Note from the Author: This is the last installment of the original histories I wrote. The other races are based on other people's writing, so I will not be posting them. As with the other stories I wrote, these are not official histories, nor ever will be, so should not be referenced in any official GM events or game quests. I give these to the players of PS to read and enjoy. What you do with them unofficially in your roleplays is up to you.


Xacha Homeworld and its Last Days
Original Scribed in 422 AY by Eduxa Xant-Areth
Copied for public use in 750AY

As the time of the Forgetting draws ever closer, I write my last history. It is the most familiar and close to my heart, for it is that of the Xacha, my people.

Though I was born a generation after the passing, the history of our race is strong, and the stories of our once great civilization filled my childhood. My people never saw the things the other races called 'stars', as our world drifted in a cloud of violet-hued gas held in a ring about our suns. This plunged our world into an eternal twilight. I regret with all my being that I never saw the twin dim suns of red and blue that drifted across the violet sky in the day, merging and parting as they circled each other, or the violet streaks that danced in the whole of the sky at night. I have seen artists' renditions of the sight, but it will never replace the feeling of actually being there. For many of the other races, Xachan may have seemed like a dim world of perpetual gloom, but to my people, it was paradise.

The foliage of the land was glossy black and gave some small amount of fruit, but the main source of food was the plentiful fish of the deep and calm waters of our many seas. The abundant food and consistently mild weather let the Xacha population expand beyond that of any other race that I know of, reaching into the billions. In truth, no other race besides the Lemur had a concept for such a large number. No part of the Xacha homeworld was untouched or uninhabited by some small part of the massive population. Procreating laws were strictly enforced to prevent overcrowding. Ease of life and few children per family brought about a culture devoted to the study of science and knowledge. Vast libraries and Academias dominated the landscape of every city.

The story of my people's downfall is neither long, nor complex. A terrible plague struck, marching through the lands. The sickness was insidious, spreading before any symptoms began to show. Even when the signs became apparent, the people did not yet know they were marked for death. The first thing noticed was bones becoming very fragile over the course of several weeks. The hospitals soon filled to capacity with the victims of fractured bones. The next stage of the disease is almost too cruel to speak of. Digestion ceased to function, and the infected slowly starved to death. Though food was never in shortage, famine and death spread like a dark wind across the lands. My ancestors could not trace where the mysterious ailment originated, nor how to stop it. Even the knowledge and science of the best minds could find no cure. Desperation took hold of the people. Fighting broke out as they tried to wall themselves off from each other, only to find the plague had infected them already. Cities became mass tombs.

Only one small city is known to have escaped the horror, located on a remote peninsula in one of the far seas. The only way to reach the town by land was a long, rocky trail though rough hills. When word of the plague came to them by carrier bird, they collapsed bridges and caused rocks to fall on the path. A year passed, and no word came from the outside world, though many carrier birds should have been left in the aviaries. They dared not send anyone to investigate. After countless centuries of grasping for knowledge in all forms and attempting to discover the very secrets of existence, the last of my once great people huddled behind the walls of their own city, trapped by this one unknown. There they would have perished, had another mystery not suddenly revealed itself. A magical force opened in the center of the city. The portal did not seem to hold any danger, and curiosity quickly overcame fear. The people had never experienced magic before, so did not know what it could be. They eventually came to the conclusion that it was a hole to another world, and perhaps safe haven. The last 3,643 survivors of the Xacha race gathered up all the food and every book they could carry, and went through. Unknown to them, one person had become infected, and the plague came with them. The sorrowful and miraculous events taking place after the crossing shall be covered in another volume.

Given what I have learned from the history of the other races, I have come to a new understanding of my own people's past and perhaps a greater meaning for all of us. Every race I have written of has suffered catastrophe beyond endurance. This is the one thread, the one commonality shared by all our people. Our worlds died. By fire, ice, rot and madness, plague and invasion, death walking, arcane wrath; we have witnessed all of these as the very land that gave us life was forced to cast us out. There is something fearful in that knowledge. Was it mere coincidence that our worlds all ended near the same time, or was a greater force at work? Did something change in the vastness of existence? Did other worlds suffer as ours have? How many other peoples were not blessed with the gift of the Portals? These are questions that may never find an answer. By the will of the gods, I hope I am wrong.

note from the author- Another history I wrote for the game. As with the Lemur history, I am retracting it and thus it is no longer official. This, or any other edited version of it may not be used as official game content. The contents of this history are completely original by me, and do not reuse any previous official content aside from the dwaven names. Some minor edits have been made by others. This history is for you to read and enjoy, not to be used for official roleplaying purposes in the game. What you do with it unofficially is completely up to you.


If you want to make comments about anything other than this story, like/dislike/whatever, or the reasons why it was posted here and removed from the game, go here: http://www.hydlaaplaza.com/smf/index.php?topic=37124.0 . I had to repost here and delete the story there after the thread got out of hand and it got moved to the complaint section.



Written in 395AY by Bengyr [surname of ingame StoneBreaker]
Dwarven Lost Histories

Ylaikum. It is our home now. I am one of the few dwarves still living who has seen our doomed homeland with my own eyes. Years now long past, I had spoken with members of the other races that we now live shoulder to shoulder with. They would often look upwards at the cavern or cave roofs with fear and disdain as they told me of the homelands they had to leave behind the shimmering gates of the god's Portals.  As I write these words, I still cannot fathom the wonders they spoke of. The impossibilities. They spoke of a moving orb of tremendous light that would light up an endless sky. They spoke of lush fields or blue green seas that would stretch farther than the eye could see, yet still go on. I would question their sanity or honesty if the story had not been the same from almost every mouth. My own homeland held none of these marvels. It held naught but stone, heat, caves, and death.

Few records survived the brutal history of my people. The stories tell of massive repositories of knowledge that would dwarf any library in Yliakum today, but we had neither the means nor the time to save but a few books as our world began to die around us. Every moment of our existence was bent towards survival. However, I shall attempt to gather what knowledge I can for this text from the old stories passed down through the generations. I am a Stonebreaker, but this is the history of the Hammerwielders as well. For the purpose of this history I will use the name the other races have given all of our people, as any name we had for our self is long lost to the cursed stones on the other side of the Portal. This is the history of dwarves.

