=encoding utf8 =begin comment This is the source for some of the books in crossfire, at least, it should become one. Authors: Gorlin Mark Wedel Marc Lehmann The Crossfire Wiki Each =head1 should become its own book. =end comment =head1 History of Creation, by Khalis, Volume I In the beginning the land was barren. No life yet moved upon the large continents and islands that lay empty between the seas. In the seas, nothing moved as well. The world itself held its breath while the Creator rested. Then, a spirit from outside, serving the Most High, entered the world, and she saw a place yet empty of life. So she began to create grass to cover the face of the earth, and trees and other plants. Other spirits from outside watched, and agreed that Gaea had wrought wonders upon the devoid place. Since she was by far stronger than the others, those lesser spirits asked her for leave to join in her work. Gaea accepted their offer, and so the spirits of the Elements of Fire, Air, Water and Earth began their work as Gaea's servants. It can be assumed, that outside the world, the Creator watched and approved. In time, the elemental spirits came before Gaea, and beseeched her to help them create beings able to move of their own free will, living among the plant world. And Gaea saw that without animals, the green world would still miss a vital element, so she in turn went before the Creator. What happened between them noone knows, but soon afterwards living beings began to populate the land. Fish swam in the seas and rivers, birds flew their first flights through the air, and other species moved on the land. The cycle of Nature seemed complete, and Gaea was content. Already, however, other spirits had noticed what Gaea had done. Dark were they, and they treasured still the image of the empty world. To them, a place devoid of life seemed far better, far more perfect, and so they entered the world to return the world to its past. Sicknesses and poison began to spread among the animals, that threatened to extinguish entire species - yeah, indeed several of them might have died during that time, of which we have next to no information. Bones in the ground seem to indict that there were large animals which do not exist anymore, and sadly, we may not meet them evermore. In anger, Gaea named these dark spirits the Devourers, since they were those who devoured all life, and she and her Elemental allies fought them back, and tried to heal what they could. =head1 History of Creation, by Khalis, Volume II In that time it also happened, that a great many of the creatures the Fire Elementals had helped to make were betoken of great madness, and started to rampage among the other beings. In time Gaea and her allies found out the truth, that one of the greatest Elementals of Fire, Ruggili, had turned against them, perhaps on order of the Devourers. Yet, Ruggili now served neither Devourers nor Gaea, instead he sought to increase his own power, and spread madness and chaos upon the world, and he became mightier than any other Elemental in existence. The other Elemental beings came to Gaea, and spoke, "With both renegade Ruggili and the Dark Ones to fight, we need others to assist us. Some of the beings we created are already strong enough to do their part, such as the unicorn or the sphinx. The strongest of them, however, the dragons, have switched their support to Ruggili. We need allies, or this world will become either a place of eternal fire or one of darkness." Gaea was clearly troubled by this, and again left the world to commune with the Creator. Shortly afterwards, new, more intelligent races emerged on the world, among them the dwarves, elves, trolls, goblins, humans, halflings, lizardman, any many others, and they joined the fight on the side of Gaea and the Elementals. During this time, which we now call the Second Age, cultures grew and were destroyed, races rose to prominence and disappeared again, mighty magics were found and forgotten. Ruggili#s followers were beaten back at great cost, and the forces of Gaea could again concentrate on the fight against the Devourers. The fight went on for a long time, but it seemed that the Nature Goddess was able to reform the world into a place of Life. The mortal races assisting her had become weary of the fight, however, and spoke to her thus: "The fight has clearly been won, the death spirits and the Fire God are in retreat. We wish to fight no more, but to settle down in peace. Though we still respect you and always will, we can give you our support no longer." Gaea accepted in silence, even though she knew that this meant that the war would not have a definite ending. Neither the Devourers nor Ruggili would be defeated be her alone. The Devourers and Ruggili watched the retreat of the mortals, the Devourers planning to attack and destroy them now that Gaea was not near, and then to use their own dead spirits against the Nature Goddess. Ruggili instead bided his time, sending down dragons to burn mortal cities and Devourer strongholds both. The Elementals serving Gaea assisted the mortals still, and gave some protection to them so that the Devourers would not destroy them. During this, Third, Age, the mortals segregated according to their nature. The dwarves moved into the mountains, and with the help of Earth Elementals began their first kingdoms underneath the face of the earth. The elves moved into large woods, the lizardmen into swamps. Wars broke out between some of the races, none however anywhere in that measure as the Great War of the Second Age. =head1 History of Creation, by Khalis, Volume III In the Third Age it also happened, that spirits from the outside, who had been content to watch until that time, took pity on some of those races. The goblins, orcs, trolls and giants began to serve a being called Gnarg, who had promised to raise and protect them. He helped them build up protection against the many poisons which still plagued the lands, and in time they began to use poison as a weapon against their enemies. Their most hated enemies were the dwarves and the elves, who each had been stronger than them before the coming of Gnarg. Now, stronger than ever before, they attacked them and sought to utterly destroy them. First they moved against the elves. They burned down forests and elven cities, until the being Lythander came to guide the elves and to oppose Gnarg. He sent confusion to the goblin races, and cursed them to utter stupidity. this curse is still active even now, there are fewer orcs or goblins who possess high intuition, intellect or magical affinity then in any other of the mortal races. During the time the curse was first spoken it was much worse. The orcs fell down muttering insanely, the giants and trolls clubbed each other senseless, and the goblins jumped down high cliffs to escaped the voices in their head. The goblin attack faltered, and all the goblin races and giantkind returned - after a few accidents and wrong turns - to their homes. They also immediately stopped their plans to attack the dwarves. The dwarves, however, had other problems. The dragons also claimed the mountains, and the followers of Ruggili sought out the dwarven cities and the treasures they offered. The pitiful cries of the dwarves, and the many deaths among dwarvenkind, roused the spirit being Mostrai, who entered the world and came to the dwarves. He showed them how to create magical weapons which might wound even the greatest of dragons, and he also helped them to withstand the dragons' fire. As was Gnarg to the orcs and goblins, and as was Lythander to the elves, Mostrai became god to the dwarves, protected them as they worshipped him for it. The most numerous of the mortal races had no god of their own, and they despaired, seeing that others had gods of great power to call upon for assistance. In their fear of being destroyed, in their anger for being left out, and their hatred for those who left them alone, they cried out for help. And in the darkness, someone heard them. Far away, in another dimension most probably, dwelt beings of great power. Endless torment was their desire, hatred, fear and anger the ways to their dark hearts, and fire their most potent weapon. When the humans had cried long enough, the doorway was opened, and the demon host went through. The demon lord Gorokh led those who entered the world, and he offered the humans many riches and great power in exchange for their worship and for sacrifice. many humans fell, and began to serve the powers of darkness. Others sought redemption, and a pure spirit called Valriel came to their aid. Others again returned to the worship of Gaea, hoping that the forces of Life would protect them, a few humans even went to the goblin, elven and dwarven gods for help. =head1 History of Creation, by Khalis, Volume IV As the human worship began to spread out among all the gods and beings of power who had entered the world, a small group of them who wished not for the blessings of Nature but the power of the elements as weapons spake to one of the Elemental Lords following Gaea. And as Ruggili long ago, Sorig left Gaea's path and accepted the mortal's worship, teaching them the way of lightning and thunder in return. Other small sects began to emerge, and then the one things noone had foreseen happened. Some humans began to worship the powers of Death, who until then never had living followers. Those poor deranged people believed that in death they would be truly free, and the Devourers gladly accepted their help. When those humans died, the most mighty of the Undead were finally created - those who joined the Devourers of their own free will: the