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=begin comment |
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This is the source for some of the books in crossfire, at least, it should become one. |
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|
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Authors: |
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Gorlin <gorlin@freibier.htu.tuwien.ac.at> |
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Mark Wedel <mwedel@scruznet.com> |
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Marc Lehmann <crossfire@schmorp.de> |
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The Crossfire Wiki |
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|
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Each =head1 should become its own book. |
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|
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=end comment |
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=head1 History of Creation, by Khalis, Volume I |
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|
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In the beginning the land was barren. No life yet moved upon the large |
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continents and islands that lay empty between the seas. In the seas, |
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nothing moved as well. The world itself held its breath while the Creator |
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rested. Then, a spirit from outside, serving the Most High, entered the |
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world, and she saw a place yet empty of life. So she began to create grass |
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to cover the face of the earth, and trees and other plants. Other spirits |
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from outside watched, and agreed that Gaea had wrought wonders upon the |
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devoid place. Since she was by far stronger than the others, those lesser |
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spirits asked her for leave to join in her work. Gaea accepted their |
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offer, and so the spirits of the Elements of Fire, Air, Water and Earth |
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began their work as Gaea's servants. It can be assumed, that outside the |
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world, the Creator watched and approved. |
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|
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In time, the elemental spirits came before Gaea, and beseeched her to |
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help them create beings able to move of their own free will, living among |
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the plant world. And Gaea saw that without animals, the green world would |
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still miss a vital element, so she in turn went before the Creator. What |
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happened between them noone knows, but soon afterwards living beings began |
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to populate the land. Fish swam in the seas and rivers, birds flew their |
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first flights through the air, and other species moved on the land. The |
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cycle of Nature seemed complete, and Gaea was content. |
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|
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Already, however, other spirits had noticed what Gaea had done. Dark were |
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they, and they treasured still the image of the empty world. To them, a |
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place devoid of life seemed far better, far more perfect, and so they |
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entered the world to return the world to its past. Sicknesses and |
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poison began to spread among the animals, that threatened to extinguish |
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entire species - yeah, indeed several of them might have died during that |
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time, of which we have next to no information. Bones in the ground seem to |
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indict that there were large animals which do not exist anymore, and |
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sadly, we may not meet them evermore. In anger, Gaea named these dark |
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spirits the Devourers, since they were those who devoured all life, and |
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she and her Elemental allies fought them back, and tried to heal what they |
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could. |
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|
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=head1 History of Creation, by Khalis, Volume II |
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|
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In that time it also happened, that a great many of the creatures the |
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Fire Elementals had helped to make were betoken of great madness, and |
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started to rampage among the other beings. In time Gaea and her allies |
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found out the truth, that one of the greatest Elementals of Fire, Ruggili, |
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had turned against them, perhaps on order of the Devourers. Yet, Ruggili |
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now served neither Devourers nor Gaea, instead he sought to increase his |
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own power, and spread madness and chaos upon the world, and he became |
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mightier than any other Elemental in existence. |
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|
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The other Elemental beings came to Gaea, and spoke, "With both renegade |
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Ruggili and the Dark Ones to fight, we need others to assist us. Some of |
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the beings we created are already strong enough to do their part, such as |
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the unicorn or the sphinx. The strongest of them, however, the dragons, |
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have switched their support to Ruggili. We need allies, or this world will |
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become either a place of eternal fire or one of darkness." Gaea was |
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clearly troubled by this, and again left the world to commune with the |
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Creator. Shortly afterwards, new, more intelligent races emerged on the |
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world, among them the dwarves, elves, trolls, goblins, humans, halflings, |
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lizardman, any many others, and they joined the fight on the side of Gaea |
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and the Elementals. |
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|
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During this time, which we now call the Second Age, cultures grew and |
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were destroyed, races rose to prominence and disappeared again, mighty |
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magics were found and forgotten. Ruggili#s followers were beaten back at |
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great cost, and the forces of Gaea could again concentrate on the fight |
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against the Devourers. The fight went on for a long time, but it seemed |
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that the Nature Goddess was able to reform the world into a place of Life. |
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The mortal races assisting her had become weary of the fight, however, and |
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spoke to her thus: "The fight has clearly been won, the death spirits and |
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the Fire God are in retreat. We wish to fight no more, but to settle down |
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in peace. Though we still respect you and always will, we can give you our |
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support no longer." Gaea accepted in silence, even though she knew that |
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this meant that the war would not have a definite ending. Neither the |
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Devourers nor Ruggili would be defeated be her alone. |
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|
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The Devourers and Ruggili watched the retreat of the mortals, the |
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Devourers planning to attack and destroy them now that Gaea was not near, |
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and then to use their own dead spirits against the Nature Goddess. Ruggili |
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instead bided his time, sending down dragons to burn mortal cities and |
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Devourer strongholds both. The Elementals serving Gaea assisted the |
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mortals still, and gave some protection to them so that the Devourers |
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would not destroy them. During this, Third, Age, the mortals segregated |
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according to their nature. The dwarves moved into the mountains, and with |
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the help of Earth Elementals began their first kingdoms underneath the |
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face of the earth. The elves moved into large woods, the lizardmen into |
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swamps. Wars broke out between some of the races, none however anywhere in |
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that measure as the Great War of the Second Age. |
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|
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=head1 History of Creation, by Khalis, Volume III |
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|
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In the Third Age it also happened, that spirits from the outside, who had |
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been content to watch until that time, took pity on some of those races. |
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The goblins, orcs, trolls and giants began to serve a being called Gnarg, |
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who had promised to raise and protect them. He helped them build up |
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protection against the many poisons which still plagued the lands, and in |
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time they began to use poison as a weapon against their enemies. Their |
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most hated enemies were the dwarves and the elves, who each had been |
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stronger than them before the coming of Gnarg. Now, stronger than ever |
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before, they attacked them and sought to utterly destroy them. First they |
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moved against the elves. They burned down forests and elven cities, until |
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the being Lythander came to guide the elves and to oppose Gnarg. He sent |
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confusion to the goblin races, and cursed them to utter stupidity. this |
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curse is still active even now, there are fewer orcs or goblins who |
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possess high intuition, intellect or magical affinity then in any other |
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of the mortal races. During the time the curse was first spoken it was |
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much worse. The orcs fell down muttering insanely, the giants and trolls |
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clubbed each other senseless, and the goblins jumped down high cliffs to |
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escaped the voices in their head. The goblin attack faltered, and all the |
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goblin races and giantkind returned - after a few accidents and wrong |
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turns - to their homes. They also immediately stopped their plans to |
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attack the dwarves. |
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|
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The dwarves, however, had other problems. The dragons also claimed the |
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mountains, and the followers of Ruggili sought out the dwarven cities and |
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the treasures they offered. The pitiful cries of the dwarves, and the many |
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deaths among dwarvenkind, roused the spirit being Mostrai, who entered the |
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world and came to the dwarves. He showed them how to create magical |
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weapons which might wound even the greatest of dragons, and he also helped |
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them to withstand the dragons' fire. As was Gnarg to the orcs and goblins, |
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and as was Lythander to the elves, Mostrai became god to the dwarves, |
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protected them as they worshipped him for it. |
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|
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The most numerous of the mortal races had no god of their own, and they |