According to legend, we were always a short people, but used to be thin, almost like the children of other races. We too had a thing called a sun in those ancient days. Dwarves loved the sun, revelling in its light as we flourished on the surface. The old stories speak of ice-capped mountains as large as the entirety of Yliakum that touched the clouds, and endless seas of ice that covered the land and waters during the frigid winters. In that time, we worshipped proud gods and followed religious stone books preaching warlike ways. We were an industrious people, just learning the ways of building great structures and the construction of machines of war to honour our gods. No records remain on these mechanical marvels, but it is said they filled the air with thunder and smoke as they crawled across the land. Our great cities and lands brimmed with culture and the proud heritage of countless generations. What my ancestors did not know was that their gods had failed them, and their doom was already building. The glowing sun that brought life to our world would soon begin to destroy it.

What causes a sun to swallow a world, I cannot fathom. Perhaps our gods grew angry with us and began pushing our home and sun closer together. Almost unnoticeable, our sun started to grow larger in the sky. Generations passed and the lands began to warm. First, winters vanished. Then the ice that once covered parts of our world all year round melted, eventually turning the world into vast, fish-filled oceans and small island continents consisting of the once ice-capped mountain ranges. The dwarven people adapted to this change by becoming mighty sailors, constructing fantastic ships of war and commerce to transverse the vast distances of water. They built many great cities of stone, metal, wood, and clever composites atop the mountain peaks and filled them with fascinating machines. They forgot the teaching of the old gods as war became too taxing for their limited resources. Despite the changing world and hardships, my ancestors grew prosperous in this new era of peace. But the sun continued to grow as my ancestors lived and died, gaining more intensity with each passing generation.

The weather became foul at nearly all times, casting storms across the seas in constant squalls. The people had to become more ingenious in their structure and ship design. Finally, the storms became so massive and constant that no dwarfs would risk travel to the other islands and clans became separated. Even the stout cities could no longer withstand the storms, forcing my ancestors to burrow into the rocks of the mountains themselves. The great machines fell dormant as their source of fuel dwindled, and their making began to fade from the minds of the people. This did not prevent my ancestors from the continued study of smaller mechanics to aid in their survival. This is when the dwarven people started to branch off into the different peoples of today, as there was no longer intermixing of the islands. Though their strongholds where relatively close together, those that would become known as Stonebreakers and Hammerwielders would not see each other again for generations.

In time, the clouds thickened and the storms settled, protecting the world from the swollen sun. Some dwarves began to move back into their ruined surface cities, thinking it was now safe, but doom was at hand. A catastrophe beyond description descended on the world of my people. The Burning Wind. In all stories it is called the same. A horror of flaming wind battered the mountain strongholds. No story is certain what caused the wind, or what it even looked like. All that is known is that it killed and burned every living thing not deep within the safety of the caves. When the survivors finally emerged, they were met with destruction and smoldering desolation as far as they could see. The sun, not seen for generations, suddenly loomed enormous in the sky. It would burn the skin in minutes. It would kill in an hour. The waters of the oceans had lowered a tremendous amount, almost as if a god had reached down and scooped it away. The dwarves were forced to move underground permanently. They took to wearing metal hats and plates sewn on leather to protect themselves from the harsh rays of the sun if they had to go above ground, though they generally only did so at night in hopes of finding fish in their deepwater traps. My ancestors began the task of digging great tunnels by hand to reach the other clans in hopes of finding survivors. After years of digging, they did not find what they expected.

When the sun started to burn the very land, some clans saw this as a sign from the old gods that they were grasping at powers they should not be, and were being punished for forgetting their teachings. They went back to their ancient warlike roots and proud religion, and began the crafting the long hammers and pole axes of ancient times. They took the name Hammerwielders to honor the old gods. Other clans of shorter dwarves in nearby cities did not believe this, so kept to their ways of vast community construction projects and the study of machines. The two peoples were close enough that my ancestors' tunnels reached the Hammerwielders first. The Hammerwielders did not give them a warm welcome and became angered when the clan refused to worship the old gods of war, naming them Stonebreakers for breaking the religious laws written in the stone books of old. The two groups went their separate ways, not to talk again for generations.

The swelling sun continued to heat the surface stone to unbearable temperatures, forcing the dwarves to dig deeper with each generation. The once vast oceans evaporated into the sky. Unable to form rain, the water expanded into tall clouds, only to be washed away by yearly Burning Winds. This cycle continued until my home world was nothing more than a vast, lifeless desert. The only water to be found was deep in the still-cool rocks the dwarves tunneled into. No dwarf ever saw the sky again. Moving underground changed us. The deeper we dug to escape our sun, the harsher it became, killing off all but the stoutest and strongest of each generation until they gained the look of those seen today.

Food was desperately hard to find underground, but the resourceful dwarves learned how to cultivate edible molds and lichens, which they also used to feed their sturdy little pack-beasts. These beasts were the only source of meat to the dwarves besides foul tasting insects that somehow survived as well. But time was running out as the sun continued to expand. In the time I was born, my people knew my generation was to be the last. Hope was completely lost. They could delve no deeper or suffer the heat coming from deep within the rock, boiling the blood in their veins. They could not go back, for the light and heat of their cursed sun would burn the very flesh from their bones. In the depths of hopelessness, a miracle formed in the guise of a glowing blue-silver disk. A portal.

It was the Hammerwielders who first came upon the Portal, and knew it to be a gift of the gods. They began to travel into the blessedly cool caves that welcomed them on the other side. Despite their differences with my people, the Stonebreakers, the Hammerwielders could not leave their wayward brothers and sisters behind, so sent a group to find them. After many days of hard travel, the groups finally found the remaining Stonebreakers ensconced in a city designed to shelter them from the heat. I still remember how it was beginning to fail. No matter how long or hard we ran our pumps, the air became more stifling every day. It took no convincing for my parents and the rest of the Stonebreakers and the few odd refugees from more distant cities to follow the Hammerwielders back to the portal. Even my Father and Mother thanked the gods as they stepped through into their new home.

