Hy-brasyl split. People horded nature;
for the power found therein. A few harnessed magic and
ruled thereby. The new rulers ground stones into potions
and advanced the art of war into more deadly swords.
Agricultural flourished for the purpose of supporting
armed assault; all to horde the power locked in the
elements.
The first ill-star was recorded. A star
was seen streaking the sky, and it was noted as a herald
of doom. Perhaps such stars had scribed the sky before,
yet never was one watched intently for signs of good
or ill fortune for one's neighbor. Hideous altars were
built toward the stars and toward the north, Kadath,
where it is said resided the worldly home of the Gods.
Priests arose and foolishly succoured
those of Kadath. Fulfilling their own prophecy of doom,
men acquired, for the first time, the notice of that
which dwells in Kadath. The priests whose prayers toward
dark north were answered, went mad. Others may have,
we shall never know, for they disappeared into the dark
north forever. Wise men left Hy-brasyl, now corrupt,
avoiding the corrupt men and the things with which they
dealt.
Meanwhile, the magician's balance of
nature was destroyed. Elements were employed to war
with others. Air, Water, Earth, and Fire assaulted neighbors.
Thus, Hy-brasyl drowned. Shadows crossed over the day,
and all became as night. People turned to look but could
not find light of day or star. A rumble emerged, as
waves climbed higher, the water flooding the streets,
the cities, and the tallest towers.
Only the fastest that fled the drowning
city survived. They scored the land with their labor.
Some stumbled onto or sought out the wise men who had
left earlier. The people ignored the cause of chaos
and sought the comfort that was Hy-brasyl in its glory.
A few of the less wise of the men became
kings. Three lasting civilizations were born. Finach,
presently known as Mileth. Sarnath, presently known
as Gear Inbhir, and Niara. Crusades against neighbors
arose, from which only the few in power or seclusion
escaped toil, disease and death. Conquest became their
religion. Elemental magic scattered the mountains and
rained stardust on the heads of enemies.
Out of an obscene understanding of the
elements was wrought a fifth element: darkness. From
it, atrocious creatures were born. Some which died or
vanished with only a lingering sense remaining, and
others that the foolish summoner would wish that they
had vanished. Their towns, too, would be eaten by the
monstrocities.
Magic outside of the King's courts was
generally prohibited thereafter. Kings, however, used
the magic in their wars and in the imposition and sustenance
of their luxury. The creatures became threats to neighboring
enemies and internal opponents that challenged the throne.
The hideous creatures prospered under
foolish reigns. These creatures were different from
monsters known to the world. There was no orc or goblin
that gripped the mind, and tore it like these beings
did. The dubhaimid, as the were fearfully called, went
through maddening motions, as if dancing to an obscene
god. The dubhaim knew the secrets of life and death;
which meant death for all mortal races. They created
and stocked the underworld, land of terror and darkness.
This was nothing like the final resting place, Grinneal
of Hy-brasyl. Souls screamed without rest in the underworld
of the dubhaimid.
Perhaps they screamed too loudly, or perhaps the thoughts
of the living were too strong. The eighth aeon of Temuair
was known. Wise men described it by the being that was
born: Chadul, the ruler of the third realm: the underworld.
The wise returned to the worship of Danaan, goddess
of the light.
A war rose up of light and darkness,
the armies amassed under Danaan or Chadul. Danaan convinced
the other beings aid to her, and Chadul was defeated
in three days. Chadul was held at bay at the darkness.
Not without casualties. The mortal world was ravaged
by hail, earthquakes, floods, fire, and the fingers
of the dubhaimid.
The beings realized what was done and
wept for mortality. Mortal spirits wandered the land,
and slipped into the darkness of Chadul's realm. Darkness
spread.
Survivors gathered and balkanized. The
wisdom wars should have taught them did not survive.
Hungry for a memory of Hy-brasyl glory, without the
discipline to its creation in their heart, they used
more of the darkness for conquest. Lord Tenes arose
from them, forming a foolish alliance with six other
lords and one inhuman thing. They called their alliance
the League of Darkness.
They formed a pact called the Anaman.
It was a foolish agreement between themselves and an
agent of otherworldly chaos. They gained a thousand-year
lifespan and the unification of Temuair. The pact was
not purely evil. It allowed fresh souls to escape the
realm of Chadul.
The League and outsiders divided Temuair
into ten kingdoms, beginning the Dark Ages. Kings and
Lords were tired of war. They gathered to try to create
a pact of peace. They could not agree, out of greed.
Tenes, though, got what he wanted.
A new lord stood against Tenes: Ainmeal.
Ainmeal worshipped Danaan, and had the favor of the
goddess. He swept through battle gracefully. Though
not of the courtly upbringing of Tenes, Ainmeal exceeded
in grace of wit and temperament. The sidh, the faerie
races, were said to converse and aid Ainmeal in battle.
A glow stood about him in battle. And a woe befell his
adversaries.
The kings' magic power and armies came
from ancient civilizations, and the territories they
founded their kingdoms upon. No one wanted to give up
their territory. Ainmeal gathered with three kings to
found the new capital, Loures on the great plain: Ardmagh.
Tenes, the ruler of the city, and his allies went to
war. His notable allies were: Suomi, Massai, Feasgar,
and Glaic. Allies dominated the beginning of the war.
Ainmeal, however, did not back down. Ainmeal divided
the allies against each other. Then Suomi joined Ainmeal's
forces, ending the war. Now Loures ruled the empire,
and Ainmeal was King of Ardmagh.
Originally, Ainmeal renamed Loures, to
erase the memory of it's previous reign, but it soon
regained it's older name when he left the throne to
his son. Loures had achieved its might and craftsmanship
from the artisans that had worked under Tenes, not Ainmeal.
When Ainmeal's son died, a shaman-empress was elected.
This lineage was a puppet to the spirit that had existed
before Ainmeal.
'Twas not till the fourth empress, Ealagad,
the "Steel Swan," took power. She gathered
the other nine kings. She was stronger than the dubhaimid.
The dubhaimid dreamt of resurrection. It created many
hideous monsters; which sought the ancient civilization:
Aosda.
Seven beings led the spirits of Aosda
to Temuair. These beings were determined to protect
mortals. Thus they began the 100 years war against Darkness,
for the sake of the light, and to complete the unfinished
empire. It was the Shadows War.
Those united under Ealagad suffered defeat
in the form of plagues of madness until magicians of
Rucesion discovered the sixth element: light. The creatures
of darkness, the dubhaimid, were defeated after another
generation of war. Rich towns filled their streets with
lamps containing a tear of this element to keep the
darkness at bay.
Yet, every light casts a shadow. ...
(Excerpted from Seanchas Temuair, Vol.
1, in the Library of Loures)
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