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despaired, seeing that others had gods of great power to call upon for |
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assistance. In their fear of being destroyed, in their anger for being |
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left out, and their hatred for those who left them alone, they cried out |
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for help. And in the darkness, someone heard them. Far away, in another |
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dimension most probably, dwelt beings of great power. Endless torment was |
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their desire, hatred, fear and anger the ways to their dark hearts, and |
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fire their most potent weapon. When the humans had cried long enough, the |
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doorway was opened, and the demon host went through. The demon lord Gorokh |
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led those who entered the world, and he offered the humans many riches and |
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great power in exchange for their worship and for sacrifice. many humans |
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fell, and began to serve the powers of darkness. Others sought redemption, |
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and a pure spirit called Valriel came to their aid. Others again returned |
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to the worship of Gaea, hoping that the forces of Life would protect them, |
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a few humans even went to the goblin, elven and dwarven gods for help. |
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|
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=head1 History of Creation, by Khalis, Volume IV |
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|
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As the human worship began to spread out among all the gods and beings of |
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power who had entered the world, a small group of them who wished not for |
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the blessings of Nature but the power of the elements as weapons spake to |
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one of the Elemental Lords following Gaea. And as Ruggili long ago, Sorig |
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left Gaea's path and accepted the mortal's worship, teaching them the way |
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of lightning and thunder in return. Other small sects began to emerge, and |
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then the one things noone had foreseen happened. Some humans began to |
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worship the powers of Death, who until then never had living followers. |
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Those poor deranged people believed that in death they would be truly |
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free, and the Devourers gladly accepted their help. When those humans |
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died, the most mighty of the Undead were finally created - those who |
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joined the Devourers of their own free will: the vampires, the spectres |
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and the liche. |
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|
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And so the world lies before us today, turmoil and chaos has spread among |
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the many gods who have entered the world. The fights are numerous, but at |
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least we can be called lucky that no single faction has power as great as |
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during the Second Age - for another Great War would probably destroy the |
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world itself. In the First Age only the spirit being existed, in the |
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Second Age we mortals served the forces of Life to survive, in the Third |
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Age we left them and began to worship other Gods. This then is the Fourth |
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Age, in which we hope the ceaseless fighting and wars will finally end, |
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and we will be allowed to live in peace. But whose peace will it be, which |
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gods, which peples will lead and which will follow? |
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|
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Khalis, |
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Grand Hierophant, |
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Servant of Gaea |
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|
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|
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=head1 History for the Impatient |
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|
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Written by Maris the Scholar, a student of Khalis whom he opposed much |
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later in his life. |
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|
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Gaea created the world. However, for things to thrive, rain is needed |
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so Sorig came along, and provided the rain and lightning. The lightning |
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created fire, and so Ruggili was born. |
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|
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Gaea is the source of all nature and life, without any great need for |
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followers, as the natural world itself gives her power. She gave life to a |
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number of sons, all gods of their own. |
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|
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Her son Mostrai saw a flat and uninteresting world and created massive |
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mountains and deep dungeons. |
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|
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Her other son Lythander was bored and created some animals. |
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|
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Gnarg saw that and created the goblins on the world for some reason we no |
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longer know. |
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|
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Lythander, disgusted what the goblins where doing to the beautiful |
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forests, created the elves and halflings to help protect the forests from |
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uncontrolled goblin destruction. |
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|
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Mostrai, seeing what was happening to the forests, decided to take |
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pre-emptive measures and created the dwarves to live deep within the |
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mountains he created. |
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|
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Then Gaea created the humans, to protect and provide balance in the plains |
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and along the coasts. |
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|
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With the constant battles for balance, many of these new life forms died. |
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The gods that created them did originally see the souls that these new |
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life forms had, but the gods Gorokh and Valriel did. They took the worst |
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(and best) of these departing souls in order to create creatures for their |
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own desires. |
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|
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The souls that neither claimed became the domain of the devourers. What |
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the god of devourers lacked in the strength of individual souls, he gained |
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in the sheer number of souls he controlled, and with these he created |
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wights and vampires to give him even more souls. Some of the powerful |
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humanoids worshipped him in hopes of eternal life. For some of these, |
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they gained this eternal life in the form and lichs and demilichs. |
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|
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The Red Dragons were created by Rugilli because he wanted some worshippers |
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of his own. It is believed that the other dragons eventually resulted from |
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those by the constant in-breeding experiments Ruggili made. |
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|
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Nobody knows where the nearly god-like titans came from. Some scholars |
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claim they could be descendants of some of the forgotten gods so little i |
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known about nowadays. |
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|
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|
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=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
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|
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=head2 Calendrical Introduction |
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|
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Present Day |
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|
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We are currently in 8437 Era Khelentari (EK). |
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|
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=head2 Volume I: The Early Days |
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|
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Around 350 EK: The Story of the Fourth Mariner is written by an unknown author. |
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|
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435 EK: Colony of Skorn Founded. It would eventualy become the city of Scorn. |
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|
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711 EK: The outpost of Heaven’s Gate is founded. |
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|
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=head2 Volume II: Second Millenia EK |
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|
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1223 EK: Ekkis the Drunk leads a disastrous crusade against the Sirens in the southern seas. |
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|
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=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
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|
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=head2 Volume III: Third Millenia EK |
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|
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2287 EK: Battle of Tered - The Kingdom of the Masts is dismantled by Navar. |
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|
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2567 EK: Fernast Fergono, exiled from Navar, leads a famous exploration expedition in the south-east seas. |
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|
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2765 EK: The city of Heaven’s Gate is burned by pirates. |
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|
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=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
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|
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=head2 Volume IV: Fourth Millenia EK |
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|
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3084-3154 EK: The Artificers' Wars take place in the East. |
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|
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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. |
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|
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3867 EK: Juradiths take the direction of Scorn and create a republic. |
280 |
|
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3885 EK: Juradiths are expelled from Scorn by revolting citizens. They are vainquished at Battlefield Lake. |
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|
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=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
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|
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=head2 Volume V: Fifth Millenia EK |
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|
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4127 EK: King Kadriosa IV of Scorn leads a Crusade against the elves of the south-east, who flee the country. |
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|
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4131 EK: Foundation of the Elven City of Tashkeren-tah at Vkovzerov (Lake Country). |
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|
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4453 EK: The Elven City of Tashkeren-tah sinks into the largest lake of Lake Country. |
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|
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=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
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|
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=head2 Volume VI: Sixth Millenia EK |