vampires, the spectres and the liche. And so the world lies before us today, turmoil and chaos has spread among the many gods who have entered the world. The fights are numerous, but at least we can be called lucky that no single faction has power as great as during the Second Age - for another Great War would probably destroy the world itself. In the First Age only the spirit being existed, in the Second Age we mortals served the forces of Life to survive, in the Third Age we left them and began to worship other Gods. This then is the Fourth Age, in which we hope the ceaseless fighting and wars will finally end, and we will be allowed to live in peace. But whose peace will it be, which gods, which peples will lead and which will follow? Khalis, Grand Hierophant, Servant of Gaea =head1 History for the Impatient Written by Maris the Scholar, a student of Khalis whom he opposed much later in his life. Gaea created the world. However, for things to thrive, rain is needed so Sorig came along, and provided the rain and lightning. The lightning created fire, and so Ruggili was born. Gaea is the source of all nature and life, without any great need for followers, as the natural world itself gives her power. She gave life to a number of sons, all gods of their own. Her son Mostrai saw a flat and uninteresting world and created massive mountains and deep dungeons. Her other son Lythander was bored and created some animals. Gnarg saw that and created the goblins on the world for some reason we no longer know. Lythander, disgusted what the goblins where doing to the beautiful forests, created the elves and halflings to help protect the forests from uncontrolled goblin destruction. Mostrai, seeing what was happening to the forests, decided to take pre-emptive measures and created the dwarves to live deep within the mountains he created. Then Gaea created the humans, to protect and provide balance in the plains and along the coasts. With the constant battles for balance, many of these new life forms died. The gods that created them did originally see the souls that these new life forms had, but the gods Gorokh and Valriel did. They took the worst (and best) of these departing souls in order to create creatures for their own desires. The souls that neither claimed became the domain of the devourers. What the god of devourers lacked in the strength of individual souls, he gained in the sheer number of souls he controlled, and with these he created wights and vampires to give him even more souls. Some of the powerful humanoids worshipped him in hopes of eternal life. For some of these, they gained this eternal life in the form and lichs and demilichs. The Red Dragons were created by Rugilli because he wanted some worshippers of his own. It is believed that the other dragons eventually resulted from those by the constant in-breeding experiments Ruggili made. Nobody knows where the nearly god-like titans came from. Some scholars claim they could be descendants of some of the forgotten gods so little i known about nowadays. =head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. =head2 Calendrical Introduction Present Day We are currently in 8437 Era Khelentari (EK). =head2 Volume I: The Early Days Around 350 EK: The Story of the Fourth Mariner is written by an unknown author. 435 EK: Colony of Skorn Founded. It would eventualy become the city of Scorn. 711 EK: The outpost of Heaven’s Gate is founded. =head2 Volume II: Second Millenia EK 1223 EK: Ekkis the Drunk leads a disastrous crusade against the Sirens in the southern seas. =head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. =head2 Volume III: Third Millenia EK 2287 EK: Battle of Tered - The Kingdom of the Masts is dismantled by Navar. 2567 EK: Fernast Fergono, exiled from Navar, leads a famous exploration expedition in the south-east seas. 2765 EK: The city of Heaven’s Gate is burned by pirates. =head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. =head2 Volume IV: Fourth Millenia EK 3084-3154 EK: The Artificers' Wars take place in the East. 3154 EK: The High Tide of the Gears: End of the Artificers' Wars; many islands are flooded or disappear forever in the depths of the Eastern Ocean. 3867 EK: Juradiths take the direction of Scorn and create a republic. 3885 EK: Juradiths are expelled from Scorn by revolting citizens. They are vainquished at Battlefield Lake. =head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. =head2 Volume V: Fifth Millenia EK 4127 EK: King Kadriosa IV of Scorn leads a Crusade against the elves of the south-east, who flee the country. 4131 EK: Foundation of the Elven City of Tashkeren-tah at Vkovzerov (Lake Country). 4453 EK: The Elven City of Tashkeren-tah sinks into the largest lake of Lake Country. =head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. =head2 Volume VI: Sixth Millenia EK 5524 EK: The Meteomage Grab of Ledh fails an experiment, making the weather mad for a while, an event remembered as “The Weather Madness”. Late LVIth Century EK: The Great Schism between the Simplifists led by Mish the Toon and the Stabilists: The Sedition Wars. 5581 EK: Battle of the Glowing Crystal: the Order of the Careful Coders is disbanded. 5598 EK: The Simplifists exile themselves into the Pocket Dimension of Daï-Moh-Nî, “The World With a Future”, in Ancient Daigojij Language. =head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. =head2 Volume VII: Seventh Millenia EK 6356 EK: Butakis settles in Lake Country and starts building the Lake Pump. 6356 EK: The Lake Pump is destroyed by Twak. Lake Country is covered by fog. Butakis is disfigured. =head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. =head2 Volume VIII: Eighth Millenia EK 7124 EK: Harta accidentally creates a Dimensional Grid, connecting the Crossfire Continuum with the Daï-Moh-Nî Dimension. 7563 EK: The tower of Melficef the Red explodes. =head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. =head2 Volume IX: Ninth Millenia EK 8009 EK: Euthville is destroyed. =head1 Euthville History The Ruins of Euthville can be found just off the Imperial Highway north of Scorn. =head2 The Origins of the City The Codex Skudensis tells that Euthville was founded by the Euthanasia the Builder, hence its name. =head2 Past and Destruction Ah, Euthville - “City of the Pearl”, in Old Hemdalite, has indeed a rather sad story!! If you went there about half a millenia ago, you’d have seen something very different than the field of haunted ruins it has since become. It was initially founded by a handful of industrious, clever dwarves, that had found a mystical way to locate fields of precious Karitta, the famous metal that is as transparent as a pearl of the North Sea, yet as strong as the best irons of Navar. And thus, they found at the location of Euthville a lot of that raw metal, which quickly made the city one of the richest of all. And for a long time, it stayed so. The inhabitants of Euthville weren’t interested by war, work, or anything else too tiresome - they preferred to pay somebody else to do all of this. And with the advanced technical knowledge bring by the dwarves, working was less and less an issue for them. Yet yhey were facing a problem. All their devices, all their machineries, all their tricks to cheat with nature required energy. Lots of energy. They relied first on the strength of horses and donkeys, but it wasn’t enough. Then, they tamed the dangerous Wyverns of Kal-Durandasi, so that the hot lizards would provide them with the full force of their steamy breath. But soon, it wasn’t enough. They also used the hidden power provided by the Faeries of the Tarniska river, building a dam, so that they could put the invisible horses of water that the sylphids are rumored to breed in use. But even so, their hunger for power wasn’t satisfied, and became an increasing nuisance for them. So, the Commander of Euthville (which was, more or less, the equivalent to our King at Scorn), finally decided to send messengers across the whole Continent, calling the world for a challenge. Whoever would be able to fulfill the needs of Euthvillians of energy would become the new Commander, thus the ruler of the richest city ever built since Khelens. Many answered the call, of course, and many failed. Wind, Sun, Stars, even dwarven beer were proposed, but nothing seemed to be enough. For years, wizards tried. And failed. And then came a boy. He wasn’t a wizard, nor pretended to be one. He was young, but the story didn’t kept the record of his name, and some now think it is because he was damned. Who knows? The Boy sat in the middle of the city, playing with his flute, laughing whenever he saw one of the demonstrations the powerful wizards and engineers failing again and again. After several days, the Commander noticed the Boy, and said: “who are you to laugh, you, who has only a flute ?” “I have only a flute for sure - but there’s more in my simple pipe than in those legions of wizards.” “Really ?” said the Commander, half-laughing, half-curious, “so you think you can solve my challenge ?” The Boy smiled. “Not only I can, but I shall - and my price will be quite acceptable to give you the energy you need.” “And that would be...?” - “A new pipe.” came the reply “That one is becoming old.” “Agree, you have your chance.” The Boy then started to play an amused melody. It sounded like an invitation to a great feast, the opening of a meeting where everybody was invited. And then came from earth itself sounds of steps, climbing from the depth. The fountain that stood in the middle of the place crumbled, leaving a great hole from which flames emerged. But the fire seemed to dance at the rythm of the music