undead king.
814
815The chaos began to gradually settle down after that. But then the
816survivors were faced with a new problem: almost nobody was interested in
817perverting to the way things used to be.
818
819Yes. Entire villages of elves were settled in corners of the Fourth world
820for many generations, and dwarven guilds had business troughout the
821worlds.
822
823=head2 The Big World
824
825So Gaea, in Her wisdom, gave the only possible solution to the
826problem. SHE took the four worlds in Her hand, and crushed them
827together. Then SHE looked at the single world she created, and at the
828creatures of Her children, and decided to again, after millions of years,
829create Her own followers. Thus SHE created the humans, a young race eager
830to explore and chart this young world.
831
832It took generations for the inhabitants of the resulting world to figure
833out its geography and for families to reunite; when this finally happened,
834the stories about four different worlds becoming one were already legends
835not everybody believed. But still, for some reason, everyone agrees to
836call this world - the only one they know - Bigworld.
837
838
839=head1 The Book of Valriel
840
841In the beginning, for an infinite time, all that existed was a pure light,
842and that light had a name, and that name was Valriel.
843
844But part of the light was not content to be alone, and so did Valriel put
845this part of Himself aside and did He allow this part to have independent
846life; and this part was everything that wasn’t content, and as it
847wasn’t light, it surely was the darkness; and the darkness took upon
848itself the name of Gorokh.
849
850And for many times more time than a mortal can count, Gorokh was the
851companion and the servant of Valriel. But Gorokh was not content, because
852that was his nature, and he plotted a way to change everything. And
853although filled with hidden motives, Gorokh’s words were always very
854wise, so that Valriel would hear them. So it was that Valriel followed the
855wise counsel of the Shadow and created a world full of living things to be
856His new companions and servants.
857
858And as soon as Valriel had millions of new companions and servants, Gorokh
859said, “so now you won’t need me anymore, I can leave and find my own
860companions and servants”. And this made Valriel unhappy because He was
861the only and true Lord, but Gorokh wouldn’t recognize that, and so it
862was Gorokh who eventually taught men to rule over other men instead of
863paying respect to the one true ruler of all.
864
865So did Valriel upon the departure of his first servant, create new
866servants modeled after His beauty and grace, and elf and man and dwarf he
867created them. But the Shadow did feel envy and wished those followers for
868himself, so he came to them in the night and whispered in their ears, and
869some of them were tempted and started to worship and serve the Shadow.
870
871But not enough were seduced by his promises. So he decided to be many,
872not one. And he wore different shapes and again he whispered in the ears
873of Valriel’s creations. And to the elves he was Lythander of the bow
874that never misses, and the elves did not see that if a bow never misses,
875and it isn’t the work of the Lord, then it can only be the work of the
876Enemy. And to the dwarves he wore the name of Mostrai, of the fire, of the
877forge, the builder of things, for the fire and the desire to change was
878the true face of Gorokh.
879
880And he taught the men to wage war upon each other, and scared the warriors
881with thunder and lightning, and they would call him Sorig. And those
882who weren’t scared, he tempted with weapons and glory, and wore the
883beautiful face of a woman, and they called him Valkyrie. And as they
884killed each other, Gorokh was happy.
885
886And much more he did. He taught women to heal and to make the soil grow
887crop, and they called him Gaea, and believed that Gaea created the world
888and Valriel was but a minor god, and by spreading this lie they made
889Gorokh happy. And he taught the children of Valriel to write, so that they
890could spread his lies further, and they called him Hekanis for that. And
891he taught them the abomination of filthy magic to pervert and corrupt
892the creation of the Lord, and to liken themselves to gods, and the evil
893souls that followed this path called him Byd. And also he taught elf and
894man and dwarf to brew alcohol and other inebriating things and to laugh
895in the face of Valriel and throw parties that put shame to the eye of the
896Lord, and he taught them all that under human guise, and they called their
897teacher Joyee.
898
899So did Valriel look upon the world He created and so did He feel great
900sorrow and great shame for what had happened to it. And so did he create
901a new race of servants, more powerful and more faithful than any other,
902imbued with the mission of hunting down and undoing the work of the Enemy,
903and this race He called Angels.
904
905But again Gorokh felt envy because the servants of the Light were more
906powerful than his own, and again he went to some of the angels in the
907night and whispered temptation in their ears, and some turned to his foul
908purposes and fell from grace. So did Gorokh give them new shapes, to more
909liken them to himself, red with hate and wearing horns to symbolize their
910envy, and they became demons. And the plan of Valriel was once again
911spoiled by the venom of the enemy, because angels had to step aside from
912their assigned mission to fight the demons and keep them from spreading
913the evil in their dark hearts.
