Ancient Cities
The second set of volumes include works on the ancient cities from our pre-history. Iolius.
Serpantol
As already described in these tomes and in the gallery, Serpantol is the precursor to the Knighthood. It was founded to the north of the present location of Gareth Keep. According to the lore from the Dragon Vale, those of Serpantol were 'very conservative' and 'non-militant'. Yet it was the birthplace to both the magic of Conclave and the Temple of the Serpent's Eye. During the Yinnae Wars, it was taken, sacked and destroyed. Within the city of Serpantol lay the Temple of the Serpent’s Eye. Monks of the Order of the Serpent’s Eye wrote tomes of ancient knowledge and power. Some say that it was this application of knowledge that enabled the Yinnae of dae’Tok to spread their empire to the reaches that it did, enabling them to defeat armies with superior numbers.
To the east of the ruins of Serpantol is a strange magical field. This may hold the key to the Temple of the Serpent’s Eye. There is a trail to the north, but is impassable. I can see the path which leads north, but something unknown prevents me venturing further. What is visible is a strange building in the shape of a giant snake. Monks have been known to pass this field wherein the Eye itself dwells. The fortress which we now see is only one of the southern fortresses. The main city, its surrounding fortresses and the Temple of the Serpent’s Eye supposedly lie to the north. Further investigation north is currently impossible leaving only room for speculation.
According to the lore in Pan-toll, before the Yinnae invasion, the people of Serpantol threw out a group of heretics, cultists and witches. Dae'Tok abandoned the southern reaches of Serpantol, leaving it to a barbaric group of yinn scavangers who still populate the ruins today. This is all that remains to our eyes of the once proud Serpantine Empire. After this withdrawl, the heretics returned to help rebuild with the refugees from Serpantol. The cultists and witches did not. Perhaps these followers were of unsuitable profession, as in our own exodus many years later. But the possibility exists that the Monks of the Temple of the Serpent’s Eye had fallen into disfavour and they were the ones cast out as their manatonicsm was regarded as a cult, as now they had been removed from the Temple in Serpantol where they had been held in recluse. Perhaps once opened to the world, much of what they had been doing would most likely be regarded with suspicion.
A second theory is born from the "Sunset Dawn" which suggested that the cultists were the birthplace of the Malicians, who would kill for their profit or out of pure wickedness. The fictional work speaks of the 'horned gods' and sacrifices, but none of this has been substantiated elsewhere.
The heretics which are referred to according to the library in Pan-toll may be those who left with San Gohdam split with the Knighthood. In his weakness, San Gohdam renounced the Gods of Light, and after that fact would have been described as heretics. This is no certainly of proof about this, but does fall into line with other political representations in Pan-toll.
As usual there is no single point of blame, the Empire being too slow to reform and the new Eclipsians breaking their laws to achieve their ends, rather than collectively reforming them. At any rate, Eclipse's heretics were seduced into thinking that Necrucifer represented free will and a second, less corrupt way.
Footnote: There is more available under the "Falsehood of Necrucifer".
As to the fall of Serpantol, there are only two written references which remain to us, a note to the Captain of the Guard in Serpantol and the dying words of Jahonatin Tahn.
"To the Captain of The Guard: It is my deepest regret that I must inform you of a tactical withdrawl. The canine beings who call themselves the "yaeini" are already razing the capitol of Serpantol as we speak. We suspect that they may be heading south to your location. As there are no innocents in the area, we can afford to pull you back to Gareth Keep."
"We must find some way to stop these fierce fighters before they take over all of Algoron. However, we are speaking to both the dwarven and elven nations on strategical tactics, as those two nations appear next on the conquest of these yaeini."
This memo suggests that the command came from above for the tactical withdrawl, that the yaeini razed Serpantol and that there was diplomatic dialogue between the elves, dwarves and Knighthood to suggest a common defence. The suggestion that there were no innocents in the area suggests that Serpantol was not completely unprepared and perhaps had evacuated the city prior to the invasion. That it is found in the southern fortress does confirm that there is the 'capitol' of Serpantol further to the north.
And from Jahonatin Tahn, an account on how the retreat transpired, with extract below.
