TeolisHistory

The History of the Dragon Realm By Teolis, Royal Historian to King Fermeth of Ironhold As told in a vision by the Arch-God Forbeo himself

The history of the Dragon Realm is old beyond recollection. Of all the beings in the Dragon Realm only the Arch-God, Forbeo, himself knows of the entire history. What information Has passed on to mortals have come from the teachings of Wise Bards and Sages; given visions by the gods themselves.

What you are about to read is such a vision. As death closed Over me one fateful day, an orc.s arrow embedded deep in my Chest, an avatar of the Arch-God himself came to me. He told Me that I was to be spared death this day in exchange for The telling of the story of the Dragon Realm. As such I have Labored to transcribe what I was told in perfect faithfulness, Lest the gift of my life be second guessed.

Here are the words of history straight from the Arch-God, Forbeo, God of Death and Law:

The Age of Dragons: In the beginning, there was nothing but the void, yet from the void came a being of Power. This being was the Arch-God, Forbeo, God of Death. He left the void seeking more from his existence and created the Dragon Realm. However, his dominion was only over death, and he could not make the realm live.

At this point, a second being of Power came from the void, a being that was the complete contrast to everything that Forbeo encompassed. This being was the Arch-Goddess Bora, Goddess of Life. Seeing the realm that Forbeo had created was lacking, Bora gave the gift of life to the dead realm and the union of Life and Death began.

Forbeo and Bora then went on to create everything that is the Dragon Realm. During this time, they also sired the Great Dragons:

Javert, Erikimidias, Venom, Lorithian, Mikey, Rhea, Endric, Tad, Wraith, Helmar, Nanker, Merry, Shea, Erdia, Sorcia, Juliana, Bonehb, Tyme, and Kilth. These dragons were the first Gods of the Dragon Realm.

In the early ages, the Dragon Realm was a verdant paradise, a playground for the Great Dragons for they were the only sentient beings inhabiting it. The Great Dragon Javert, God of Knowledge, sought to change this. With the aid of his brothers Helmar and Kilth, Javert created the first race to inhabit the Dragon Realm, The Elves.

The Elves were not a perfect race though. While most were content to live in harmony with nature and casually dabbled in Spellfire, the magical force that pervades the Dragon Realm, There were some that were enamored with SpellFire, letting it Consume them. These two groups would later separate into wholly different races, the High Elves and the Faireborne.

Tad, God of War, looked on as his brothers created the elves. He marked their creation with a bit of disdain for their Weak and silly nature. Feeling he could do better, he took Mounds of earth and created the dwarves. However, sturdy The dwarves were they lacked a certain fire and purpose. Tad turned to Helmar for help. Helmar looked at the dwarves And spoke .As they are of the earth, let them mine it and build In it and in all things be a part of it.. So the dwarves were Instilled with a burning fire to mold the earth and they became Great miners and forgers of metals and gems.

Jealous of his brothers. successes, Venom, God of Corruption, took matters into his own hands. As the avatar Pug of Ilth, he approached the Faireborne, convincing them that SpellFire could give them equal power to the gods. Spurred by his insinuations, The Faireborne began to experiment with the Power of Life and create the race of Goblins. As Venom's corruption of the Faireborne grew, so did the rift separating them and High Elves until civil war broke out between them. The war between the elves waged for years, but ultimately, the High Elves routed their cousins the Faireborne when the Faireborne's own creations, the Goblins, turned on them.

After the rout, the Arch-God Forbeo exacted a punishment upon the Faireborne, striking them down with the very same magicks of creation they had employed in making their insidious race the goblins. He shrunk them down to a third of their normal size, gave them wings to suit their flights of fancy, and destroyed their once brilliant creative minds. Thus, the race of Faeries was created. But some of the Faireborne evaded the Arch-God's punishment, turning to Venom for aid. This of course, had been Venom's plan all along and much to his amusement, Venom transformed these elves into humanoid snakes called the Yuan-ti, finally being able to create a race in his own corrupted image.