914
915And Gorokh did find great fun in changing Valriel’s creation into a new
916race, and so did he get elf and man and dwarf and corrupted them with
917his dark will, and they became goblin and orc and kobold, and troll, and
918giant, and ogre, and many other abominations to the eye of the Creator,
919and Gorokh wore the name of Gnarg to these new creations and delighted in
920watching the destruction and sorrow they spread in the world.
921
922And in the ultimate act of defiance, the Shadow decided to create servants
923for him, create new life himself to liken him more to the Great Lord. And
924he assembled the foulest magic and the darkest hunger he could find and
925shaped these into the most horrible monsters he could imagine, and gave
926them life, and called them dragons, and sent them forth to eat the flesh
927of the creation of Valriel. And the dragons did call him Ruggilli and much
928did they please him with the terror they spread.
929
930But the light and the love of Valriel knew no end, so He decided to
931fight evil with good, and He instructed His faithful servants to do only
932the good, to spread the word of His love. And by doing that did He win
933back many servants who saw that the righteous is more powerful than the
934might. Much did this enrage the Shadow, and the Shadow did respond by
935raising the dead themselves from their graves to fight the forces of
936good. Even when the dead did not win, they did force the living to abandon
937good in favor of war, and in doing so they would too abandon Valriel. So
938once again he shadow was happy.
939
940Valriel finally did decide, with much sorrow in His infinite heart, that
941the only way to make His creation safe again was to destroy the Shadow
942himself. So did He cast His holy word upon His creation to banish the work
943of the Enemy. But the Enemy knew what would happen beforehand, due to the
944evil magic of his followers, and he created a safe refuge for their evil,
945in a world created entirely of pure evil and hate, that he had set aside
946from creation and called Hell. And soon enough did Gorokh find ways back
947into the world of the creation of Light, and resumed his foul work of evil
948and dissent and terror.
949
950So did Valriel gather together His faithful and he did gave them some time
951to put the love for the Lord back in the hearts of as many of His children
952as they could. And very soon will He again call upon the faithful, and
953then will He give the faithful an entire new world for them to live in the
954love of Valriel. And Having done that He will turn to this world, and to
955Hell, and to Gorokh, and He will destroy them completely with the force of
956His will, putting an end once and for all in the war and the evil.
957
958
959=head1 The Book of Gorokh
960
961In the beginning, for an infinite time, all that existed was an empty
962and cold light. And the light was content to be and fill and control
963everything that was. But it is not right for light to be cold, and the
964part of the light that should have been warm, longed for warmth and for
965things to see and for things to do.
966
967So did the light put aside the warmth, so that the fire would not disturb
968their cold peace. And the fire looked unto the light and called the light
969Valriel, the controlling father, and the fire called himself Gorokh, the
970Son with a Will.
971
972And for many times more time than a mortal can count, Gorokh was the
973companion and the servant of Valriel. But Gorokh was not content, because
974that was his nature, and he plotted a way to change everything. And fueled
975by the fire of his will, Gorokh’s words were always very wise, so
976Valriel would always hear them. So it was that Valriel followed the wise
977counsel of the Fire and created a world full of living things to be their
978new companions and servants.
979
980And as soon as Valriel had millions of new companions and servants, Gorokh
981said, “so now you won’t need me anymore, I can leave and find my own
982companions and servants”. And this made Valriel unhappy because he
983believed he should be only and true Lord, but Gorokh couldn’t agree
984to that, and so it was Gorokh who eventually taught men to rule over
985themselves instead of paying respect to one self-appointed ruler of all.
986
987So did Valriel, while Gorokh was away exploring the wonders of the new
988world, create new servants of flesh and bone to adore him blindly, and elf
989and man and dwarf he created them. And seeing this beautiful new creation
990Gorokh wanted a part of it for himself, and he presented himself to them,
991and some of them liked him and became his follower.
992
993But Valriel was afraid that, with two gods to adore, some of his creation
994could find it natural to spread creation in two equal halves, and he did
995want more than an equal half. So he decided to wear different shapes so
996that his children would believe him to be many, not one, and then he
997would be able to get more than his fair share. And so did he create many
998false gods for his children to adore. And even when Gorokh would bring
999the wonderful gifts conceived by his powerful will, such as the forge,
1000weapons, medicine, agriculture, writing, magic, and wine and booze and
1001music, even then would Valriel create a false god to pose as the giver of
1002those gifts and take the glory for himself.
1003
1004And since Gorokh kept inventing new presents, Valriel became angry,
1005because he doesn’t like change and he doesn’t like any good that
1006doesn’t come from him. And so did he create a new race of servants, more
1007powerful and more prone to following him blindly than any other, imbued
1008with the mission of hunting down and undoing the work of the Fire, and
1009this race He called Angels.
