(Rebirth from the Ashes)
(The history of Civilization)
By E. Dourvean in Dark Ages
Welcome, gentle seeker. After much research, over many deochs, I now present this work for verification to the Librarians of Loures. This massive tome, contains the history of Temuairin Civilization, focusing on the rise of the great City-States, and the destruction of Sarnath. To understand the rise of culture in Temuair, one must begin, where every thing has began in the history of the Earth-Sea...
Hy-Brasyl. Nearly every aisling knows the tale of the end of this majestic civilization. Indeed, that single event has laid its touch on the entire course of history, a touch fouled by the loss of innocence. When the ill star crashed into Hy-Brasyl, the mighty city sank beneath the waves. At this time of madness, refugees fled from the outlands of Hy-Brasyl, beginning a truly dark era in the history of Temuair. For a period of seventy years, the people of Hy-Brasyl were without a land to call their own. Perhaps, it was the guidance of Fiosachd, which saved them, and lead them to the fertile valley. After seventy long years of wandering, Over the years, these refugees banded together, and over time, formed the city-states of Finach, Sarnath, and Niara.
Peace, however, seemed an elusive demon, taunting the peoples of Temauir, then fleeing far away. After another seventy years, came the murmurs of discontent throughout Finach. Having grown rapidly, Finach was a bustling center of commerce and trade. Alas, as always, with prosperity and wealth, comes the sin of greed. During this time of rapid growth in Finach, a ruling council of the three great houses of Finach oversaw the safety and development of the city. It is here, that the whispers of greed began a return to Chaos, after such a short time of prosperity.
The three great houses of Finach, the Àrmunnuin, the Gaisgeachich, and the Saoidhean, consisted of the descendants of Hy-brasylian nobility, and each vied for control of the wealthy land with a passion rivaling the greed of the Aosdans. The Àrmunnuin had gained a majority in the interests of Finach, through trade with the smaller cities to the south. Perhaps, if the Àrmunnuin clan had not been known for it's arrogance and cruelty, Finach would today be the center of the Earth-Sea. However, hindsight provides clear vision of the correct path, and such is not the case. In a desperate attempt, the Gaisgeachich clan approached the Saoidhean, with a plan to wrest control from the leading Àrmunnuin.
On the eve of the first sun of Danaan 1571, the seventieth anniversary of the founding of Finach, a Gaisgeachich assassin crept into the chamber of the patriarch of the Àrmunnuin, and ended his life. With the discovery of this heinous crime, the great houses of Finach mobilized for war. Battles raged on in the streets for many moons after that, and the matriarch of the Saoidhean realized the horrendous mistake she had made. Gathering everything that could be carried, the Saoidhean withdrew from Finach, and fled southward, to begin anew.
After three years of traveling, ever southward, the matriarch of the Saoidhean called a stop, and a small camp was set up. From this camp, the city state of Sarnath was born, southwest of the modern city of Tagor. Meanwhile, in Finach, the civil war raged on. Eight long years of battle raged, until finally, the Gaisgeachich were defeated, and were exiled from Finach. Swearing an oath of vengeance, the leaders of the Gaisgeachich clan traveled south as well. After four years of wandering, the clan discovered the Plains of Ardmagh. Traveling further towards the southeast, they discovered the strait of Faodhail Abhainn. There, on the rocky cliffs of the penninsula, began the foundations for Niara, the final great city-state of the Seventh Aeon.
The Gaisgeachich clan worked quickly, and absorbed much of the smaller nearby towns, to form the city-state of Niara. Again, seventy years passed by, and land disputes became a central issue amongst the three city-states. In Danaan 1653, a meeting of the lords of Finach, Sarnath, and Niara sparked the great elemental wars. The hasty actions of a general of Niara, lead to the resparking of conflict between the Àrmunnuin and Gaisgeachich clans. Wisely enough, the Queen of Sarnath, learning from her ancestor's mistake, withdrew from the meeting, and shut the borders of her kingdom. Upon returning to Sarnath, Queen Àilleachd was greeted with the news of the vast magical wars raging in Finach. Deeply troubled, she called together all the Wizards in her kingdom, and created a school of magic. While the wars in Finach furiously carried on, the Kingdom of Sarnath's magicians, the Eagair de Sgraideag, delved deeper into the mystical arts.
At the end of the Elemental Wars, the aging Àilleachd had become obsessed with the magical arts, and ordered the Eagair de Sgraideag to continue their research. For a short while, peace reigned over Temuair, and the relations between Niara and Finach grew greatly. Perhaps, given the violent history of the region, the wise members of Eagair de Sgraideag should have heeded any warning of turmoil brought towards them.
However, peace was to be short-lived. The dabblings of the Eagair de Sgraideag awoke eldricth energies, unbeknownst to the foolish wizards. Perhaps, it was the call of these dark powers, which lead to the arrival of Reibecca Shi in Sarnath. Fearing that history would repeat itself, Reibecca pleaded with the wizards of Sarnath to abandon their research. Her pleas fell on deaf ears, and she threatened to stop the Eagair de Sgraideag by any means nessecary. The wizards, annoyed by her insistence, and disbelieving her claims to her identity, forged a mighty spell, which captured her inside of a large crystal. Content that their annoyance was gone, they tossed the crystal into a vault, and carried on with their research.
In Danaan 1703, the Earth-Sea was changed, forever. The element of darkness was discovered, and thus begins the Eighth Aeon, the Aeon of Darkness.