At the waning of Age of Dragons, the Great Dragons and the mortal races had become stuck in tedium. Existence was a routine only rarely disturbed. The High Elves had retreated into the forests, the Dwarves to the mountains, the Yuan-ti to the swamp. The lesser races existed, but did nothing of importance. Lorithian, God of Mischief, found this situation deplorable, but he alone could not change the hands of fate. So he, with the aid of the demoness Tyme, endeavored to free an ancient power that had been confined to the Abyss.

The Age of Dragons ended when the Fourth and Final Great Power, the Force of Chaos, was unleashed upon the Dragon Realm.

The Age of Chaos: The Age of Chaos began in conflict. A new species of elves emerged from seclusion, calling themselves the Drow. Following in the footsteps of their cousins the Faireborne, they openly worshipped Venom. They waged open warfare on all other races, but taking great pleasure in the slaying of High Elves.

The Dwarves, a once rigidly uniform race split into two clans, the Dal-Ungar and the Duer. Though still paying homage to their patrons Helmar and Tad, the clans had little else in common. The Dal-Ungar took up worship of Javert, wishing to gain a deeper knowledge on mining, masonry, and blacksmithing. The Duer took up worship of Rhea, God of Pain, beginning a pursuit in the field of torture and its implementation for reasons unknown.

Despite these differences, the dwarves remained united and together built the Citadel and the ancient dwarven city of Rockholme. After years of conflict, the battles between the High Elves and the Drow erupted in what would become the Kor'Tho'Minz (translated. Hundred Years War.) The war actually waged much longer than one hundred as they are now measured, and finally ended at the Battle of Terius Delfi, where the Drow were routed by the combined forces of the High-Elves and the Dwarves. Unbeknownst at the time, the Duer Clan aided the Drow in their retreat to the Underground.

Saddened by the Death and Destruction, the Arch-Goddess Bora created a race that she hoped could rise to tame the chaotic world. This race would not be bound to any way of thinking and would be free to do whatever they felt was right. Thus, the race of Humans came into existence, and the Dragon Realm would never be the same.

Years passed, and the humans driven by numerous forces and their short life spans spread throughout the Dragon Realm. They formed into numerous nomadic tribes. They banded together In countless settlements. They even established a few villages And towns. They became the life blood of the Dragon Realm and all the Gods vied for their worship.

Eventually, one of these Nomadic tribes grew into a fierce and barbaric race. In the scrolls of History, the Keo tribe came into existence overnight. On the night in question, a tremendous meteor struck the Earth, and the following morning, the Keo begun their endless quest for dominance. Their were led by their chieftain Rez, a devout follower of Tad, God of War. Under his guidance, they began a campaign that would sweep across the Dragon Realm.

However, Rez was also disciple of Order and did not leave death And destruction in his wake. When the Keo tribe would defeat a rival tribe, or engulf a village, they did not slaughter the survivors, but instead would assimilate them into their own tribe. They would rebuild and strengthen whatever defenses they had torn through in the taking of a village. They would willingly allow any young man or woman of a tribe to become one of their own warriors. As the campaign went on, they would arrive at a battlefield and be shocked to see their would-be opponents already flying Rez's standard and prepared to move onward to the Keo's next opponent. While preparing to lay siege to a town, the would find the gates open to them, the citizens willing to join their cause.

Before long the Keo tribe went from its humble and mysterious beginnings to being the largest human empire in the Dragon Realm. And Rez found himself in a most peculiar role as its King. Rez went on to be a great king, and he made his seat of power the city of Xetar, the center of the Kingdom of Keolund. Under his rule, Keolund prospered, and trade with the elves and dwarves began. Then, one day Rez was simply gone, disappearing from the Dragon Realm as mysteriously as the Keo tribe had entered it.