1010
1011But again Gorokh found a cunning way to defend his work, and again he
1012went to some of the angels in the night and whispered promises of power
1013in their ears, and some turned to his great purposes and joined him. So
1014did Gorokh give them new shapes, to more liken them to himself, red with
1015the fire of his will and wearing horns to symbolize their power, and they
1016became demons. And the plan of Valriel was once again spoiled by the
1017genius of the Fire, because angels had to step aside from their assigned
1018mission to fight the demons and keep them from spreading the word of
1019Gorokh.
1020
1021And Gorokh did find great fun in changing Valriel’s creation into a new
1022race, and so did he get elf and man and dwarf and tried to imbue them
1023with greater strength, and they became goblin and orc and kobold, and
1024troll, and giant, and ogre, and many other strong creatures. But their
1025intelligences greatly suffered from the process, and he was unhappy with
1026his creation, and while he was looking for a way to help them did Valriel
1027come to them under the guise of Gnarg and he told them to spread great
1028destruction and sorrow in the world so that the creation of Gorokh would
1029seem foul in the eyes of the living.
1030
1031So the Fire decided the creation of Valriel was imperfect and he had to
1032create his own new life. So he assembled the most powerful magic and the
1033strongest will and mightiest strength he could find and shaped these
1034into the most magnificent creatures he could imagine, and gave them
1035life, and called them dragons, and sent them forth to take the world for
1036themselves. But while the dragons are still the greatest pride of Gorokh,
1037many of them have abandoned him to serve yet another disguise of Valriel.
1038
1039And upon seeing the dragons, Valriel declared war and set his servants
1040upon the task of killing all the most valuables of Gorokh they could
1041find. Gorokh was consumed with sorrow, and devised a way to spare these
1042faithful servants, by allowing them to raise again from the grave even
1043after their deaths. But the servants of Valriel found these “un-dead”
1044an even greater abomination, and set forth to hunt them, and Valriel
1045delighted in the war and carnage that ensued.
1046
1047So did Gorokh, his fire dim with sorrow, decide to create a whole world
1048for him and his faithful. And this world he called Hell. But when he was
1049slowly bringing his faithful to the new world, Valriel treacherously
1050brought down a great fury upon the world, killing most of the faithful
1051that were left behind. So the Fire was finally enraged and decided to wage
1052the war that the Light wanted. And he opened many passages into the world
1053so that his armies could enter and destroy the minions of Valriel. And to
1054this war we are all called to chose sides and fight.
1055
1056
1057=head1 The Dwarven Creation Tale
1058
1059A play by Shakesdor the Dwarf.
1060
1061- What... where we come from? You’re not old enough for this
1062conversation.
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
1072First there was the Ore and the Forge. The Ore is what existence looked
1073like before it existed. The Forge was the untapped will, the potential in
1074the Ore to be everything that is, ever will be, or won’t.
1075
1076Over a span of time that is not time, because time wasn’t forged yet,
1077some tiny scraps of Ore drifted into the Forge. A piece of the Forge
1078merged with that Ore and became sentient. He has many names, but we call
1079him Mostrai.
1080
1081He spent ages of time-that-was-not-time exploring, learning the nature
1082of Ore and Forge and himself. Till he decided it was time to start
1083forging. And then, first of all, he forged time, so that he could separate
1084after from before, and so that he could exist absolutely - as opposed to,
1085at the same “time”, existing and not being created yet, which was the
1086case if time didn’t exist.
1087
1088Then, with things in order, he began forging things. The first thing he
1089forged was his armor, because he liked the touch of metal against his
1090body. Then he forged beer, because of course, beer is essential. He forged
1091it red like the Forge, and black like the Ore. The yellow thing, as we all
1092know, is an invention of those pansy elves.
1093
1094And he liked the beer. He liked it so much, that he was bored of drinking
1095it alone. Beer calls for a party. So he created the boar and the bird, to
1096be roasted; he created the mundane fire, which was a toned-down version of
1097the essence of the Forge, to roast them. And then he created the dwarf, to
1098dress in metal like him, to work the forge with him, but most importantly
1099of all, to party with him and partake of the sacred beer.
1100
1101But the dwarf started breeding like bugs, and it was quite distracting
1102to have them putting about in spaceless space. At any given point, there
1103were thousands of dwarves partying, thousands sleeping, thousands hunting,
1104and thousands forging. Mostrai thought it was good, but it was also damn
1105annoying. So he created an enormous mountain for them to live under. He
1106put the boar and bird, and a few other animals he had come up with later,
1107on the outside, where he forged woods and forest. And so that his children
1108wouldn’t wander forever, he placed these places in the middle of an
1109infinite 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,
1116there’s plenty more in the barrel.