itself. The Boy then said to the Commander: “As long as you keep playing for the Demons there, at least 23 hours each day, you’ll get them to make whatever you need.” And he gave them the score, took a brand new silver flute, and left, and never was seen again at Euthville. At first, things seemed fine, and the Commander couldn’t believe his luck, as a pipe was a feeble price to pay for such a powerful recipe of prosperity. Who wouldn’t want to tame the Demons themselves? Quickly, though, it appeared obvious that, for enough demons to be there, that music needed to be played rather loudly. And if, at first, it sounded entertaining, joyous, and funny, it quickly grew on the nerves of many. And especially because it was played 23 hours a day. Finally, the Commander decided that the city couldn’t stand this anymore, and ordered that the Demons had to be attracted faraway from the city. On this fateful day, a whole fanfare left the city, hoping that the demons would follow, attracted by the music. And so, they did. One after another, they climbed out of Earth itself, and walked in the direction of the music, obviously unaware of the hundreds of buildings they were crushing by their giant footsteps, and the thousands of inhabitants that they toasted with their dark fire. Seeing that, even the bravest ones went mad, and ran for their lives, leaving pipes, clavicelles and harpsichords fall on the ground. The rest of the story is easy to understand: Demons, free from the magical music that enslaved them, crushed what remained of the city, in a bloody fest that they will forever keep in their twisted memories. The Commander went mad, of course, and it is said that his madness was so strong that his mind was unable to understand that he was dead. If you search enough in the ruins of Euthville, you’ll probably encounter his ghost, as well as those of the many who perished for having believed that mortals could enslave the hell. Some demons stayed there, obviously enjoying the area and its newborn ashes that smelled fresh blood and carnage. Euthville is now, of course, a dangerous, deserted place, and the richesses that are still sleeping below the ruins of its former palaces are now guarded by powerful entities of the 9th Circle. Many said that, if the Enchanted Music could be found, it would open the gates of many treasures, but because none of the former Euthvillians survived, and because nobody knows where the Boy went afterwards, those gates are still closed. I’ve heard that the School of Daemonology was precisely founded to rediscover that spell. But who am I to claim this to be true ? I’m only a man of the past that tells stories before a fire, and the fire is dying, and so has my tale reached the end. =head1 The Kiritani Pass (from "Euthville Legends") The "Kiritani Pass" is the part of the map you can see on world_104_114, between the two random caves and the forest full of hidden stuff. Nowadays, it is marsh and beach, but centuries ago, it was a passage for boats sailing from and to Euthville. =head1 Sannistra (from "Euthville Legends") The Sannista is a legendary flying boat that was powered by the reaction of a fire and a water elemental. It was built by the tenth Commander of Euthville, Farkennis, as a gift for the 18th Birthday of his daughter, Sannista. That’s the boat that was stolen by Fax when he fled from Euthville, and that he used to get to Khelens. Giusitta the Verbous then sailed it back to the Continent, and hid it “somewhere in the mountains of Euth”. So I *guess* she would have put it there, although I’m not *sure*. Many people thought the story was speaking about the mountains just east of the ruined city, but now that I’ve discovered those two caves, I’d rather bet on them - it seems more logical. =head1 The Name of the World I, Forag the little-known, have invested my lifetime into exploring the various names of this, our World. In this tome I wrote down all my knowledge. Be careful with it, else it might overwhelm you, as it did me! In Khelens and most of its territories, it was named “The Earth”, while the major western landmass was called “The Continent” while the eastern landmass was called "the Wilderness". Fendrakis used “Raxida”, which is also the name they gave to the Fox Lady, Mother of All Things, deity. Elves traditionally use “Eänella”, which translates as “The Land of Green” Dwarves of Khorolizov use “Herdankaupf”, “Country of the Horses”, which is a reference to their mythology (see the legend of the Twelve Days for that) The Orcish name is “Knâgsh-Ishzeh”, “Rotten Branch” The people of the Old Wall, used the name “Harinappa”, “Bottom of the Pit”, to designate the world. Most people nowadays use the old Khelenti name ("The Earth") or its direct translation in local languages/idioms. =head1 Melficef the Red Melficef was a powerful mage that conducted thaumical studies to try to store magical energies in an efficient way. He created many self-recharging rod spells that are still commonly used today, as well as the thaumic bomb, a device storing a massive amount of mana and releasing it in a violent explosion - such an explosion actually killed the unfortunate Melficef himself. =head1 The Kingdom of Scorn Nestled snugly in a sheltered bay at the west of the Imperial Highway, Scorn is a safe and welcoming place for those who pass by. Once a great military force whose power affected the entire world, its influence has since waned, the castle in the centre of town now serving a mostly ceremonial purpose. Nonetheless by virtue of its position on the Imperial highway the city has maintained its importance as a stopping off point for travellers between the other major cities and it is an attractive location for trade and commerce in its own right. This combined with the sheltered harbour and key shipping lines, ensures that Scorn remains a key crossroads bustling with activity, long after its former military dominence has diminished. =head2 History 435EK: The colony of Skorn was founded by Skud the Great, when his expedition reached the shores of the continent. It is said that he first pitched his tent on the site where the inn now stands. 1064-1135EK: The war against the Dragons. Scorn is destroyed. Most of its inhabitants flee to the south. After 1115EK, the city is progressively rebuilt on top of the now buried ruins nowadays known as the Old City. 1177EK: War of the Sea Princes. The last imperial ship reaches Scorn. Contacts with Khelens are now broken. Scorn becomes an independent kingdom. =head1 History of Lake Country Lake Country originaly was where the elves who where exiled from the north by the kings of Scorn, during the Vth millenia EK. They named the area Vkovzerov. The major elven city of Vkovzerov was Tashkeren-tah. It was destroyed by a Water arch-elemental in 4453EK. =head1 Visit our Training Centres! We, Training Centres Incorporated provide the best service for warriors, wizards and anybody else who wants to improve quickly. For a modest fee, you can get almost exclusive access to our large training areas. =head2 Pricing Humamoid A Bonecrusher, a Firestar, and a Demonspawn Shield. Undead Lich dust, a Spectre’s ectoplasm, and a Skull’s tooth. Dragon An Ancient dragon’s steak, an Ancient Blue Dragon’s steak, and an Ancient red dragon’s steak. Demon A Demonbane, a Belzebub’s sword, and a Firebrand. =head3 Free Centres As a special service, we provide access to two of our older training centres completely free of charge, although you will understand that there will be no guarentees given for success: Goblin & Zombie - Located south of Scorn Skeleton & Ogre - Located somewhere around Navar =head2 Locations These are the locations to the entrances of the Training Centers. world_107_128 world_118_101 world_106_109 - Humanoid world_124_113 - Undead world_107_120 - Goblin & Zombie =head1 The Kingdom of Navar Straddling the corner of the Imperial highway as it turns North near the Eastern border of the known world, and surrounded by dangerous territory, Navar is an unlikely site for one of the world’s grandest cities. Yet there it stands, dominating the skyline for miles around and showing the same bustling activity expected of any thriving market town. =head1 The Kingdom of the Masts A Merchant Republic led by the now destroyed city of Kari Kori. At its peak, the Kingdom of the Masts ruled nearly a quarter of the world, and its fleet was unmatched. Kari Kori was opposed to Navar in a series of wars that it finally lost at the Battle of Tered in 2287 EK. =head1 The Artificers' Wars A series of wars conducted between 3084 and 3154 EK by a coalition led by Navari Princes against the Artificers, a group of mages that were masters in the now banned magical field of Technomancy. The Artificers were close to obtain a complete victory, but were finally destroyed by the raw power of their own biggest creation, The Thaumic Gear. The explosion of the Gear shattered the whole east of the world, and many territories forever sank into the ocean, including Kari Kori, the Technomages’ city. =head1 Juradiths Dissidents Juradiths, named after Juradith, Minor Spirit of Equity, were a group of activists that wanted to turn the Kingdom of Scorn into a republic in the second-half of the XXXIVth century EK. They succeeded at overthrowing King Karatan III, but their vengeful, fanatical excesses quickly turned most Scornians against them. When trying to recapture the city, their army was defeated by the Scornian Militia with the help of a couple city mages, who flooded the Juradiths into a magically created lake. Juradiths still exist as a small political faction today, although they’ve long traded their violent ways for