"As the weeks went by, we prospered. But, one day, our patrols didn't come back. We didn't even have time to think. The race of dogs, who stood a head taller than any of us! They came and laid waste to our land. Shamefully, I must admit, the only reason I made it away was because I deserted. These "Yinn" anticipated that some would do so, and caught the others who were traveling with me. I was mortally wounded, but made it away alive."
"Scouts made it to some of the towns and villages, and some ran immediately. The ones who waited, or took time to pack, died. These "Yinn" caught them all."
"I met up with these other groups, and we wandered south as far as we could, and never came back until we heard word that the Wargar and Shalonesti, combined, had pushed the Yinn back. Elves and dwarves doing the job Knighthood swore to do, but couldn't! Even so with this defeat, the Yinn weren't pushed entirely out of Serpantol. May the gods damn those territorial bastards! Lucky for us, the very south of Serpantol was still free land. There is still one of the old fortresses nearby, probably the only thing left standing from Serpantol. Some of the heretics came to help us rebuild, but that cult of witches never came. Good. We may have had the kindness to take back the heretics, because we needed a few good men, but that cult will *never* be welcome. They're just as bad as those bastard Yinn!"
The "History of Algoron" says that it was a Knighthood-Shalonesti which was defeated by the Yinn and their army destroyed, whereas the History which goes into more detail, but is less reliable, states that it was a Shalonesti-Wargar alliance. As before we must be aware that the Pan-toll library is written with a political agenda, as you can tell by Jahonatin's emotive response. His comments suggest Knighthood was not involved in the counterattack, but the more reliable work states that it was them instead of the dwarves. "The Serpantol Empire" agrees that it was the dwarves which were involved.
What we do know is that his account is flawed in that Shalonesti-Wargar/Knighthood alliance pushed them back, whereas in fact according to the knowledge in the Dragon Vale the larger army was 'annihilated' by Tayana. After destroying that army of elves and dwarves, Serpantol, Shinalstin and sacking Gareth Keep, they withdrew to rule their new lands through no positive contribution from the elven-dwarvern/human alliance. After the destruction of this final allied army, there was none remained which could stand up to the invincible yinnae army of Tayana, making it ever more curious that they withdrew from the affairs of Algoron and have since been lost to it.
Indeed this is a more likely a bitter retort from a writer at the time who was dismayed with the declining power of an empire which was no longer capable of protecting them. They had left them open to the ravage of the Malicians, the "Dark Alliance" and dae'Tok making their anger somewhat justified. Also it makes more obvious that the 'heretics' who returned and helped rebuild might have been those of Eclipse, as the Pan-toll library is laced with their political agenda. An argument against this is that Eclipse was all but destroyed only just previously in the Dragon Wars and sent into hiding, their organisation in tatters.
To this day, Serpantol, or dae'Tayana is lost to history. The main ruins of the city may lie hidden somewhere, or may be a hidden thriving civilisation north of the current ruins, which is a real possibility as a city of migration for those who survived the destruction of dae'Tok. "The Serpantol Empire" suggests as much that the "Yinn control the whole of the lands of Serpantol, and most important, the Temple of Serpant's Eye, wherin lies the collective knowledge of the Serpantol Empire, now lost to all but the Yinn". From what we know of the lore of yinn is that they are a reclusive group who prefer their own company, so this situation is not completely without surprise.
Yinn scavangers occupied the ruins of the southern fortress till recently, when an offensive from Gareth dislodged them. Reinforcements were sent, but unless a concerted pressure remains it will likely fail. At the point of this writing, the reconstruction of the defences of that fortress were underway.
Footnote:There is more information on this in the "History of Gareth" under the "The Reclamation of Southern Serpantol to the Rule of Gareth", and more again in the tome of "Enlightened Future".
Shinalstin
The history of Shinalstin is one of the more peculiar, and more brief episodes in Algoron's pre-history. Shinalstin first appears with the creation of the Conclave of Serpantol. As noted in this library, the Conclave saw the decline, decadence and corruption of the old empire and foresaw the need to make itself independent of it. To this end, it joined forces with a race of beings known as the Shinalstin. Together they founded the city of Shinalstin, and the Conclave built the golden Citadel of the Conclave within the confines of the city walls.
