Part 10: Flight From The Dark
After a failed attack on Moagim, the survivors must flee for their lives.
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Narrator posted:
April 10th, 1433 A.E., South-east of the Twelve Duns
The tome found within the Pack-mages den was horrid to gaze upon. It was as if the malign knowledge it contained was somehow tangible, and that the mere act of thinking upon it allowed the soul to be tainted. The precise writing contained within could not be read by anyone save Myrdred-and he would require his library to translate it fully.
The return to Llancarfan was one of celebration. Connacht and his Devil-Slayers had lived up to their name, and the entire city rejoiced at their return. On the steps of the Imperial Palace, Emperor Leitrim presented Connacht with the "Sigil Virtus"- a medal of valor few had ever received. All of Llancarfan knew the name of Connacht and praised their new hero. Even Mjarin was silently complacent.
As the city held its festivities, Myrdred locked himself away in his dark study, and poured over the Pack-Mage's tome. So intense was his research, he refused to be disturbed or even eat. After several days, Myrdred emerged from his study, with a dead pallor about him-but bearing an exhausted smile. Immediately, Connacht, the Emperor, and the War Council were gathered in the Imperial War Room. Myrdred feverously told them about his translation of the tome.
The book was written by none other than Moagim himself. Its pages told of the blackest of necromantic sorceries-and it was intended to teach the Myrkridia these magics. It seemed that Moagim, the one responsible for bringing the Myrkridia into this world a thousand years previous, still held some sway over them. And he planned to use them to attack Llancarfan.
As the commanders began preparations for defense, Myrdred spoke of one other piece of information the book provided-the location of Moagim's main encampment, along the shores of the Deep. Connacht, realizing the potential for that information, boldly addressed the Emperor. An army of Llancarfan soldiers could march on Moagim's encampment and attack him by surprise before he or his army could reach the city walls.
After long hours of discussion and planning, the Emperor finally agreed to give Connacht charge of a regiment of the empire's finest soldiers. They would march north along the Dire Marsh, to the shores of the Deep, and attack Moagim by surprise. They hoped that a strike to Moagim's heart would stop his evil plans before they could be started.
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The Age of the Trow
The Trow witnessed the birth of the world. Their ancient eyes beheld the evolution of the beings we know of today - and many that are still unknown.
The Trow spent their time forging stone monuments to their beloved goddess and creator. Gradually the other "lesser races" began to create their own civilizations. The Forest Giants made their homes in their towering arbors. The frail Callieach began to learn the arts of magic. Still other races rose to power as primitive human-kind still lived in barbaric savagery. Content to live solitary lives of worship, the Trow did not take any interest in the world outside of their realm.
Seeing the Trow as threatening giants, most races avoided them. Other races were not quite so wise. A race known as the Sileh'hei, coveted the Trow lands and knowledge. Believing the Trow's aloofness to be a sign of weakness, they sacked the Trow's temples and brought them to war. Having never fought a battle in their history, the Trow were shocked by the savagery of the Sileh'hei, and many fell to their wicked attacks. For the first time, the Trow saw members of their immortal race die.
The Trow priests prayed to Nyx, pleading for her aid. And in the temple at Rhi'anon, she whispered to her children the secret of iron.
Forging iron weapons, the Trow defended their homeland with vigor. The Sileh'hei were not prepared for the full extent of the Trow's wrath. Even when they ended their attacks and retreated to their mountainous caves, the Trow pursued them. Angered as they were, the Trow hunted the Sileh'hei to extinction. The Trow had learned to war - and now they turned their eyes to the other races who would interfere with them.
Nyx's gift became a way of life for the Trow. No longer did they fashion their monuments to her in stone. Entire shrines and the temple-complexes were forged from solid iron. And so the Trow began to mine for more iron ore for the glories of Nyx. As those mines ran out, they sought even more veins of the ferrous metal. The fires for their forges burned day and night; tremendous smelting fires that rivaled the very sun. As the forests around their lands were lumbered until barren, the Trow looked for a new source of fuel.
Beginning to harvest the massive trees to their south, the Trow came into contact with the Forest Giants who made their homes there. To the Ents, cutting down a living tree was akin to murder. They confronted the Trow and forbade them to harvest the trees of their homes. But, the Trow did not heed their pleas, and continued their deforestation. The Ents had no choice but to fight. The war between the two colossal races was long and brutal. In the end, the Forest Giants were unable to stand against the might of the Trow's iron weapons. Leaving their ancestral home, the Ents traveled far from the Trowlands, eventually making their new homes in Forest Heart. The Ents would never forget how the Trow "poisoned the soul of iron."