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|
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5524 EK: The Meteomage Grab of Ledh fails an experiment, making the weather mad for a while, an event remembered as “The Weather Madness”. |
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|
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Late LVIth Century EK: The Great Schism between the Simplifists led by Mish the Toon and the Stabilists: The Sedition Wars. |
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|
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5581 EK: Battle of the Glowing Crystal: the Order of the Careful Coders is disbanded. |
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|
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5598 EK: The Simplifists exile themselves into the Pocket Dimension of Daï-Moh-Nî, “The World With a Future”, in Ancient Daigojij Language. |
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|
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=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
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|
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=head2 Volume VII: Seventh Millenia EK |
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|
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6356 EK: Butakis settles in Lake Country and starts building the Lake Pump. |
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|
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6356 EK: The Lake Pump is destroyed by Twak. Lake Country is covered by fog. Butakis is disfigured. |
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|
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=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
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|
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=head2 Volume VIII: Eighth Millenia EK |
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|
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7124 EK: Harta accidentally creates a Dimensional Grid, connecting the Crossfire Continuum with the Daï-Moh-Nî Dimension. |
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|
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7563 EK: The tower of Melficef the Red explodes. |
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|
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=head1 Recent Historic Events, by Khalis. |
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|
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=head2 Volume IX: Ninth Millenia EK |
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|
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8009 EK: Euthville is destroyed. |
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|
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|
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=head1 The Sultanate of Darcap |
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|
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Isolated from the rest of the region by an extensive mountain range to the |
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south, and possessing a massive natural harbour, Darcap is a small, but |
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easily defensible town, dominated by a pair of powerful guilds. The town |
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is also noted for its circus, whose reputation draws visitors from all |
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over the world. |
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|
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|
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=head1 Santo Dominion |
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|
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Santo Dominion sits in a small bay to the north of Scorn. It is an |
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important port of call for ships travelling to and from Scorn and is |
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also somewhat famous for its Opera and its Litle House of Horrors, two |
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magnificent cultural buildings you would not expect in so small a town as |
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Santo Dominion. |
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|
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|
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=head1 Euthville History |
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|
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The Ruins of Euthville can be found just off the Imperial Highway north of |
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Scorn. |
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|
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=head2 The Origins of the City |
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|
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The Codex Skudensis tells that Euthville was founded by the Euthanasia the |
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Builder, hence its name. |
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|
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=head2 Past and Destruction |
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|
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Ah, Euthville - “City of the Pearl”, in Old Hemdalite, has indeed a |
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rather sad story!! |
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|
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If you went there about half a millenia ago, you’d have seen something |
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very different than the field of haunted ruins it has since become. It |
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was initially founded by a handful of industrious, clever dwarves, that |
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had found a mystical way to locate fields of precious Karitta, the famous |
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metal that is as transparent as a pearl of the North Sea, yet as strong as |
366 |
the best irons of Navar. |
367 |
|
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And thus, they found at the location of Euthville a lot of that raw metal, |
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which quickly made the city one of the richest of all. And for a long |
370 |
time, it stayed so. The inhabitants of Euthville weren’t interested by |
371 |
war, work, or anything else too tiresome - they preferred to pay somebody |
372 |
else to do all of this. And with the advanced technical knowledge bring by |
373 |
the dwarves, working was less and less an issue for them. |
374 |
|
375 |
Yet yhey were facing a problem. All their devices, all their machineries, |
376 |
all their tricks to cheat with nature required energy. Lots of |
377 |
energy. They relied first on the strength of horses and donkeys, but it |
378 |
wasn’t enough. Then, they tamed the dangerous Wyverns of Kal-Durandasi, |
379 |
so that the hot lizards would provide them with the full force of their |
380 |
steamy breath. But soon, it wasn’t enough. They also used the hidden |
381 |
power provided by the Faeries of the Tarniska river, building a dam, so |
382 |
that they could put the invisible horses of water that the sylphids are |
383 |
rumored to breed in use. |
384 |
|
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But even so, their hunger for power wasn’t satisfied, and became an |
386 |
increasing nuisance for them. So, the Commander of Euthville (which was, |
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more or less, the equivalent to our King at Scorn), finally decided to |
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send messengers across the whole Continent, calling the world for a |
389 |
challenge. Whoever would be able to fulfill the needs of Euthvillians of |
390 |
energy would become the new Commander, thus the ruler of the richest city |
391 |
ever built since Khelens. |
392 |
|
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Many answered the call, of course, and many failed. Wind, Sun, Stars, even |
394 |
dwarven beer were proposed, but nothing seemed to be enough. For years, |
395 |
wizards tried. And failed. |
396 |
|
397 |
And then came a boy. He wasn’t a wizard, nor pretended to be one. He was |
398 |
young, but the story didn’t kept the record of his name, and some now |
399 |
think it is because he was damned. Who knows? The Boy sat in the middle |
400 |
of the city, playing with his flute, laughing whenever he saw one of the |
401 |
demonstrations the powerful wizards and engineers failing again and again. |
402 |
|
403 |
After several days, the Commander noticed the Boy, and said: “who |
404 |
are you to laugh, you, who has only a flute ?” “I have only a |
405 |
flute for sure - but there’s more in my simple pipe than in those |
406 |
legions of wizards.” “Really ?” said the Commander, half-laughing, |
407 |
half-curious, “so you think you can solve my challenge ?” |
408 |
|
409 |
The Boy smiled. “Not only I can, but I shall - and my price will be |
410 |
quite acceptable to give you the energy you need.” “And that would |
411 |
be...?” - “A new pipe.” came the reply “That one is becoming |
412 |
old.” “Agree, you have your chance.” |
413 |
|
414 |
The Boy then started to play an amused melody. It sounded like an |
415 |
invitation to a great feast, the opening of a meeting where everybody was |
416 |
invited. And then came from earth itself sounds of steps, climbing from |
417 |
the depth. The fountain that stood in the middle of the place crumbled, |
418 |
leaving a great hole from which flames emerged. But the fire seemed to |
419 |
dance at the rythm of the music itself. |
420 |
|
421 |
The Boy then said to the Commander: “As long as you keep playing for |
422 |
the Demons there, at least 23 hours each day, you’ll get them to make |
423 |
whatever you need.” And he gave them the score, took a brand new silver |
424 |
flute, and left, and never was seen again at Euthville. |
425 |
|
426 |
At first, things seemed fine, and the Commander couldn’t believe his |
427 |
luck, as a pipe was a feeble price to pay for such a powerful recipe of |
428 |
prosperity. Who wouldn’t want to tame the Demons themselves? Quickly, |
429 |
though, it appeared obvious that, for enough demons to be there, that |
430 |
music needed to be played rather loudly. And if, at first, it sounded |
431 |
entertaining, joyous, and funny, it quickly grew on the nerves of |
432 |
many. And especially because it was played 23 hours a day. |
433 |
|
434 |
Finally, the Commander decided that the city couldn’t stand this |
435 |
anymore, and ordered that the Demons had to be attracted faraway from the |
436 |
city. On this fateful day, a whole fanfare left the city, hoping that the |
437 |
demons would follow, attracted by the music. |
438 |
|
439 |
And so, they did. One after another, they climbed out of Earth itself, and |
440 |
walked in the direction of the music, obviously unaware of the hundreds of |
441 |
buildings they were crushing by their giant footsteps, and the thousands |
442 |
of inhabitants that they toasted with their dark fire. Seeing that, |
443 |
even the bravest ones went mad, and ran for their lives, leaving pipes, |
444 |
clavicelles and harpsichords fall on the ground. |
445 |
|
446 |
The rest of the story is easy to understand: Demons, free from the magical |
447 |
music that enslaved them, crushed what remained of the city, in a bloody |
448 |
fest that they will forever keep in their twisted memories. |
449 |
|
450 |
The Commander went mad, of course, and it is said that his madness was |
451 |
so strong that his mind was unable to understand that he was dead. If |
452 |
you search enough in the ruins of Euthville, you’ll probably encounter |
453 |
his ghost, as well as those of the many who perished for having believed |
454 |
that mortals could enslave the hell. Some demons stayed there, obviously |
455 |
enjoying the area and its newborn ashes that smelled fresh blood and |
456 |
carnage. Euthville is now, of course, a dangerous, deserted place, and the |
457 |
richesses that are still sleeping below the ruins of its former palaces |
458 |
are now guarded by powerful entities of the 9th Circle. |
459 |
|
460 |
Many said that, if the Enchanted Music could be found, it would open the |
461 |
gates of many treasures, but because none of the former Euthvillians |
462 |
survived, and because nobody knows where the Boy went afterwards, those |
463 |
gates are still closed. I’ve heard that the School of Daemonology was |
464 |
precisely founded to rediscover that spell. But who am I to claim this to |
465 |
be true ? I’m only a man of the past that tells stories before a fire, |
466 |
and the fire is dying, and so has my tale reached the end. |
467 |
|
468 |
|
469 |
|
470 |
=head1 The Kiritani Pass (from "Euthville Legends") |
471 |
|
472 |
The "Kiritani Pass" is the part of the map you can see on world_104_114, |
473 |
between the two random caves and the forest full of hidden |
474 |
stuff. Nowadays, it is marsh and beach, but centuries ago, it was a |
475 |
passage for boats sailing from and to Euthville. |
476 |
|
477 |
|
478 |
=head1 Sannistra (from "Euthville Legends") |
479 |
|
480 |
The Sannista is a legendary flying boat that was powered by the reaction |
481 |
of a fire and a water elemental. It was built by the tenth Commander of |
482 |
Euthville, Farkennis, as a gift for the 18th Birthday of his daughter, |
483 |
Sannista. That’s the boat that was stolen by Fax when he fled from |
484 |
Euthville, and that he used to get to Khelens. Giusitta the Verbous then |
485 |
sailed it back to the Continent, and hid it “somewhere in the mountains |
486 |
of Euth”. |
487 |
|
488 |
So I *guess* she would have put it there, although I’m not *sure*. Many |
489 |
people thought the story was speaking about the mountains just east of the |
490 |
ruined city, but now that I’ve discovered those two caves, I’d rather |
491 |
bet on them - it seems more logical. |
492 |
|
493 |
|
494 |
=head1 The Name of the World |
495 |
|
496 |
I, Forag the little-known, have invested my lifetime into exploring |
497 |
the various names of this, our World. In this tome I wrote down all my |
498 |
knowledge. Be careful with it, else it might overwhelm you, as it did me! |
499 |
|
500 |
In Khelens and most of its territories, it was named “The Earth”, |
501 |
while the major western landmass was called “The Continent” while the |
502 |
eastern landmass was called "the Wilderness". |
503 |
|
504 |
Fendrakis used “Raxida”, which is also the name they gave to the Fox |
505 |
Lady, Mother of All Things, deity. |
506 |
|
507 |
Elves traditionally use “Eänella”, which translates as “The Land of |
508 |
Green” |
509 |
|
510 |
Dwarves of Khorolizov use “Herdankaupf”, “Country of the Horses”, |