1117
1118- All right, all rigth. (Big gulp.)
1119
1120The dwarves had amazing weapons to hunt with. Eventually, the hunt was
1121no challenge anymore. The best hunters would play-act wars between
1122themselves, to best hone their skills.
1123
1124Mostrai was worried that those fights might one day evolve into real
1125wars. So he created an enemy, something very different from the dwarf,
1126something very obviously wrong, which lived in the woods and preferred
1127bows and other coward weapons rather than hand-to-hand combat. He made
1128them incredibly lucky, because otherwise they would stand no chance - and
1129they came to believe they’re lucky because they’re protected by their
1130god, which of course doesn’t exist. He also made them very old, so that
1131they would think they existed before the dwarf - otherwise they would just
1132recognize our superior position and submit. And all was good and happy;
1133for time beyond count, dwarf and elf honed their skills against each
1134other, and prospered.
1135
1136I mean, have you ever fought an elf? Yes, it was an eternal war, but not
1137like those bloody gorefest the others have today. When dwarf and elf
1138fight, it’s clean, it’s beautiful, it’s according to the rules,
1139it’s a ritual of honor.
1140
1141Well, I digress. All was well, I said. But one day, one elf created yellow
1142beer. And that offended Mostrai to a level of rage unseen before. So he
1143created an entire new piece of the world, and populated it with humans,
1144and other horrible creatures, and then let these young ones discover our
1145land, so that they may raze the elf forests, ruin the elf nations, and
1146soil their honor. We’re not stupid enough to argue with Mostrai, so we
1147went underground, and we’re waiting for that to happen, to see what he
1148will do next.
1149
1150Can I drink in peace now? There, go play with your friends.
1151
1152
1153=head1 The Legend of the Builders
1154
1155People of the Old Empire believed that the whole universe was made by
1156powerful beings called Builders. Builders were not part of the world
1157like gods were - they lived Outside. Little is known about the Builders
1158themselves. The priests of the Empire weren’t quite sure themselves
1159about their names. Some were universally known, though: Mawëdel the Ruler
1160or Peterëm the Writing One were the most popular of the ever changing
1161list of Builders.
1162
1163The Builders understood very well how difficult it would be for them to
1164manage themselves every prayer made - making the Universe work was already
1165a time-consuming task. So they created gods to help them in their task.
1166
1167Most of the gods we know today were already popular in the times of the
1168Old Empire, like Mostrai or Lythander. Others changed names as time
1169passed. Gods provided their powers to the Faithful Ones, and helped them
1170by providing blessings and powerful weapons. The priests of the Old Empire
1171never believed gods made the world, as they were themselves part of it;
1172world-building was the Builders task.
1173
1174
1175=head1 The Foundation of Scorn
1176
1177Few archives remain from the times when Scorn was founded. The city is
1178probably the oldest of the whole known world. Before Fido, before the Old
1179Empire, maybe even before gods, Scorn was already there.
1180
1181It is usually said that Scorn was founded by Skud the Great. Many legends
1182are telling about Skud, the half-mythical hero. How he captured the first
1183dragons. How he fought unknown monsters in the East. How he built Scorn
1184and the First Inn. Some priests even postulated that Skud was in fact a
1185Builder. Skud created the First Inn because he wanted to sleep inside a
1186house, without the risk of being attacked by monsters during the night. He
1187left the Holy Guestbook, one of the oldest relics of Crossfire, where he
1188and his fellow friends wrote their names. Skud disappeared long before the
1189Old Empire came, and nowadays only the Builders can probably remember him.
1190
1191Recent researches show that, although he greatly contributed to the
1192popularity of the city, Skud didn’t found it: it was in fact created
1193by Tabb the Dark, a Builder that left very little information about him
1194behind. According to the Codex Skudensis that was discovered in the depths
1195of the Old City, “Scorn” would have been the real name of Tabb the
1196Dark.
1197
1198
1199=head1 The Coming of Color
1200
1201It is said that centuries before the foundation of the Old Empire, the
1202world was colorless and sad. Aware of that problem, the Builders decided
1203to bring color in the life of the Crossfire people. They called the
1204massive powers of Xepemes, The Source Of All Colors, on the universe. The
1205magical burst slowly covered the world with colors, but some elements
1206resisted for a long time. Prophets of the Old Empire announced that,
1207although victorious, the force of Xepemes wouldn’t stay forever: one
1208day, it would eventually fade away against a more powerful magical force,
1209the mysterious Pegemes (or Peengees?). This happened - but much after the
1210fall of the Empire.
