Library Books :>

[DeathCow]

On the Time Called The First Epoch
by Myram

Ages ago, in what is called First Epoch, there was considerably less land upon which mankind could walk. The Ancients, forebears to the cultures of lands, worshipped three who ruled the emotions. Carus, beautiful and spirited, was the goddess of love and joy. Her counterpart was angry Bellor, ruler of war, hate, and grief. Between them stood Ius Iuris, he who controlled indifference, representing both the balance and absence of his two comrades. According to legend, these three gods and goddesses were responsible for bringing the emotions to light in their followers, though sometimes I think it was the people's emotions that resulted in the appearance of the Ancient's Gods, as they are now called.

Though the Ancients were not known for valuing peace between their various tribes, one leader did step forward to unite them for some time. He was known as Duran, and was considered a great warrior. He brought his people together by conquering most of the other tribes and then integrating them into his own. The unified community grew and prospered under his rule, until he was assassinated several decades into his reign. After the death of Duran, the Ancients fell again into quarrelling tribes. However, not until the coming of the Orcs was their culture ever truly threatened.

Many centuries after the fall of Duran, a strange entity known only as The Dark One began to speak in the minds of several of the people. At first those who claimed to hear the unusual voice were ridiculed, but when the message began to foretell danger, others found a reason to listen.The words of warning from the mysterious Dark One came much as a shock to the Ancients and to the Ancient Gods. No one had ever heard of the champion of evil called the Destroyer, nor were they certain of his designs upon the world. However, the few people who learned of the Destroyer spread their message quickly. They constructed the Great City of Bene Veneficus and the great black tower within, while the Ancient Gods commanded those who still obeyed to wage war against this new religion.

The followers of the new order became known as the Inficio to the Ancients, while they considered themselves the Vir Cohaero. As they were directed, they began to concentrate their worship, through the Great Black Tower, choosing the very elements of earth, water, air, and fire as the objects of this worship. Soon the new elements began to be worshipped and as power grew within the Great Black Tower it was consumed and the Gods of the New Era were born. When the Destroyer finally appeared, the Neo-Gods, rose up to fight it. During the terrible battle, the world was ravaged as the skies darkened overhead, the lands were torn apart by earthquakes and liquid fire, and the seas overcome by raging storms. The battle was long, but the Destroyer emerged victorious. It was then, when the Destroyer was at his weakest, when the self pro-claimed Vir Cohaero attcacked the Destroyer. Overwhelmed by the power of the Vir Cohaero, the Destroyer was no more. However, the world still lay in ruin.

The people of Bene Veneficus prospered.  Its people grew wise and powerful. But as it prospered the surrounding tribes grew restless, and the notion of Inficio never quelled in their hearts, and the Ancients constructed a plan to defeat the powerful spellcasters of Bene Veneficus. The Ancients praised the Inficio, even calling them the Vir Cohaero in public. The Ancients infiltraded the Great City of the Vir Cohaero and learned the source of its power. The greatest magic user of the Ancients, Cyethal Turgon'Thoire, concieved of the Ancients ultimate plan in a dream.  In her dream a shrouded figure harnessed the power of the Great Black Tower and, calling upon all of the circles of magic, created new and star on the dark side of the world. In her dream, the Ancients created portals and the people of Bene Veneficus left for the new world takeing with them their Gods and power.

When the Ancients began to create the portals, the messages from The Dark One to the Vir Cohearo ceased, and the people of Bene Veneficus began to believe that they had grown beyond the constraints of the mortal coil, and had become more powerful than even the Ancient Gods, and even the Neo-Gods. When the portal were finished, Cyethal Turgon'Thoire ascended the tower to conjure her spell. She began his incantation and Carus appeared before her. Carus pleaded to Cyethal to stop her spell but as the words of Carus lay upon Cyethal's ears they twisted and became words of praise and admiration.  Then Bellor appeared to attack Cyethal.  But his sword was stopped and his attacked appeared as a blessing of knighthood. Finally Ius Iuris appeared brandishing the Scales of Justice. As the scale tipped Ius Iuris gazed upon them with his endless wisdom, and in a flash of Ius Iuris was no more, and as the Scales crashed into the ground a circlet appeared around Cyethal's head. Ius Iuris's final words filled Cyethal's mind, and Cyethal knew the fate of the world was to be consumed by darkness, and that she must balance the darkness and with light.  Cyethal Turgon'Thoire was now charged with the task of merging Black and White into harmony.  This task would take many life times and thus Cyethal was granted immortality within the circelet.