Our Portal closed soon after the last of the survivors came through, sealing us forever away from what used to be our home. If it still exists, I have little doubt that all that remains is molten rock and death. The years weigh heavy on my bones now, and I feel my own death coming swift. Soon my memories of the past will be gone, and only these words will remain. Yliakum. It is our home, our savior. Cherish what the gods have given you.

 Portal Location inYliakum  : Deep in the caves between the Dermorians and Xacha. Shared with Stonebreakers.

 

Events Immediately after Portal Entry :

320- late. It is winter. Cool air floods the caves. The two races work together for a time as they try to keep warm. The Hammers outnumber the Stones three to one, with smatterings of other refugee dwarven races mixed in. The cone shaped metal hats of the Stonebreakers are used to burn dried mosses to cook the abundant game in the area, including [cave creatures], which will become one of the delicacy meats in Yliakum. Not much thought is given to exploring yet, though some large rooms (opening in caves are called rooms) are found nearby with fresh water and heavy growth of the odd cave moss that glows a slight blue, and seems to flourish in the complete dark (radiation/magic from the Crystal penetrates the rock?). The Stonebreakers are forced to admit that there must be gods, as they can explain the portal no other way, but for the most part refuse to go back to the old, war-like teachings. They are a race of peaceful dwarves now. This creates some tension between the races, but no major conflict breaks out.

321- The dwarves begin to explore farther away from their Rooms as the temperature begins to rise slightly in the Yliakum spring and summer. The rising temperature frightens many of the people. The Stones go in search of good stone and sources of metal to build things, and new sources of small game and the moss, while the Hammers hunt for bigger predators that sometimes hunt them in return. War is in their blood now, and they crave the rush of the hunt, battle, and kill. They find many worthy foes in the semi-intelligent and powerful beasts that dwell in the caves below. The Stones will begin crafting rudimentary forges, using them to fix many of the Hammer’s weapons and armour in way of repayment. Both races will work together to start building new structures for living and defense. A small amount of tunnelling is started to expand the rooms, but no plans are set.

322- The first permanent structure is completed. It is a basic foundry built in hopes of finding metal ore soon, though the prospecting has been unpromising so far. Tensions are beginning to rise between the races as the Stones still refuse to go back to the old ways. The Hammers think this will once again bring the anger of the gods down on them. The two races begin to build living structures on opposite ends of the Room complex, the Stones on the side where fewer large creatures come from (towards Yliakum). The Hammers see this as cowardly, though not much mention is made. The greatest insult to a coward is to know they are a coward, but not say it to them. The Stones do not understand this custom, but can feel the hostility. The fear of temperatures rising starts to fade as the dwarves begin to see the cycle of the seasons.

323- The two races continue to grow further apart, only talking if they have to. The first rich ore mines are found past the Stone side of the complex. The Stones want to mine the ore to make tools, while the Hammers demand the right to make weapons. Fights break out and some dwarves are wounded badly, but there are no deaths. The Stones know they have no chance in a greater battle, so relinquish control of the vein and foundry to the Hammers. This appeases the Hammers, and a tensioned peace returns. The buildings being build by both races are becoming more complex as they continue tunnelling outwards from the original Rooms.

324- The Rooms have been expanded into a small city due to the relentless work of the smaller group of Stones. The Hammers uses these new structures and caves to start spreading out, claiming areas for individual families, as they value their privacy. In exchange, they provide meat and protection to the Stones. In the fall of the year, a group of vicious creatures attacks from the Stones’ side of the city, killing eight women, two children, and seven men before they can organize a resistance and drive the creatures off. The Hammers learn of this and decide to hunt down and kill these semi-intelligent beasts to avenge their cousins. A group of fifty warriors is dispatched. Twenty-three Stones go with them. On the hunt, they pass a cavern with a raging river cutting a deep and wide gorge into the stone, and no way across. On the other side, they see a tall race of white-skinned humans (the Xacha) that seem on the verge of starvation, though have no way to reach them quickly, and the hunt trail is getting cold. The dwarves shout out that they will return when they can, but the Xacha do not understand the harsh Dwarven tongue. The hunt goes on through multitudes of twisters and turns, ups and downs, making the journey a hundred times longer than a straight walk.

325- The Dwarves finally catch up to the fleeing beasts, cornering and slaying them all. Only one Hammer was lost. The Stones that were there fall on the beasts in vengeful frenzy with their spears and borrowed longaxes (a Hammerwielder would never let another race use one of their hammers.) In the heat of the hunt, they had started to notice a change in the smell of the air, and felt the temps get warmer and warmer. Curious, they follow this fresh smell for not a great ways to come upon Yliakum. The land is in the dead of winter, so a light dusting of snow covers the ground. It is whispered that all of the dwarves wept unashamed into their beards as they stood before the Crystal for the first time, and talked of the legends of when they once roamed great plains of ice in their homeland. They talk long of what they would do; finally deciding to travel back to the Xacha to see how they could aid these odd people. A certain god listens to that conversation, though does not make himself known. The journey back to where they had seen the Xacha does not take long, as they took a straighter route. But the Xacha are nowhere to be found. The dwarves can see no good way to cross anywhere, and leave, though promising to return to build a bridge spanning the gorge. Little do they know that Laanx has already found the Xacha, and has hidden them away.

325- Early Spring. The Hammers and Stones arrive back in the Rooms and tell of what they have seen. A council is formed of the leaders of both races to decide what to do. After much quiet discussion over the course of a week, a choice is made. The dwarves know full well that if they tried to stay together, bloodshed would eventually erupt between them. The Stones willingly agree that they should leave the blossoming city and travel to the cave of the Crystal. The battle loving Hammers would remain in the city where their prey is near. There is deeper meaning behind their decision to stay, though they do not tell the Stones. If the Stones are the reason their old homeland died, then the Hammers do not wish to anger the gods again by following to Yliakum. All of the Stones pack up in the next week and start on the long journey. Some of the refugee dwarves go with them, while others more like the Hammers stay. A group of 200 Hammers goes with them to ensure the safety of their brethren on the way, and vows to stay until the Stones are settled.