While Rez had been grudgingly acceptant of Wizards, he had no faith in SpellFire. He allowed the Wizards to remain in his kingdom, but kept them on a very short leash. In Rez's absence, the Wizards of Xetar quickly began plotting the Kingdom's downfall. Keolund remained strong for several decades, but without the strong foundation that Rez provided, it began to crumble. Slowly at first, with the wizards hiding their hand, but its descent rapidly escalated. The wizards began taking a larger and larger role in the politics of the kingdom, successfully alienating the various warrior guilds, that had once been Rez's staunchest allies.

The tension between these two classes would escalate into what has come to be known as the SpellFire wars. Wizards were pitted against warriors, thieves ran rampant, the clergy tried in vain to keep order, and the citizenry was scared to leave their houses. The war ravaged the land, leaving the once prosperous town of Alvarende a wasteland. With no end in sight, a young berzerker by the name of Puck took it upon himself to find an end to the madness.

No one is certain as to what exactly happened to Puck on his ordeal. when he returned, he was no longer a brutish berzerker, but a well-disciplined, highly skilled Knight. He took up leadership of the floundering Defenders of Xetar, and with the full might of the clergy behind him, began a crusade that would remove the wizards from power. Many long and grueling battles later, the wizards were defeated, and the new kingdom of Ironhold had been born.

The fallout from the SpellFire wars put the wizards in a very bad way. The Arch-God Forbeo wiped out the Necromancers of Mexel-Bezex for their mastery of a domain he felt was his alone. The Order of Ialendar went into seclusion. The Wizard's of Xetar were forced to give solemn vows and pledges of loyalty to the Kingdom of Ironhold. Unsurprisingly, the young knight that led the charge was unanimously accepted as King of Ironhold, and Puck's reign as King began.

Now Puck had returned from his ordeal with a patience rarely found in young warriors, and never found in a berzerker, but when that patience was put to the test, he would often act rashly. He realized this weakness early in his reign, and formed a trusted group of friends and advisors to aid him as King. Among them included the High Cleric Ryktor, Bishop Reece (who would later go on to be his queen), the High Priest Hodges, and his fellow knights. With this group at his side to aid and support his decisions, Puck began a quest to expand Ironhold and add all the neighboring lands to it.

To call this was ambitious was a slight understatement, and sadly, it did not occur in Puck's lifetime. However, unlike Keolund, Ironhold's foundation was not based on its King, but on its citizens. When Puck died, his son ascended to the throne and took over right where his father had let off. Generations later, Puck's great-grandchildren found themselves the monarchs of a Kingdom that encompassed almost all of the Dragon Realm.

Sadly, this would not last. Just as the Dragon Realm was finally being able to settle down to a peaceful existence under the kingdom of Ironhold, the Great Quake tore the realm apart. Races were forcefully brought to extinction. Cities disappeared to never be seen again. Countless lives were torn from the mortal plane. And the Kingdom of Ironhold was no more.

Age of Repair: Much of the early history of the Age of Repair was lost, for there was no one to record it. All that is known is that the first survivors found sanctuary on the isle of Tradewinds, as it would come to be known. Who these first survivors were, where they had come from, and even what race they may have been was never determined. For, when survivors from Ironhold came to the island, they found it devoid of sentient life. Immediately, most took to their natural environments, Dwarves seeking out the mountains, Elves to the forest, but the human survivors eventually came upon a city.

This city was not ancient, nor in ruins. It's technology was on par with the Great City of Xetar. The city had rather modern piers, a full sewer system, and an impressive outer wall. The humans were surprised by this, but thought little of it as they began to move in. The city would become known as Lanark, and would be a haven to all survivors from the Great Quake.

While the mortal realm had been devastated by the Great Quake, the immortals were also suffering from fallout. The Arch-God and Goddess, Forbeo and Bora, returned to the void for reasons unknown, and their children ran amok. A power struggle for control of the Dragon Realm began in earnest, ending with many of the Great Dragons also returning to the Void, and five of them in a precariously balanced standstill, and a vast restructuring of the heavens.