As the spell was completed a great portal appeared.  From within The Dark One emerged.  He attacked CYethal with a confluence of the circles of Fire and Mind, destroying her from within.  It did not take long for the Vir Cohearo to react and they used their great power, which even The Dark One had not the power to combat, to seal the Dark One away.  But this came at a great sacrifice of power.

Across the land the Ancients cheered as a bright light emerged from The Great Black Tower. They looked upon their portals and praised Carus, but they received no reply from the Goddess. The Ancients were not prepared for what happened next. The portal opened, but from not from their own lands.  Lands unknown to the Ancients had activated the portals and soon their occupants would swarm the land.

The hoards began to enter the lands of the Ancients within hours of the spells compeletion. The Ancients called to Bellum but their voices could not reach him. The Ancients were slaughtered in their homes and fields. They who survived choose to flee to Bene Veneficus, but were turned away at the gates. They were given no refuge, they were given no solice from the slaughter. And as the First Epoch came to an end, so did the Kingdom of the Ancients.

[The Crazy Animal]

 :clap: me Likey

[DeathCow]

On the Time Called The Second Epoch
by Myram

As the time the Ancients came to an end, the survivors of the great kingdom dispersed throughout the land. In fear of the orcish hoard the Ancients had no reprisal. And so they made their new homes hidden away from the great plains and the great fortress of Bene Veneficus. Many took refuge in the forests, and as time past they grew pale in the dim light, and their ear grew pointed and tall to help them hear the creatures within the forest. These people came to be known as the elves, known for their wisdom and knowledge.  The elven tree top fortresses provided them safety from the orcs who were dumb and slow.

The elven culture prospered and their power grew. They mastered the arts of magic, and swordplay. None could match an elven archer in both distance and accuracy. In time the elves became so great at each of these skills that none could master all of the skills learned by the elven race. And so, the great schools of magic, sword, a bow were created. The elves divided their ranks into the schools and true masters of each craft were created. The greatest were; Bowmaster Rulie Lamrahdasar, Wardancer Nyaith Koraveluath, and Archmagus Lamdrim Sheitaslirr. One day after morning prayer Lamdrim commented that the art of sword and bow were along the greatest accomplishments the Elven Kind, and how proud he was that sorcery made it possible for them to exist. Each then claimed that it was their own sport that was the creator, and the other's disipline were adjunct.

The arguement resounded through out elven society, and argument broke into conflict, and conflict into war. The pride of the elves brought suffering and destruction to their society, and the Elves grew distracted from their true enemy, an enemy that knew no such distraction. The orcs moved in upon the elven fortresses, and easily overcame the elven defenses. The bonds of the elven factions, having been crushed by the orcs again, were vitated and finally disappeared completely.  The master's of archery fled deeper into the forest and the rebirth of the elven culture was found with them. The swordmen were said to be tainted by the orcish hoards powers and traveled through the portals into the orcish lands. The masters of magic relocated to the mountains, taking refuge in their high peaks. They became the kobolds, a notion the many modern elves deny whole-heartly. The fate of the powerful kobolds would indeed be a cruel twist in the years to come.