Examining the remains of the Shinalstin one needs to look no further than the 'Catacombs of Shinalstin' beneath the Temple of the Dracon. It is clear that they were not human, but small and humanoid. The most curious feature is long slender bones that angle out from their shoulders, and run the length of their small bodies. Looking at other forms of life, the immediate conclusion is that these are wings, but whether they could actually fly is another story. A competing theory is that they were draconian in form, that is reptilian. The remains within the catacombs make it impossible to distingush, but apart from rumour, there is nothing to suggest that this is true apart from early unconfirmed sightings of humanoid winged reptilian creatures from the dawn of time. There is no mention of Shinalstin as a race in the creationist announcements in the "History of Algoron".
Cathas Daroconus of Serpantol discovered secret to magic through moons, took all the knowledge which Serpantol had gone into researching and transferred it to the sovereign power of Shinalstin. Why the Conclave left Serpantol is not recorded, but it is most likely that in their wisdom they sought to become independent of the decadent declining empire. Negotiations were made with Serpantol who was diplomatically annoyed that the Conclave was under Shinalstin power but they were like-minded enough to form an alliance to work together to keep the world a safe place.
What strength Shinalstin held in knowledge and magic, it was very weak militarily, and Serpantol was designated to be her protector. Knights of Serpantol were dispatched to be her guardians, so Shilnastin was militarily dependent. It is thought in this way that Serpantol still had access to the Conclave.
Shilnastin's most famous citizen Thaellor gained his fame from leaving that place, and founding the city of Thalos, which was to become the capital city of Althainia. He named his business after himself that would evolve over time to Thalos. The business grew to the settlement, into a town, into the capital of Althainia.
Footnote: there is more information on this in "Thalosian" below.
We do not know the causes of the Ogre Wars, but Conclave-Shinalstin built their city near to the ancient ogre homeland, so it was most likely a proximity war of two civilisations which were diverse in intelligence, alignment and culture to completely fail to co-exist. During the Ogre Wars, something went awry during high sanction of the moons and some of the ogres fighting doubled in size, causing giant ogres to be created. As Serpantol was providing the protection to Shinalstin at the time, it is probable that Serpantol-Knighthood was involved with ground troops though there is no specific mention of them in the limited history. Even with the creation of the menacing giant ogres, the Ogre Wars were won by Shinalstin-Conclave and the Ogres fled the immediate vicinity of Shinalstin, some fleeing to the icy northern reaches where they would eventually found the ogre city of Gruntz.
Shinalstin would prosper till the Dragonwars when Eclipse and the "Dark Alliance" would sack and raid the golden Citadel of the Conclave and steal the Draconus. To do this it is likely that Shinalstin saw action in the Dragon Wars, although there is no direct evidence that the city was involved past that raid.
There is a sad end in the tale of Shinalstin. With their militaristic protectors Serpantol and Knighthood severely weakened by the Dragon Wars, when dae'Tok appeared on the northern frontiers Shinalstin was thrown into panic. Those few forces which remained in Shinalstin had no chance against those coming fresh from the destruction of Serpantol. The golden Citadel of the Conclave put on an impressive magical display of death, but one their mana was drained, both the city and the citadel fell to the advancing yinn, who totally destroyed everything. The destruction was so complete, that the Shinalstin ceased to exist as a race, and the remains of those who fell in that war which still reside in the catacombs do not tell a pleasant tale.
If the race was destroyed in this exchange, then who remained put them there is another question. It is possible that the Shinalstin buried their dead then moved elsewhere. If I were to speculate then I would theorise that the Shinalstin left the scene of their destruction and likely built another city which was possibly destroyed in one of the cataclysms, most likely the continental one. There are unsubstantiated rumours that they are the sea elves of Baaren Gaar, and that the city which they built did not start under water, and they used their magic to raise the domes under the sea as it was percived as safe in a dangerous time. Being highly magical beings, it is possible that they traded wings for gills which may explain why sea elves are the only elves which cannot procreate with other elves. The recent emergence of Ariels, a rare type of winged human makes a compelling case for a link to Shinalstin.