These dragons each embody one of the primal forces of the Dragon Realm. Mikey, the former god of Light, became the God of Order. Juliana, the former Goddess of Purity, became the Goddess of Good. Expectantly, Lorithian, the former God of Mischief, became the God of Chaos. And to little surprise, Venom became the God of Evil. To fill out the quintet was Kilth, God of Nature; he was the weakest in power, but the most important in position. For Kilth was the fulcrum on which the other four balanced, and the future of the Realm was for a time placed squarely on his shoulders.

Due the vast rebuilding period that the Dragon Realm was now undertaking, many years passed with few conflicts emerging. Race relation were at an all time high. Lanark became a well Populated city by the endless flow of survivors, and would eventually become a thriving port as several other islands were discovered and inhabited. Strangely, various mainstays in the Kingdom of Ironhold would surface on these new islands, leading many to believe that the Great Quake was not simply a natural disaster.

With the former Arch-God and Goddess's departures the realm Broiled in war and rebuilding. Each of the Ancient Dragons struggled to maintain their followings. Their struggles spilled onto the mortal grounds, pitting mortal and immortal alike in a titanic struggle for the soul of the Dragon Realm.

The very fabric of the Dragon Realm seemed to split apart . large chunks falling off into the void. Elsewhere, holes in reality opened - spitting out former banished souls such as Corwin and Adrian, once powerful immortals who crossed the Arch-God, Forbeo. Even the great, ancient dragon, Tad was Returned from the void, from whence he had gone to rest.

Chaos ruled supreme, but even the gods of chaos could not Control it. One by one the ancient dragons, high-gods, Demi-gods, and immortal alike began to fade into non-existence. Insignificant immortals and mortals alike began to fight to Take what power they could. Half-crazed beings began to make Up ridiculous stories about how they were the Arch-Gods of the Dragon Realm. And as they raved . the Dragon Realm slowly And inexorably drifted into the void.

Once again there was nothing but the void.

The End... ?

Age of Return: Also, known as the Age of Rebirth.

In the beginning, there was nothing but the void... yet, unbeknownst to those who fought to save the Dragon Realm, the void was not a prison of nothingness, but an infinite expanse of raw power. The being known as Forbeo had upon his forays into the void learned, not only could he harness this power to create a world - he could create parallel universes separate from the universe he had first known upon sentience.

As Forbeo gazed from the void at his beloved Dragon Realm, he watched in sadness as it slowly faded. That was when he heard the voice... out of the void, another being of great power called out to him.

"Forbeo..." called the voice (a voice that seemed strangely familiar to the Arch-God). "I once wandered as a mortal in the plane of existence known as the Dragon Realm. Your creation was such that it always stayed within my heart, although a mere artifact of that plane, I am not. Allow me to resurrect the dream, that the Dragon Realm may once again rise resplendent shining beacon in the void."

"Who are you, strange voice? You seem so familiar?" asked Forbeo.

"Some... call me..." the voice paused. "Joe."

And with that, the being known as Joe, the new Arch-God of the

and the Arch-God, Forbeo

pieced back together the Dragon Realm into a semblance of its former self. Together, with other beings called forth from the void, including Krin, Sindarin and Goteku, they discussed the rebirth of the world. Taking fragments of the world from each of the ages, they fashioned together the Dragon Realm to be bigger and better than it had ever been in any one Age.

As they unfroze their new creation and the rebirthed gods and mortals gazed upon existence once again, they were greeted with the Newness of the old. For the Dragon Realm had been reborn from Whence it had originated and ushered into a whole new age.

It is now the year 135 A.R. - the world of the Dragon Realm bustles with life. Mortals control their destinies, immortals and gods play their games of living chess. Crazed mortals, still tainted from their brush with the void, rave about alternate endings and histories that never were. All is as it should be. Now is the time of heroes and of new legends. The Dragon Realm lives...