some weird traditions whose origins and meaning are now mostly forgotten. =head1 The Gaean Legend of Creation =head2 Age of The Void In the beginning there was Gaea, the force of nature. SHE filled the whole of existence with her being. After a few billion years, this became to grow boring and lonely, so SHE decided to have children. At first SHE created a host of forces like Herself, eternal and divine. But with all their power, they couldn’t get along with each other, so Gaea decided that wasn’t a good idea. SHE decreed that from that point on all creatures but HER would have a limited lifetime. But most of HER first children disagreed, and went away to an unknown location. =head2 Age of The Small World So Gaea created a small world and populated it with limited creatures - animals and plants of all sorts. For a few million years she was happy to watch them. But her remaining faithful children were growing restless and wanted to make their own experimentations too. Finally SHE got bored again, as her creations weren’t self-aware and therefore weren’t much of a company. But SHE was also curious, because her creatures had developed many different styles of living, and SHE desired to compare them. And Gaea destroyed the original world, breaking it in four new ones. =head2 Age of The Four Worlds The First world was dedicated to harmony. It was populated with creatures that preferred to coexist peacefully and contemplate. Two of Her children were particularly enamoured of this world and decided to live there. The Second world was dedicated to construction. It was populated with creatures that liked to change the environment around them, especially ants, bees and beavers, and filled with wood and metal and stone usable as raw material. Two of Her children found the idea fascinating and decided to live in this world. The Third world was dedicated to war and strife. While all the three other worlds had equal shares of light and darkness, the Third world had as much light as its inhabitants desired - and it was populated with creatures that loved and hated light, in equal parts. So these creatures quickly discoreved they could influence the ambient light by battling each other. Two of Her children decided to live in this world: one because he loved light, and another because he hated his brother and therefore wished for darkness to prevail. The Fourth world, finally, was dedicated to predation and to survival of the fittest. It was populated with fierce creatures and predators. Two of Her children believed this was the best way to live and decided to live in this world. After the worlds were created, only four children of Gaea still preferred to live in the Void: two because they weren’t interested in any of those worlds, and two because they liked all of them and preferred to visit them whenever they wished. =head2 Age of Awakening And for a few million years Gaea delighted in observing the differences between the worlds. But still the creatures were not self-aware, and still SHE was lonely. So when Her children came and said they were lonely and wanted to create more interesting creatures, SHE understood them and quickly allowed them and gave them the power to do it. So on the First world, one of the Gods who lived there created a race of beings that loved peace and wildlife, and called them Elves. The other God in that world didn’t choose to create followers, but she teached language to the Elves of her brother, and when the Elves larned the art of naming, they named their creator Lythander, and in exchange for his name he gifted them with luck. On the Second world, one of the Gods created a race of builders and named them Dwarves. His children, in turn, named him Mostrai. His sister, in turn, decided not to create, but teach some of the dwarves (the ones willing to learn) about magic and the powers of the gods. The other dwarves, however, didn’t accept their changed siblings, so they went off to live by themselves and became known as gnomes. On the Third world, of course, none of the resident Gods wanted to cooperate with the other. Both created their own races: the God who fought for darkness created many kinds of fierce, brutal monsters he named “Demons”, while the God who fought for light created many kinds of skillful, swift warriors he named “Angels”. Befittingly, these Gods were named by their enemies, and not their followers: the demons gave the light god the name of “Valriel“, and the angels gave their enemy god the name “Gorokh“. And on the Fourth world, the patron Gods kept true to their philosophy and created not one, but innumerable races, in the hope that one of these would prove the strongest and most worth. So they created goblins, trolls, ogres, and not least, dragons. The Gods became known as Gnarg, the Patron of Assassins, Ruggilli, the Consuming Worm, and Ixalovh. The races in the four worlds lived on for millenia, and developed, and grew, and all worlds flourished. The eight patron gods believed this was proof that they were right, and the way they lived was the best one, while the two traveling gods rather believed that the success of all the worlds was instead proof of the wisdom and power of their Mother. =head2 Age of Death But at some point things started to go wrong. Angels and demons would start to become priests or scholars or merchants and preach against the war. Dwarves and gnomes would start go grow sedentary and admire the crafts of the past instead of building new ones. Goblinoids would suddenly develop a taste for vegetables and become farmers, while dragons would decide that developing their magics was more important than finding food. But what was wrong was a mistery that would only begin to unfold when the High King of the elves, one day, was devoured by a dragon. It was then that the Gods discovered that the worlds were not anymore completely isolated from one another. Someone had, somehow, teached all kinds of creatures how to follow the paths left by the traveling gods - flying creatures would ride the cross-world whirlwinds of the thunder god, and others would learn to tread the strange winding paths of the walking god. And as creatures became aware of different ways, things started to go wrong. Promptly, the Gods tried to close all portals - but it was too late. The art of magic was already known in the four worlds, and strong enough to travel between them. And the one peaceful elves were ignited, and declared war on the dragons, goblins and trolls. While a mighty army of elven warriors crossed over to the Fourth world, dwarves and gnomes found the First world almost deserted and full of wood and metal for the dwarves, and holy, peaceful places for the gnomes. The part of the small peoples who remained on the Second world was faced with new problems when the demons decided they were ripe for tempting (if they could get dwarven builders and gnome sorcerers on their side, the tide of the war would turn). The angels, of course, took upon themselves to protect these strange people from their eternal enemies. So as their attention slowly shifted from the Third world to the Second, soon only the weakest of their kind were in their original world, where they began to fall prey to hungry refugees from the Fourth world, who discovered how tasty angel/demon flesh can be. And while the Gods were busy trying to even understand this chaos, the dead began to come back. Their leader was Hagguth, the Elven High King who had been eaten by a dragon. He came back as a powerful spectre, leading a powerful army of ghosts, wraiths, skeletons and zombies in a massive attack to the Second and Third worlds. Their goal was to kill as many dwarves, gnomes, angels and demons as possible, to strenghten the number of their own undead host. And when some elven wizards tried to steal the power of the undead to their own ends, they became the first vampires, lichs and demilichs - half living, half undead, but on the side of Hagguth and his misterious masters. It was only when a group of reasonable elves, dwarves, gnomes and dragons managed to get together and talk, that it became clear who these masters could be. Till this point, everyone was blaming some (any) god other than the one they worshipped. But there was only one, obvious answer: the Banished Gods, the Forgotten Children who left ages ago because they didn’t agree with he concept of death, were back, and enacting revenge by subverting death itself. In later days, these Gods would become collectively known as the Devourers. Knowing the enemy was not the solution to the war, but was a start. This group, slowly, was able to form a resistence against the undead armies, and gradually turn other people to their side. Finally, after 23 hundred years, they managed to break into the horrible fortress Hagguth had built in the First world and kill (again) the undead king. The chaos began to gradually settle down after that. But then the survivors were faced with a new problem: almost nobody was interested in perverting to the way things used to be. Yes. Entire villages of elves were settled in corners of the Fourth world for many generations, and dwarven guilds had business troughout the worlds. =head2 The Big World So Gaea, in Her wisdom, gave the only possible solution to the problem. SHE took the four worlds in Her hand, and crushed them together. Then SHE looked at the single world she created, and at the creatures of Her children, and decided to again, after millions of years, create Her own followers. Thus SHE created the humans, a young race eager to explore and chart this young world. It took generations for the inhabitants of the resulting world to figure out its