History

In the ancient world of Novendragos, the truth of the past is shrouded in mystery. Though mankind has only been civilized for a mere fraction of the world's existence, they struggle to understand the events that came before. But even as empires rise and fall, and time marches on, the truth of the past belongs to the kai, the chiryu, and the dragons.

For the dragons and chiryu, time is not a linear concept, and they hold the key to understanding the true history of Novendragos. The priests, who commune with the kai, are the only ones who can unlock the secrets of the past. As the chiryu become more involved in human affairs, specifically in the war against the azhra, the threads of prehistory begin to take shape in the grand tapestry of history.

This is the current understanding of the history of Novendragos, pieced together through the accounts of the dragons, chiryu, and the kai, but there are still many mysteries yet to be unraveled.

The Aeon of Void

The Aeon of Void was the beginning of Novendragos, a time before the world as we know it. It was a dark and empty space, where the Ninefold Dragon, the creator of the world, slept and dreamed. These dreams brought forth the elemental Titans, who represented the natural elements of fire, air, water, earth, and void. These Titans roamed the void and clashed with each other, creating chaos and destruction. They were the forces of nature, but they were also chaotic and wild, without form or structure. Life and death were not separate entities, and being and non-being existed together. The Titans' battles meant that everything was in a state of flux, without permanence or stability. The world was a chaotic and untamed place in the Aeon of Void, but it was also the beginning of the universe and the start of the journey towards order and structure.

In the sea he placed his tro'kai and saw that they were perfect. In seeing that his tro'kai were perfect he withdrew saying, "I am within and I am without. Those who seek nothing will find nothing and in finding nothing will know me!"

Vro'kahn, the Preserver and one of the tro'kai, spake thus, "Let there be Dawn and in Dawn I will be the Light that pierces the Darkness!" In a moment he placed himself at the center of the universe and carried the heavy burden of circling the matter about himself. The matter became shaped as it flew through its orbit and Vro'kahn called it Novendragos in honor of That Which is Within and Without.

At last the world stilled from its creation spasms and continued its orbit around Vro'kahn.

The Aeon of Days

Taraslian, the Knower and one of the tro'kai, spake thus, "Because we believe ourselves superior we think ourselves free and yet we are all bound to the Cycle. I foreseen that our Fall will be great should we not heed the positioning of our feet. Let us create those in our image so that they may be our feet and we shall not fall."

From the life-giving waters, the earth's mortar, fire's passion, and wind's movement the He created living things. The Dragons were even given void though told not to share its secrets. The chiryu received each in perfect balance. The jenmaha'dim were given one in strength, one in weakness, and the other three in balance. The balpura and the shiira were given their choice and they said, "We will be what we will be."

In secret Taraslian wrote down all of his knowledge within the Libram of Scales and placed the book where it would be found only when it needed to be found.

The Aeon of Dusk

Ki'rmaak, the Destroyer and one of the tro'kai, spake thus, "See your creations. They are perfect in following their creator! In knowing only Light they do not know what it is like to be blind! Though they cannot see their own feet they are to represent ours? Give them darkness! You give them light for half of the time and I will govern the other half!"

With the agreement of the tro'kai Ki'rmaak spun the world as though it were a top and placed herself in orbit of the world to have a closer look into the darkness. In the darkness she saw that the Preserver held the creatures back by preserving their youth and their ignorance. She spoke again, "Vro'kahn, thou shinest so bright in the sky illuminating all and yet I, your equal, have taken this small form with which to orbit the world you gave shape to. You have given me darkness but there is no balance yet. Taraslian will attest to this. I must destroy their immortality and allow them to reproduce so that through their generations they may learn their footing."

With that the races began to age though each in different ways. However in the new shadows there emerged something else. In the shadows there dwelt the azhra, beings antithetical to those created by the tro'kai.

The Darkness

In the age of Darkness the azhra cast their shadow over the sun and began their campaign on the world. They came from the shadows and from the dark reaches where Novendragos joined with the elemental planes. Their power was overwhelming and the races had not yet learned unity or warfare. Whether dragon or elemental the races were falling quickly to the azhra.

The tro'kai convened over what must be done. None knew where the azhra had come from. They seemed to be simply there. Ki'rmaak demanded to give the races the gift of war. Vro'kahn demanded to give the races the gift of peace. It was then that the silent Taraslian spoke, "Because I am knowledge and ignorance, shame and boldness, strength and fear, war and peace so to can be the races of Novendragos!"

With that he wiped away the shadow over the sun and commanded that Ki'rmaak would gift them war while Vro'kahn would preserve their knowledge of peace. The tide turned after an unknowable amount of time but at last the azhra were driven back.