511 |
which is a reference to their mythology (see the legend of the Twelve Days |
512 |
for that) |
513 |
|
514 |
The Orcish name is “Knâgsh-Ishzeh”, “Rotten Branch” |
515 |
|
516 |
The people of the Old Wall, used the name “Harinappa”, “Bottom of |
517 |
the Pit”, to designate the world. |
518 |
|
519 |
Most people nowadays use the old Khelenti name ("The Earth") or its direct |
520 |
translation in local languages/idioms. |
521 |
|
522 |
|
523 |
=head1 Melficef the Red |
524 |
|
525 |
Melficef was a powerful mage that conducted thaumical studies to |
526 |
try to store magical energies in an efficient way. He created many |
527 |
self-recharging rod spells that are still commonly used today, as well as |
528 |
the thaumic bomb, a device storing a massive amount of mana and releasing |
529 |
it in a violent explosion - such an explosion actually killed the |
530 |
unfortunate Melficef himself. |
531 |
|
532 |
|
533 |
=head1 The Kingdom of Scorn |
534 |
|
535 |
Nestled snugly in a sheltered bay at the west of the Imperial Highway, |
536 |
Scorn is a safe and welcoming place for those who pass by. Once a great |
537 |
military force whose power affected the entire world, its influence |
538 |
has since waned, the castle in the centre of town now serving a mostly |
539 |
ceremonial purpose. Nonetheless by virtue of its position on the Imperial |
540 |
highway the city has maintained its importance as a stopping off point |
541 |
for travellers between the other major cities and it is an attractive |
542 |
location for trade and commerce in its own right. This combined with the |
543 |
sheltered harbour and key shipping lines, ensures that Scorn remains a |
544 |
key crossroads bustling with activity, long after its former military |
545 |
dominence has diminished. |
546 |
|
547 |
=head2 History |
548 |
|
549 |
435EK: The colony of Skorn was founded by Skud the Great, when his |
550 |
expedition reached the shores of the continent. It is said that he first |
551 |
pitched his tent on the site where the inn now stands. |
552 |
|
553 |
1064-1135EK: The war against the Dragons. Scorn is destroyed. Most of its |
554 |
inhabitants flee to the south. After 1115EK, the city is progressively |
555 |
rebuilt on top of the now buried ruins nowadays known as the Old City. |
556 |
|
557 |
1177EK: War of the Sea Princes. The last imperial ship reaches |
558 |
Scorn. Contacts with Khelens are now broken. Scorn becomes an independent |
559 |
kingdom. |
560 |
|
561 |
|
562 |
=head1 History of Lake Country |
563 |
|
564 |
Lake Country originaly was where the elves who where exiled from the north |
565 |
by the kings of Scorn, during the Vth millenia EK. They named the area |
566 |
Vkovzerov. The major elven city of Vkovzerov was Tashkeren-tah. It was |
567 |
destroyed by a Water arch-elemental in 4453EK. |
568 |
|
569 |
|
570 |
=head1 Visit our Training Centres! |
571 |
|
572 |
We, Training Centres Incorporated provide the best service for warriors, |
573 |
wizards and anybody else who wants to improve quickly. |
574 |
|
575 |
For a modest fee, you can get almost exclusive access to our large |
576 |
training areas. |
577 |
|
578 |
=head2 Pricing |
579 |
|
580 |
Humamoid |
581 |
|
582 |
A Bonecrusher, a Firestar, and a Demonspawn Shield. |
583 |
|
584 |
Undead |
585 |
|
586 |
Lich dust, a Spectre’s ectoplasm, and a Skull’s tooth. |
587 |
|
588 |
Dragon |
589 |
|
590 |
An Ancient dragon’s steak, an Ancient Blue Dragon’s steak, and an Ancient red dragon’s steak. |
591 |
|
592 |
Demon |
593 |
|
594 |
A Demonbane, a Belzebub’s sword, and a Firebrand. |
595 |
|
596 |
=head3 Free Centres |
597 |
|
598 |
As a special service, we provide access to two of our older training |
599 |
centres completely free of charge, although you will understand that there |
600 |
will be no guarentees given for success: |
601 |
|
602 |
Goblin & Zombie - Located south of Scorn |
603 |
|
604 |
Skeleton & Ogre - Located somewhere around Navar |
605 |
|
606 |
=head2 Locations |
607 |
|
608 |
These are the locations to the entrances of the Training Centers. |
609 |
|
610 |
world_107_128 |
611 |
|
612 |
world_118_101 |
613 |
|
614 |
world_106_109 - Humanoid |
615 |
|
616 |
world_124_113 - Undead |
617 |
|
618 |
world_107_120 - Goblin & Zombie |
619 |
|
620 |
|
621 |
=head1 The Kingdom of Navar |
622 |
|
623 |
Straddling the corner of the Imperial highway as it turns North near the |
624 |
Eastern border of the known world, and surrounded by dangerous territory, |
625 |
Navar is an unlikely site for one of the world’s grandest cities. Yet |
626 |
there it stands, dominating the skyline for miles around and showing the |
627 |
same bustling activity expected of any thriving market town. |
628 |
|
629 |
|
630 |
=head1 The Kingdom of the Masts |
631 |
|
632 |
A Merchant Republic led by the now destroyed city of Kari Kori. At its |
633 |
peak, the Kingdom of the Masts ruled nearly a quarter of the world, and |
634 |
its fleet was unmatched. Kari Kori was opposed to Navar in a series of |
635 |
wars that it finally lost at the Battle of Tered in 2287 EK. |
636 |
|
637 |
|
638 |
=head1 The Artificers' Wars |
639 |
|
640 |
A series of wars conducted between 3084 and 3154 EK by a coalition led by |
641 |
Navari Princes against the Artificers, a group of mages that were masters |
642 |
in the now banned magical field of Technomancy. The Artificers were close |
643 |
to obtain a complete victory, but were finally destroyed by the raw power |
644 |
of their own biggest creation, The Thaumic Gear. The explosion of the Gear |
645 |
shattered the whole east of the world, and many territories forever sank |
646 |
into the ocean, including Kari Kori, the Technomages’ city. |
647 |
|
648 |
|
649 |
=head1 Juradiths Dissidents |
650 |
|
651 |
Juradiths, named after Juradith, Minor Spirit of Equity, were a group of |
652 |
activists that wanted to turn the Kingdom of Scorn into a republic in the |
653 |
second-half of the XXXIVth century EK. They succeeded at overthrowing King |
654 |
Karatan III, but their vengeful, fanatical excesses quickly turned most |
655 |
Scornians against them. When trying to recapture the city, their army was |
656 |
defeated by the Scornian Militia with the help of a couple city mages, who |
657 |
flooded the Juradiths into a magically created lake. |
658 |
|
659 |
Juradiths still exist as a small political faction today, although |
660 |
they’ve long traded their violent ways for some weird traditions whose |
661 |
origins and meaning are now mostly forgotten. |
662 |
|
663 |
|
664 |
=head1 The Gaean Legend of Creation |
665 |
|
666 |
=head2 Age of The Void |
667 |
|
668 |
In the beginning there was Gaea, the force of nature. SHE filled the whole |
669 |
of existence with her being. After a few billion years, this became to |
670 |
grow boring and lonely, so SHE decided to have children. |
671 |
|
672 |
At first SHE created a host of forces like Herself, eternal and |
673 |
divine. But with all their power, they couldn’t get along with each |
674 |
other, so Gaea decided that wasn’t a good idea. SHE decreed that from |
675 |
that point on all creatures but HER would have a limited lifetime. But |
676 |
most of HER first children disagreed, and went away to an unknown |
677 |
location. |
678 |
|
679 |
=head2 Age of The Small World |
680 |
|
681 |
So Gaea created a small world and populated it with limited creatures - |
682 |
animals and plants of all sorts. For a few million years she was happy |
683 |
to watch them. But her remaining faithful children were growing restless |
684 |
and wanted to make their own experimentations too. Finally SHE got bored |
685 |
again, as her creations weren’t self-aware and therefore weren’t |
686 |
much of a company. But SHE was also curious, because her creatures had |
687 |
developed many different styles of living, and SHE desired to compare |
688 |
them. |
689 |
|
690 |
And Gaea destroyed the original world, breaking it in four new ones. |
691 |
|
692 |
=head2 Age of The Four Worlds |
693 |
|
694 |
The First world was dedicated to harmony. It was populated with creatures |
695 |
that preferred to coexist peacefully and contemplate. Two of Her children |
696 |
were particularly enamoured of this world and decided to live there. |
697 |
|
698 |
The Second world was dedicated to construction. It was populated with |
699 |
creatures that liked to change the environment around them, especially |
700 |
ants, bees and beavers, and filled with wood and metal and stone usable as |
701 |
raw material. Two of Her children found the idea fascinating and decided |
702 |
to live in this world. |
703 |
|
704 |
The Third world was dedicated to war and strife. While all the three |
705 |
other worlds had equal shares of light and darkness, the Third world had |
706 |
as much light as its inhabitants desired - and it was populated with |
707 |
creatures that loved and hated light, in equal parts. So these creatures |
708 |
quickly discoreved they could influence the ambient light by battling each |
709 |
other. Two of Her children decided to live in this world: one because he |
710 |
loved light, and another because he hated his brother and therefore wished |
711 |
for darkness to prevail. |
712 |
|
713 |
The Fourth world, finally, was dedicated to predation and to survival of |
714 |
the fittest. It was populated with fierce creatures and predators. Two of |
715 |
Her children believed this was the best way to live and decided to live in |
716 |
this world. |
717 |
|
718 |
After the worlds were created, only four children of Gaea still preferred |
719 |
to live in the Void: two because they weren’t interested in any of those |
720 |
worlds, and two because they liked all of them and preferred to visit them |
721 |
whenever they wished. |
722 |
|
723 |
=head2 Age of Awakening |
724 |
|
725 |
And for a few million years Gaea delighted in observing the differences |
726 |
between the worlds. But still the creatures were not self-aware, and |
727 |
still SHE was lonely. So when Her children came and said they were lonely |
728 |
and wanted to create more interesting creatures, SHE understood them and |
729 |
quickly allowed them and gave them the power to do it. |
730 |
|
731 |
So on the First world, one of the Gods who lived there created a race of |
732 |
beings that loved peace and wildlife, and called them Elves. The other |
733 |
God in that world didn’t choose to create followers, but she teached |
734 |
language to the Elves of her brother, and when the Elves larned the art of |
735 |
naming, they named their creator Lythander, and in exchange for his name |
736 |
he gifted them with luck. |
737 |
|
738 |
On the Second world, one of the Gods created a race of builders and named |
739 |
them Dwarves. His children, in turn, named him Mostrai. His sister, in |
740 |
turn, decided not to create, but teach some of the dwarves (the ones |
741 |
willing to learn) about magic and the powers of the gods. The other |
742 |
dwarves, however, didn’t accept their changed siblings, so they went off |
743 |
to live by themselves and became known as gnomes. |
744 |
|
745 |
On the Third world, of course, none of the resident Gods wanted to |
746 |
cooperate with the other. Both created their own races: the God who fought |
747 |
for darkness created many kinds of fierce, brutal monsters he named |
748 |
“Demons”, while the God who fought for light created many kinds of |
749 |
skillful, swift warriors he named “Angels”. Befittingly, these Gods |
750 |
were named by their enemies, and not their followers: the demons gave the |
751 |
light god the name of “Valriel“, and the angels gave their enemy god |
752 |
the name “Gorokh“. |
753 |
|
754 |
And on the Fourth world, the patron Gods kept true to their philosophy |
755 |
and created not one, but innumerable races, in the hope that one of these |
756 |
would prove the strongest and most worth. So they created goblins, trolls, |
757 |
ogres, and not least, dragons. The Gods became known as Gnarg, the Patron |
758 |
of Assassins, Ruggilli, the Consuming Worm, and Ixalovh. |
759 |
|
760 |
The races in the four worlds lived on for millenia, and developed, and |
761 |
grew, and all worlds flourished. The eight patron gods believed this was |
762 |
proof that they were right, and the way they lived was the best one, while |
763 |
the two traveling gods rather believed that the success of all the worlds |
764 |
was instead proof of the wisdom and power of their Mother. |
765 |
|
766 |
=head2 Age of Death |
767 |
|
768 |
But at some point things started to go wrong. Angels and demons would |
769 |
start to become priests or scholars or merchants and preach against the |
770 |
war. Dwarves and gnomes would start go grow sedentary and admire the |
771 |
crafts of the past instead of building new ones. Goblinoids would suddenly |
772 |
develop a taste for vegetables and become farmers, while dragons would |
773 |
decide that developing their magics was more important than finding |
774 |
food. But what was wrong was a mistery that would only begin to unfold |
775 |
when the High King of the elves, one day, was devoured by a dragon. |
776 |
|
777 |
It was then that the Gods discovered that the worlds were not anymore |
778 |
completely isolated from one another. Someone had, somehow, teached all |
779 |
kinds of creatures how to follow the paths left by the traveling gods - |
780 |
flying creatures would ride the cross-world whirlwinds of the thunder god, |
781 |
and others would learn to tread the strange winding paths of the walking |
782 |
god. And as creatures became aware of different ways, things started to go |
783 |
wrong. |
784 |
|
785 |
Promptly, the Gods tried to close all portals - but it was too late. The |
786 |
art of magic was already known in the four worlds, and strong enough to |
787 |
travel between them. And the one peaceful elves were ignited, and declared |
788 |
war on the dragons, goblins and trolls. |
789 |
|
790 |
While a mighty army of elven warriors crossed over to the Fourth world, |
791 |
dwarves and gnomes found the First world almost deserted and full of wood |
792 |
and metal for the dwarves, and holy, peaceful places for the gnomes. |
793 |
|
794 |
The part of the small peoples who remained on the Second world was faced |
795 |
with new problems when the demons decided they were ripe for tempting (if |
796 |
they could get dwarven builders and gnome sorcerers on their side, the |
797 |
tide of the war would turn). The angels, of course, took upon themselves |
798 |
to protect these strange people from their eternal enemies. So as their |
799 |
attention slowly shifted from the Third world to the Second, soon only |
800 |
the weakest of their kind were in their original world, where they began |
801 |
to fall prey to hungry refugees from the Fourth world, who discovered how |
802 |
tasty angel/demon flesh can be. |
803 |
|
804 |
And while the Gods were busy trying to even understand this chaos, the |
805 |
dead began to come back. |
806 |
|
807 |
Their leader was Hagguth, the Elven High King who had been eaten by a |
808 |
dragon. He came back as a powerful spectre, leading a powerful army of |