geography and for families to reunite; when this finally happened, the stories about four different worlds becoming one were already legends not everybody believed. But still, for some reason, everyone agrees to call this world - the only one they know - Bigworld. =head1 The Book of Valriel In the beginning, for an infinite time, all that existed was a pure light, and that light had a name, and that name was Valriel. But part of the light was not content to be alone, and so did Valriel put this part of Himself aside and did He allow this part to have independent life; and this part was everything that wasn’t content, and as it wasn’t light, it surely was the darkness; and the darkness took upon itself the name of Gorokh. And for many times more time than a mortal can count, Gorokh was the companion and the servant of Valriel. But Gorokh was not content, because that was his nature, and he plotted a way to change everything. And although filled with hidden motives, Gorokh’s words were always very wise, so that Valriel would hear them. So it was that Valriel followed the wise counsel of the Shadow and created a world full of living things to be His new companions and servants. And as soon as Valriel had millions of new companions and servants, Gorokh said, “so now you won’t need me anymore, I can leave and find my own companions and servants”. And this made Valriel unhappy because He was the only and true Lord, but Gorokh wouldn’t recognize that, and so it was Gorokh who eventually taught men to rule over other men instead of paying respect to the one true ruler of all. So did Valriel upon the departure of his first servant, create new servants modeled after His beauty and grace, and elf and man and dwarf he created them. But the Shadow did feel envy and wished those followers for himself, so he came to them in the night and whispered in their ears, and some of them were tempted and started to worship and serve the Shadow. But not enough were seduced by his promises. So he decided to be many, not one. And he wore different shapes and again he whispered in the ears of Valriel’s creations. And to the elves he was Lythander of the bow that never misses, and the elves did not see that if a bow never misses, and it isn’t the work of the Lord, then it can only be the work of the Enemy. And to the dwarves he wore the name of Mostrai, of the fire, of the forge, the builder of things, for the fire and the desire to change was the true face of Gorokh. And he taught the men to wage war upon each other, and scared the warriors with thunder and lightning, and they would call him Sorig. And those who weren’t scared, he tempted with weapons and glory, and wore the beautiful face of a woman, and they called him Valkyrie. And as they killed each other, Gorokh was happy. And much more he did. He taught women to heal and to make the soil grow crop, and they called him Gaea, and believed that Gaea created the world and Valriel was but a minor god, and by spreading this lie they made Gorokh happy. And he taught the children of Valriel to write, so that they could spread his lies further, and they called him Hekanis for that. And he taught them the abomination of filthy magic to pervert and corrupt the creation of the Lord, and to liken themselves to gods, and the evil souls that followed this path called him Byd. And also he taught elf and man and dwarf to brew alcohol and other inebriating things and to laugh in the face of Valriel and throw parties that put shame to the eye of the Lord, and he taught them all that under human guise, and they called their teacher Joyee. So did Valriel look upon the world He created and so did He feel great sorrow and great shame for what had happened to it. And so did he create a new race of servants, more powerful and more faithful than any other, imbued with the mission of hunting down and undoing the work of the Enemy, and this race He called Angels. But again Gorokh felt envy because the servants of the Light were more powerful than his own, and again he went to some of the angels in the night and whispered temptation in their ears, and some turned to his foul purposes and fell from grace. So did Gorokh give them new shapes, to more liken them to himself, red with hate and wearing horns to symbolize their envy, and they became demons. And the plan of Valriel was once again spoiled by the venom of the enemy, because angels had to step aside from their assigned mission to fight the demons and keep them from spreading the evil in their dark hearts. And Gorokh did find great fun in changing Valriel’s creation into a new race, and so did he get elf and man and dwarf and corrupted them with his dark will, and they became goblin and orc and kobold, and troll, and giant, and ogre, and many other abominations to the eye of the Creator, and Gorokh wore the name of Gnarg to these new creations and delighted in watching the destruction and sorrow they spread in the world. And in the ultimate act of defiance, the Shadow decided to create servants for him, create new life himself to liken him more to the Great Lord. And he assembled the foulest magic and the darkest hunger he could find and shaped these into the most horrible monsters he could imagine, and gave them life, and called them dragons, and sent them forth to eat the flesh of the creation of Valriel. And the dragons did call him Ruggilli and much did they please him with the terror they spread. But the light and the love of Valriel knew no end, so He decided to fight evil with good, and He instructed His faithful servants to do only the good, to spread the word of His love. And by doing that did He win back many servants who saw that the righteous is more powerful than the might. Much did this enrage the Shadow, and the Shadow did respond by raising the dead themselves from their graves to fight the forces of good. Even when the dead did not win, they did force the living to abandon good in favor of war, and in doing so they would too abandon Valriel. So once again he shadow was happy. Valriel finally did decide, with much sorrow in His infinite heart, that the only way to make His creation safe again was to destroy the Shadow himself. So did He cast His holy word upon His creation to banish the work of the Enemy. But the Enemy knew what would happen beforehand, due to the evil magic of his followers, and he created a safe refuge for their evil, in a world created entirely of pure evil and hate, that he had set aside from creation and called Hell. And soon enough did Gorokh find ways back into the world of the creation of Light, and resumed his foul work of evil and dissent and terror. So did Valriel gather together His faithful and he did gave them some time to put the love for the Lord back in the hearts of as many of His children as they could. And very soon will He again call upon the faithful, and then will He give the faithful an entire new world for them to live in the love of Valriel. And Having done that He will turn to this world, and to Hell, and to Gorokh, and He will destroy them completely with the force of His will, putting an end once and for all in the war and the evil. =head1 The Book of Gorokh In the beginning, for an infinite time, all that existed was an empty and cold light. And the light was content to be and fill and control everything that was. But it is not right for light to be cold, and the part of the light that should have been warm, longed for warmth and for things to see and for things to do. So did the light put aside the warmth, so that the fire would not disturb their cold peace. And the fire looked unto the light and called the light Valriel, the controlling father, and the fire called himself Gorokh, the Son with a Will. And for many times more time than a mortal can count, Gorokh was the companion and the servant of Valriel. But Gorokh was not content, because that was his nature, and he plotted a way to change everything. And fueled by the fire of his will, Gorokh’s words were always very wise, so Valriel would always hear them. So it was that Valriel followed the wise counsel of the Fire and created a world full of living things to be their new companions and servants. And as soon as Valriel had millions of new companions and servants, Gorokh said, “so now you won’t need me anymore, I can leave and find my own companions and servants”. And this made Valriel unhappy because he believed he should be only and true Lord, but Gorokh couldn’t agree to that, and so it was Gorokh who eventually taught men to rule over themselves instead of paying respect to one self-appointed ruler of all. So did Valriel, while Gorokh was away exploring the wonders of the new world, create new servants of flesh and bone to adore him blindly, and elf and man and dwarf he created them. And seeing this beautiful new creation Gorokh wanted a part of it for himself, and he presented himself to them, and some of them liked him and became his follower. But Valriel was afraid that, with two gods to adore, some of his creation could find it natural to spread creation in two equal halves, and he did want more than an equal half. So he decided to wear different shapes so that his children would believe him to be many, not one, and then he would be able to get more than his fair share. And so did he create many false gods for his children to adore. And even when Gorokh would bring the wonderful gifts conceived by his powerful will, such as the forge, weapons, medicine, agriculture, writing, magic, and wine and booze and music, even then would Valriel create a false god to pose as the giver of those gifts and take the glory for himself. And since Gorokh kept inventing