The Crowning Aeon

When the Darkness ended and the azhra retreated to the shadows the genderless Taraslian erupted into convulsions. From his convulsions he spawned the male known as Mandur and the polar twin females known as Indarra and Amaya. Taraslian spake unto Mandur saying thus, "That which you create I give you dominion. That which you destroy I charge that you must serve."

Mandur immediately sought out Indarra and Amaya saying, "As the tro'kai gave us divinity let the kai beget immortal servants."

Amaya replied, "Let your divinity become one with mine and great immortals shall be born of our consummation." Thus their divinity became one and the polar twins Tashvar and Janrata were born. Mandur then turned his attention to Indarra and her child was deformed having a bovine head and torso and feline feet and tail. She looked upon him and loved him and he was called Besara.

Mandur then exclaimed, "As the tro'kai begat the kai so too did they beget creatures to live below. Though these creatures are great let us create our own."

Seeing in his eyes a lust for power Amaya agreed. Seeing in his eyes a lust for power Indarra disagreed. Amaya went eagerly to Mandur's bed only to find that he had forced himself upon Indarra. Enraged Amaya clawed at Mandur and called out to her twins but by the time they had arrived he had already given her his seed. As female kai's bellies swelled Amaya grabbed her dagger and plunged it deep into her abdomen saying, "Though mother of Life I wished to be you took what was not yours away from me. Now I give birth only to Death."

Indarra having witnessed her sister's actions immediately scooped up the remains that had not yet died and placed them in her own womb alongside her own fetus. Soon after she gave birth to Man and Woman who would know great good and great evil but would never live as long as the chiryu or the dragons for Amaya had shortened their lives. Because their toil would be great Besara gave birth to the beasts of the land saying, "Mother of Life, these beasts I give in service to your children."

Mandur watched as humankind grew. They were as good as savages with their short lifespans and no civilization to teach them proper growth before they died. Thus Mandur went down amongst men and formed tribes and with these tribes he conquered other tribes and with these he formed and empire! The mandurian empire flourished until they tried to usurp the power of the dragons. At this point man refused Mandur's leadership. In doing so he became enraged and went to Taraslian saying, "Why do I not have dominion over that which I have created?!?"

Taraslian stared at him blankly before two women appeared before them. Indarra and Amaya spoke, "You have dominion over all that you created. But what is it exactly that you have created? You offered your seed for the birth of Man, but Man was created out of us!"

In a fit of rage Mandur denounced his name swearing revenge and forever calling himself Dragonsbane.

The Indarran Cycle (0HR - 700HR)

In the Indarran Cycle, dragons were seen as powerful, wise, and benevolent beings. They were protectors of the land, often called upon to mediate disputes between the different races. They held the balance of power between nations and were respected for their wisdom and fairness.

The jenmaha'dim, an ancient race of powerful shapers and scholars, also played a significant role. They were known for their deep understanding of the natural world and their ability to shape and manipulate elements. Many wonders of the Indarran Cycle, such as the fabled city of Indaralia and the Rod of Building, were created through their skills.

But as the cycle came to an end, dragons' role as protectors and guides waned. New races and civilizations emerged, and the mother goddess Indarra disappeared from mortals sight. The arrival of new races brought new cultures, beliefs and ways of life. Jenmaha'dim's knowledge faded and the power of the Rod of Building was lost. The dragons retreated to their own territories, some disappearing altogether, thus marking the end of the Indarran Cycle.

The Adibhaph Cycle (700HR - 1400HR)

At the end of the Indarran Cycle Dragonsbane plotted against Indarra in order to undermine her Will and regain dominion over Man. He breaks the chains which bind the azhra prince Adibhaph in the nether realm and as they are unleashed they assault the very heavens themselves kidnapping Indarra and caging her in their infernal domain. With Indarra gone the azhra unleashed their horde upon the land. The fall of Indaralia marks the start of the cycle.

The azhra reign superior over this age with Adibhaph held in highest regard. Adibhaph makes quick work of submitting the balpura to his service. As the azhra lord of beasts this prince perverts many of the beasts of the land leading to this cycle also being known as the Age of Monsters. The cycle ends when the balpuran hero Bulroga banishes Adibhaph and seals him away.

The First Dragonsbane War (2100HR)

Humanity was in ruins after the rein of Adibhaph. When the azhra was bound once more humanity celebrated their victory alongside the other races. Human lifespans are short though and so are their memories. Over the course of the next 700 years of rebuilding the human race was dividing. Anti-dragon sentiment was running rampant despite the Indarran priestesses proselytizing the Mother's mercy. Belief in the gods was waning amongst humanity and their relationships with the other races were dissolving.

In 7400 HR Xendros Pyrus was gifted the Scepter of Dominion by Dragonsbane and with it he began conquering the tribes of Man uniting them beneath a godless banner. Throughout his campaign he propogated a belief that without the gods and elder races Man would not have suffered beneath the bestial tyranny of Adibhaph. This propaganda was enhanced by the power of the scepter and humanity was swayed by his charisma.