809 |
ghosts, wraiths, skeletons and zombies in a massive attack to the Second |
810 |
and Third worlds. Their goal was to kill as many dwarves, gnomes, angels |
811 |
and demons as possible, to strenghten the number of their own undead host. |
812 |
|
813 |
And when some elven wizards tried to steal the power of the undead to |
814 |
their own ends, they became the first vampires, lichs and demilichs - |
815 |
half living, half undead, but on the side of Hagguth and his misterious |
816 |
masters. |
817 |
|
818 |
It was only when a group of reasonable elves, dwarves, gnomes and dragons |
819 |
managed to get together and talk, that it became clear who these masters |
820 |
could be. Till this point, everyone was blaming some (any) god other |
821 |
than the one they worshipped. But there was only one, obvious answer: |
822 |
the Banished Gods, the Forgotten Children who left ages ago because |
823 |
they didn’t agree with he concept of death, were back, and enacting |
824 |
revenge by subverting death itself. In later days, these Gods would become |
825 |
collectively known as the Devourers. |
826 |
|
827 |
Knowing the enemy was not the solution to the war, but was a start. This |
828 |
group, slowly, was able to form a resistence against the undead armies, |
829 |
and gradually turn other people to their side. Finally, after 23 hundred |
830 |
years, they managed to break into the horrible fortress Hagguth had built |
831 |
in the First world and kill (again) the undead king. |
832 |
|
833 |
The chaos began to gradually settle down after that. But then the |
834 |
survivors were faced with a new problem: almost nobody was interested in |
835 |
perverting to the way things used to be. |
836 |
|
837 |
Yes. Entire villages of elves were settled in corners of the Fourth world |
838 |
for many generations, and dwarven guilds had business troughout the |
839 |
worlds. |
840 |
|
841 |
=head2 The Big World |
842 |
|
843 |
So Gaea, in Her wisdom, gave the only possible solution to the |
844 |
problem. SHE took the four worlds in Her hand, and crushed them |
845 |
together. Then SHE looked at the single world she created, and at the |
846 |
creatures of Her children, and decided to again, after millions of years, |
847 |
create Her own followers. Thus SHE created the humans, a young race eager |
848 |
to explore and chart this young world. |
849 |
|
850 |
It took generations for the inhabitants of the resulting world to figure |
851 |
out its geography and for families to reunite; when this finally happened, |
852 |
the stories about four different worlds becoming one were already legends |
853 |
not everybody believed. But still, for some reason, everyone agrees to |
854 |
call this world - the only one they know - Bigworld. |
855 |
|
856 |
|
857 |
=head1 The Book of Valriel |
858 |
|
859 |
In the beginning, for an infinite time, all that existed was a pure light, |
860 |
and that light had a name, and that name was Valriel. |
861 |
|
862 |
But part of the light was not content to be alone, and so did Valriel put |
863 |
this part of Himself aside and did He allow this part to have independent |
864 |
life; and this part was everything that wasn’t content, and as it |
865 |
wasn’t light, it surely was the darkness; and the darkness took upon |
866 |
itself the name of Gorokh. |
867 |
|
868 |
And for many times more time than a mortal can count, Gorokh was the |
869 |
companion and the servant of Valriel. But Gorokh was not content, because |
870 |
that was his nature, and he plotted a way to change everything. And |
871 |
although filled with hidden motives, Gorokh’s words were always very |
872 |
wise, so that Valriel would hear them. So it was that Valriel followed the |
873 |
wise counsel of the Shadow and created a world full of living things to be |
874 |
His new companions and servants. |
875 |
|
876 |
And as soon as Valriel had millions of new companions and servants, Gorokh |
877 |
said, “so now you won’t need me anymore, I can leave and find my own |
878 |
companions and servants”. And this made Valriel unhappy because He was |
879 |
the only and true Lord, but Gorokh wouldn’t recognize that, and so it |
880 |
was Gorokh who eventually taught men to rule over other men instead of |
881 |
paying respect to the one true ruler of all. |
882 |
|
883 |
So did Valriel upon the departure of his first servant, create new |
884 |
servants modeled after His beauty and grace, and elf and man and dwarf he |
885 |
created them. But the Shadow did feel envy and wished those followers for |
886 |
himself, so he came to them in the night and whispered in their ears, and |
887 |
some of them were tempted and started to worship and serve the Shadow. |
888 |
|
889 |
But not enough were seduced by his promises. So he decided to be many, |
890 |
not one. And he wore different shapes and again he whispered in the ears |
891 |
of Valriel’s creations. And to the elves he was Lythander of the bow |
892 |
that never misses, and the elves did not see that if a bow never misses, |
893 |
and it isn’t the work of the Lord, then it can only be the work of the |
894 |
Enemy. And to the dwarves he wore the name of Mostrai, of the fire, of the |
895 |
forge, the builder of things, for the fire and the desire to change was |
896 |
the true face of Gorokh. |
897 |
|
898 |
And he taught the men to wage war upon each other, and scared the warriors |
899 |
with thunder and lightning, and they would call him Sorig. And those |
900 |
who weren’t scared, he tempted with weapons and glory, and wore the |
901 |
beautiful face of a woman, and they called him Valkyrie. And as they |
902 |
killed each other, Gorokh was happy. |
903 |
|
904 |
And much more he did. He taught women to heal and to make the soil grow |
905 |
crop, and they called him Gaea, and believed that Gaea created the world |
906 |
and Valriel was but a minor god, and by spreading this lie they made |
907 |
Gorokh happy. And he taught the children of Valriel to write, so that they |
908 |
could spread his lies further, and they called him Hekanis for that. And |
909 |
he taught them the abomination of filthy magic to pervert and corrupt |
910 |
the creation of the Lord, and to liken themselves to gods, and the evil |
911 |
souls that followed this path called him Byd. And also he taught elf and |
912 |
man and dwarf to brew alcohol and other inebriating things and to laugh |
913 |
in the face of Valriel and throw parties that put shame to the eye of the |
914 |
Lord, and he taught them all that under human guise, and they called their |
915 |
teacher Joyee. |
916 |
|
917 |
So did Valriel look upon the world He created and so did He feel great |
918 |
sorrow and great shame for what had happened to it. And so did he create |
919 |
a new race of servants, more powerful and more faithful than any other, |
920 |
imbued with the mission of hunting down and undoing the work of the Enemy, |
921 |
and this race He called Angels. |
922 |
|
923 |
But again Gorokh felt envy because the servants of the Light were more |
924 |
powerful than his own, and again he went to some of the angels in the |
925 |
night and whispered temptation in their ears, and some turned to his foul |
926 |
purposes and fell from grace. So did Gorokh give them new shapes, to more |
927 |
liken them to himself, red with hate and wearing horns to symbolize their |
928 |
envy, and they became demons. And the plan of Valriel was once again |
929 |
spoiled by the venom of the enemy, because angels had to step aside from |
930 |
their assigned mission to fight the demons and keep them from spreading |
931 |
the evil in their dark hearts. |
932 |
|
933 |
And Gorokh did find great fun in changing Valriel’s creation into a new |
934 |
race, and so did he get elf and man and dwarf and corrupted them with |
935 |
his dark will, and they became goblin and orc and kobold, and troll, and |
936 |
giant, and ogre, and many other abominations to the eye of the Creator, |
937 |
and Gorokh wore the name of Gnarg to these new creations and delighted in |
938 |
watching the destruction and sorrow they spread in the world. |
939 |
|
940 |
And in the ultimate act of defiance, the Shadow decided to create servants |
941 |
for him, create new life himself to liken him more to the Great Lord. And |
942 |
he assembled the foulest magic and the darkest hunger he could find and |
943 |
shaped these into the most horrible monsters he could imagine, and gave |
944 |
them life, and called them dragons, and sent them forth to eat the flesh |
945 |
of the creation of Valriel. And the dragons did call him Ruggilli and much |
946 |
did they please him with the terror they spread. |
947 |
|
948 |
But the light and the love of Valriel knew no end, so He decided to |
949 |
fight evil with good, and He instructed His faithful servants to do only |
950 |
the good, to spread the word of His love. And by doing that did He win |
951 |
back many servants who saw that the righteous is more powerful than the |
952 |
might. Much did this enrage the Shadow, and the Shadow did respond by |
953 |
raising the dead themselves from their graves to fight the forces of |
954 |
good. Even when the dead did not win, they did force the living to abandon |
955 |
good in favor of war, and in doing so they would too abandon Valriel. So |
956 |
once again he shadow was happy. |
957 |
|
958 |
Valriel finally did decide, with much sorrow in His infinite heart, that |
959 |
the only way to make His creation safe again was to destroy the Shadow |
960 |
himself. So did He cast His holy word upon His creation to banish the work |
961 |
of the Enemy. But the Enemy knew what would happen beforehand, due to the |
962 |
evil magic of his followers, and he created a safe refuge for their evil, |
963 |
in a world created entirely of pure evil and hate, that he had set aside |
964 |
from creation and called Hell. And soon enough did Gorokh find ways back |
965 |
into the world of the creation of Light, and resumed his foul work of evil |
966 |
and dissent and terror. |
967 |
|
968 |
So did Valriel gather together His faithful and he did gave them some time |
969 |
to put the love for the Lord back in the hearts of as many of His children |
970 |
as they could. And very soon will He again call upon the faithful, and |
971 |
then will He give the faithful an entire new world for them to live in the |
972 |
love of Valriel. And Having done that He will turn to this world, and to |
973 |
Hell, and to Gorokh, and He will destroy them completely with the force of |
974 |
His will, putting an end once and for all in the war and the evil. |
975 |
|
976 |
|
977 |
=head1 The Book of Gorokh |
978 |
|
979 |
In the beginning, for an infinite time, all that existed was an empty |
980 |
and cold light. And the light was content to be and fill and control |
981 |
everything that was. But it is not right for light to be cold, and the |
982 |
part of the light that should have been warm, longed for warmth and for |
983 |
things to see and for things to do. |
984 |
|
985 |
So did the light put aside the warmth, so that the fire would not disturb |
986 |
their cold peace. And the fire looked unto the light and called the light |
987 |
Valriel, the controlling father, and the fire called himself Gorokh, the |
988 |
Son with a Will. |
989 |
|
990 |
And for many times more time than a mortal can count, Gorokh was the |
991 |
companion and the servant of Valriel. But Gorokh was not content, because |
992 |
that was his nature, and he plotted a way to change everything. And fueled |
993 |
by the fire of his will, Gorokh’s words were always very wise, so |
994 |
Valriel would always hear them. So it was that Valriel followed the wise |
995 |
counsel of the Fire and created a world full of living things to be their |
996 |
new companions and servants. |
997 |
|
998 |
And as soon as Valriel had millions of new companions and servants, Gorokh |
999 |
said, “so now you won’t need me anymore, I can leave and find my own |
1000 |
companions and servants”. And this made Valriel unhappy because he |
1001 |
believed he should be only and true Lord, but Gorokh couldn’t agree |
1002 |
to that, and so it was Gorokh who eventually taught men to rule over |
1003 |
themselves instead of paying respect to one self-appointed ruler of all. |
1004 |
|
1005 |
So did Valriel, while Gorokh was away exploring the wonders of the new |
1006 |
world, create new servants of flesh and bone to adore him blindly, and elf |
1007 |
and man and dwarf he created them. And seeing this beautiful new creation |
1008 |
Gorokh wanted a part of it for himself, and he presented himself to them, |
1009 |
and some of them liked him and became his follower. |
1010 |
|
1011 |
But Valriel was afraid that, with two gods to adore, some of his creation |
1012 |
could find it natural to spread creation in two equal halves, and he did |
1013 |
want more than an equal half. So he decided to wear different shapes so |
1014 |
that his children would believe him to be many, not one, and then he |
1015 |
would be able to get more than his fair share. And so did he create many |
1016 |
false gods for his children to adore. And even when Gorokh would bring |
1017 |
the wonderful gifts conceived by his powerful will, such as the forge, |
1018 |
weapons, medicine, agriculture, writing, magic, and wine and booze and |
1019 |
music, even then would Valriel create a false god to pose as the giver of |
1020 |
those gifts and take the glory for himself. |
1021 |
|
1022 |
And since Gorokh kept inventing new presents, Valriel became angry, |
1023 |
because he doesn’t like change and he doesn’t like any good that |
1024 |
doesn’t come from him. And so did he create a new race of servants, more |
1025 |
powerful and more prone to following him blindly than any other, imbued |
1026 |
with the mission of hunting down and undoing the work of the Fire, and |
1027 |
this race He called Angels. |
1028 |
|
1029 |
But again Gorokh found a cunning way to defend his work, and again he |
1030 |
went to some of the angels in the night and whispered promises of power |
1031 |
in their ears, and some turned to his great purposes and joined him. So |
1032 |
did Gorokh give them new shapes, to more liken them to himself, red with |
1033 |
the fire of his will and wearing horns to symbolize their power, and they |
1034 |
became demons. And the plan of Valriel was once again spoiled by the |
1035 |
genius of the Fire, because angels had to step aside from their assigned |
1036 |
mission to fight the demons and keep them from spreading the word of |
1037 |
Gorokh. |
1038 |
|
1039 |
And Gorokh did find great fun in changing Valriel’s creation into a new |
1040 |
race, and so did he get elf and man and dwarf and tried to imbue them |
1041 |
with greater strength, and they became goblin and orc and kobold, and |
1042 |
troll, and giant, and ogre, and many other strong creatures. But their |
1043 |
intelligences greatly suffered from the process, and he was unhappy with |
1044 |
his creation, and while he was looking for a way to help them did Valriel |
1045 |
come to them under the guise of Gnarg and he told them to spread great |