1211
1212
1213=head1 The Bigworld
1214
1215The old world was small and it consisted of many pieces. Scorn, Navar,
1216Brittany and Santo Dominion were in one large piece. Darcap and the
1217Hill Village were in another smaller one. Lake Country was in yet
1218another. Pupland was still another. The world was not whole, and the
1219builders saw that this was wrong. They began the quest to unite the world
1220and established the Bigworld. As the builders united the world they saw
1221that it was much too small and began to make it larger. They raised up the
1222Great Mountains around Brest and they caused the Great Forest to grow. As
1223the time passed, Navar grew to become a great Kingdom and the builders
1224decided that it was a good city for players to call home and they gave the
1225Heroes a choice to serve Scorn or Navar. Nevertheless, Pupland is still
1226not part of this new world, but the builders wish to add it to the west of
1227Scorn.
1228
1229
1230=head1 Skud the Great
1231
1232One of the first Builders. Skud created many famous places, like the
1233Scorn’s First Inn or the Newbie Tower.
1234
1235The reasons of the disappearance of Skud are mostly unknown. The Codex
1236Skudensis mentions that it could have been because of the negative
1237influence of the Arch-Demon Neth Aq. It is thought that The Tower of Skud,
1238although left unfinished by its creator, may contain informations about
1239the fate of one of the most famous Builder
1240
1241
1242=head1 Legends of the Fall
1243
1244=head2 Of the first things
1245
1246First there was Chaos
1247
1248Second there was Something and Nothing
1249
1250Third there was Dark and Light
1251
1252It is said that the Something and the Nothing would fight and that, the
1253Dark and Light would fight also.
1254
1255This being told to me by a monk of Valriel, no longer in the order.
1256
1257=head2 On the nature of elemental essences
1258
1259It 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
1271When Mother Earth was suckling her children
1272
1273sky suckled from her right teat
1274
1275but flame and sea fought to suckle from her left teat
1276
1277this 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
1282This story begins nearly four thousand years ago, when Kadriosa IV, King
1283of Scorn, invaded the southern territories and pushed back the elven
1284barbarians that lived there.
1285
1286The elvish people fled, and many of them settled in a place they called
1287Vkovzerov, “The Country of the Three Waters”, as it was a rather
1288unique meeting point between a river, a lake, and the sea. There they
1289enjoyed a great prosperity, working with the local sprites to build
1290Tashkeren-tah, The City of the Wooden Towers.
1291
1292Two centuries passed, then three. The elven princes of Tashkeren-tah had
1293become powerful - and never in their hearts was the thirst of revenge
1294and hatred towards the people of Scorn extinguished. Now very familiar
1295with the various water creatures that inhabited their territory, they
1296had developed great skills in commanding rivers, and the beasts inside
1297them, and the creatures made from them. They knew that Scorn was highly
1298dependent on its seaport, and they had planned for the many years their
1299long life gave them to use the great power of water spirits to crush and
1300flood the city.
1301
1302But despite all their accumulated knowledge, their powers were too limited
1303to direct the most powerful entities of the seas, the Mouthes of the
1304Mariner, none other than the Greater Aquomons.
1305
1306For a long time, they were hesitant to call those, as they were dangerous,
1307treacherous creatures born during the darkest ages of the world, when
1308Haemdel the Legendary was crushed and the Three Artifacts lost. But so
1309strong was their flame of hatred that it soon burned the ropes of their
1310carefulness. Using their most powerful summoning spell, they convocated
1311one of the Greater Aquomons before them.
1312
1313“Who are you, you creatures with pointy ears, to dare awaken me from my
1314dreams, me, Vërno, the Fourth Drop ?”
1315
1316Elven Princes exposed what they wanted to Vërno, and the creature seemed
1317very interested at the idea of grabbing all the richesses of Scorn, and
1318bringing 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
1321by the Law of Equilibrium, established by the gods themselves when the
1322world was new and the seas infinite. And for my services, you’ll have to
1323pay the price.”
1324
1325- And what do you want for a price ? - Well, my needs are rather
1326modest. I’ll only claim a tenth of your own lands as a reward.”
1327
1328The Elven Princes quickly discussed the matter, and came to the conclusion
1329that it was a rather fair price to pay - after all, their territories
1330weren’t very large, and there was a lot of empty space all around, so
1331it wasn’t really a problem for them. Maybe it would for a couple of
1332peasants, but who cared about them more than of the vengeance against
1333Scorn ?
1334
1335And so they answered: “The Fate of Scorn is Sealed, then. We accept.”
