Tale of the War of Drakes and the Ur-Daemon

This log is from 9/2/2014 from the viewpoint of Cryheart.

Summary

The Wandering Minstrel Glissando dropped by the Hearthstone Manor porch. He presented a lecture on the history of the [[]].

Log

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"This story, legend, tale, or piece of history, depending on how you look at it, is about Dragons, or Drakes. Same beasty, or so the histories say. Although, depending on how you look at it, the Drakes and Dragons are two entirely seperate things. Dragons are ackknowledged to be lesser than the Drakes, although that could have happened through many, many years of change. But for this tale, consider them the same."

"From the beginning, the beginning after The One and associated history that is, the Drakes were the most powerful, most feared, and most revered things alive. They were extremely intelligent, with powers far beyong the Arkati some now call Gods today. That intelligence and power was only exceeded by their savagery. They were, for all intents and purposes, the meanest beast on the block."

"The Drakes weren't just rulers of Elanthia, they dominated it. Nothing was sacred to them, no form of life was respected by them. The Arkati we know today were servants to them, almost slaves. As a matter of fact, had it not been for those Arkati, I doubt any other race would have survived the domination of the Drakes. It was through the service of the Arkati that the Drakes allowed the lesser races to survive, albeit in caves and in squalor. Suffice it to say, the Drakes weren't very nice."

"During this time the lesser races, basically all of us, did the best we could. We were nomads and wanderers, hiding from the attentions of the Drakes. We huddled deep in forest or in caves and in the wastelands. It was all we had. Life was not good. And then, it got worse. Enter.....The Ur-Daemons."

"No one to this day knows exactly what the Ur-Daemons were. Most scholars now believe they came from some other dimension. Somehow, and I hope it's never found out how to do it again, the Ur- Daemons opened a portal to Elanthia, and they poured through. You see, Ur-Daemons feed on mana, both from natural mana foci, and from the mana in all life. Supposedly this happened as much as 100,000 years ago."

"Now, as always happens in situations like this, the two baddest of the baddies were bound to have it out. It's just the way things always seem to end up. Enter the Drake Ur-Daemon War. No records survive of this epic war, other than an occasional drawing on the wall of some deep, dark cave, or upon some petrified tree somewhere. But the war lasted at least 1,000 years. Imagine, unimagineable power versus nearly limitless power. The devastation and death that must have been wrought."


"I doubt anyone could have even put that war down into words anyway. How can you describe something like that? I just don't feel any description would have even come close to being able to tell it the way it was. So we're left with supposition and imagination I guess. In the long run that may be best anyway. If power like that could be described there's always the possibility it could be figured out. I'd just as soon not go through that again myself."

"And so the war between the Drakes and the Ur-Daemons went on. Eventually the Drakes drove the Ur-Daemons back to the portal that they came through initially. This was the final stand of the Ur-Daemons. Here an epic battle was fought and the land for hundreds of miles around was blasted into oblivion, leaving it barren and lifeless. Sounds a bit like the Wizardwaste of more recent devastations.

"So the Drakes won, they defeated the Ur-Daemons and forced them back to wherever, or whenever, it was they came from. But, like in most wars, the Drakes also lost. Most of their number were killed in the war, or driven mad by something that had been foreign to them.....fear. Regardless of the reason, the power of the Drakes was forever at an end. It was now the time of the Arkati."

"Certain of the Arkati took it upon themselves to heal the land. With most of the Drakes dead, and those that were left were either insane or in hiding, there was little choice. Long ago, as servants of the Drakes, the Arkati had learned to manipulate mana. Little by little the Arkati began to mold the land and the lesser races into their own likenesses. Those that had served were now the masters."

"Funny how these Arkati are what most now call gods today. It's been said that the Arkati walked the lands in those days, as teachers, guides, and leaders. Imeara took the people of the forests and taught them how to be one with the land. Eonak showed the mountain folk how to mine riches. Oleani adopted the smaller folk of the valleys and taught them how to grow things and gave to them a joy of all life."

"Others of the Arkati didn't choose races, but seasons, or emotions, or even tasks. Kai accepted all warriors, Lumnis, wisdom and learning. Charl chose the seas, Jastev chose the visual arts, and prophecy. Tonis, the quick one, became the messenger of the gods. Ronan chose the night while Phoen had the sun. Imaera chose autumn and Lorminstra chose winter, the season of death."

"Not all the Arkati chose to help rebuild the land. They had a different vision. Without the Drakes to control them they began to strive against the others. Eorgina, Goddess of the dark, became their leader. Aligned with her were Ivas, mistress of seduction, Fash'lo'nae, master of the arcane arts, Andelas the Cat, whose joy is others' pain, and V'tull, the dark warrior. Also joined with Eorgina were Sheru, bringer of terror and nightmares, Mularos, who twists love to control and destroy, and Luukos, he who feeds on souls."

"The two groups grew further apart, as it was clear each regarded the land in a different light. Koar's faction saw it as a trust which had befallen them, the lesser races as children to be taught. The others saw the land as a stage for their own desires, its inhabitants as playthings, food, or worse."

"Believe it or not, these two factions never came into open conflict. Some believe that neither side believes it can win, while others say that the time for this battle hasn't arrived yet. Either way, peace between the Arkati is probably a very good thing for all of us. And that, my friends, is the end of this tale. I hope you enjoyed it."