《The History of Peiramma》


 Prologue

    It is the hope and mission of all those that would set themselves above mere beasts, enslaved to the wills and passions of their body, to undertake great deeds in youth. To, while the body still maintains its youthful strength and ability of recuperation, perform acts that are worthy not only of themselves and their peers but also of their ancestors and descendants so that they will be remembered long after the strength has left their bodies and when other names fade into obscurity. It is then, when their body begins to fail them, and they must fall back on the strength of their mind, that they must turn to the recording of the deeds of themselves and the new youth so they might not be forgotten. Thus, it behooves those that seek to truly be elevated among the greatest of mortals or to be counted on the same level of the Gods or their children to dedicate themselves to the exercising of both the mind and body, so that when the mind fails the body has the strength to carry on assured in its own strength and skill, and when the body fails the mind is a bastion, a sanctum to which the spirit can withdraw and remain safe until the such a time as the body can be reinforced. Such is what I had hoped to dedicate myself to when I returned to the Academy after a life of seeking my own glory.


    Upon my return from journeys across the world, the Masters of the Academy requested I write of all the knowledge I had gained in my many years. I refused saying that I was not fit to write such a vast history as a lowly agent and teacher of the Academy and that such works should be reserved for one of the masters. Then I was asked again by my students, they too, I refused saying that I, while I was a teacher, was only a few degrees and years their senior and still had as much to learn as each of them. To the honor of both the master¡¯s and Students they were persistent and approached the one figure they knew I would be unable to refuse and petitioned that he order me to carry out a history of my travels. They were overjoyed by his accepting to intervene and were astounded that he would go further and order me to write a ¡°History of All that is Known and Rightly Believed¡±. Such was the letter of commission that was presented to me by my King, my brother, and my best friend, Alaric Getheurin First of his Name, King of the Vale and Protector of the Lesser Realms, Prince of Sabrienne and Lord of Nightingale. So, I, dedicated to my work by the will of my betters and the wishes of my lessers, begin to recount those names and deeds that are most deserving.


    I therefore shall begin writing a tome that will encompass the following;


    The Histories of the World from the origin of time to the present day containing the History, Mythos, and notable events in the Kingdoms, Republics, and territories of Man, Elf, and Dwarf West of the Araconian Mountains, All the lands, kingdoms, peoples, and territories that lay between them and the Hibernan Ocean; Including the most memorable events from Yndis, Jiang, the Tain-Jin Steppe, and the lands beyond the Al Kazneh Desert as well as some, from across the oceans of the world, that have come out of the mysterious lands of the West, Collected from sources historical, as well as religious, profane, and methodically organized. In cases where there are variants between differing accounts of an event or when the account seems to be so outlandish that even the masters of old doubt their certainty, I shall endeavor to record each account and provide to the best of my ability a fitting and proper explanation of which I feel is the most accurate and give my reasoning. I very much doubt that I shall be wholly correct but look forward to corrections and arguments that might be made against this work.


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    I shall begin my book with the beginning of the world as it is reckoned by the most ancient sources in the Vale, where it is widely agreed upon, even in the most far off lands that I have traveled and in those lands of those whom I have spoken to, that they keep the best records of those most ancient histories. Even the Elves of the Eregrean Forest, renowned for their wisdom and knowledge of the ancient world and of the inner workings of the Gods, admit that, despite their long lives and because of the hubris that so habitually plagues their scholars, the Vale has maintained the most accurate records of those earliest days. They do however claim that it was their own wise men and oracles that taught the Vales-men their wisdom in a time when they had not yet been so blinded and corrupted as they now are and that the knowledge of the Gods and their origin spread from themselves to the Vales-men, and then to the other nations of mortals by way of adventurers, trade, and the general migration of Man, Elf and Dwarf. Most sources, that I have found, tend to agree that the Vale (or at least the people that would become the Vales-men as we shall see later) is the origin for much of the knowledge of the nations of the ancient world. There are those, particularly and most notably among the Anatharan people, that claim that they did not learn these things from the Vale but instead obtained them directly from the gods when they still dwelled in their most ancient homelands that have since been lost to them after the Ascendency. There are also some that claim the lands beyond the seas have their own line of knowledge, which I am quite willing to believe because if those lands, that are as of yet unmapped, are as old as the few travelers that venture to and from them say then it is not possible for the Vales-men to have taught them for they have only been in contact with the farthest west for a few centuries at most and have not penetrated the interior of those lands. Since they lay beyond the scope of this history, we will suffice to say that they follow much the same general story as the one detailed below with the exception of differing names and rituals and customs which are their own.