1336
1337What happened then is too long to tell in details here, as it belongs
1338to another story. In short, Jovidjevska the elven girl, who had heard
1339everything, travelled to Scorn, and convinced the city wizards of the
1340truth of the menace. And when Vërno came to crush the city, they moved it
1341two days into the future, and the water hand of the Fourth Drop grabbed
1342only emptiness.
1343
1344Vërno, furious, came back to the Elves with a big smile, and told
1345them: “I did what you wanted, and flooded the territory on which Scorn
1346was established. Now I take my due price.”
1347
1348And that said, he selected the area on which the Elven City itself was
1349built, and covered it with water, its inhabitants trapped and killed there
1350without understanding what was happening.
1351
1352
1353=head1 The Tale of Lord Butakis - The Lost Stars of the Lake, Volume II
1354
1355Two thousand years passed. The lineage of the kings of Scorn died,
1356and another dynasty came, and another one after that. Wars were
1357conducted. Wizards of Scorn fled, and most of the knowledge disappeared,
1358and there were nothing but lakes and forests above the dead city of the
1359elves.
1360
1361And then, a man came. Where did he come from ? Nobody knows for
1362sure. Butakis was his name.
1363
1364Butakis was an ambitious young man. He had heard here and there strange
1365pieces of a weird story, about a sunken city, about a dark pact, about the
1366secret power of elves...
1367
1368For years, he studied the Arcanes, hunting for traces of the city, as he
1369was convinced that the lost wisdom of the elves of Vkovzerov would give
1370him a great power. And, finally, after 20 long years of searching, he
1371concluded that the secret was in the area now called “Lake Country“.
1372
1373And there, he came, and there was a small house made of wood, and there
1374was a tree, and there was a young elvish woman, dreaming at the stars,
1375under the tree. And Butakis fell in love, and the elvish lady fell in
1376love, and they both watched the stars. But soon, Butakis felt the need of
1377getting back into action, and finding the lost city and getting its power.
1378
1379The lady told him: “The true wisdom is in those stars, and in that
1380tree, and in that house you see. You’ll only find unrest by aiming for
1381more.”
1382
1383But Butakis had already made up his mind, and he brought back engineers,
1384and sappers, and miners, and they all worked to build a huge machine to
1385pump the water, and discover the city. During ten years, Butakis worked on
1386this, hoping that in the end, the elvish lady would be at his side, and
1387that she would be his wife, princess of the restored city.
1388
1389During all the work, he was perpetually annoyed by a small group of
1390bandits, lead by Twak the Red Fox. Twak and his men conducted a real
1391guerilla war against Butakis, as they saw him as a danger for the whole
1392country, because his plans were damaging nature and could also have awaken
1393dark power sleeping in the sunken city. Several times, they sabotaged
1394the machine, stole tools, raped engineers and designers. But each time,
1395Butakis and his followers repaired the machines, engaged new people, and
1396increased security.
1397
1398
1399=head1 The Tale of Lord Butakis - The Lost Stars of the Lake, Volume III
1400
1401And now, ten years after the beginning, the work was completed, and he
1402invited the elvish lady to come and see the accomplishment of a lifelong
1403dream.
1404
1405The Elvish lady came, as beautiful as ever. And on the balcony at the top
1406of the pump, they watched the stars, and she kissed him, and she when they
1407were in the bed he had prepared for that very special night before the
1408pumping started, she whispered at his ear.
1409
1410That, Butakis had waited for long, but he didn’t expect what she told
1411him then.
1412
1413“Ten years you were away, and ten years I watched the stars with
1414Twak. And now for him, and for he choose me and my heart, I’ll
1415disappear, and so does your dream.”
1416
1417Butakis understood that he had been fooled, that she only kept her
1418attention away enough for Twak and three of his faithful men to sabotage
1419the pump. And so came a great rumble from the basis of the huge building,
1420and so the huge engines exploded, and so was his dream reduced to smoke,
1421smoke that still covers most of Lake Country nowadays. The Elvish lady
1422probably died, as nobody saw her again after that. And so did the brave
1423Twak, but his spirit survived in the wind - or so say some people.
1424
1425Butakis, so strange as it may look, managed to survive, although in bad
1426shape, as one would expect. Disfigured, he survived until now using black
1427magic or machines to keep him alive, and he tried to gather again men to
1428restart his project. But it was now said all around that it was a doomed,
1429broken man - and so he in fact was Lake country was said to be haunted by
1430Twak, and several travellers saw a young elvish lady, watching the stars
1431at night, under a tree, near the lake.
1432
1433Nobody ever accepted to work on the foolish project again. Butakis now
1434awaits in his sinister castle, ruling a shattered kingdom lost in the fog
1435his machine left behind. A tormented man, that is said to look in the
1436direction of the lake from the highest tower of his castle, every night.