At any rate, any seeker of the lost city of Shinalstin has two clues to follow. Firstly that it was built near to the ancient homeland of the Ogres. Secondly that it most likely resides near the Temple of the Dracon, as that is where the archeological evidence remains.
Dae'Tok
Dae’Tok was the northern homeland of the Yinn. I say was, because in recent history, accompanying Malachive’s self-realisation that he was that son of Necrucifer, a meteor fell to the earth and destroyed their ancient icy home. It devastated the lands for hundreds of miles around, caused considerable consternation for the Kingdoms of Ganth and Nordmaar. Flooding was felt as far as other continents.
The book, "Dae'Tok, Our Empire" written by a scribe from Altirin, found in the Dragon Vale examined the New Empire of the Yinn. It explains how the superior military tactics and sheer size and ferocity of the Yinnish people lent to the total annihilation of every army that had gone up against them. The work briefly discusses the origin of the Yinn, where were they before they took over the lands of Old Serpantol Empire. The Yinn called this old homeland dae'Tok, and since the invasions have come from the far north, it is believed that they are arctic creatures, but none have yet to find any evidence of Yinnish civilization beyond the current Empire.
After the destruction of Serpantol, Shinalstin and the armies of Thaxanos and Shalonesti, dae'Tok ended their rampage and withdrew to their spoils of dae'Tayana, what was previously Serpantol. Apparently content with the lands they held before dae'Tok was destroyed there was no further military campaign till much later when they launched a naval attack on Nordmaar and Althainia. Known as the "Battle of Mutt Bay", dae'Tok was defeated and withdrew. It is possible, but mere speculation, that the survivors of the destruction of dae'Tok may have turned up as refugees to dae'Tayana.
The d'Aerthes were a significant family of yinn who came from dae'Tok.
Knighthood’s first interest in dae’Tok is that when the Yinn destroyed Serpantol, they would have had access to the knowledge and power of the Temple of the Serpent’s Eye. If they had removed this to dae’Tok, then it is most likely destroyed, unless it was placed in a secure underground vault. If they had not moved it, then it is possible that it still remains in an unreachable part of Serpantol. Either way it is clear that yinn, with humans have access to the knowledge of the Temple of the Serpents Eye as there are monks on Algoron of both races.
Knighthood’s second interest in dae’Tok is due to the Dracon of Justice. The Yinnae of dae’Tok sacked Gareth Keep after the destruction of Serpantol as they advanced further south, and they may have taken the Dracon of Justice which the Conclave had given to Knighthood and which Gareth had sworn to protect. It is assumed that it was carried back to dae’Tok when they withdrew, but it could be anywhere in their Empire, or anywhere else for that matter.
Knighthood's third interest in dae'Tok is because of their oaths to protect Serpantol. It is written that while the lands of the Old Empire lies in the hands of the enemy, the leadership of Knighthood will never find peace.
Thalos
This is a collaborative work between Bishop Majnun Al'zar, Majihadin and Sehvelarious Iolius. Al'zar wrote the original document which was then edited, then cross referenced. Iolius
Centuries ago, there was but one continent, that of Althainia. Serpantol was the main city of commerce. Caravans would travel from other centers of commerce all over the empire and outside it to the city to bring wares from all over the world.
An enterprising dwarf from Shinalstin named Thaellor opened his shop. We know that Thaellor hearkened from Shinalstin. You can still visit him due to the magical quirk of fate that the Void has presented us with - a gate to the past. The path through the holy grove to the void is not well known, but tread to the right location and you will arrive at the gates of Ancient Thalos, preserved in time as it was before the Dragon Wars.
In the time of Thalos, the first cataclysm was not yet upon us, and the developed world a lot smaller. The great continent of Althainia was torn into four parts, but by then Thalos was long since destroyed in the Dragon Wars.
We know from Poster's History that Thalos was founded after Serpantol and Shinalstin, and that Thaellor was a wealthy merchant from Shinalstin. What is not implied is that the Shinalstin were a race as well as the city which bore their name. A visit to the catacombs of Shinalstin will begin to give an idea of the sort of creatures that they were. And yet if you visit Thaellor in Ancient Thalos, it is quite clear that he is a dwarf. This goes on to show that the citizenry were not as homogenous as first thought.