325-Spring to summer. Hammers and Stones conflict with the Enki or Ylian on the first level. The Light of the Crystal will be harmful to their eyes and skin at first, making the Stones think it would be a good idea to go down a few levels somehow. A helpful Kran they meet understands their plight, if not their tongue, and gives them a map to the nearest ramp down [we should have some sort of Kran or Lemur 'Ramptown']. Once at the ramp, the Stones and Hammers decide to part ways, as the danger seems to be over. The 3000 (?) Stones start heading down the ramp, while the Hammers head back the way they came. The Hammers have a few more battles with the Enki or Ylian, though nothing severe. It is almost as if the other race/s are testing them. The dwarves' well-made armour protects them from most weapons and arrows. After a few days, the other race stops raiding and gives up, seeing the dwarves as too tough a target. The dwarves make it back to the Labyrinth without any further conflict.

Once in the Labyrinth, the Hammers return to the place they last saw the Xacha. They call across the gorge for two days straight, hoping that the white men hear. No one ever comes. The dwarves see this as a challenge, and refuse to let the gorge delete them. Despite not being great builders like the Stones, they are not unskilled, and decide the best thing to do is to build a bridge. They take measurements and draw a detailed map of the area, and a rough sketch of the intended bridge. As with everything the Hammers design, it is to be massively overbuilt. The plans set, they travel back to the Rooms. A small group of dwarves stays behind in case the Xacha come back, and will be changed every week.

325- The third level is sparsely populated when the Stones arrive, as most of the Lemur and many Kran who had built the ramps to this depth moved back up to richer grounds. They find the light and temperature comfortable at this distance from the Crystal, and decide to make it their new home. They have forgotten the ways of building freestanding houses; so opt to once again carve a city into the stone, though this time in one of the great walls. They set in for a labour that they know will take them a great many years. They try to keep themselves busy to distract themselves from their troubled past. Within the year, they establish trade with the food-growing races on the upper level in exchange for stoneworking services, fine steel tools, and materials only found on the third level.


326- Winter. The Hammers have returned to the gorge in force. They start the slow, steady construction of the massive bridge and the anchor fortress used to house the workers. Work also continues expanding the rooms of the city as well.


327- Some Hammers go to Yliakum to start a trade of meat, metals and furs for grown food as the moss is not very good at sustaining the dwarves, nor does it taste very good. Game is still plentiful, though (and likely still is to this day) so they have plenty of meat. Other races my take an interest in the Hammers' project, including some Stones.

327- There are a few conflicts with the Stones and others living on the second level (Barn). Most of them are over trade disputes, or dwarven pride. The other races soon learn it is not advisable to point out a Stonebreaker’s size. The Hammerwielders send message to the Stones, asking for aid in the construction of a bridge in the Labyrinth where the Xacha were last seen. Perhaps a few hundred accept, mostly young men without families.


340- Though the passages are far from completed, they are finished enough that the Nolthrir can move down to their final settlement safely. Many Kran had come to help with the working as well, and the Stonebreakers get along well with them. This results in many Stonebreakers turning to Talad. Some few people from every race in Yliakum also join in the labour for varying reasons.

340-400?- The Stonebreakers continue to work on the ramps, both up and down, making them all safer for passage. It is still very slow, so their best minds get together with the mages of other races to discuss building machines that can lift from one level to another. Perhaps work is even started (or even finished) on one on the third or second level.


330- The red rock fortress at the edge of the cliff is roughly completed, and the bridge is halfway across. The bridge is suspended by massive cables anchored in the fortress. Delays have been caused by creatures attacking both the rooms and to a smaller extent, the bridge fortress. Good trade continues to come from Yliakum as the Hammers become a reliable source of meat and fur for the other races.


330- winter The Klyros show up near the Stones' settlement as the weather begins to get too cold for them to glide. The Klyros are not exactly untrusting of the dwarves as much as indifferent. The dwarves go to the Klyros and learn some basic speech, though the Klyros don’t bother to try to learn Dwarven. They seem to act as if the dwarves do not exist to them as soon as they part, and not until they meet again. It is not done in an insulting way, and the Stones are not sure what to think of it.

331- Spring – The Klyros leave one day without saying a word to the Stones. They are last seen jumping off the cliff and gliding downwards. The Stonebreakers consider this for a time, wondering what might be down there.

331- Word of the first meeting between the Klyros and Laanx reaches the Hammers. Many will see Laanx as a god worth worshipping (see Religious Affiliation), and the religion finds its first roots in Hammer society. Many Stones and Hammers have learned the tongues of the other races, mostly Lemur/Kran (which will become Common), and learn all they can of Laanx.

332- Nolthrir move down to third level where the Stones are hard at work carving out their city. The Nolthrir find that they cannot safely move all of their people any deeper, so set up camp away from the dwarves. The Stones notice the Nolthrir watching them, but don’t see them as much of a threat. After what happened with the Klyros, the dwarves decide to let the elves come to them. Finally, after a few weeks, a few of the Nolthrir leaders come to the dwarves and attempt to communicate. It takes a few weeks to learn each other’s tongues well enough to talk. A small trust is gained between the two races, and a deal is struck. The Stonebreakers agree to build safe passage all the way down to the water far below. In return, the Nothrir will provide the dwarves with fish and water-grown crops (rice?) from the third level lakes and lower as they reached each new level. Since the dwarves are not good fishermen and worse farmers, they are glad to start this new, grand project.

335- The red stone bridge is completed enough to send the first explorers across, though the last 100 feet is mostly temporary beams and planks. The first group of Hammers that crosses never returns, nor does the one sent after it. This causes the dwarves to hold back any more groups until the bridge is finished, so that they may send a battle ready army. All other projects are stopped and every available worker is placed on the bridge.