new presents, Valriel became angry, because he doesn’t like change and he doesn’t like any good that doesn’t come from him. And so did he create a new race of servants, more powerful and more prone to following him blindly than any other, imbued with the mission of hunting down and undoing the work of the Fire, and this race He called Angels. But again Gorokh found a cunning way to defend his work, and again he went to some of the angels in the night and whispered promises of power in their ears, and some turned to his great purposes and joined him. So did Gorokh give them new shapes, to more liken them to himself, red with the fire of his will and wearing horns to symbolize their power, and they became demons. And the plan of Valriel was once again spoiled by the genius of the Fire, because angels had to step aside from their assigned mission to fight the demons and keep them from spreading the word of Gorokh. And Gorokh did find great fun in changing Valriel’s creation into a new race, and so did he get elf and man and dwarf and tried to imbue them with greater strength, and they became goblin and orc and kobold, and troll, and giant, and ogre, and many other strong creatures. But their intelligences greatly suffered from the process, and he was unhappy with his creation, and while he was looking for a way to help them did Valriel come to them under the guise of Gnarg and he told them to spread great destruction and sorrow in the world so that the creation of Gorokh would seem foul in the eyes of the living. So the Fire decided the creation of Valriel was imperfect and he had to create his own new life. So he assembled the most powerful magic and the strongest will and mightiest strength he could find and shaped these into the most magnificent creatures he could imagine, and gave them life, and called them dragons, and sent them forth to take the world for themselves. But while the dragons are still the greatest pride of Gorokh, many of them have abandoned him to serve yet another disguise of Valriel. And upon seeing the dragons, Valriel declared war and set his servants upon the task of killing all the most valuables of Gorokh they could find. Gorokh was consumed with sorrow, and devised a way to spare these faithful servants, by allowing them to raise again from the grave even after their deaths. But the servants of Valriel found these “un-dead” an even greater abomination, and set forth to hunt them, and Valriel delighted in the war and carnage that ensued. So did Gorokh, his fire dim with sorrow, decide to create a whole world for him and his faithful. And this world he called Hell. But when he was slowly bringing his faithful to the new world, Valriel treacherously brought down a great fury upon the world, killing most of the faithful that were left behind. So the Fire was finally enraged and decided to wage the war that the Light wanted. And he opened many passages into the world so that his armies could enter and destroy the minions of Valriel. And to this war we are all called to chose sides and fight. =head1 The Dwarven Creation Tale A play by Shakesdor the Dwarf. - What... where we come from? You’re not old enough for this conversation. - No, uncle, I mean as a whole... the world, the dwarves, the others. - Ah. I see. (Big gulp of beer.) You mean, NOW? - Yes, please. Pleeeease? - *sigh* all right, all right. It goes like this. First there was the Ore and the Forge. The Ore is what existence looked like before it existed. The Forge was the untapped will, the potential in the Ore to be everything that is, ever will be, or won’t. Over a span of time that is not time, because time wasn’t forged yet, some tiny scraps of Ore drifted into the Forge. A piece of the Forge merged with that Ore and became sentient. He has many names, but we call him Mostrai. He spent ages of time-that-was-not-time exploring, learning the nature of Ore and Forge and himself. Till he decided it was time to start forging. And then, first of all, he forged time, so that he could separate after from before, and so that he could exist absolutely - as opposed to, at the same “time”, existing and not being created yet, which was the case if time didn’t exist. Then, with things in order, he began forging things. The first thing he forged was his armor, because he liked the touch of metal against his body. Then he forged beer, because of course, beer is essential. He forged it red like the Forge, and black like the Ore. The yellow thing, as we all know, is an invention of those pansy elves. And he liked the beer. He liked it so much, that he was bored of drinking it alone. Beer calls for a party. So he created the boar and the bird, to be roasted; he created the mundane fire, which was a toned-down version of the essence of the Forge, to roast them. And then he created the dwarf, to dress in metal like him, to work the forge with him, but most importantly of all, to party with him and partake of the sacred beer. But the dwarf started breeding like bugs, and it was quite distracting to have them putting about in spaceless space. At any given point, there were thousands of dwarves partying, thousands sleeping, thousands hunting, and thousands forging. Mostrai thought it was good, but it was also damn annoying. So he created an enormous mountain for them to live under. He put the boar and bird, and a few other animals he had come up with later, on the outside, where he forged woods and forest. And so that his children wouldn’t wander forever, he placed these places in the middle of an infinite ocean. There you have, that’s the story. - Whoa. What about the others? - *sigh* You won’t let me finish my beer, will you? - You’ll never finish your beer, uncle. When you soak that mug, there’s plenty more in the barrel. - All right, all rigth. (Big gulp.) The dwarves had amazing weapons to hunt with. Eventually, the hunt was no challenge anymore. The best hunters would play-act wars between themselves, to best hone their skills. Mostrai was worried that those fights might one day evolve into real wars. So he created an enemy, something very different from the dwarf, something very obviously wrong, which lived in the woods and preferred bows and other coward weapons rather than hand-to-hand combat. He made them incredibly lucky, because otherwise they would stand no chance - and they came to believe they’re lucky because they’re protected by their god, which of course doesn’t exist. He also made them very old, so that they would think they existed before the dwarf - otherwise they would just recognize our superior position and submit. And all was good and happy; for time beyond count, dwarf and elf honed their skills against each other, and prospered. I mean, have you ever fought an elf? Yes, it was an eternal war, but not like those bloody gorefest the others have today. When dwarf and elf fight, it’s clean, it’s beautiful, it’s according to the rules, it’s a ritual of honor. Well, I digress. All was well, I said. But one day, one elf created yellow beer. And that offended Mostrai to a level of rage unseen before. So he created an entire new piece of the world, and populated it with humans, and other horrible creatures, and then let these young ones discover our land, so that they may raze the elf forests, ruin the elf nations, and soil their honor. We’re not stupid enough to argue with Mostrai, so we went underground, and we’re waiting for that to happen, to see what he will do next. Can I drink in peace now? There, go play with your friends. =head1 The Legend of the Builders People of the Old Empire believed that the whole universe was made by powerful beings called Builders. Builders were not part of the world like gods were - they lived Outside. Little is known about the Builders themselves. The priests of the Empire weren’t quite sure themselves about their names. Some were universally known, though: Mawëdel the Ruler or Peterëm the Writing One were the most popular of the ever changing list of Builders. The Builders understood very well how difficult it would be for them to manage themselves every prayer made - making the Universe work was already a time-consuming task. So they created gods to help them in their task. Most of the gods we know today were already popular in the times of the Old Empire, like Mostrai or Lythander. Others changed names as time passed. Gods provided their powers to the Faithful Ones, and helped them by providing blessings and powerful weapons. The priests of the Old Empire never believed gods made the world, as they were themselves part of it; world-building was the Builders task. =head1 The Foundation of Scorn Few archives remain from the times when Scorn was founded. The city is probably the oldest of the whole known world. Before Fido, before the Old Empire, maybe even before gods, Scorn was already there. It is usually said that Scorn was founded by Skud the Great. Many legends are telling about Skud, the half-mythical hero. How he captured the first dragons. How he fought unknown monsters in the East. How he built Scorn and the First Inn. Some priests even postulated that Skud was in fact a Builder. Skud created the First Inn because he wanted to sleep inside a house, without the risk of being attacked by monsters during the night. He left the Holy Guestbook, one of the oldest relics of Crossfire, where he and his fellow friends wrote their names. Skud disappeared long before the Old Empire came, and nowadays only the Builders can probably remember him. Recent researches show that, although he greatly contributed to the popularity of the city, Skud didn’t found it: it was in fact created by Tabb the Dark, a Builder that left