1046 |
destruction and sorrow in the world so that the creation of Gorokh would |
1047 |
seem foul in the eyes of the living. |
1048 |
|
1049 |
So the Fire decided the creation of Valriel was imperfect and he had to |
1050 |
create his own new life. So he assembled the most powerful magic and the |
1051 |
strongest will and mightiest strength he could find and shaped these |
1052 |
into the most magnificent creatures he could imagine, and gave them |
1053 |
life, and called them dragons, and sent them forth to take the world for |
1054 |
themselves. But while the dragons are still the greatest pride of Gorokh, |
1055 |
many of them have abandoned him to serve yet another disguise of Valriel. |
1056 |
|
1057 |
And upon seeing the dragons, Valriel declared war and set his servants |
1058 |
upon the task of killing all the most valuables of Gorokh they could |
1059 |
find. Gorokh was consumed with sorrow, and devised a way to spare these |
1060 |
faithful servants, by allowing them to raise again from the grave even |
1061 |
after their deaths. But the servants of Valriel found these “un-dead” |
1062 |
an even greater abomination, and set forth to hunt them, and Valriel |
1063 |
delighted in the war and carnage that ensued. |
1064 |
|
1065 |
So did Gorokh, his fire dim with sorrow, decide to create a whole world |
1066 |
for him and his faithful. And this world he called Hell. But when he was |
1067 |
slowly bringing his faithful to the new world, Valriel treacherously |
1068 |
brought down a great fury upon the world, killing most of the faithful |
1069 |
that were left behind. So the Fire was finally enraged and decided to wage |
1070 |
the war that the Light wanted. And he opened many passages into the world |
1071 |
so that his armies could enter and destroy the minions of Valriel. And to |
1072 |
this war we are all called to chose sides and fight. |
1073 |
|
1074 |
|
1075 |
=head1 The Dwarven Creation Tale |
1076 |
|
1077 |
A play by Shakesdor the Dwarf. |
1078 |
|
1079 |
- What... where we come from? You’re not old enough for this |
1080 |
conversation. |
1081 |
|
1082 |
- No, uncle, I mean as a whole... the world, the dwarves, the others. |
1083 |
|
1084 |
- Ah. I see. (Big gulp of beer.) You mean, NOW? |
1085 |
|
1086 |
- Yes, please. Pleeeease? |
1087 |
|
1088 |
- *sigh* all right, all right. It goes like this. |
1089 |
|
1090 |
First there was the Ore and the Forge. The Ore is what existence looked |
1091 |
like before it existed. The Forge was the untapped will, the potential in |
1092 |
the Ore to be everything that is, ever will be, or won’t. |
1093 |
|
1094 |
Over a span of time that is not time, because time wasn’t forged yet, |
1095 |
some tiny scraps of Ore drifted into the Forge. A piece of the Forge |
1096 |
merged with that Ore and became sentient. He has many names, but we call |
1097 |
him Mostrai. |
1098 |
|
1099 |
He spent ages of time-that-was-not-time exploring, learning the nature |
1100 |
of Ore and Forge and himself. Till he decided it was time to start |
1101 |
forging. And then, first of all, he forged time, so that he could separate |
1102 |
after from before, and so that he could exist absolutely - as opposed to, |
1103 |
at the same “time”, existing and not being created yet, which was the |
1104 |
case if time didn’t exist. |
1105 |
|
1106 |
Then, with things in order, he began forging things. The first thing he |
1107 |
forged was his armor, because he liked the touch of metal against his |
1108 |
body. Then he forged beer, because of course, beer is essential. He forged |
1109 |
it red like the Forge, and black like the Ore. The yellow thing, as we all |
1110 |
know, is an invention of those pansy elves. |
1111 |
|
1112 |
And he liked the beer. He liked it so much, that he was bored of drinking |
1113 |
it alone. Beer calls for a party. So he created the boar and the bird, to |
1114 |
be roasted; he created the mundane fire, which was a toned-down version of |
1115 |
the essence of the Forge, to roast them. And then he created the dwarf, to |
1116 |
dress in metal like him, to work the forge with him, but most importantly |
1117 |
of all, to party with him and partake of the sacred beer. |
1118 |
|
1119 |
But the dwarf started breeding like bugs, and it was quite distracting |
1120 |
to have them putting about in spaceless space. At any given point, there |
1121 |
were thousands of dwarves partying, thousands sleeping, thousands hunting, |
1122 |
and thousands forging. Mostrai thought it was good, but it was also damn |
1123 |
annoying. So he created an enormous mountain for them to live under. He |
1124 |
put the boar and bird, and a few other animals he had come up with later, |
1125 |
on the outside, where he forged woods and forest. And so that his children |
1126 |
wouldn’t wander forever, he placed these places in the middle of an |
1127 |
infinite ocean. There you have, that’s the story. |
1128 |
|
1129 |
- Whoa. What about the others? |
1130 |
|
1131 |
- *sigh* You won’t let me finish my beer, will you? |
1132 |
|
1133 |
- You’ll never finish your beer, uncle. When you soak that mug, |
1134 |
there’s plenty more in the barrel. |
1135 |
|
1136 |
- All right, all rigth. (Big gulp.) |
1137 |
|
1138 |
The dwarves had amazing weapons to hunt with. Eventually, the hunt was |
1139 |
no challenge anymore. The best hunters would play-act wars between |
1140 |
themselves, to best hone their skills. |
1141 |
|
1142 |
Mostrai was worried that those fights might one day evolve into real |
1143 |
wars. So he created an enemy, something very different from the dwarf, |
1144 |
something very obviously wrong, which lived in the woods and preferred |
1145 |
bows and other coward weapons rather than hand-to-hand combat. He made |
1146 |
them incredibly lucky, because otherwise they would stand no chance - and |
1147 |
they came to believe they’re lucky because they’re protected by their |
1148 |
god, which of course doesn’t exist. He also made them very old, so that |
1149 |
they would think they existed before the dwarf - otherwise they would just |
1150 |
recognize our superior position and submit. And all was good and happy; |
1151 |
for time beyond count, dwarf and elf honed their skills against each |
1152 |
other, and prospered. |
1153 |
|
1154 |
I mean, have you ever fought an elf? Yes, it was an eternal war, but not |
1155 |
like those bloody gorefest the others have today. When dwarf and elf |
1156 |
fight, it’s clean, it’s beautiful, it’s according to the rules, |
1157 |
it’s a ritual of honor. |
1158 |
|
1159 |
Well, I digress. All was well, I said. But one day, one elf created yellow |
1160 |
beer. And that offended Mostrai to a level of rage unseen before. So he |
1161 |
created an entire new piece of the world, and populated it with humans, |
1162 |
and other horrible creatures, and then let these young ones discover our |
1163 |
land, so that they may raze the elf forests, ruin the elf nations, and |
1164 |
soil their honor. We’re not stupid enough to argue with Mostrai, so we |
1165 |
went underground, and we’re waiting for that to happen, to see what he |
1166 |
will do next. |
1167 |
|
1168 |
Can I drink in peace now? There, go play with your friends. |
1169 |
|
1170 |
|
1171 |
=head1 The Legend of the Builders |
1172 |
|
1173 |
People of the Old Empire believed that the whole universe was made by |
1174 |
powerful beings called Builders. Builders were not part of the world |
1175 |
like gods were - they lived Outside. Little is known about the Builders |
1176 |
themselves. The priests of the Empire weren’t quite sure themselves |
1177 |
about their names. Some were universally known, though: Mawëdel the Ruler |
1178 |
or Peterëm the Writing One were the most popular of the ever changing |
1179 |
list of Builders. |
1180 |
|
1181 |
The Builders understood very well how difficult it would be for them to |
1182 |
manage themselves every prayer made - making the Universe work was already |
1183 |
a time-consuming task. So they created gods to help them in their task. |
1184 |
|
1185 |
Most of the gods we know today were already popular in the times of the |
1186 |
Old Empire, like Mostrai or Lythander. Others changed names as time |
1187 |
passed. Gods provided their powers to the Faithful Ones, and helped them |
1188 |
by providing blessings and powerful weapons. The priests of the Old Empire |
1189 |
never believed gods made the world, as they were themselves part of it; |
1190 |
world-building was the Builders task. |
1191 |
|
1192 |
|
1193 |
=head1 The Foundation of Scorn |
1194 |
|
1195 |
Few archives remain from the times when Scorn was founded. The city is |
1196 |
probably the oldest of the whole known world. Before Fido, before the Old |
1197 |
Empire, maybe even before gods, Scorn was already there. |
1198 |
|
1199 |
It is usually said that Scorn was founded by Skud the Great. Many legends |
1200 |
are telling about Skud, the half-mythical hero. How he captured the first |
1201 |
dragons. How he fought unknown monsters in the East. How he built Scorn |
1202 |
and the First Inn. Some priests even postulated that Skud was in fact a |
1203 |
Builder. Skud created the First Inn because he wanted to sleep inside a |
1204 |
house, without the risk of being attacked by monsters during the night. He |
1205 |
left the Holy Guestbook, one of the oldest relics of Crossfire, where he |
1206 |
and his fellow friends wrote their names. Skud disappeared long before the |
1207 |
Old Empire came, and nowadays only the Builders can probably remember him. |
1208 |
|
1209 |
Recent researches show that, although he greatly contributed to the |
1210 |
popularity of the city, Skud didn’t found it: it was in fact created |
1211 |
by Tabb the Dark, a Builder that left very little information about him |
1212 |
behind. According to the Codex Skudensis that was discovered in the depths |
1213 |
of the Old City, “Scorn” would have been the real name of Tabb the |
1214 |
Dark. |
1215 |
|
1216 |
|
1217 |
=head1 The Coming of Color |
1218 |
|
1219 |
It is said that centuries before the foundation of the Old Empire, the |
1220 |
world was colorless and sad. Aware of that problem, the Builders decided |
1221 |
to bring color in the life of the Crossfire people. They called the |
1222 |
massive powers of Xepemes, The Source Of All Colors, on the universe. The |
1223 |
magical burst slowly covered the world with colors, but some elements |
1224 |
resisted for a long time. Prophets of the Old Empire announced that, |
1225 |
although victorious, the force of Xepemes wouldn’t stay forever: one |
1226 |
day, it would eventually fade away against a more powerful magical force, |
1227 |
the mysterious Pegemes (or Peengees?). This happened - but much after the |
1228 |
fall of the Empire. |
1229 |
|
1230 |
|
1231 |
=head1 The Bigworld |
1232 |
|
1233 |
The old world was small and it consisted of many pieces. Scorn, Navar, |
1234 |
Brittany and Santo Dominion were in one large piece. Darcap and the |
1235 |
Hill Village were in another smaller one. Lake Country was in yet |
1236 |
another. Pupland was still another. The world was not whole, and the |
1237 |
builders saw that this was wrong. They began the quest to unite the world |
1238 |
and established the Bigworld. As the builders united the world they saw |
1239 |
that it was much too small and began to make it larger. They raised up the |
1240 |
Great Mountains around Brest and they caused the Great Forest to grow. As |
1241 |
the time passed, Navar grew to become a great Kingdom and the builders |
1242 |
decided that it was a good city for players to call home and they gave the |
1243 |
Heroes a choice to serve Scorn or Navar. Nevertheless, Pupland is still |
1244 |
not part of this new world, but the builders wish to add it to the west of |
1245 |
Scorn. |
1246 |
|
1247 |
|
1248 |
=head1 Skud the Great |
1249 |
|
1250 |
One of the first Builders. Skud created many famous places, like the |
1251 |
Scorn’s First Inn or the Newbie Tower. |
1252 |
|
1253 |
The reasons of the disappearance of Skud are mostly unknown. The Codex |
1254 |
Skudensis mentions that it could have been because of the negative |
1255 |
influence of the Arch-Demon Neth Aq. It is thought that The Tower of Skud, |
1256 |
although left unfinished by its creator, may contain informations about |
1257 |
the fate of one of the most famous Builder |
1258 |
|
1259 |
|
1260 |
=head1 Legends of the Fall |
1261 |
|
1262 |
=head2 Of the first things |
1263 |
|
1264 |
First there was Chaos |
1265 |
|
1266 |
Second there was Something and Nothing |
1267 |
|
1268 |
Third there was Dark and Light |
1269 |
|
1270 |
It is said that the Something and the Nothing would fight and that, the |
1271 |
Dark and Light would fight also. |
1272 |
|
1273 |
This being told to me by a monk of Valriel, no longer in the order. |
1274 |
|
1275 |
=head2 On the nature of elemental essences |
1276 |
|
1277 |
It is said that of the four primary elements |
1278 |
|
1279 |
- there is earth which is. |
1280 |
|
1281 |
- there is water which changes. |
1282 |
|
1283 |
- there is air which moves. |
1284 |
|
1285 |
- there is fire which consumes. |
1286 |
|
1287 |
=head2 Overheard in a Narcopian brothel |
1288 |
|
1289 |
When Mother Earth was suckling her children |
1290 |
|
1291 |
sky suckled from her right teat |
1292 |
|
1293 |
but flame and sea fought to suckle from her left teat |
1294 |
|
1295 |
this is why they still fight to this day |
1296 |
|
1297 |
|
1298 |
=head1 The Tale of Lord Butakis - The Lost Stars of the Lake, Volume I |
1299 |
|
1300 |
This story begins nearly four thousand years ago, when Kadriosa IV, King |
1301 |
of Scorn, invaded the southern territories and pushed back the elven |
1302 |
barbarians that lived there. |
1303 |
|
1304 |
The elvish people fled, and many of them settled in a place they called |
1305 |
Vkovzerov, “The Country of the Three Waters”, as it was a rather |
1306 |
unique meeting point between a river, a lake, and the sea. There they |
1307 |
enjoyed a great prosperity, working with the local sprites to build |
1308 |
Tashkeren-tah, The City of the Wooden Towers. |
1309 |
|
1310 |
Two centuries passed, then three. The elven princes of Tashkeren-tah had |
1311 |
become powerful - and never in their hearts was the thirst of revenge |
1312 |
and hatred towards the people of Scorn extinguished. Now very familiar |
1313 |
with the various water creatures that inhabited their territory, they |
1314 |
had developed great skills in commanding rivers, and the beasts inside |
1315 |
them, and the creatures made from them. They knew that Scorn was highly |
1316 |
dependent on its seaport, and they had planned for the many years their |
1317 |
long life gave them to use the great power of water spirits to crush and |
1318 |
flood the city. |
1319 |
|
1320 |
But despite all their accumulated knowledge, their powers were too limited |
1321 |
to direct the most powerful entities of the seas, the Mouthes of the |
1322 |
Mariner, none other than the Greater Aquomons. |
1323 |
|
1324 |
For a long time, they were hesitant to call those, as they were dangerous, |
1325 |