    Next, I must address the matter of dating this history. It is impossible to accurately count the actual age of the earth as the Gods did not count the years as the mortal races do at least until the birth of Agrica, who taught us to number our days and to count the months and years so that we might take better advantage of the plants of the land in their cycles of plenty, and even then the Gods and many of the Longer lived races did not bother to count the passing of seasons and instead chose to track by other means that make sense only to their much extended lives. So, we are left with an uncountable gap in history between the beginning of time and when we can actually begin to call recorded history. It is important to bear in mind that until such a time, for many parts of the world after the Ascendency of the Excelsari, it is impossible to place an entirely accurate date for events. Instead, the earliest sections of our history will be vague in terms of a chronology and may seem to be happening very quickly when in reality they could be carried out over geological ages (For what care the gods for the numbering of Man). I will endeavor to clarify when it is possible for me to do so as, though it is difficult to place a year to an event, we can still get a rough estimate from the oldest of oral histories and from what has been passed down by the Gods themselves in days when they still walked among Mortals. Such is the task that has been laid out before me.

 The Origins of the World and the Prime Gods

    To begin I must first take a look at what is believed by much of the world''s inhabitants to be the origin of this world and its gods. I must admit to not having the most complete knowledge of this field as it has in the past lay beyond the edges of my personal study, but I shall endeavor to do it a just service. It is necessary to remember that much of the specifics, such as names and descriptions of gods and beings, are frequently different from nation to nation and from people to people while the general knowledge is maintained. As such I shall be relating those names and descriptions as they are found in the Vale as they are not only the most familiar to me, but also for the reasons stated earlier on the reliability of the Valen sources.


    In time immemorable Erta, the Earth, Great Mother, source of life, and giver of substance drifted as a shapeless mass through a great void. After drifting for untold ages, she came upon another entity, Heuen, Father Sky, The Protector, and silent Watchman over the whole of the world. At this time, I shall endeavor to describe these entities as a means of enabling any reader that has not had the benefit of viewing their depictions in any of the temples better understand them. While each of the Deities were wholly embodied in their own elements, they would frequently take on forms more familiar to mortals for their interactions both to allow the mortals to better understand the creatures they were worshipping and to enable them to depict the gods more easily.


    Erta, was a woman of immense scale. Her skin seemed both weathered, worn as with one that has lived a full life of labor under the elements, and fresh as that of a small child that has not yet been exposed to the hardships of life beyond the reach of their mothers¡¯ skirts. It ranged in uneven marks of deep browns and reds mixed with the grays and whites of earth, clays, and granites. Her eyes burned with power that comes from being the first and wisest of all beings. Her cloths were a dress of intricately woven shale and slate. Though she rarely was required to fight, she went unarmed into the fray relying not on weapons but on the magic which she wielded with such skill that she was never bested by any of the greatest magicians among mortal or god alike. Erta is viewed as the mother of all things and is the source of all that comes after. She is frequently referred to as some variation of the Mother and Mother Earth, and is strongly associated with the Star Sign of the Matron.


    Heuen, unlike all the rest of the deities is not depicted with a humanoid body. He, when he is depicted at all, is usually shown as a large bank of storm clouds looming in the distance or roiling overhead. He is occasionally shown as having a human head which is of an older man with a worn wrinkled face and grey or white hair. The weapon that is most associated with Heuen is the shield. He rarely goes on the attack and so carries a large shield that needs to be carried with both hands. This weapon has never been used in battle by any of the nations that I have heard of. He is referred to as the Father or Father sky and is most closely associated with the sign of the Patriarch.


    There is some contention as to which of these two gods came first. There are those that say Heuen looks older than Erta because he is older and that he created Erta out of the void to be his companion. This I find unlikely because though he is the father to all the rest of the gods that came later, he never since has shown any interest in creation beyond occasionally taking part in the creation of another. There is also the belief among some nations that Heuen was actually created by Erta to protect herself and her children from the ravages of the Void and that he only appears more aged by the constant struggle against it. This is possible as Erta has demonstrated her ability to create and the power of her magic even without the aid of others, however, this belief is not very widespread, only being found in a few areas that are otherwise historically irrelevant. Instead, I find it more likely that the belief that they are approximately the same age to be the correct one. This is because that is what it is said they themselves reported to the most ancient priests, and it is by far the most common of the views. In any case such are the descriptions of Erta and Heuen.