336- The basic bridge is finished, allowing an army of 500 Hammers to cross. The Hammers arrive in a complete city Laanx had created for the Xacha in late spring after bridging the gorge. Tensions are high due to the dwarves' search for their missing brethren. However, the dwarves see the signs of Laanx on the buildings the god crafted for the Xacha, and wish to learn more about their chosen god. (Note: The Hammers first learned of Laanx from the other races in Yliakum, and chose to worship Laanx because of his treatment of the Klyros.) Both Xacha and Hammers understand basic Lemur (which is already starting to be called Common in Yliakum), and the Hammers begin to write Laanx texts based on what the Xacha and Lemur teach them. The Xacha also learn of Yliakum for the first time, and some chose to leave the city in order to return to their old ways. Many Lemur travel to Yliakum as well, hoping to reunite with their long lost people. The Xacha and Lemur tolerate the Hammers, but neither races becomes endeared to the other. Once the Hammers gather the knowledge they want, they part. Only a few of the dwarves' religious leaders return over the next years to learn more about Laanx. Some even choose to stay, completely casting off their old dwarven ways.

The missing dwarves are never found.


336 to 357- Tensions rise within the formidable Hammerwielder city as the worship of Laanx becomes stronger. Fights become more and more commonplace between the worshippers of Laanx and those that follow the old gods.


357- A bloodfeud is started between two Hammer clans over the religious conflict. Other clans from each side join in until the entire city is at war. The followers of Laanx now outnumber the other faction, and the battles are fierce. The city rings with the sounds of war for three months. Finally, the old stone books are found by the Laanx-ites, and smashed before the population. A great speech is given by a very charismatic leader, saying if the old gods were still alive, that they would have been able to stop what he was about to do. He then throws the books from a tower/cliff/wall/top of stairs/hits them with hammer. The followers of the old gods are humbled, and all of them go to one knee to admit defeat. No one openly worships the old gods again, and the entire Hammer populous changes to Laanx.


370- The Hammers meet Dermorians for the first time. A group of 23 Hammerwielders were prospecting in caves far from the Rooms, looking for both new mining sites and for hunting grounds. An odd odour hung in the air, and no game was to be found, despite plenty of moss for foraging. This puzzled the dwarves, though they continued on their way. In a dead-end side passage, they found the telling signs of a rich copper ore vein. Not finding anything to fight, the dwarves set their weapons and armour (only a fool mines in full armour) outside the passage to keep the dust from them, and started digging at the rock with their picks. Two dwarves were left on guard.

Unknown to the dwarves, a nightmarish creature lay in wait under a blanket of moss only one hundred paces from where they laboured. The creature let out a deafening bellow as it began its attack, spitting caustic liquids on the two guards, who were well within its range. The guards hollered in pain and rushed to warn the others. The creature was slow, moving at only a fast walk at best, but was close enough to the mouth of the passage that it got there before the stunned miners could react to the two guards. They found themselves trapped without their weapons as the beast came closer. The dwarves began shouting at it, hoping to scare it back, and some flung their picks at the creature, only to have them bounce off the beast’s heavily armoured front. The creature unfurled long segmented arms with sharp barbs, completely piercing the chest of one of the warriors who came too close. Without armour, the dwarves knew they would stand no chance. Readying their picks, they braced for a final charge.

The creature roared in pain before the dwarves could strike their first futile blow, and began backing away from them. The dwarves pursued, pounding fiercely with their picks on the creature’s thick frontal carapace. Two more dwarves died to the flailing, barbed arms as the beast rapidly backed all the way out of the passage. The dwarves then saw what was causing the thing pain. A group of 15 or more tall, thin men with no beards and pointy ears were thrusting spears under the beast’s heavy plating, though they did not seem to be doing much harm. Not ones to lose a moment, the dwarves ran to their heavier long-hammers and rushed to join the Dermorians. Both races circled the beast, always keeping behind it where the hooks of the lumbering creature could not reach. The heavy swings of the dwarves' hammers soon cracked the segmented carapace, allowing the elves to thrust deeply with their long-bladed spears. The creature was soon dead. The two groups separated and turned to face one another. The leaders both stepped forward.

The Dermorian leader and Deirgan Bloodaxe stood nearly toe-to-toe, each sizing the other up. The Hammerwielder spoke first, his words obviously foreign to the young Dermorian’s ears. The elf responded in his own language, though Deirgan understood not a word of it. The elf picked up a flint rock and scratched out a rough drawing on the tunnel floor. Deirgan recognized the drawing as the creature just slain, saying “beast” in dwarven. The other leader nodded and said a completely different word which sounded amusing to the dwarves, almost like soft baby talk. Deirgan laughed at the Dermorian’s funny word, but understood the meaning and nodded. The two groups sat near their fallen prey and worked out a simple system for greeting and barter, exchanging the most basic of words. Minimalistic communication established, the two groups began dressing out their kill, working efficiently together. Deirgan stood for a moment with his comrades, wondering how to meet these worthy people again. The leader of the elves answered this by holding up the rock he had used to draw the beast, and bringing his hands together over it. He then placed the stone over the drawing. Deirgan understood that that would be the place they next met. The dwarves gathered their dead and burned them, though one of the dead men had vanished, and headed back to the Rooms. The Elves went the opposite direction.


370 to 400-ish- The Hammers and Dermorians establish good relations and start to develop trade. The Hammers show the Dermorians the way to Yliakum, but most of the elves choose to stay in their village. A trickle of Hammers start moving to Yliakum, but not many yet. Most of them are secretly worshipping the old gods, though some go to join the escalating conflict between Ylian and Enki.