But the Ancients that made the forest their ivory tower were but a small handful of the kingdom's survivors. Many of the ancients vanished into the mountain's depths. Their legs grew short and their arms powerful to better deal with the caverns and mining within.  Their eyes adjusted to the darkness and soon none of the Ancient's who became known as the dwarves needed torch to see in even the darkest of the cavern's depths. As time passed the great dwarven society mastered the arts of blacksmith and even learned to use the weapons they created.  The dwarves were well protected within their mountain walls and the orcs never breached them. However as the dwarven kingdom grew many wished to reclaim the lands surrounding their kingdom. The greatest warriors of the kingdoms setout onto the lands at the end of the second epoch, but the land they found was not the one they left..

The lands of the Ancient Kingdom were not all as pleasent as the forests and mountains, and the tribes that retreated to the swamps and deserts faced many hardships in the harsh climates. The inhabitants of the swamplands grew strong in their lands, and emensely secretive. What is known is that their skin grew hard and their bodies immune to the swamp's poisons.  They grew tails and scales to better adapt to the land, and that they had no conflict with the other tribes of the ancients or the orcs until the dawn of the third Epoch when the gnomish race emerged. The tribe, now known as the Kang worshipped the Neo-Gods of darkness and light and few records remain from this age. One thing is clear however, a powerful kang emerged named Orochi The Grey, who wore an artifact known to the great kang tribes as the Circelet of Justice.

In the deserts the heat of day would burn the skin and the cold of night would freeze one's core. When the winds came the land its self would become daggers and rip the ancient's skin and tear into their eyes. In the generations to come the desert people develop thick coats of hair to protect their skin from sand and cold. Their bodies became lean and slender with large ears and tails that could disperse body heat quickly. The desert people became almost feline in appearance and took the name of Nekojin. In the years of torment in the desert heat the nekojin became powerful warriors and embraced their agily bodies natural abilities becoming highly trained assassins. 

The greatest of the Nekojin warriors was called Susanoo, and his powers were unmatch by any. His sword skill hoaned by his natural skills in both dark and earthern magics, Susanoo was known to his people as the Holy Master of the Clay Sword, a title he wore with pride. Susanoo skill was not unknown by the orcish tribes and many attempts were made on his life, all of which failed, but Susanoo learned his art through the mastery of mind and body, and vengence never struck his heart.  It was shortly after Susanoo's eighteenth birthday that he meet a young nekojin woman who had such grace and beauty that his heart was strayed from his training and belonged only to her. The young woman, who's name has been lost to history was more than a pristine beauty, she was a sorceress of unmatched ability, and an uncanny philosopher. She had long hair, which she wore in a golden braid and around her head she wore a circelet which she never removed. 

One day as Susanoo was hunting the desert gryphon, a cry errupted from the village. He returned to the village with haste, but was too late. Somehow an orc invasion had made it to the village without alerting the foward scouts. It is said that not even the sands were disturbed by the orc's march. The village had been destroyed. Susanoo searched what was left of the village for his beloved, and found her near death in their home. Taking her into his arms Susanoo cried out, as she wispered softly into his ear. She removed the circelet from her head and placed it upon his, as she breathed her last breathe.

It was then that Susanoo set out to purge the land from darkness. The first camp of orcs Susanoo came by in the dark of that first night. When Susanoo departed but a single orc remained. The orc's survival was not a mistake by Susanoo, but it was a warning for the rest of the orcish tribes. The orc did not leave without scratch, infact he left with many. His arms were severed and his knees crushed, he was healed and maimed again and again. He made his way back to the Orcish Capitol nearby the Fortress Vene Beneficus. He approached the throne of the Warlord and informed him of the Nekojin's rampage. As the orc ended his warning his body fell to the ground, but his head remained in the air, supported by Susanoo's hand. In the time it took the orc to ascend the palace's stairs Susanoo had attacked the city.  In the time it took to describe the events, Susanoo had killed. In the time it took to warn the orc leader, Susanoo had by his own hand killed thousands of orcish warrior, their wives and children. Not a single orc stood in the orcish metropolis save for one. It was at this time that Susanoo removed the circelet and the record of Susanoo ended along with the period known as the Second Epoch.

[The Crazy Animal]

 ;D me likey this too