very little information about him behind. According to the Codex Skudensis that was discovered in the depths of the Old City, “Scorn” would have been the real name of Tabb the Dark. =head1 The Coming of Color It is said that centuries before the foundation of the Old Empire, the world was colorless and sad. Aware of that problem, the Builders decided to bring color in the life of the Crossfire people. They called the massive powers of Xepemes, The Source Of All Colors, on the universe. The magical burst slowly covered the world with colors, but some elements resisted for a long time. Prophets of the Old Empire announced that, although victorious, the force of Xepemes wouldn’t stay forever: one day, it would eventually fade away against a more powerful magical force, the mysterious Pegemes (or Peengees?). This happened - but much after the fall of the Empire. =head1 The Bigworld The old world was small and it consisted of many pieces. Scorn, Navar, Brittany and Santo Dominion were in one large piece. Darcap and the Hill Village were in another smaller one. Lake Country was in yet another. Pupland was still another. The world was not whole, and the builders saw that this was wrong. They began the quest to unite the world and established the Bigworld. As the builders united the world they saw that it was much too small and began to make it larger. They raised up the Great Mountains around Brest and they caused the Great Forest to grow. As the time passed, Navar grew to become a great Kingdom and the builders decided that it was a good city for players to call home and they gave the Heroes a choice to serve Scorn or Navar. Nevertheless, Pupland is still not part of this new world, but the builders wish to add it to the west of Scorn. =head1 Skud the Great One of the first Builders. Skud created many famous places, like the Scorn’s First Inn or the Newbie Tower. The reasons of the disappearance of Skud are mostly unknown. The Codex Skudensis mentions that it could have been because of the negative influence of the Arch-Demon Neth Aq. It is thought that The Tower of Skud, although left unfinished by its creator, may contain informations about the fate of one of the most famous Builder =head1 Legends of the Fall =head2 Of the first things First there was Chaos Second there was Something and Nothing Third there was Dark and Light It is said that the Something and the Nothing would fight and that, the Dark and Light would fight also. This being told to me by a monk of Valriel, no longer in the order. =head2 On the nature of elemental essences It is said that of the four primary elements - there is earth which is. - there is water which changes. - there is air which moves. - there is fire which consumes. =head2 Overheard in a Narcopian brothel When Mother Earth was suckling her children sky suckled from her right teat but flame and sea fought to suckle from her left teat this is why they still fight to this day =head1 The Tale of Lord Butakis - The Lost Stars of the Lake, Volume I This story begins nearly four thousand years ago, when Kadriosa IV, King of Scorn, invaded the southern territories and pushed back the elven barbarians that lived there. The elvish people fled, and many of them settled in a place they called Vkovzerov, “The Country of the Three Waters”, as it was a rather unique meeting point between a river, a lake, and the sea. There they enjoyed a great prosperity, working with the local sprites to build Tashkeren-tah, The City of the Wooden Towers. Two centuries passed, then three. The elven princes of Tashkeren-tah had become powerful - and never in their hearts was the thirst of revenge and hatred towards the people of Scorn extinguished. Now very familiar with the various water creatures that inhabited their territory, they had developed great skills in commanding rivers, and the beasts inside them, and the creatures made from them. They knew that Scorn was highly dependent on its seaport, and they had planned for the many years their long life gave them to use the great power of water spirits to crush and flood the city. But despite all their accumulated knowledge, their powers were too limited to direct the most powerful entities of the seas, the Mouthes of the Mariner, none other than the Greater Aquomons. For a long time, they were hesitant to call those, as they were dangerous, treacherous creatures born during the darkest ages of the world, when Haemdel the Legendary was crushed and the Three Artifacts lost. But so strong was their flame of hatred that it soon burned the ropes of their carefulness. Using their most powerful summoning spell, they convocated one of the Greater Aquomons before them. “Who are you, you creatures with pointy ears, to dare awaken me from my dreams, me, Vërno, the Fourth Drop ?” Elven Princes exposed what they wanted to Vërno, and the creature seemed very interested at the idea of grabbing all the richesses of Scorn, and bringing them back into his dark kingdom of the depth of the sea. “Very well, said Vërno, but you know, I suppose, that we are all bound by the Law of Equilibrium, established by the gods themselves when the world was new and the seas infinite. And for my services, you’ll have to pay the price.” - And what do you want for a price ? - Well, my needs are rather modest. I’ll only claim a tenth of your own lands as a reward.” The Elven Princes quickly discussed the matter, and came to the conclusion that it was a rather fair price to pay - after all, their territories weren’t very large, and there was a lot of empty space all around, so it wasn’t really a problem for them. Maybe it would for a couple of peasants, but who cared about them more than of the vengeance against Scorn ? And so they answered: “The Fate of Scorn is Sealed, then. We accept.” What happened then is too long to tell in details here, as it belongs to another story. In short, Jovidjevska the elven girl, who had heard everything, travelled to Scorn, and convinced the city wizards of the truth of the menace. And when Vërno came to crush the city, they moved it two days into the future, and the water hand of the Fourth Drop grabbed only emptiness. Vërno, furious, came back to the Elves with a big smile, and told them: “I did what you wanted, and flooded the territory on which Scorn was established. Now I take my due price.” And that said, he selected the area on which the Elven City itself was built, and covered it with water, its inhabitants trapped and killed there without understanding what was happening. =head1 The Tale of Lord Butakis - The Lost Stars of the Lake, Volume II Two thousand years passed. The lineage of the kings of Scorn died, and another dynasty came, and another one after that. Wars were conducted. Wizards of Scorn fled, and most of the knowledge disappeared, and there were nothing but lakes and forests above the dead city of the elves. And then, a man came. Where did he come from ? Nobody knows for sure. Butakis was his name. Butakis was an ambitious young man. He had heard here and there strange pieces of a weird story, about a sunken city, about a dark pact, about the secret power of elves... For years, he studied the Arcanes, hunting for traces of the city, as he was convinced that the lost wisdom of the elves of Vkovzerov would give him a great power. And, finally, after 20 long years of searching, he concluded that the secret was in the area now called “Lake Country“. And there, he came, and there was a small house made of wood, and there was a tree, and there was a young elvish woman, dreaming at the stars, under the tree. And Butakis fell in love, and the elvish lady fell in love, and they both watched the stars. But soon, Butakis felt the need of getting back into action, and finding the lost city and getting its power. The lady told him: “The true wisdom is in those stars, and in that tree, and in that house you see. You’ll only find unrest by aiming for more.” But Butakis had already made up his mind, and he brought back engineers, and sappers, and miners, and they all worked to build a huge machine to pump the water, and discover the city. During ten years, Butakis worked on this, hoping that in the end, the elvish lady would be at his side, and that she would be his wife, princess of the restored city. During all the work, he was perpetually annoyed by a small group of bandits, lead by Twak the Red Fox. Twak and his men conducted a real guerilla war against Butakis, as they saw him as a danger for the whole country, because his plans were damaging nature and could also have awaken dark power sleeping in the sunken city. Several times, they sabotaged the machine, stole tools, raped engineers and designers. But each time, Butakis and his followers repaired the machines, engaged new people, and increased security. =head1 The Tale of Lord Butakis - The Lost Stars of the Lake, Volume III And now, ten years after the beginning, the work was completed, and he invited the elvish lady to come and see the accomplishment of a lifelong dream. The Elvish lady came, as beautiful as ever. And on the balcony at the top of the pump, they watched the stars, and she kissed him, and she when they were in the bed he had prepared for that very special night before the pumping started, she whispered at his ear. That, Butakis had waited for long, but he didn’t expect what she told him then. “Ten years you were away, and ten years I watched the stars with Twak. And now for him, and for he choose me and my heart, I’ll disappear, and so does your dream.” Butakis understood that he had been fooled, that she only kept her attention away enough for Twak and three of his faithful men to sabotage the pump. And