Footnote: There is more information on this in Tales, Myths and Legends under Shinalstin.
Thaellor originally intended simply to act as a supply for the caravans, a place they could get fresh water and the like. However, soon enough, the traders began using his shop as a waypoint. They would meet there and trade their goods amongst each other, and slowly Thaellor's small shop turned into a sprawling inn, stables, and storehouse. Thaellor, of course, being the crafty businessman that he was, began charging small fees for the use of his stables, storehouse, and he built an auction building.
Thaellor's business venture exceeded all expectation. Merely a wealthy trader from Shinalstin, he became one of the wealthiest, and most well-known traders in all the lands. Seeing that his wealth was beginning to attract attention, Thaellor had several buildings erected around his inn to house bodyguards and their families to keep himself and his goods safe.
As will happen, when people are gathered together in one place, a small gathering of homes will turn into a town.
A blacksmith set up shop, and then a bakery, and a church to the Lord Cliath was at the center of it all. The architecture is similar to the Octagonal Temple in Gareth Keep. Everyone at Thaellor's knew that it was Cliath they had to thank for their fortune, for they were creating something new out of the world. They were building their own city of their own freewill
There was no king ordering walls be built. There was no Queen demanding taxes. There were simply the people of this town, building what needed to be built, and living lives within the Balance.
As time went on, Thaellor's, or Thalos as the town became known, grew into a city to more than rival nearby Midguard in size and wealth. Indeed, it became the jewel in the crown of the Empire of Serpantol, as the capital city of the continent of Althainia. Thaellor saw the need for something more than bodyguards to keep his wealth, and the rest of the town for that matter, safe. Perhaps he wished to keep Thalos militarily distinct from Serpantol, much in the manner than Shinalstin was absorbed into the Empire. The area was under the control of the Knights of Serpantol based in the Old Gareth Keep - that is the Keep which was in place before it was initially sacked by the Yinn after Serpantol was destroyed. At any rate, they were responsible for the wider area of Central Althainia, and Thaellor required a more local full time protectors for his walls. He went to visit the priest in the church, and discussed the matter with him. He'd only gone seeking advice, but he came away with something far greater.
The priest's solution was to put the protection of the city in the hands of the church. A soldier must be dedicated without question, and must put the well-being of those around him above himself at all times. The priest believed that the men best qualified for this job would be monks of the cloth. Monks who lived spartan lives, and denounced personal wealth and comfort. Monks who trained each day equally in faith, as well as weaponry. They would call them the Jihadin.
The priest assembled young men from other churches nearby, and began training them. The Jihadin spent every waking moment either in prayer or in training for battle. When they were ready to take over defense of the city, they were unlike any fighting force the world had ever seen.
Sadly, not long after this, war came to the world in the form of the Dragon Wars over the Draconus, involving the Serpantine Empire and here allies, Shinalstin, Conclave and strangly Malice against the Triple Alliance of Eclipse, Ogres nd Minotaurs. The final battle occured in the skies above Thalos among dragons of every color. The city was destroyed by balls of flame, streaks of lightning, massive wyrm's bodies falling from the sky and crushing timber and stone.
The Jihadin saved as many of the people of Thalos as they could, and got them free of the burning, dying city to flee into the desert. To ensure their freedom, the Jihadin remained behind to keep the battle confined to the city. All perished that day, and they were to become little more than legend for countless years.
The people who did escape, fled across the desert. There, they settled once more, building for themselves a new city, not out of the ashes of the old, but out of stone, wood, and iron. They began anew, as is the way in the circle of life. They built what we now know as New Thalos. And, once again, through many years of hard work and dedication, Jihadin patrol the lands of Thalos, proudly serving their gods and their people without hesitation.
The people of Thalos were given their own chance to create something unique and wonderful. The smallest idea can become the grandest creation. We do not need to strive for moving the world with each step, we must simply remind ourselves to take that step and see if the world moves with us.