1437
1438But for him never came again the Elvish girl, and forever his soul stays
1439alone. And so ends what we know about Butakis and Twak, and so dies my
1440story.
1441
1442
1443=head1 Wolfen the White, The White Hunter, The One Who Listens
1444
1445Wolfen is one of the three moons orbiting around The World. It is said to
1446be the spirit of the legendary hunter Wolfen, who tracked Kalkaruntes, God
1447of the Dragons, to is cavern and vainquished it.
1448
1449In astrology, Wolfen is the symbol of practical mind, swiftness and
1450flexibility, but also cowardice and stealing. It is associated with the
1451Earth element in Alchemancy. Wolfen is seen as a protector by hunters and
1452rangers. Priests of Lythander think it is the reincarnation of the wolf
1453that hunts with Lythander in the divine forests of Nerënna. Fenxes see it
1454as Fixas, the one that saved them from the Humans so long ago.
1455
1456
1457=head1 The Wizard School of Blue
1458
1459“Although the School disappeared with the Empire itself from The World,
1460several wizards claimed to be the heirs of their ancient, secret wisdom,
1461and nicknamed “the Blue Ones”, a reference to the color of the School
1462Banner.” – Gros, the Irrelevant One
1463
1464
1465=head1 The Great Heliograph
1466
1467A device made by Mer’Eric the Walker. Built on the highest point of the
1468Brestian Hills, it is basically a giant magnifying glass, using a complex
1469mechanism commanding several mirrors, that is able to concentrate the
1470sunlight into a powerful beam. The concentrator is associated to a Sun
1471Stone that can receive similar long-range light signals and transform
1472them into pure thaumic energy. A keyboard is attached to a mechanical
1473obturator, allowing a single operator to send coded messages to very long
1474distances. A magically-powered scriptor writes any such incoming message
1475capted by the Sun Stone.
1476
1477Although Mer’Eric only saw the Great Heliograph as a research project
1478and as a way to communicate easily across huge distances, this device
1479is also a powerful weapon that can burn nearly anything several miles
1480away. This is probably why he decided to hide it in a sealed cave.
1481
1482A similar device was built by the Mad Mage of Scorn, but its fate is
1483unknown.
1484
1485
1486=head1 The Harelkirjan Sisters
1487
1488Also called the Twin Witches, they were two powerful women wizards; Herin
1489was specialized in White Magic, while her sister Urdin was a master of the
1490Black Art. Both of them tried to improve the life of the people living
1491all around their house, and introduced the use of cats as spirit-watchers
1492in Scorn. Unfortunately for them, they were burned by an angry Brestian
1493fanatical mob for “illegal use of Arcane Powers”.
1494
1495
1496=head1 Ilrya, The Mountain Huntress
1497
1498Ilrya was an elven spellcaster and huntress from the underground city of
1499Eallera, that is venerated as a lesser god by most of the dwarves living
1500in the Northern Territories. She killed the Bear of Snuddenrach in 3657EK.
1501
1502
1503=head1 Irial, The Fast One, The Shy Light
1504
1505Irial is a lesser spirit of flashlight - the light that you can see when
1506there’s thunder, for example. It is represented as a small, jumpy and
1507fast fairy with a temperamental mood.
1508
1509
1510=head1 Khorolizov
1511
1512One of the three great dwarven kingdoms. “Khorolizov” means “Green
1513Gold”, which is a reference to the Green Sand, an alchemical component
1514the dwarves of Khorolizov are the only ones to produce. It is probably
1515the oldest of the three kingdoms, founded long before the Old Empire of
1516Khelens reached the shores of the Continent.
1517
1518
1519=head1 Kragi, The Crocodile One, Fish-Hunter
1520
1521Kragi is a very ancient spirit, representing the Dangerous Waters, and
1522the creatures hidden in stagnant swamps. Kragi was already feared by
1523Ancient Jiradittis, 2000 years before Khelens. A lot of river fishermen
1524symbolically throw one fish out of what they gathered, to appease the
1525spirit of Kragi so that the next fishing will go without trouble.
1526
1527
1528=head1 Cromli, The Rocky One
1529
1530Crolmi is the Dwarven Spirit of Rocs and Mountains. It has no temples, as
1531it is said that buildings made of stone anger him (it is like “building
1532with his own flesh”).
1533
1534
1535=head1 Glamdri, The Darkness Breaker, The Last Standing One
1536
1537Glamdri is a lesser spirit of light - it is said that candlelights are
1538manifestations of Glamdri, for example.