    Returning now to the main story, they soon fell in love and spent many eons together entwined in a maelstrom of power and magic, until at last Erta became with heavy with child. Separating themselves, Heuen placed himself between her and the relentless void through which they had hitherto traversed creating a firmament between Erta and the Void beyond while Erta prepared herself for motherhood. This firmament continues to separate the world that is now inhabited by all the creatures of the earth and the void that lies beyond. Without the firmament it would be impossible for life as it currently is to exist as mortals cannot survive it, particularly those races that lack innate magical power because of the strength and ferocity of the chaotic magics the dwell within it. This is ultimately the key difference between the race of immortal gods, and those that walk along the earth. Even the most powerful of mortals cannot survive the corruption and power of the void, there are of course some exceptions as shall be discussed later, but those are almost always with divine intervention or as a means to become divine. A place having been prepared for her children to survive without the need to struggle against the void, Erta soon gave birth to three children, who with their mother and father make up the Prime Deities.


    The First born was called Meren, the lord and body of the waters, the shifter and shaper, formless and deep. Upon his birth the waters sprang from the Surface of Erta and began to run from the mountains. The waters divided the land and most of the earth was covered by Meren¡¯s body. The rains fell and springs bubbled, carving the cliffs and canyons. For many more Ages Meren lived as the only child filling into the gaps between Heuen and Erta gathering in the lowest points on the surface. This practice he continues to this very day flowing from the highest points to the low concentrating himself in the seas and oceans, the lakes, and the rivers. This is because he is partway between his parents in form. Water is fluid like the heavens, but of substance like the earth and its substance outweighs it fluidity. The form that he took for his interactions with mortals is described as being a man of middle age. His skin was the color of the sea and like the sea seemed to change color depending on his mood. In ranged from the bright, clear Azure of the waters of the Sea of Acameus on a clear day, to the roiling grey-green of the northern seas during winter storms. His hair was seagrass, his beard of seafoam. His clothes were made of fish scales and his shoes were of coiled seaweeds. When Meren went to war, he armed himself with a net of wound kelp and a spear of a narwhal¡¯s horn. His armor was made of seashells, and he rode on a chariot drawn by many creatures of the deep over which he holds dominion. He is called the Shifter and Shaper for his abilities and is associated with the Sign of the Torrent.


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    The next child of Erta and Heuen was Aera, the air, the shapeless and swift, the messenger and the runner. Her body stretched between the earth and sky filling the void and pushing the firmament beyond the reach of the earth¡¯s surface. This is because air is much more similar to her father in terms of fluidity and substance, being both in visible and light. She was far larger than Meren and so upon her birth Heuen expanded stretching himself so as to not crush his daughter. However, this separated him from his beloved Erta and so it fell on the young Aera to communicate between them constantly running across the whole face of the earth to bring messages to each of her parents. She is depicted as having been a tall and slender woman, even more so than the elves that worship her most. Her hair was long, but wispy and light colored in shades of varying greys and whites. Her skin is said to be the hazy pale blue of a distant horizon, her eyes the color of storm clouds. She is shown as wearing a white robe that trails behind her in great trails across the sky as she dashes from place to place. When she goes to war, she wears as cloak of gray that spreads across the heavens and smothers all that oppose her, her main weapons are darts that she throws and carries on the winds. She is called the Shapeless and the Messenger and is associated with the sign of the Eagle.


    Both of these children felt a jealousy in their hearts for the other. Meren for Aera¡¯s formlessness and speed as well as her ability to reach both earth and sky as he once had been able to but had not since her birth. Aera for Meren¡¯s density, power, and persistence as though the wind might be able to blow harder and faster than any water may flow, it lacks the ability to push aside the great rocks of the earth or the ability to carve the earth the way that rivers do to canyons. Thus, the children fought, not to such an extent that they damaged each other or their mother but to try to gain a power of the other and bend them to their will. Aera lashed across the surface of the waters driving them before her. Meren gathered himself in the air weighing it down until it became sluggish and oppressive. Thus, their battles became breeding grounds for great storms that swept the land pouring forth their combined efforts into a fury of violence.