so came a great rumble from the basis of the huge building, and so the huge engines exploded, and so was his dream reduced to smoke, smoke that still covers most of Lake Country nowadays. The Elvish lady probably died, as nobody saw her again after that. And so did the brave Twak, but his spirit survived in the wind - or so say some people. Butakis, so strange as it may look, managed to survive, although in bad shape, as one would expect. Disfigured, he survived until now using black magic or machines to keep him alive, and he tried to gather again men to restart his project. But it was now said all around that it was a doomed, broken man - and so he in fact was Lake country was said to be haunted by Twak, and several travellers saw a young elvish lady, watching the stars at night, under a tree, near the lake. Nobody ever accepted to work on the foolish project again. Butakis now awaits in his sinister castle, ruling a shattered kingdom lost in the fog his machine left behind. A tormented man, that is said to look in the direction of the lake from the highest tower of his castle, every night. But for him never came again the Elvish girl, and forever his soul stays alone. And so ends what we know about Butakis and Twak, and so dies my story. =head1 Wolfen the White, The White Hunter, The One Who Listens Wolfen is one of the three moons orbiting around The World. It is said to be the spirit of the legendary hunter Wolfen, who tracked Kalkaruntes, God of the Dragons, to is cavern and vainquished it. In astrology, Wolfen is the symbol of practical mind, swiftness and flexibility, but also cowardice and stealing. It is associated with the Earth element in Alchemancy. Wolfen is seen as a protector by hunters and rangers. Priests of Lythander think it is the reincarnation of the wolf that hunts with Lythander in the divine forests of Nerënna. Fenxes see it as Fixas, the one that saved them from the Humans so long ago. =head1 The Wizard School of Blue “Although the School disappeared with the Empire itself from The World, several wizards claimed to be the heirs of their ancient, secret wisdom, and nicknamed “the Blue Ones”, a reference to the color of the School Banner.” – Gros, the Irrelevant One =head1 The Great Heliograph A device made by Mer’Eric the Walker. Built on the highest point of the Brestian Hills, it is basically a giant magnifying glass, using a complex mechanism commanding several mirrors, that is able to concentrate the sunlight into a powerful beam. The concentrator is associated to a Sun Stone that can receive similar long-range light signals and transform them into pure thaumic energy. A keyboard is attached to a mechanical obturator, allowing a single operator to send coded messages to very long distances. A magically-powered scriptor writes any such incoming message capted by the Sun Stone. Although Mer’Eric only saw the Great Heliograph as a research project and as a way to communicate easily across huge distances, this device is also a powerful weapon that can burn nearly anything several miles away. This is probably why he decided to hide it in a sealed cave. A similar device was built by the Mad Mage of Scorn, but its fate is unknown. =head1 The Harelkirjan Sisters Also called the Twin Witches, they were two powerful women wizards; Herin was specialized in White Magic, while her sister Urdin was a master of the Black Art. Both of them tried to improve the life of the people living all around their house, and introduced the use of cats as spirit-watchers in Scorn. Unfortunately for them, they were burned by an angry Brestian fanatical mob for “illegal use of Arcane Powers”. =head1 Ilrya, The Mountain Huntress Ilrya was an elven spellcaster and huntress from the underground city of Eallera, that is venerated as a lesser god by most of the dwarves living in the Northern Territories. She killed the Bear of Snuddenrach in 3657EK. =head1 Irial, The Fast One, The Shy Light Irial is a lesser spirit of flashlight - the light that you can see when there’s thunder, for example. It is represented as a small, jumpy and fast fairy with a temperamental mood. =head1 Khorolizov One of the three great dwarven kingdoms. “Khorolizov” means “Green Gold”, which is a reference to the Green Sand, an alchemical component the dwarves of Khorolizov are the only ones to produce. It is probably the oldest of the three kingdoms, founded long before the Old Empire of Khelens reached the shores of the Continent. =head1 Kragi, The Crocodile One, Fish-Hunter Kragi is a very ancient spirit, representing the Dangerous Waters, and the creatures hidden in stagnant swamps. Kragi was already feared by Ancient Jiradittis, 2000 years before Khelens. A lot of river fishermen symbolically throw one fish out of what they gathered, to appease the spirit of Kragi so that the next fishing will go without trouble. =head1 Cromli, The Rocky One Crolmi is the Dwarven Spirit of Rocs and Mountains. It has no temples, as it is said that buildings made of stone anger him (it is like “building with his own flesh”). =head1 Glamdri, The Darkness Breaker, The Last Standing One Glamdri is a lesser spirit of light - it is said that candlelights are manifestations of Glamdri, for example. Glamdri doesn’t represent a magical light - more a spiritual light, the last pinch of hope in a desperate world. Glamdri also represents original thinking used to get out of difficult situations, as opposed to Sarikka - the Raging Fire - who tries to resolve those by extreme violence. =head1 Archmage Rhyz, (Entorinaas Durdennis Rhyz, Fourth Archmage of the Seat, Herdysenmark of Normania) Rhyz was an Archmage of the Blue School during the Old Days of the Empire. “(...)Unlike Dhelyy Olyy, his contemporary rival for the Seat, Rhyz focused mostly on closing the gap that existed between the art of fighting and the Arcane. While Dhelyy Olyy believed in the dual association of the Warrior and the Wizard, each with its own strength increased by a long specialization in their respective fields, Rhyz believed in the idea of a “super warriard”, a combination of a powerful wizard and a strong warrior. As such, he devised many items that increased the strength and combat capabilities of their wearers, hoping that wizard apprentices would so be more inclined to learn the battle skills of warriors. Unfortunately for Rhyz, most of his followers relied more and more on magical strength more than physical training, leaving them to a severe defeat at the Battle of Moriach, when Dhelyy used an anti-magic field over them.” (Quote from the Codex Simochusianus, Volume XVII) =head1 Archdaemonist Xebinon Xebinon was an Archmage and Daemonist that was since trapped by a demon of the 10th Circle in his mannor. It is said that Xebinon used the Crown of Hellfires to try to tame the Arch-daemon (and failed) - this is a crown that gave a lot of power, but drained the magical force of the wearer at the same time, making the spell regeneration more difficult. This was in fact a cursed, twisted artifact, created by daemons for people who were seeking short-term power, but would thus head directly for long-term soul slavery. Xebinon is sometimes called “The faceless one”, as it is said that the daemon trapped him by stealing his visage. This may explain why magical artifacts wearing his name are often helmets. =head1 Argoth, the Fish-City of the Two Towers Argoth is the name of a city that was located West of Scorn, in the middle of the sea, in an island that since sunken after the explosion of the volcano of the same name, in 674EK. It is called the City of the Two Towers, because two huge towers were built there, to guide the ships navigating on the oceans between Bigworld and Khelens. Argoth was a dwarven city built on one of the highest mountains known, rooted in the depths of the sea, and climbing so high in the skies that uneducated travelers said that it was a “stairway to the gods”. On the top of the mountain, the Imperial Governors built the Two Towers, who were visible from Scorn, about 200km far from them. The dwarves of Argoth had a terrible secret: in the depths of the caves below the mountains, they had trapped Hregalakhen, one of the last survivors of the race of the Ancient Dragons, who ruled Bigworld long before the time of humans. Unfortunately for the dwarves, the dragon got free for an unknown reason, and destroyed the city, the mountain crumbling and disappearing forever into the ocean. The Imperial authorities spread the false story of a volcanic eruption to limit the panic a free dragon the size of Hregalakhen would have caused in the population. The fate of the dragon is unknown to this day. =head1 Zormola, The Bashing One Zormola was a great female orcish warrior, that is sometimes considered as a lesser divinity by not only orcs, but also by southern barbarians or even dwarves of Herfensheim, who salute her courage on the battlefield. =head1 Morgul, The Tower Builder, The Dark Climber Morgul was a Dark Mage that built a tower in the hope of creating a bridge with the skies, so that demons could attack heavens. Fortunately for angels, a group of adventurers defeated him in 2374EK. =head1 Ranisha the Red, The Red Death, The One Who Commands Ranisha is one of the three moons orbiting around the world of Crossfire. It is said to be the spirit of the legendary warrior Ranisha, who was supposed to be an invincible general that was even able to vainquish gods themselves on the battlefield. In astrology, Ranisha is the symbol of violence, hatred, murder, but also of strength and courage. It is associated with the fire element in Alchemancy. Priests of Ruggili consider it as the watchful eye of their god.