415- A dark, unnatural fog sweeps into the Rooms. It is obviously of magic origin, and the dwarves have no training at all to defend themselves. Shapes are seen at the leading edge of the fog, though neither the infravision of the dwarves nor nightvision of the elves can see any deeper. Some survivors claim to have seen riders atop horrid beasts. The Rooms are overrun in less than a day. They flee all the way to the cave opening to Ylaikum, where they meet the fleeing Dermorians, and both turn to face the black fog. The Crystal is eclipsing, and the fog seems to diminish, allowing the Hammers and Dermorians to fight the heavily cloaked riders and beasts. The dark fog pushes the defenders into Yliakum itself. The battle is pushed right to the walls of Ylon Donari, a Ylian city sacked by the Enki. There is a large force of Enki and Ylian there, as the Ylian are trying to retake the city. They are forced to turn and fight the riders. Any of the riders that are killed vanish in flames, and none let themselves be captured alive, though the beasts remain (could this be the origin of some of the mounts in PS?). Finally, the fog army is pushed back into the caves as the eclipse ends. The dead are countless in the ranks of Hammers and Dermorians, and severe losses in the Ylian and Enkidukai.

End of the 4th Epoch.

-------------------SUMMARY SECTION-------------------

320- Dwarves come through portals.

321- The dwarves begin to explore farther and build.

322- The first permanent structure is completed.

323- The Stones relinquish control of the vein and foundry to the Hammers.

324- Xacha are seen.

325- The Dwarves find Yliakum.

325- Early Spring. The Stones leave the city and travel to the cave of the Crystal.

325-Spring to summer.

325- The Stones settle on the third level and begin carving a city into the wall.

326- Winter. The Hammers have returned to the gorge in force. They start the slow, steady construction of the massive bridge and the anchor fortress used to house the workers.

327- Some Hammers go to Yliakum to start a trade of meat, metals and furs for grown food.

327- Some Stones go to aid the Hammers in the construction of the Redstone Bridge.

330- The red rock fortress at the edge of the cliff is roughly completed, and the bridge is halfway across.

330- winter The Klyros show up near the Stones' settlement and mingle little. They leave the following spring.

331- Hammers start worshipping Laanx.

332- The Nolthrir show up on the third level and convince the Stones to start building paths all the way down tot he lake.

335- First dwarves cross the bridge, but do not return.

336- The basic bridge is finished, allowing an army of 500 Hammers to cross.

336 to 357- Tensions rise within the formidable Hammerwielder city as the worship of Laanx becomes stronger.

340- The passages are done enough to get down. The Stones continue to improve them. Sometime before the year 400, they might start working on a winch going from the second to third level.

357- A bloodfeud is started between two Hammer clans over religious conflict. The old gods are banned from worship.

370- Hammers meet Dermorians for the first time.

370 to 400-ish- The Hammers and Dermorians establish good relations and start to develop trade.

400?- The fog comes, driving the Hammers out.


SIGNIFICANT PERSON TRACKING:

Format for lines: Person Name – Summary of person.


Deirgan Bloodaxe- Leader of the group that first met the Dermorians.

note from the author- These are books that I have written for PlaneShift while on the team. They were intended for (or were) ingame books. I am retracting them from the official game, though, due to issues I will not talk about here. That makes them 'fan' stories, no longer official, and thus go here for you to enjoy. Look for more from my collection soon.



As history was given birth in the lands of Yliakum, the Lemurs were the only race to be graced by the light of the Crystal. They did not have the need to grow into a population, as they were created near fully matured by the will of Laanx. They worshipped and loved Laanx and Talad equally, despite the fact that only Laanx had placed her hand in their creation. The Lemurs were an extremely intelligent people who dedicated their lives to the study of beauty and its recreation in all forms of art. They would often plead to Laanx and Talad to walk amongst them, and gaze upon them in the silent admiration of Laanx’s faultless beauty, and Talad’s powerful form. They chose to live a simple life in the shadow of their gods, though Laanx had often offered them more. “What more could we want,” the Lemurs would say as one voice, “what need have we for mighty structures and great devices when we have your love and beauty?” Laanx would accept their words, fearing to fracture the Lemurs' seemingly perfect happiness. The Lemurs saw that this saddened their goddess, so in their eighth year of existence, they prayed to her to create a great auditorium for them. She was overjoyed that her people asked this of her, so [she] drew pure white quartz from the ground to construct an enormous auditorium. The wondrous structure formed a pure white flower open to the sky, surrounding a huge, black-granite dais placed in the centre to honour Talad.

The religion itself was as serene as the people. In the early days of the dual religion, joy, happiness, and serenity were valued above all else. War and fighting were completely unknown. Jealousy and anger were mere wisps of fleeting imagination. Drifting song could be heard dancing in the wind at any hour, singing praises to the two gods and the wondrous world they had created. In the year after the creation of the auditorium, the structure became the ‘temple’ in which the Lemurs would sing worship to their gods, oft forming choruses of thousands. A loose religious structure began to form in the ranks of these choruses, thus creating the very roots of the Laanx religion. Laanx herself would often lend her crystalline voice to the chorus. No Lemur could claim a dry eye as her song rang through the land. Even Talad himself would cease his mighty works of creating vast spreads of fertile farmland to bathe his ears in the pure sound.

One fateful day in the tenth year of the Lemurs' existence, the winds grew silent, the Lemurs' song came to an end, and paradise shattered. A great gathering of Lemurs formed to sing praises to Laanx and Talad. Laanx had spoke to them, telling of a great thing Talad would do on that day. They waited for this moment to come, as they had prepared a song dedicated to Talad’s greatness. It was to be their finest work ever written. Silence was all that was to be heard as they waited. The Crystal began to brighten. It pulsed slowly in the rocky dome high overhead, though soon started gaining in speed and intensity. The Lemurs felt no fear, for this was their gods’ work, who had always protected them from all ill. Slowly, their upright faces began to show worry, rather than reverence. Every eye of every Lemur in the entire realm turned towards the Crystal just as it poured forth a blinding flash. They cried out as one as fear finally rushed into them. Another cry rose in a voice the Lemurs knew well. Fear turned to despair, for it was their beloved Laanx whose pain-filled cries shook the very air. The cries of Laanx soon became stone cracking shrieks, striking all those who gathered in the great auditorium completely deaf, and damaging the ears of all others to the point of becoming tone deaf for the rest of their lives. The ground rumbled and heaved, tossing the frail people to the ground as even the dome around the Crystal shivered and cracked. Slowly, everything went quiet as the dust settled. Silence once again fell on the land, for not even the weeping of the people could be heard.