    The Third child of Erta and Heuen is Inferen Fire, The Sun, Lightbringer, Inspirer and Guider. At his birth Inferen was far weaker than his siblings Meren threatened to smother him try as he might to avoid it, and Aera trying to fan him into growth blew too strong and nearly extinguished him. Fearing for his safety Erta created a space deep within the center of herself so that he could live safe from his siblings. It was in this cavern that he strengthened gaining power until he was stronger than his siblings, his fire became unquenchable and began to force its way through the earth at points creating Volcanos spewing forth fire and brimstone and ash. He knew his immense power but was unconcerned with testing his strength against his siblings as they had become want to do, each striving to push the other closer to a submission that would never come. Instead, Inferen dedicated himself to creation. He established a forge where he set about creating works of art fashioned from the earth and stone around him, bringing them to by the power that he imbued into the coals of his forge. It was there in the deepest bowels to the earth that the first creatures took root. They were however by their nature unstable and temporary as they were incomplete. These creatures were formed only of Fire and earth and these two elements proved incapable of sustaining life outside of his workshop. Inferen, is depicted as a man of pure fire. He is depicted as a man whose eyes and hair flash with the heat and light of the sun. his skin smolders like the coals of his forge. His clothing is an apron and smock of iron, and his weapon of choice is the hammer he uses at his forge. He is associated with the sign of the maul.


    These five beings are collectively referred to as the Prime Gods, as they were created before the Mortal races. They are the most powerful of the Immortals, though by no means the only ones. There are of course seven other Gods and Goddesses that complete the major universal pantheon of the world. Nor are Meren, Aera, and Inferen the only children of Erta and Heuen. There are many hundreds, or perhaps thousands of minor and lessor deities across the world that can claim direct ancstry from those two originators. However in comparison to their parents and to their three eldest siblings they are far weaker, and so tend to only be able hold sway over small areas as local and familial deities.


    After having given birth to these three, her first children, it is said that Erta, exhausted from her labor, fell into a slumber. Thi slumber lasted for many years, and though she remains the most powerfull of all the gods, she still to this day spends much of her time in this state. This is why the earth and stone occasionally moves as she shifts in her sleep, but does not move with the same fluidity as water, air, and fire. With Heuen kept ever watchful defending his family from the chaos of the void the children were largely left to fend for themselves.

 The First Great War of the Gods

    For some time, such was the whole of existence, the titanic struggle of air and water, the industry of the hidden forge, the slumbering of the great mother, and the watchfulness of the great father. Change was inevitable however, even such long lasting beings as the gods are subject to it. While Meren and Aera continued to fight their petty wars, they grew smaller, less frequent, and eventually seemed almost to stop. They had found something that had taken hold of their mutual interests. The constant flow of beautiful and wonderous works that seemed to flow from Inferen¡¯s forge sparked each of their desire to create so they set about taking portions of the earth and shaping them to their desired shapes. They set about collecting them, with Inferen¡¯s works which had not yet been brought to life and could be stolen without his notice, on the surface where he refused to tread. Thus were all the plants, the Beasts of the earth and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea given shape and spread across the surfce of the world. They were, however, still dead having not yet had life breathed into them by the fires of the Forge of Life. Meren and Aera then formed a scheme to sneak into Inferen¡¯s Forge while he rested from his labors. They would then steal a portion of the fire of life to give life to their creations. They set off at once for his realm and having slunk into the Forge and waited for Inferen to return to his place of rest, they made off with a small portion of the fire, an ember, small in comparison to the vast works from which it was pulled but infused with the raw energies needed to imbue life into the empty shells that had been formed. Fleeing back to the surface they set about touching the ember to each of the of the planned creatures. But Meren played a trick on Aera. While the Spark of life was strong, he set about bringing his own creatures to life. These creatures could move, had the beginnings of what in other creatures could be called intelligence or thought but in them is called instinct. By the time that he gave it over to Aera the spark had cooled and when she went to create her creatures there was life but rather than move, they were still, they grew but could not shift their mass. Upon realizing his deception, Aera waged war upon her brother. Their fighting brought destruction upon the entire face of the earth. The creatures and plants that Aera and Meren had created were swept away the continents that had once covered Erta¡¯s form. The air and the waters surged against each other raging in a titanic struggle. The noise of their fighting roused Inferen from his slumber, immediately he saw that his workshop had been broken into and his forge disrupted. Flying into a fury he erupted out of the earth causing the formation of the Caldera Inferen¡¯s Gate which to this day can be seen marking the center of the Vale. Adding his insurmountable power to the struggle, the elements raged and wrought a terrible destruction on the earth. By his joining the fray all three children of the Earth and Sky were now engaged in a struggle of life and death across the whole of the world. There was no place safe on the surface for the creatures and plants that had been wrought the earth and many perished in the maelstrom that ensued.