Once unified his forces launched a war that would span the entire globe. Where Xendros had preserved the cities of man when they were conquered, the non-human cities were ordered utterly destroyed. Chiryu and dragons fought back but were overwhelmed by the sheer number of humans they encountered. The jenmaha'dim were reluctant to enter this conflict and did their best to defend their homelands. The shiira and balpura resisted as well as they could before being enslaved by the aggressors.

The war only ended after Xendros died mysteriously and the scepter of dominion disappeared. With no heirs his empire dissolved though his legend remained. Many concluded that he was assassinated, but there never was proof.

Dragocite Discovered (2900HR)

In 8100 HR chiryu scholars postulated that if Novendragos is coterminous with the elemental planes and those planes are continually feeding Novendragos then there must be some element that is continually receiving the elements. This theory led to the discovery of dragocite, a crystalline mineral that seemed to be broken down into the five elements. Mining dragocite began in earnest.

The chiryu engineers then discovered that passing an electrical current through the the dragocite would cause a release of the elemental energy contained within. Jo'raul Lo'zhen built the first airship with the dragocite. The earth mineral would be used for liftoff. The fire and air minerals would be used in conjunction with one another to produce thrust.

Within just a few decades the chiryu empire built an enormous fleet of airships -- called gos'raul in their own tongue -- and kept their existent secret from the human races.

Drac'sla XIII - the Firstborn (3800HR)

The darkest moment in chiryu history caused the empire to retreat even further from humanity when Drac'sla XIII became emperor and began the practice of blood magic. At first blood magic does not seem wicked to the chiryu and its practice is embraced. With it the empire engages in a series of seemingly unrelated conquests throughout Novendragos. Every engagement is a massacre which culminates in the final massacre in the direct center of Novendragos -- the One City. There Drac'sla XIII summons the heads of the Great Families to his office in the High Tower and slaughters them all. He then casts the greatest ritual ever performed and becomes the Blood God. His soul becomes bound to the elements and thus the elements are tainted. The taint spreads to all those who practice blood magic and they become warped and sinister calling themselves chisai.

The chisai reign of horror only ends when Drac'sla XIII's younger brother Demen Drac'sla forges the potent sword known as the Ryuken. Knowing his death is likely imminent Demen seeks out his brother. Their battle is long and Demen's endurance and speed are tested. Without the Ryuken his people would suffer. In the end he enacts a desperate measure and spills his own blood into the dragocite in the pommel. The killing blow that severed the Firstborn's head is the final blow he would ever make.

Though Demen had an heir the blight of the Firstborn is too much and the chiryu retreat behind the Galdrian Alps dissolving the position of emperor. They declare the name Drac'sla stricken from the records all heirs of the Drac'sla line are to serve upon the Wall.

Varocasius (4800HR)

In 9700 HR Landros Gregoran was born of humble beginnings to a low noble family in Mandur. At age 18 he entered into the priesthood and rose quickly through the ranks. Throughout his time in the priesthood he zealously taught of the glory of the gods. At age 27 while on a sojourn to the highest peaks of the Galdrian Alps a great storm arose and killed his team. He was saved and nursed back to health by a silver dragon who was hunting nearby. During his fever dreams he had a vision of the glory of Vro'kahn. Ever after he taught that Vro'kahn was the true Preserver and that without Vro'kahn there would have been no Indarra to give birth to mankind.

At age 36 he and a group of missionaries traveled into the wilds and discovered a vast temple complex on the east coast. Seeing it as a sign his people immediately began settling the area and establishing the city of Platinus. He took on the new name of Varocasius, which means "I am of Vro'kahn", and took the new role of vaeros -- high priest of Vro'kahn.

The Last Diaspora (5400HR)

The tribes of man were in chaos. The central tribes had adopted the worship of Vro'kahn and in His service began civilization anew. However in the northern and southern tribes worship of Vro'kahn had not caught on. In the north worship of the Mother Kai, Indarra and Amaya, still remained dominant and through that worship their tribes retained matriarchal organization. In the south worship of Janrata had developed largely due to a rebellion of the orderly ways of Vro'kahn.

As the populations continued to grow strife was becoming increasingly self evident. This led to the migrations of the southern and northern tribes of man. High Chief Hamurk led the northern people around the northern tip of the Galdrian Alps. Ultimately they settled the area now known as Hamurk named after their legendary chieftain.

The southern tribes migrated west where the call of the prophecy of their Kai called from. They crossed through Daremil Pass in the Galdrian Alps and then traveled southwest along its base. They became known as Daremians and set up the nation of Daremia.

Dragonfall (6000HR)