The deaf Lemurs in the once great auditorium stood to see nothing but broken stone in all directions. The land itself was changed and buckled; creating high hills and low valleys where once was fertile field. But their eyes cared nothing for the land. Laanx, their goddess and creator, lay seemingly lifeless on the centre stage within easy view of all those eyes. Fear beyond anything ever before or after that moment filled the Lemurs. Only a few could summon the courage to approach their beautiful goddess. To their great relief, Laanx began to move. They started to call joyously to her as she stood slowly, despite their deafness, but their voices fell silent as her face turned to them, scarred and disfigured beyond recognition. Laanx saw the horror in their faces, and formed a mirror out of the air to view herself. It is claimed that the Lemurs who witnessed this were lucky to have been deaf, or the cry Laanx let out in that moment would have killed them instantly for the sheer sorrow it held. She fled blindly from them, ripping her dress to cover her face as she stumbled over the broken terrain. Without thought, the deafened Lemurs followed her. They thought nothing of their own plight. Their goddess needed them, and that was all that mattered. Talad called to the fleeing Laanx and her people, pleading for them to come back, but neither heard nor responded.

Days passed as the Lemurs followed Laanx through the new hills of the land. They began to notice stone forms pushing their way out of the soft soil, or breaking out of boulders cast up by the land. They ignored these as not important compared to Laanx’s needs. Other Lemurs who had not been deafened completely tried to tell those who followed Laanx of Talad’s great sorrow, and the new race he had created. However, they could not hear Talad, so could not feel his sorrow. They continued following and trying to comfort Laanx as she sunk deeper into despair, much as a child would do for a crying parent. Finally, they vanished into the Stone Labyrinths, never to be seen again by those they left behind. The Lemurs who could hear Talad’s pain knew they could not leave him alone either, so they remained behind to comfort him and watch his new people, which came to be known as Kran. Thus, the Lemurs parted ways, not to meet again for many generations. Snow fell for the first time in Yliakum history on that day, causing some Lemurs to still call snowflakes "Laanx's Tears" in remembrance of the day they say Laanx's heart froze.


note from the author- This next story had been written and waiting to go into the game for close to three years now. It is time for you to be able to read it. Enjoy.



We now continue from my last book, Song of the Lemur. In this installment, we will follow the path taken by those who left Yliakum to follow Laanx.

The Lemur lived, had children, grew old, and died following Laanx in the countless years the god wandered the Stone Labyrinths. Though at first they kept to the original structure of dual worship, the harshness and suffering of the journey forced a change in their way of life. With the change in Laanx also came a change in the people. As the entire elder generation of Lemur who followed Laanx were deaf, or near deaf from the backlash of Talad's spell, all the songs of the past were lost to their children. The very language of the race was nearly lost as well, but for the resourceful ways of the Lemur. Knowledge was passed on, but many of the beliefs faded or became twisted. Unlike the first Lemur who followed both gods, the next generations began to blame Talad for the woes of the people. They did not understand how their elders gave up all that they had, and followed Laanx for the love of their god. In the depths of darkness, the new generation drifted further from their original beliefs until the religion no longer resembled the kindness and love of the first Lemur.

Creatures ran thick in the caves, forcing the Lemur to learn the ways of sword and spear. At times, they used their new skills on each other, inflicting pain, suffering, and war on their own people. The religion adopted these new practices as well, ruthlessly crushing any resistance to the new beliefs. Laanx was now believed to be the one and true god, and Talad to be a foolhardy usurper who destroyed Laanx's grace to increase his own powers. Hate began to burrow itself into the hearts of the people. They no longer followed Laanx for reasons of love and kindness, but in hopes of some great revenge in the future, after which they would regain their rightful place in the light. To show their willingness to fight for the as yet unresponsive Laanx, they began the practice of killing beasts in sacrifice to their god.

Laanx took no heed at all to his people in this time. He cast off his female past and manifest himself as male, though no mortal has ever been given the true reason. Great philosophers have proposed that he saw his female guise as weak and vulnerable, and so culled it from his being. Wise men claim he was repulsed by the scars his beautiful female form had suffered, and could not bear to retain it. Women often scoff at both of these, and know that Laanx did this to himself to denounce and destroy anything Talad had loved in him, thus causing the other god great sorrow and pain. Followers of Laanx will tell you her anger and spite for Talad and her disfigurement caused her to choose to distance herself from Talad and manifest as male, thus bringing about the quest for the true path which delivered Laanx's followers his religion. Whatever the true reason was, the people saw this change in him and drew it into their own lives. Where there had once been equality in status, men now claimed the positions of power and leadership in their religion. All of this was beneath Laanx's notice, as he had become obsessed with writing his Book of Names. Though he would not finish it for two hundred years to come, this book was to become the foundation of his entire religion.

Near to the year of two hundred, though the time cannot be certain, Laanx came into a colossal cave, told in Lemur legends to be far larger than Yliakum. The cave was so great in size that the Lemur could not see the stone over their heads, nor the far walls, even with the brightest of fires. It was so broad that they travelled for days before coming to a great lake in the center. The Lemur saw good fish and other water creatures they could feast on, and rich fertile soil they knew would grow abundant crops. The Lemurs believed Laanx had lead them to a new home and shouted praise and thanks to their god. In order to pay proper homage to Laanx, they began selecting sacrifices from amongst the finest of the beasts that they had captured in the Labyrinth. In this moment, Laanx finally did take note of his people. He looked at what they had done, and was impressed by their faith and ingenuity. They had learned war in His name. They had survived by hunting the beasts of the caves, and had even started herding and training some of them. He looked upon his people, and finally saw them as worthy of his attention. He gave them many powerful and useful things to brighten the cave and make the lake and its shores a place to live. The Lemurs multiplied rapidly, built the ten towns of Kadaikos, and became a prosperous and numerous people.