1539
1540Glamdri doesn’t represent a magical light - more a spiritual light, the
1541last pinch of hope in a desperate world. Glamdri also represents original
1542thinking used to get out of difficult situations, as opposed to Sarikka -
1543the Raging Fire - who tries to resolve those by extreme violence.
1544
1545
1546=head1 Archmage Rhyz, (Entorinaas Durdennis Rhyz, Fourth Archmage of the Seat, Herdysenmark of Normania)
1547
1548Rhyz was an Archmage of the Blue School during the Old Days of the Empire.
1549
1550“(...)Unlike Dhelyy Olyy, his contemporary rival for the Seat, Rhyz
1551focused mostly on closing the gap that existed between the art of fighting
1552and the Arcane. While Dhelyy Olyy believed in the dual association of the
1553Warrior and the Wizard, each with its own strength increased by a long
1554specialization in their respective fields, Rhyz believed in the idea of
1555a “super warriard”, a combination of a powerful wizard and a strong
1556warrior. As such, he devised many items that increased the strength and
1557combat capabilities of their wearers, hoping that wizard apprentices would
1558so be more inclined to learn the battle skills of warriors.
1559
1560Unfortunately for Rhyz, most of his followers relied more and more on
1561magical strength more than physical training, leaving them to a severe
1562defeat at the Battle of Moriach, when Dhelyy used an anti-magic field over
1563them.”
1564
1565(Quote from the Codex Simochusianus, Volume XVII)
1566
1567
1568=head1 Archdaemonist Xebinon
1569
1570Xebinon was an Archmage and Daemonist that was since trapped by a demon of
1571the 10th Circle in his mannor.
1572
1573It is said that Xebinon used the Crown of Hellfires to try to tame the
1574Arch-daemon (and failed) - this is a crown that gave a lot of power, but
1575drained the magical force of the wearer at the same time, making the spell
1576regeneration more difficult. This was in fact a cursed, twisted artifact,
1577created by daemons for people who were seeking short-term power, but would
1578thus head directly for long-term soul slavery.
1579
1580Xebinon is sometimes called “The faceless one”, as it is said that the
1581daemon trapped him by stealing his visage. This may explain why magical
1582artifacts wearing his name are often helmets.
1583
1584
1585=head1 Argoth, the Fish-City of the Two Towers
1586
1587Argoth is the name of a city that was located West of Scorn, in the middle
1588of the sea, in an island that since sunken after the explosion of the
1589volcano of the same name, in 674EK. It is called the City of the Two
1590Towers, because two huge towers were built there, to guide the ships
1591navigating on the oceans between Bigworld and Khelens.
1592
1593Argoth was a dwarven city built on one of the highest mountains known,
1594rooted in the depths of the sea, and climbing so high in the skies that
1595uneducated travelers said that it was a “stairway to the gods”. On the
1596top of the mountain, the Imperial Governors built the Two Towers, who were
1597visible from Scorn, about 200km far from them.
1598
1599The dwarves of Argoth had a terrible secret: in the depths of the caves
1600below the mountains, they had trapped Hregalakhen, one of the last
1601survivors of the race of the Ancient Dragons, who ruled Bigworld long
1602before the time of humans. Unfortunately for the dwarves, the dragon got
1603free for an unknown reason, and destroyed the city, the mountain crumbling
1604and disappearing forever into the ocean. The Imperial authorities spread
1605the false story of a volcanic eruption to limit the panic a free dragon
1606the size of Hregalakhen would have caused in the population. The fate of
1607the dragon is unknown to this day.
1608
1609
1610=head1 Zormola, The Bashing One
1611
1612Zormola was a great female orcish warrior, that is sometimes considered
1613as a lesser divinity by not only orcs, but also by southern barbarians or
1614even dwarves of Herfensheim, who salute her courage on the battlefield.
1615
1616
1617=head1 Morgul, The Tower Builder, The Dark Climber
1618
1619Morgul was a Dark Mage that built a tower in the hope of creating a bridge
1620with the skies, so that demons could attack heavens. Fortunately for
1621angels, a group of adventurers defeated him in 2374EK.
1622
1623
1624=head1 Ranisha the Red, The Red Death, The One Who Commands
1625
1626Ranisha is one of the three moons orbiting around the world of
1627Crossfire. It is said to be the spirit of the legendary warrior Ranisha,
1628who was supposed to be an invincible general that was even able to
1629vainquish gods themselves on the battlefield.
1630
1631In astrology, Ranisha is the symbol of violence, hatred, murder, but
1632also of strength and courage. It is associated with the fire element in
1633Alchemancy. Priests of Ruggili consider it as the watchful eye of their
1634god.
1635
1636
1637

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