    Erta, roused from her slumber by the chaos, destruction and pain wrought upon her surface, flew into a fury, and ordered her children to cease their fighting as mothers are wont to do. The Children however ignored their mother as children are wont to do when they have gotten too far into a squabble to mind that what their mother might order them. Exasperated by her inability to bring her children back to order and likewise unable to separate them without potentially causing immeasurable and irreversible damage to them she turned inward to the forge that had been the source of the struggle between her children. There she worked. She worked until she had perfectly shaped and molded the first of the creatures that would walk the earth, swim the waters, and fly air permanently until the end of time. Their bodies cast of her own flesh and fired fully in the forge the first of a new breed took its first steps and began to move and think of their own will. The beasts that came of this effort, though fragile and temporary compared to the Gods, were still enduring and strong took their place at Erta¡¯s side as her representatives to deal with her children and keep them in line. These creatures were the Dragons. The eldest of them Ur-entardaral was their king and the father to many of the dragons that provided armies that fought in the wars of the Gods. The dragons were divided according to their parents into six clans the members of which were those whom the dragons would be born with, train with and then fight with. While each of the clans were led by their respective kings and queens, they all answered to Ur-entardaral. Erta in her wisdom desired to maintain a population of these new guardians to ensure that they remained strong enough to match her children and so for each male she created she also made a female for to be his mate in the same way that she had been to Heuen. Ur-entardaral thus had 5 Brothers and 6 Sisters. The Brothers were in order from eldest to Youngest were Ar-Entheri, As-Ingalum, Or-Pamun, Ys-Amangur and Os-Undura. The Sisters were Kur-Uran, Ten-Gatas, Hal-Isao, Qui-Vren, Pas-Anum, and Kal-Istar. These twelve spent much of their time creating more of themselves, populating the spaces that Erta laid out for them in the layers of earth between the fires of the forge and the surface, so they might prepare in peace from the wrath of the Children and that the Children might exhaust themselves. Ur-entardaral as the most the eldest born of earth and fire was the strongest, largest, wisest, and craftiest of all his siblings led them against the Gods. While these new creatures continued to the grow in strength and number, Erta departed from them and went among her warring children and collected the bodies of the of those creatures and plants that had been the cause of the war. She hid them throughout herself in places where they might be preserved from the ravages of the Siblings. The bones and forms of these creatures imprinted on the stone in which they had been stored can still be found through out the world and many of them grace the halls of many of the world¡¯s museums, academies, and collections.


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    When the Dragons had built their strength to such a point where they felt sure of their victory, they left their subterranean caverns to do battle with the raging children. The Children of Earth and Sky were taken by surprise when the large dragon Clans swept against them. By tooth and talon, with wing and word the dragons fought against the Gods. It The struggle was fierce and many of the younger and weaker dragons were killed, torn asunder by the fury of the winds of Aera, incinerated by the heat of the fire of Inferen, or dragged into the depths and drowned by the waters of Meren, nevertheless the Dragons brought each of the Gods to heel over the course of a long and bloody war. When each had been contained, the Dragons brought them before their Mother and Father where they were administered the first of the Immortal Oaths, The Pact of Life, which bound each of the siblings into a pact of cooperation. They would together, create all the creatures of the land, water, and air, all the beasts of hoof and claw, all the birds of the wing and all the fish of the sea, as well as all of the plants that cover the earth and all of the insects. They would have to work in harmony to create each and maintain every aspect of the life they were creating. As such, when they had finished their creations, Erta and Heuen administered the second of the Immortal Oaths, The Pact of Peace, they would never again raise their hands in anger against each other to such an extent as to threaten the existence of all life.


    I would now like to take a few moments to discus the Dragons before moving on to the further implications of the immortal oaths. Though created together and having spent much of those early years together in the bowels of the earth, the Dragons were by no means a unified species. Soon, within a few generations they had divided very clearly into the clans based on their ancestry. These clans based on their ancestry could only be kept from turning upon each other and detroying themselves, in much the same way that the immortal siblings had been attempting to, by scattering them across the whole of the world. Each of the six mated pairs moved to the far corners of the world, taking with them all of their offspring and establishing for themselves cities in the most secluded parts of the world. Ur-Entardaral and Kur-Uran are said to have established their realm high in the Araconian mountains, hidden by magic and by the mountains they hold court for all the realms of Dragon-kin. Ar-Entheri and Ten Gatas are said to reside in the Athrakan Mountains at the southern most end of Peiramma. As-Ingalum and Hal-Isao reside in the Al Kazneh Desert.