In this time, the Callieach had become masters of the ways of magic. They created powerful magical devices that could move mountains, incinerate cities, and make themselves immortal. They had found many of the fragments of the Wyrd, naming them Runestones, and from them gleamed insight to his dreams. These powerful Dream-magics could change the very fabric of existence. It was these powers that caught the eye of the Trow.
Seeing the powers learned by the Callieach, the Trow desired to use these abilities to create even more impressive temples to their god. Being more disciplined in war than in conversation, the mighty Trow began to lay siege to the cities of the Callieach, taking their knowledge by force. Many Runestones were captured by the Trow and taken to the mighty stronghold of Si'anwon. Angered and unable to reason with the arrogant Trow, the Callieach warned them to stop their assaults, or there would be retaliation.
The Trow continued their attacks, destroying whole cities to acquire the Callieach's knowledge. It was then that the Callieach called upon their most powerful magics. In a great cataclysm, the Trow stronghold of Si'anwon was thrust into the earth and summarily flooded by the great sea - The Runestones and artifacts of power lost under the frigid waters.
The Trow were outraged at the lesser-race that would dare to defy them. Years of systematic destruction commenced. Even with their world shaking powers, the Callieach were crushed under the Trow's iron clad feet.
As the last of the Callieach race fled from their home, followed by an army of Trow, they reached a high mountain, and made their stand. Summoning the dream magics of the Wyrd, They ripped a massive hole into reality; destroying themselves and their Trow pursuers in one apocalyptic conflagration - creating the Great Devoid.
The Age of Darkness
Slowly, humanity began to rise out of its primitive state. The brutish tribes, formed into warbands, and then into nations, and then into kingdoms and empires. Humans warred with themselves and with any other races they thought they could defeat.
In this time of warfare and strife, an evil was awakened in the world. It is not known whether it had existed before the world was created, or if it was created out of the atrocities of war, but this malevolent entity desired nothing but the destruction of humanity - and all of the world with it. As the great comet passed into the eastern sky, the being's power grew to epic proportions; as with the comet's departure a thousand years later, it's power waned. For thousands of years this cyclic fluxing of power has caused the destruction and rebirth of human civilizations. Yet its presence and clandestine schemes remained unknown among the people of the world.
As human civilizations were built and destroyed, a few learned scholars began to sense a pattern to their history. They rightfully believed that every thousand years, a powerful warlord will appear to destroy civilization. After that, the hold of darkness on the world would lessen and humanity would once again rebuild. They began to call this accursed entity "The Leveler."
Sometime during these many ages of light and darkness, a powerful sorcerer named Bahl'al learned of the Callieach and the great powers over life and death that they held. Lusting for unknown powers, he explored the sunken ruins of Si'anwon searching for the lost Callieach Runestones. After long weeks, he indeed uncovered a Runestone, and from it, rediscovered the Dream of Unlife. With this sinister knowledge, Bahl'al had become the first human necromancer.
The fierce and loutish Oghre of the cold wastes resented the Trow to the south of their lands. They saw the iron monuments and edifices to their goddess, and called the Trow "The consorts of Nyx." The pride of the Trow was pricked. They would not stand to such an insult to their very way of life. The Trow had become master metal workers over the thousands of years, and constructed complex suits of armor for their kind. These Iron Warriors marched into the Oghre's lands unhindered by their meager defenses. The Oghre's fortresses were torn apart and those who were not killed outright were chained and brought to Rhi'anon as slaves. Those slaved were forced into the iron mines, to dig for the metals that would be used to create even more shrines to Nyx. Thus, the race of the Oghres had become entirely enslaved to the Trow.
The Leveler's powers continued to control the destiny of humanity. Its powers grew stronger with each passing millenium. It was feared that soon the Leveler's power would never wane - that it would defeat humanity utterly and exhale its breath of death upon the world. In this desperate time, a poet and philosopher named Tireces would be the Leveler's downfall.
As the Leveler, in the form of Sorangath the Flayed, was poised on crushing the city-state of Tiruth'Dannor. Tireces rallied the disjointed forces and fought back against the Leveler's legions. Through a great battle, Tireces had fought his way to Sorangath and beheaded him in a bloody duel. The Leveler's armies were routed and crushed. Sorangath's body was put to the torch and the name of Tireces spread across civilization.
This victory against the Dark ushered in the Age of Reason and the dawn of enlightenment for mankind. Alas, though the mantle of the Leveler was destroyed, the evil intelligence behind it lived on.