Prologue

A brief History of beginnings, the Writhing and the destruction of the Old World

-adapted from A New History of Armain, by Alessandro Elvand

This being the eight-hundredth year since the Writhing and I, Alessandro Elvand, am the fourth in the line of Wardens and I have been so for one-hundred and fifty years. Providence has granted me a place in History, and I must preserve it for the future.

The World, according to scholars of the time, is creating and recreating itself. In the beginning, a force existed called the Ahn. Most ancient texts refer to the Ahn as the Father of Gods. Still, others refer to a Wellspring of the Gods. I find this to be a more agreeable interpretation. Whatever the label, the Ahn is the Universe, in which the past and future is united. Ahn is the ultimate potential reality out of which everything that exists has developed. The movement of Ahn into existence is called the Ahnthulech or Wind of Creation.

The Ahnthulech involved the manifestation of polarities--spirit/earth; light/dark; male/female, and so on. The Gods appeared at this time and shaped the creative forces of the Ahnthulech. Many believe that Gods are merely concepts, manifestations of the Ahnthulech’s presence during creation. Such philosophical discussions are both beyond this text and limited by my knowledge of such concepts.

A period called the Age of Twilight began and the Aether and earth came to be, as did the first flora and fauna. This was the time of the Isana. The Isana were divided into two very different peoples, Alphon and Cwavish, bound to the polarities of spirit and earth.

The Alphon tried to come to terms with the world on a philosophical level. They philosophically populated the Aether with deities, who directed the continual process of creation.

Cwavish focused on the discovery of physical laws, and in putting that knowledge to use in practical pursuits.

The Alphon discovered and used the Aspects; the Cwavish (in keeping with the balanced nature of the polarities) developed the early sciences. They mastered fire and put it to use in forging and building various technologies.

Alphon drew power from the Elnar, or literally spirit fire, and evolved into the Aspects we know today. Elnar subsisted as a distilled version of the Ahn; for the Alphon believed that no mortal possessed the ability to wield the Ahn without unmaking reality.

As time went on, the races of Isana developed a relationship mingling their disciplines and strengthened the utility to shape their world. During this time, the Isana peoples explored and expanded their presence upon it. Inevitably, the races of the Isana combined and their progeny became the races that populate the world.

Humanity, the most notable, enjoyed unprecedented adaptability due to their combined heritage. Humans thrived in the harshest environments Armain threw at them with little more than basic tools. As their influence spread and their populations became self-sustaining, the Isana withdrew themselves to their lands of origin. The Elder Isana considered humans a lesser race and treated them with disregard.

The way of reckoning time in the Old World was lost to antiquity, but many ancient texts suggest that hundreds of years passed as the human populations grew and with it disdain from the Isana. The world now belonged to the humans. This time was the Age of the Sun.

Humanity abounded. They adopted the culture, science and magic of their parent races and with it built great civilizations and wondrous artifacts.

During this Age of Man, they stumbled upon--and unwittingly opened--a place of madness and disorder called the Abyss. Frigid air billowed out from it and as legend has it, this brought winter into the world.

DelQuinous, King of Lorathel (which sat just north of where Uriel is today) believed that a power beyond even the Ahn existed in the Abyss and desired to possess it. He stood at the portal, sometimes for days, and basked in the energies that spilled out. The legend says a kind of creeping madness made its way through the entire city and reports of horrible things happening surrounded the city. Before long, all shunned the place; the inhabitants that remained there exhibited dangerous and unpredictable behavior. DelQuinous himself suffered a depraved insanity, and conducted experiments, using the chaotic energy from the Abyss, on both humans and Isana. Through his experiments, he gave rise to horrific mutated creatures bound to his service. He learned the means to augment his magic. His power grew unmatched and the results of his experiments gave him a powerful army to command. Since the humans had avoided this place, he marched his armies out into the world with intent to conquer.

A bloody war erupted. History texts say it lasted forty or fifty years. Finally, the Isana came to Lorathel itself (now called Delgorrosh, the Black Dwelling). With the combined might of the humans, they fought the minions of Delgorrosh. Though they attempted to cleanse the atrocities they found there, they scattered DelQuinous’ minions to the far corners of Armain.

One of the most noted Alphon heroes won fame for battling against DelQuinous and the minions of the Abyss. Astyr, an Alphon-lord, swore to always defend Armain against the forces of unmaking. In the final battles of Delgorrosh, Astyr pursued the king through the portal and into the Abyss and the Netherworld beyond. There he fought the Mad King among the gibbering souls condemned to this place. Their magic clashed, augmented by the savage energies in the Abyss. Throughout Armain, destructive forces erupted from the earth. Magical energies spewed into the world, wiping out cities and peoples, leaving mutated and uninhabitable land behind. Ninety percent of the world’s population (including all of the Isana races) vanished in the catastrophe. After days of fighting, Astyr stuck DelQuinous fatally and left the body deep in the realm of the Abyss.

He returned to Armain saddened to find the destruction his battle had wrought. His people, because of their intimate relationship with magic, died in the maelstroms of magical energy that swept the world.

The remaining human remaining sought to seal the portal, fearing the energy leaking through would destroy Armain. They also feared another might seek Delgorrosh and attempt to claim the power there. They sealed the breach to the Abyss using powerful enchantments, but the primal energy of the Abyss threatened to disrupt their magic. Astyr, under a great weight of responsibility, devised a plan to maintain the seal. Powerful human mages joined him and sealed themselves in massive stone statues. There they were to maintain their vigil for eternity, consciously battling to contain the forces within the Abyss.

The reckoning of time was reset and the catastrophe became known as the Writhing.

Legend has it that before committing himself to an eternity of struggle, Astyr gathered several followers, to whom he taught all he knew. Each of these followers, after proving themselves, learned mastery over their Aspects. Ten of them, five men and five women, paired to head five families: Narris, Cordelle, Phyre, Elvand, and Ballar. Each family was to produce an heir to the seat of Warden, each ruling for two hundred years.

Astyr ordered a castle built over the entrance to the Abyss. Each Warden was to live and honor their responsibility to protect the people of Armain while communing with the Council of the Warden sealed within the stones.

Thus began the line of Wardens.

Next Chapter: Chapter One