With the discovery of the element of darkness, chaos reigned the land. Dubhaim began appearing everywhere, and great battles were fought to destroy them. For centuries, the war raged on, even seeing the destruction of Niara in Danaan 1812. The Eagair de Sgraideag had come to power as the rulers of Sarnath, and they scrambled madly to find a means to protect themselves from the throngs of Dubhaim. For centuries, they focused their efforts on finding a means to counter the element of darkness. With no sign of success in sight, a large portion of the Eagair de Sgraideag began arguing that help from another plane was required to end the madness of the Dubhaim. Heatedly, they debated the virtues of each side. Unable to come to agreement, a great schizm in the Eagair de Sgraideag occurred in Danaan 2437.
While the rest of the world toiled against the Dubhaim, the wizards of Sarnath had advanced the secrets of teleportation. Greedily, they pressed forward, throwing caution to the wind. In 2614, a young apprentice made contact with beings from another plane of existence, although the means by which he did so were lost. He was found frothing at the mouth, clawing his eyes on the floor near a magical rune which had been partially obliterated. His only words, were screams about the power.
At this point, the Eagair de Sgraideag felt they were close to discovering their means of salvation. Forgotten, and trapped within her crystal, Raibecca Shi managed to enslave the mind of a young girl, who smuggled the crystal away from the fortress of the Eagair de Sgraideag. Her efforts, were in vain… She managed to free herself from her prison, only to return to Sarnath in Danaan 2630. As she walked the crest of the valley, the flames of the burning city filled the air.
Standing alone, on the hilltop… she wept silently. In the midst of her sorrow, she felt the presence, of something she'd not felt in thousands of years. The darkness, which she served so faithfully before, had returned. Gathering her courage, she immediately transported herself to the realm of the Gods, and brought with them, the terrible news.
Troubled by the news of Raibecca, the Gods summoned forth the Demi-God Miraedus, the servant of Ceannlaidir. With haste, they commissioned him to craft powerful armors and weapons. Returning him to his forge, he toiled without sleep for over a year. Raibecca split herself between lending herself to his aid, infusing powerful aosdan magics into the armors, and slowing the onslaught of the beings, known as Creants. As Miraedus completed the armors, he sat for a moment, to rest his eyes, before he summoned Ceannlaidir. Raibecca had gone to investigate reports from terrified peasants of a gigantic mantis raviging the countryside, near the ruins of Sarnath. It was then, as Miraedus rested, that the Medusa struck. Tearing through the walls of his home with ease, she surprised Miraedus, and ended his life with one fell swoop. Stealing the armors, she slithered back towards Sarnath.
Raibecca returned, heavily beaten, from trying to turn the Mantis back towards Sarnath. As she neared the house of Miraedus, she sank to her knees in despair at the sight of the ravagement. Crying out to Glioca, she was whisked away to the realm of the Gods.
After much debate, the Gods, for one of the few times in the History of Temuair, acted as one. Weaving powerful magics, they captured the Creants, and sealed them in magical tombs across Temuair. Luathas then weaved a spell over all of Temuair, which erased the memories of the Creants, and of the faithful Miraedus. With Sarnath's ruins still smoldering, the Gods entrusted Raibecca Shi with the guardianship of the Creants.
Traveling to the Isle of Oren, she found that survivors of Sarnath had crossed the seas, and set up a small village. Weaving magics over them, she transformed some of the villagers into creatures of Darkness, and bound them to the island. Among the survivors, were a few members of the Eagair de Sgraideag. These, she sent to the neighboring isle of Nobis, erasing their memories, and replacing them with stories of the pirate attacks driving them there.
Raibecca was faced with a choice. She was one of the few beings left in existance that remembered the arrival of the Creants. After travelling to Shinewood Forest, and securing the safety of the Creants placed there, she begged the Goddess Glioca for an end to her life. Having lived through so much of Temuair's history, she could bear no more. Glioca, in her infinite compassion, forgave Raibecca for her evils. With a loving kiss to her forehead, Raibecca was transformed into a Fae, and placed as the ruler of Shinewood forest.
The last of the Creants were secreted away by Fiosachd, and only he knows of their location. Oren grew in size, and had remained hidden from the rest of Temuair for many years. In her wisdom, Raibecca had veiled the island of Oren, hoping to keep its presence hidden for the rest of time. However, one member of Eagair de Sgraideag resisted the magics of Raibecca. Over time, he used his powers to subvert the Oren fishermen, creating the band of pirates that plague Oren to this day. Using the distraction of the pirate raids, this sorcerer, Law, discovered the locations of the Creants, and gained power as the Burgess of Oren. Using the forbidden magics of the Eagair de Sgraideag, he contacted beings from another plane, and brought them here to do his bidding.
This history of civilization has brought us to the present day. Now, in Temuair, the Creants are being awoken and destroyed, in preparation for the army of Dark creatures that Law has summoned from another world. May this history serve to remind us of the mistakes of the past, and bring forward the safe keeping of the Aisling way of life.
Written in memory of great Aislings come and gone.
In Faith,
E. D'ourvean
Faithful Gramail Priestess
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Long ago, the lands now known as Temuair was invaded by creatures from another realm. No one knew where these creatures came from, not even the Gods! They destroyed almost everything. Nothing could stop them, not even the most powerful wizard nor the strongest warrior.
So, they turned to a legendary armorer named Miraedus. He was the finest craftsman that ever lived. Using only the best materials and the strongest magic, he created the Grand Master Armors.
He made a set of the armors for each of the five paths. But somehow the creatures found out about the armors, they killed Miraedus and stole the armors. The Gods could not stand by and watch any longer. With their powers combined they were able to defeat the Creants.
The Creants were locked away in different parts of Temuair. With them, are the Grand Master Armors.
The Gods of Temuair made everyone forget about the Creants. That is why no one knows of Miraedus and his Grand Armors.