treacherous creatures born during the darkest ages of the world, when |
1326 |
Haemdel the Legendary was crushed and the Three Artifacts lost. But so |
1327 |
strong was their flame of hatred that it soon burned the ropes of their |
1328 |
carefulness. Using their most powerful summoning spell, they convocated |
1329 |
one of the Greater Aquomons before them. |
1330 |
|
1331 |
“Who are you, you creatures with pointy ears, to dare awaken me from my |
1332 |
dreams, me, Vërno, the Fourth Drop ?” |
1333 |
|
1334 |
Elven Princes exposed what they wanted to Vërno, and the creature seemed |
1335 |
very interested at the idea of grabbing all the richesses of Scorn, and |
1336 |
bringing them back into his dark kingdom of the depth of the sea. |
1337 |
|
1338 |
“Very well, said Vërno, but you know, I suppose, that we are all bound |
1339 |
by the Law of Equilibrium, established by the gods themselves when the |
1340 |
world was new and the seas infinite. And for my services, you’ll have to |
1341 |
pay the price.” |
1342 |
|
1343 |
- And what do you want for a price ? - Well, my needs are rather |
1344 |
modest. I’ll only claim a tenth of your own lands as a reward.” |
1345 |
|
1346 |
The Elven Princes quickly discussed the matter, and came to the conclusion |
1347 |
that it was a rather fair price to pay - after all, their territories |
1348 |
weren’t very large, and there was a lot of empty space all around, so |
1349 |
it wasn’t really a problem for them. Maybe it would for a couple of |
1350 |
peasants, but who cared about them more than of the vengeance against |
1351 |
Scorn ? |
1352 |
|
1353 |
And so they answered: “The Fate of Scorn is Sealed, then. We accept.” |
1354 |
|
1355 |
What happened then is too long to tell in details here, as it belongs |
1356 |
to another story. In short, Jovidjevska the elven girl, who had heard |
1357 |
everything, travelled to Scorn, and convinced the city wizards of the |
1358 |
truth of the menace. And when Vërno came to crush the city, they moved it |
1359 |
two days into the future, and the water hand of the Fourth Drop grabbed |
1360 |
only emptiness. |
1361 |
|
1362 |
Vërno, furious, came back to the Elves with a big smile, and told |
1363 |
them: “I did what you wanted, and flooded the territory on which Scorn |
1364 |
was established. Now I take my due price.” |
1365 |
|
1366 |
And that said, he selected the area on which the Elven City itself was |
1367 |
built, and covered it with water, its inhabitants trapped and killed there |
1368 |
without understanding what was happening. |
1369 |
|
1370 |
|
1371 |
=head1 The Tale of Lord Butakis - The Lost Stars of the Lake, Volume II |
1372 |
|
1373 |
Two thousand years passed. The lineage of the kings of Scorn died, |
1374 |
and another dynasty came, and another one after that. Wars were |
1375 |
conducted. Wizards of Scorn fled, and most of the knowledge disappeared, |
1376 |
and there were nothing but lakes and forests above the dead city of the |
1377 |
elves. |
1378 |
|
1379 |
And then, a man came. Where did he come from ? Nobody knows for |
1380 |
sure. Butakis was his name. |
1381 |
|
1382 |
Butakis was an ambitious young man. He had heard here and there strange |
1383 |
pieces of a weird story, about a sunken city, about a dark pact, about the |
1384 |
secret power of elves... |
1385 |
|
1386 |
For years, he studied the Arcanes, hunting for traces of the city, as he |
1387 |
was convinced that the lost wisdom of the elves of Vkovzerov would give |
1388 |
him a great power. And, finally, after 20 long years of searching, he |
1389 |
concluded that the secret was in the area now called “Lake Country“. |
1390 |
|
1391 |
And there, he came, and there was a small house made of wood, and there |
1392 |
was a tree, and there was a young elvish woman, dreaming at the stars, |
1393 |
under the tree. And Butakis fell in love, and the elvish lady fell in |
1394 |
love, and they both watched the stars. But soon, Butakis felt the need of |
1395 |
getting back into action, and finding the lost city and getting its power. |
1396 |
|
1397 |
The lady told him: “The true wisdom is in those stars, and in that |
1398 |
tree, and in that house you see. You’ll only find unrest by aiming for |
1399 |
more.” |
1400 |
|
1401 |
But Butakis had already made up his mind, and he brought back engineers, |
1402 |
and sappers, and miners, and they all worked to build a huge machine to |
1403 |
pump the water, and discover the city. During ten years, Butakis worked on |
1404 |
this, hoping that in the end, the elvish lady would be at his side, and |
1405 |
that she would be his wife, princess of the restored city. |
1406 |
|
1407 |
During all the work, he was perpetually annoyed by a small group of |
1408 |
bandits, lead by Twak the Red Fox. Twak and his men conducted a real |
1409 |
guerilla war against Butakis, as they saw him as a danger for the whole |
1410 |
country, because his plans were damaging nature and could also have awaken |
1411 |
dark power sleeping in the sunken city. Several times, they sabotaged |
1412 |
the machine, stole tools, raped engineers and designers. But each time, |
1413 |
Butakis and his followers repaired the machines, engaged new people, and |
1414 |
increased security. |
1415 |
|
1416 |
|
1417 |
=head1 The Tale of Lord Butakis - The Lost Stars of the Lake, Volume III |
1418 |
|
1419 |
And now, ten years after the beginning, the work was completed, and he |
1420 |
invited the elvish lady to come and see the accomplishment of a lifelong |
1421 |
dream. |
1422 |
|
1423 |
The Elvish lady came, as beautiful as ever. And on the balcony at the top |
1424 |
of the pump, they watched the stars, and she kissed him, and she when they |
1425 |
were in the bed he had prepared for that very special night before the |
1426 |
pumping started, she whispered at his ear. |
1427 |
|
1428 |
That, Butakis had waited for long, but he didn’t expect what she told |
1429 |
him then. |
1430 |
|
1431 |
“Ten years you were away, and ten years I watched the stars with |
1432 |
Twak. And now for him, and for he choose me and my heart, I’ll |
1433 |
disappear, and so does your dream.” |
1434 |
|
1435 |
Butakis understood that he had been fooled, that she only kept her |
1436 |
attention away enough for Twak and three of his faithful men to sabotage |
1437 |
the pump. And so came a great rumble from the basis of the huge building, |
1438 |
and so the huge engines exploded, and so was his dream reduced to smoke, |
1439 |
smoke that still covers most of Lake Country nowadays. The Elvish lady |
1440 |
probably died, as nobody saw her again after that. And so did the brave |
1441 |
Twak, but his spirit survived in the wind - or so say some people. |
1442 |
|
1443 |
Butakis, so strange as it may look, managed to survive, although in bad |
1444 |
shape, as one would expect. Disfigured, he survived until now using black |
1445 |
magic or machines to keep him alive, and he tried to gather again men to |
1446 |
restart his project. But it was now said all around that it was a doomed, |
1447 |
broken man - and so he in fact was Lake country was said to be haunted by |
1448 |
Twak, and several travellers saw a young elvish lady, watching the stars |
1449 |
at night, under a tree, near the lake. |
1450 |
|
1451 |
Nobody ever accepted to work on the foolish project again. Butakis now |
1452 |
awaits in his sinister castle, ruling a shattered kingdom lost in the fog |
1453 |
his machine left behind. A tormented man, that is said to look in the |
1454 |
direction of the lake from the highest tower of his castle, every night. |
1455 |
|
1456 |
But for him never came again the Elvish girl, and forever his soul stays |
1457 |
alone. And so ends what we know about Butakis and Twak, and so dies my |
1458 |
story. |
1459 |
|
1460 |
|
1461 |
=head1 The Wizard School of Blue |
1462 |
|
1463 |
“Although the School disappeared with the Empire itself from The World, |
1464 |
several wizards claimed to be the heirs of their ancient, secret wisdom, |
1465 |
and nicknamed “the Blue Ones”, a reference to the color of the School |
1466 |
Banner.” – Gros, the Irrelevant One |
1467 |
|
1468 |
|
1469 |
=head1 The Great Heliograph |
1470 |
|
1471 |
A device made by Mer’Eric the Walker. Built on the highest point of the |
1472 |
Brestian Hills, it is basically a giant magnifying glass, using a complex |
1473 |
mechanism commanding several mirrors, that is able to concentrate the |
1474 |
sunlight into a powerful beam. The concentrator is associated to a Sun |
1475 |
Stone that can receive similar long-range light signals and transform |
1476 |
them into pure thaumic energy. A keyboard is attached to a mechanical |
1477 |
obturator, allowing a single operator to send coded messages to very long |
1478 |
distances. A magically-powered scriptor writes any such incoming message |
1479 |
capted by the Sun Stone. |
1480 |
|
1481 |
Although Mer’Eric only saw the Great Heliograph as a research project |
1482 |
and as a way to communicate easily across huge distances, this device |
1483 |
is also a powerful weapon that can burn nearly anything several miles |
1484 |
away. This is probably why he decided to hide it in a sealed cave. |
1485 |
|
1486 |
A similar device was built by the Mad Mage of Scorn, but its fate is |
1487 |
unknown. |
1488 |
|
1489 |
|
1490 |
=head1 The Harelkirjan Sisters |
1491 |
|
1492 |
Also called the Twin Witches, they were two powerful women wizards; Herin |
1493 |
was specialized in White Magic, while her sister Urdin was a master of the |
1494 |
Black Art. Both of them tried to improve the life of the people living |
1495 |
all around their house, and introduced the use of cats as spirit-watchers |
1496 |
in Scorn. Unfortunately for them, they were burned by an angry Brestian |
1497 |
fanatical mob for “illegal use of Arcane Powers”. |
1498 |
|
1499 |
|
1500 |
=head1 Ilrya, The Mountain Huntress |
1501 |
|
1502 |
Ilrya was an elven spellcaster and huntress from the underground city of |
1503 |
Eallera, that is venerated as a lesser god by most of the dwarves living |
1504 |
in the Northern Territories. She killed the Bear of Snuddenrach in 3657EK. |
1505 |
|
1506 |
|
1507 |
=head1 Irial, The Fast One, The Shy Light |
1508 |
|
1509 |
Irial is a lesser spirit of flashlight - the light that you can see when |
1510 |
there’s thunder, for example. It is represented as a small, jumpy and |
1511 |
fast fairy with a temperamental mood. |
1512 |
|
1513 |
|
1514 |
=head1 Khorolizov |
1515 |
|
1516 |
One of the three great dwarven kingdoms. “Khorolizov” means “Green |
1517 |
Gold”, which is a reference to the Green Sand, an alchemical component |
1518 |
the dwarves of Khorolizov are the only ones to produce. It is probably |
1519 |
the oldest of the three kingdoms, founded long before the Old Empire of |
1520 |
Khelens reached the shores of the Continent. |
1521 |
|
1522 |
|
1523 |
=head1 Kragi, The Crocodile One, Fish-Hunter |
1524 |
|
1525 |
Kragi is a very ancient spirit, representing the Dangerous Waters, and |
1526 |
the creatures hidden in stagnant swamps. Kragi was already feared by |
1527 |
Ancient Jiradittis, 2000 years before Khelens. A lot of river fishermen |
1528 |
symbolically throw one fish out of what they gathered, to appease the |
1529 |
spirit of Kragi so that the next fishing will go without trouble. |
1530 |
|
1531 |
|
1532 |
=head1 Cromli, The Rocky One |
1533 |
|
1534 |
Crolmi is the Dwarven Spirit of Rocs and Mountains. It has no temples, as |
1535 |
it is said that buildings made of stone anger him (it is like “building |
1536 |
with his own flesh”). |
1537 |
|
1538 |
|
1539 |
=head1 Glamdri, The Darkness Breaker, The Last Standing One |
1540 |
|
1541 |
Glamdri is a lesser spirit of light - it is said that candlelights are |
1542 |
manifestations of Glamdri, for example. |
1543 |
|
1544 |
Glamdri doesn’t represent a magical light - more a spiritual light, the |
1545 |
last pinch of hope in a desperate world. Glamdri also represents original |
1546 |
thinking used to get out of difficult situations, as opposed to Sarikka - |
1547 |
the Raging Fire - who tries to resolve those by extreme violence. |
1548 |
|
1549 |
|
1550 |
=head1 Archmage Rhyz, (Entorinaas Durdennis Rhyz, Fourth Archmage of the Seat, Herdysenmark of Normania) |
1551 |
|
1552 |
Rhyz was an Archmage of the Blue School during the Old Days of the Empire. |
1553 |
|
1554 |
“(...)Unlike Dhelyy Olyy, his contemporary rival for the Seat, Rhyz |
1555 |
focused mostly on closing the gap that existed between the art of fighting |
1556 |
and the Arcane. While Dhelyy Olyy believed in the dual association of the |
1557 |
Warrior and the Wizard, each with its own strength increased by a long |
1558 |
specialization in their respective fields, Rhyz believed in the idea of |
1559 |
a “super warriard”, a combination of a powerful wizard and a strong |
1560 |
warrior. As such, he devised many items that increased the strength and |
1561 |
combat capabilities of their wearers, hoping that wizard apprentices would |
1562 |
so be more inclined to learn the battle skills of warriors. |
1563 |
|
1564 |
Unfortunately for Rhyz, most of his followers relied more and more on |
1565 |
magical strength more than physical training, leaving them to a severe |
1566 |
defeat at the Battle of Moriach, when Dhelyy used an anti-magic field over |
1567 |
them.” |
1568 |
|
1569 |
(Quote from the Codex Simochusianus, Volume XVII) |
1570 |
|
1571 |
|
1572 |
=head1 Archdaemonist Xebinon |
1573 |
|
1574 |
Xebinon was an Archmage and Daemonist that was since trapped by a demon of |
1575 |
the 10th Circle in his mannor. |
1576 |
|
1577 |
It is said that Xebinon used the Crown of Hellfires to try to tame the |
1578 |
Arch-daemon (and failed) - this is a crown that gave a lot of power, but |
1579 |
drained the magical force of the wearer at the same time, making the spell |
1580 |
regeneration more difficult. This was in fact a cursed, twisted artifact, |
1581 |
created by daemons for people who were seeking short-term power, but would |
1582 |
thus head directly for long-term soul slavery. |
1583 |
|
1584 |
Xebinon is sometimes called “The faceless one”, as it is said that the |
1585 |
daemon trapped him by stealing his visage. This may explain why magical |
1586 |
artifacts wearing his name are often helmets. |
1587 |
|
1588 |
|
1589 |
=head1 Argoth, the Fish-City of the Two Towers |
1590 |
|
1591 |
Argoth is the name of a city that was located West of Scorn, in the middle |
1592 |
of the sea, in an island that since sunken after the explosion of the |
1593 |
volcano of the same name, in 674EK. It is called the City of the Two |
1594 |
Towers, because two huge towers were built there, to guide the ships |
1595 |
navigating on the oceans between Bigworld and Khelens. |
1596 |
|
1597 |
Argoth was a dwarven city built on one of the highest mountains known, |
1598 |
rooted in the depths of the sea, and climbing so high in the skies that |
1599 |
uneducated travelers said that it was a “stairway to the gods”. On the |
1600 |
top of the mountain, the Imperial Governors built the Two Towers, who were |
1601 |
visible from Scorn, about 200km far from them. |
1602 |
|