These towns were controlled utterly by the harsh rule of the new religion as Laanx placed his hand directly into matters. Four priests, called Diats, ruled each city. This custom finds its origins in the choruses of the mother religion, which can still be seen being practiced to this day by some of the Lemur who stayed with Talad in the division. There were four leaders of the vocal song, one for each voice range, and so the new structure followed suit. As song was not passed down, this tradition evolved instead into the form of government and religious hierarchy. There was one head Diat, called Diat Pryam, who would have been the lead singer in the past, and three lower Diats; Noctar, Vestru, and Ogan, who followed and advised the Diat Pryam. Each of these handled a certain part of the religion and government operations. Each lower Diat had many priests to serve them, who would run the individual temples or carry out whatever other duties were required of them. In honour of Laanx becoming male, these leaders were always male as well. Other branches of the religion were formed based on the music of the past as well. Sempetor now handled weapons, rather than the musical instruments, and became the law-keeping arm of the religion. The rule of the temple was strict, and often brutal if the laws and ways were not followed. Every person had their place in this way of life, as was custom from the wanderings in the caves. Stepping out of these roles was often punished severely.

Laanx enjoyed and encouraged this strict order, but also felt the need for chaos. Out of this desire came the twisted inner workings of society. The stringent hierarchy of the people gave each station certain rights and power. Families, houses, trades, guilds, sections of the cities, and even individuals within these groups would use trickery and maneuvering to try to gain rank and station over the other groups or even others in their own group. Every group had these stations, from butchers and street sweepers to the rich and powerful in the temple itself. Trust was a commodity sold as often as bread. This mirrored the chaos Laanx felt within himself, and made him content for a time. Thus, the second incarnation of the Laanx religion was born.

This concludes our look into this section of the Lemur history. The next installment will span the time from the leaving of Kadaikos to the joining with the Xacha in Xant Laan and the rediscovery of Yliakum.

note from the author- I never got the chance to write the third book, and likely never will. I hope you enjoyed these, though.

In the beginning, there was...

...

...

That is for you to find out.

[[meeting is now starting at 22 GMT, Saturday, May 16th to avoid conflicts with other events. Talk to a Truthseeker ingame to find out more, where, and what. PM me if you are REALLY curious (but don't expect to get all the answers. Here is a little time converter thing if you need help. http://www.worldtimeserver.com/convert_time_in_UTC.aspx?y=2009&mo=5&d=16&h=22&mn=0   For some reason it does not display GMT as 24 hour clock, but 10PM is 22GMT.]]

I would like to say one of the scariest things I have encountered ingame so far would be to turn into a dark alley and come face to face with..... a female dwarf. To alleviate this, a fellow PS resident and I have come together to create the following. It is not perfect, mind you, as the final mods to the face were mine (such as darkening the face, adding more freckles, and Catherin Zeta-Jones' lips), and I am not an artist. I just built on his fine work.

http://www.mediafire.com/?u105ynuwlze

So, replace the file of the same name in your characters directory, and no longer fear the darkness, and meeting a dwarf lady in it. Instead, you will get this:



(note how shy the Stonebreaker in the background looks now!)

(note 2, the original screenshot without the crappy Paint crop job)

The answer, bluntly, is no. No amount of pixie dust is going to let you spread your wings and lift off into the sky. No way, no how.

However, they CAN DO THIS! (in a far future version of the game) Or, something very similar, moving much slower and not needing a chute to land.

So, keep thinking those Klyros thoughts.

You are on the streets of this new city for the first time. Your eyes gaze at the surrounding structures and the bustle of people. A passing Klyros stops as he notices your travel-dusty clothing. He smiles and bows.

"Greetings, newcomer! Welcome to our fine city. You will not find a better place in the entire realm. Let me treat you to one of our best local brews in the tavern and show you around. Where do you hail from, friend?"

You pause for a moment before giving your introduction and history you spent hours thinking up. "Well met! I will accept your offer, though I doubt your best drink can compare with the ales of Sinnitaria. Lead the way."

The Klyros nods and asks, "I don't think I have heard of that city before. What level is it on?"

You notice the odd look on the Klyros' face as you answer. "It is far past the Stone Labyrinths and through a portal to my homeworld. The journey took many months, but I had to come see the wonder that is Yliakum. It is not half of..." You trail off as you notice the Klyros slowly backing away from you.

"Nevermind, sir..." the Klyros says, "I think I will have that drink on my own."

***

What went wrong? The answer to: "Where are you from?" One often made mistake stems from that question. In an effort to create interesting and unique characters, it is very tempting to make them come from some exotic world or mysterious city no one has ever seen before, with an equally exotic and mysterious history. Even the best writers and roleplayers will find this background ill received by other players, and may find themselves in situations like the one above.

You can be creative in writing about where your character came from, but you must do it within certain bounds and with some courtesy to other players.

1- Don't try to outdo other players or the Setting of PlaneShift. Make your story and home interesting, but keep it within reason. It puts other players in an awkward situation if they have to try to either accept your outlandish claims, see your character as insane, or explain out of character why you could not have come from that place. It is not pleasant in any case.

2- Your character was born in Yliakum. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. There are no unapproved distant kingdoms beyond the Stone Labyrinths or on the surface. No character has been to the surface (if indeed there is a surface). There are no current portals to or from other worlds. There are no mysterious hidden cities that no one has ever heard of before.

3- ALL race (Kran and Lemur aside) homelands and histories are lost to the past, and have been so for hundreds of years. No character is old enough to have come through the portals or remember why there is no record of what happened to the homelands. There is an In-Character reason for that, and it is not open for debate. Kadiakos is also off limits as a birthplace. As far as all current characters go, there is only Yliakum.

4- Your character was not born in a city that was destroyed in a great race war. That is final.

5- Yliakum is not relatively large. Any point can be reached in a matter of days.

6- No part of Yliakum allows slavery.

7- That does not mean you have to settle for mundane if you do not wish. As you have read in Character Creation, there have been many good and bad happenings in the past. Creatures or bandits could have attacked your village (but do not make yourself the only cliché survivor). Perhaps you were born in the Stone Labyrinths or other interesting (existing) place, such as the Temple of Laanx. There is a lot of leeway in what you can do as long as you use a bit of common sense.

So, go forth with your new character and make your imprint on the (existing) world.