1603 |
The dwarves of Argoth had a terrible secret: in the depths of the caves |
1604 |
below the mountains, they had trapped Hregalakhen, one of the last |
1605 |
survivors of the race of the Ancient Dragons, who ruled Bigworld long |
1606 |
before the time of humans. Unfortunately for the dwarves, the dragon got |
1607 |
free for an unknown reason, and destroyed the city, the mountain crumbling |
1608 |
and disappearing forever into the ocean. The Imperial authorities spread |
1609 |
the false story of a volcanic eruption to limit the panic a free dragon |
1610 |
the size of Hregalakhen would have caused in the population. The fate of |
1611 |
the dragon is unknown to this day. |
1612 |
|
1613 |
|
1614 |
=head1 Zormola, The Bashing One |
1615 |
|
1616 |
Zormola was a great female orcish warrior, that is sometimes considered |
1617 |
as a lesser divinity by not only orcs, but also by southern barbarians or |
1618 |
even dwarves of Herfensheim, who salute her courage on the battlefield. |
1619 |
|
1620 |
|
1621 |
=head1 Morgul, The Tower Builder, The Dark Climber |
1622 |
|
1623 |
Morgul was a Dark Mage that built a tower in the hope of creating a bridge |
1624 |
with the skies, so that demons could attack heavens. Fortunately for |
1625 |
angels, a group of adventurers defeated him in 2374EK. |
1626 |
|
1627 |
|
1628 |
=head1 Wolfen the White, The White Hunter, The One Who Listens |
1629 |
|
1630 |
Wolfen is one of the three moons orbiting around The World. It is said to |
1631 |
be the spirit of the legendary hunter Wolfen, who tracked Kalkaruntes, God |
1632 |
of the Dragons, to is cavern and vainquished it. |
1633 |
|
1634 |
In astrology, Wolfen is the symbol of practical mind, swiftness and |
1635 |
flexibility, but also cowardice and stealing. It is associated with the |
1636 |
Earth element in Alchemancy. Wolfen is seen as a protector by hunters and |
1637 |
rangers. Priests of Lythander think it is the reincarnation of the wolf |
1638 |
that hunts with Lythander in the divine forests of Nerënna. Fenxes see it |
1639 |
as Fixas, the one that saved them from the Humans so long ago. |
1640 |
|
1641 |
|
1642 |
=head1 Ranisha the Red, The Red Death, The One Who Commands |
1643 |
|
1644 |
Ranisha is one of the three moons orbiting around the world of |
1645 |
Crossfire. It is said to be the spirit of the legendary warrior Ranisha, |
1646 |
who was supposed to be an invincible general that was even able to |
1647 |
vainquish gods themselves on the battlefield. |
1648 |
|
1649 |
In astrology, Ranisha is the symbol of violence, hatred, murder, but |
1650 |
also of strength and courage. It is associated with the fire element in |
1651 |
Alchemancy. Priests of Ruggili consider it as the watchful eye of their |
1652 |
god. |
1653 |
|
1654 |
|
1655 |
=head1 Asferenn the Blue, The Blue Sister, The One Who Suggests |
1656 |
|
1657 |
Asferenn is one of the three moons orbiting around the world of |
1658 |
Crossfire. It is said to be the spirit of the legendary wizard Asferenn, |
1659 |
who was said to have been able to force the gate of the divine dimension. |
1660 |
|
1661 |
In astrology, Asferenn is the symbol of wisdom, endurance in effort, |
1662 |
diplomacy, but also treachery and dark secrets. It is associated with the |
1663 |
water element in Alchemancy. It is said that the cycle of water creatures |
1664 |
are strongly influenced by Asferenn. |
1665 |
|
1666 |
|
1667 |
=head1 Story of Lorkas the Fallen, Volume I |
1668 |
|
1669 |
I’ll tell you about Lorkas of Amudrias, and how he found the White Bird |
1670 |
of Hope, and how he capitained it, opening the Gates of the Sun, and some |
1671 |
stuff like that. |
1672 |
|
1673 |
Some say that Lorkas was an angel of Valriel, that fell long ago from the |
1674 |
Skies, stealing a couple of highly holy artifacts, and hiding them in his |
1675 |
new underground domains. |
1676 |
|
1677 |
Some also say that Lorkas is a dark spirit, a lost soul, an unclean, |
1678 |
unfaithful, untrusty creature of Doom and Chaos. |
1679 |
|
1680 |
But, for what matters, some also said that Fido was a fiction, or that |
1681 |
the Empire never was more than a dream of a past that never existed. Some |
1682 |
definitely are foolishly uninformed for sure, and speak more than they |
1683 |
think. |
1684 |
|
1685 |
Because, if they were less quick on jumping to conclusions, they’d |
1686 |
quickly notice how difficult it is for an angel to fall from the sky and |
1687 |
never be able to climb back, as if wild gooses were never able to take off |
1688 |
again once they land after their long journey to the South. |
1689 |
|
1690 |
Anyway, as every wise man knows, Lorkas was no angelic creature of divine |
1691 |
essence, or even a magical creation of a godly force. |
1692 |
|
1693 |
Some say that Khelens is the Beginning, first of the Cities of Men. That, |
1694 |
too, is untrue: before the Age of Khelens was the Time of the Kingdoms |
1695 |
at War. And before them, the Era of Songor the Great. And going back |
1696 |
through the thick book of history, you’ll cross Arnistar of the Desert |
1697 |
Dwellers, the Republic of the Two Rivers, and the Ancient Haemdel, and the |
1698 |
Kingdom of the Long Wall. And before it, the forgotten towers of light |
1699 |
that Horadrists built. |
1700 |
|
1701 |
|
1702 |
=head1 Story of Lorkas the Fallen, Volume II |
1703 |
|
1704 |
Lorkas was born in Kuratas, a small agrarian state that existed on the |
1705 |
Coronian Valley, when Songer and Khelens were still in infancy. He was a |
1706 |
boy that wanted to see everything, to understand the world and its stars, |
1707 |
and discover its limits, for it was extending much further than the mists |
1708 |
of his home valley. |
1709 |
|
1710 |
But life was rude in Kuratas, and trying to think about anything else than |
1711 |
your next harvest wasn’t well perceived by most; and, more than often, |
1712 |
Lorkas dreamed with tears and despair about the Mountains with the white |
1713 |
tops, and Seas that ended only when they touched the sky, far away. |
1714 |
|
1715 |
Tired of his senseless life, he left his parents, his village, his |
1716 |
friends, when he was only 12, and for weeks walked to the West, until he |
1717 |
reached the Coast of the Stonewalls. |
1718 |
|
1719 |
And there, he saw Ottarakans, the Infinite Ocean that extends west of the |
1720 |
Old World, and so fell in love for the sea. He then joined the Port of |
1721 |
Kridatta, which was famous for its ships, as its inhabitants had mastered |
1722 |
a powerful arcane, so that their boats roamed not only the seas, but the |
1723 |
very clouds themselves. |
1724 |
|
1725 |
Because he was smart and quick-brained, Lorkas soon got enrolled in the |
1726 |
team of Capt’n Bortaras; and after several adventures I shall maybe tell |
1727 |
about another day, he took the succession of the old mariner. |
1728 |
|
1729 |
Horizon was the name of his ship, and famous was his crew, exploring huge |
1730 |
territories and fighting the Princes of Sinas, who back then tried to put |
1731 |
the whole area under their iron, greedy grasps. |
1732 |
|
1733 |
|
1734 |
=head1 Story of Lorkas the Fallen, Volume III |
1735 |
|
1736 |
But Lorkas heard about a wonder that him and his crew soon wanted to |
1737 |
find: The White Bird of Hope. |
1738 |
|
1739 |
Buried in the Very East, it was said to be. And so he sailed east; he |
1740 |
crossed the Great Desert, passed the Mountains of Daigojij, reached the |
1741 |
forests oft he western normanika. But still was the Bird further away. |
1742 |
|
1743 |
Reaching the Eastern Ocean, they decided to try to cross it, despite that |
1744 |
it was said to be the end of the world. And for 30 days and nights, across |
1745 |
tempests and monsters, they firmly kept heading east, east, east. |
1746 |
|
1747 |
When despair was growing on them, mists magically opened, revealing a |
1748 |
golden city built on what seemed to be a rich, fertile coastal plain. |
1749 |
|
1750 |
People there spoke a strange language; they were small and not unlike |
1751 |
joyful foxes, and they welcomed Lorkas and his men (and women) |
1752 |
warmly. Soon, they learned to understand each other enough. |
1753 |
|
1754 |
They called themselves “The People of the Mother”, and they had |
1755 |
never seen the “Flat-Eared Giants” before, although they already met |
1756 |
“Flat-Eared Beards” and “Flat-Eared Greens” before. |
1757 |
|
1758 |
But there was a lady called Sonja. And, although she wasn’t human, she |
1759 |
seemed brighter, smarter, more beautiful than any other woman Lorkas had |
1760 |
ever seen before. |
1761 |
|
1762 |
Those months were the most wonderful for him - and her - and time seemed |
1763 |
to have stopped for them in their endless love. But of course it hadn’t. |
1764 |
|
1765 |
And after a while, some of his men wanted to go back to their own homes, |
1766 |
and some wanted for their families to come to the Golden City. And, also, |
1767 |
there was the Bird. |
1768 |
|
1769 |
They had no problem to find the White Bird of Hope - a statue entirely |
1770 |
made of the purest of the white marble, with gemstones of red ruby as |
1771 |
eyes. But so much the inhabitants liked it, so they thought that a |
1772 |
valuable friend was much better than a valuable statue. |
1773 |
|
1774 |
And so they said: “Take the bird as a gift of us to your masters, to |
1775 |
show them we want to make friendship with them. Welcome are the friends of |
1776 |
the children of the White Bird.” |
1777 |
|
1778 |
And so Lorkas left, promising Sonja that he’d soon return. |
1779 |
|
1780 |
The people of the Golden City also told him that “The Bird is imbued |
1781 |
with powerful magic: the one owning it will always keep hope.” |
1782 |
|
1783 |
|
1784 |
=head1 Story of Lorkas the Fallen, Volume IV |
1785 |
|
1786 |
When Lorkas came back, he and his men were welcomed as heroes. So where |
1787 |
does the story turns sour, as Lorkas is said to have fallen from the skies? |
1788 |
|
1789 |
Well, when he and his crew came back home, Kridatta was at war with Sinas, |
1790 |
and for several years, he and his crew fought, using the power of the Bird |
1791 |
to help them. And during those years, Lorkas kept in his heart the hope of |
1792 |
seeing again Sonja. |
1793 |
|
1794 |
Then came the Fever Plague, that killed a third of the people in the |
1795 |
Ancient World. And again was the Bird used, and again did Lorkas help all |
1796 |
those he could help, still having hope of seeing the Golden City again |
1797 |
soon. |
1798 |
|
1799 |
And then, he sent messengers and explorers, as he had become influent, |
1800 |
rich, and powerful, across the seas, to rebind the ties with the Golden |
1801 |
City, as he promised. But they all came without finding their way to |
1802 |
those faraway shores; yet all that time, and for each new mission sent to |
1803 |
explore the seas and the skies, they seemed closed and closer from the |
1804 |
goal. |
1805 |
|
1806 |
Sixty years passed. The world changed; new kingdoms ruled old cities; |
1807 |
Lorkas was now an old man that lived in a small house looking at the |
1808 |
Ocean. |
1809 |
|
1810 |
And still, each day, he spent hours waiting, watching the line where the |
1811 |
sea met the sky, hoping that one day, one would sail back and tell him: |
1812 |
“we found the Golden City !”. And always he hoped, but never received. |
1813 |
|
1814 |
Nearly all of his companions were now dead, and the Horizon had been |
1815 |
retired long ago, now slowly rotting in the bay, fading souvenir of a long |
1816 |
forgotten past. |
1817 |
|
1818 |
|
1819 |
=head1 Story of Lorkas the Fallen, Volume V |
1820 |
|
1821 |
Lorkas walked to his boat, and where there was only tarnished wood and |
1822 |
corroded metal, he still saw the fierce ship on which he saw Sonja for the |
1823 |
first time, so long ago. Who knows what he did, then? One thing is sure: |
1824 |
the vigile of the Sea Tower of Kridatta, that watched boats coming and |
1825 |
leaving from dozens of miles away, reported that an ancient ship left the |
1826 |
bay, with Lorkas sitting at the front of it, holding the Bird, as if he |
1827 |
was sleeping. |
1828 |
|
1829 |
Nobody knows exactly where he went. Was he even dead? Nobody knows. But |
1830 |
everybody kept hope that, one day, he’d reach the Golden City |
1831 |
again. Lots of people tried to find the Bird after that event. They all |
1832 |
accused Lorkas of having “stolen” it. The story became legend. The |
1833 |
legend became fairy tale. And the fairy tale got forgotten by most. |
1834 |
|
1835 |
Yet, Centuries ago, deep in the oldest parts of the Old City of Scorn, |
1836 |
people claimed to have found an ancient mausoleum, a relic of the |
1837 |
past. All made of the purest, finest gold. On the walls were engraved a |
1838 |
man at the wheel of a strange ship, and a woman with pointy ears, watching |
1839 |
the skies. And many nowadays keep the Hope that the White Bird now sleeps |
1840 |
down below the streets, having found its way back to home with Lorkas. |
1841 |
|
1842 |
But who could tell if it is the truth, or only a silly story? Who |
1843 |
knows? As for myself, I don’t care: I just hold hope it is. And so ends |
1844 |
the Story of Lorkas, and so keeps Hope running. |
1845 |
|
1846 |
|
1847 |
=head1 The Prison of Madness |
1848 |
|
1849 |
It is said that deep in the underworld there is a vast maze that will make |
1850 |
everybody who dares to enter die of madness. |
1851 |
|
1852 |
It starts in a room, with a row of mirrors to the south. pass through |
1853 |
those, and carry on slightly further, and you are in the maze proper. |
1854 |
|
1855 |
Little is known about the maze, but Worus the Wanderer claimed to have been |
1856 |
in it, seen many of its wonders and returned. |
1857 |
|
1858 |
He also wrote a book that details all the ways and passages, alas, nobody |
1859 |
could decipher it yet: |
1860 |
|
1861 |
gb2trg2gb2gur2rkvg: |
1862 |
2jnaqre2nebhaq2hagvy2lbh2ybpngr2n2znc2aN, |
1863 |
2vg2vf2ba2gur2obggbz2ragenapr2bs2n2znc. |
1864 |
2bapr2gung2vf2ybpngrq2tb2evtug, |
1865 |
2hc, |
1866 |
2evtug, |
1867 |
2evtug, |
1868 |
2evtug, |
1869 |
2evtug, |
1870 |
2evtug, |
1871 |
2lbh2jvyy2or2ng2gur2rkvg. |
1872 |
2gb2trg2gb2gur2inhyg: |
1873 |
2jnaqre2ebhaq2hagvy2lbh2trg2gb2znc2aN1, |
1874 |
vg2vf2gb2gur2evtug2bs2n2abezny2znc. |
1875 |
2tb2hc, |
1876 |
2yrsg, |
1877 |
2hc, |
1878 |
2yrsg, |
1879 |
2qbja, |
1880 |
2qbja, |
1881 |
2evtug, |
1882 |
2qbja, |
1883 |
2qbja, |
1884 |
2qbja.2Lbh2jvyy2or2va2gur2unyy, |
1885 |
2tb2guebhtu2naq2gb2gur2yrsg2gb2ernpu2gur2inhyg. |
1886 |
|
1887 |
|
1888 |
=head1 Order of the Gravestone |
1889 |
|
1890 |
An ancient order of druids, that venerated the supposed gravestone of |
1891 |
the Spirit of Khalbow. The Spirit was supposed to be a symbol of eternal |
1892 |
renewal and redemption, that lived a regular, short-term dead/revival |
1893 |
cycle. The Order of the Gravestone was very popular during the first |
1894 |
Millenia EK, but then went extinct. No druid is known to exist today, and |
1895 |
the exact location of the gravestone has long been forgotten. |
1896 |
|
1897 |
|