Dark Ages

 

Legend

“Even in the silent still Void there where things lurking, observing the leaking energies. And as things merged, formed and became… they found their place in orderly chaos.“

Skjald Valgrif

 

History

It must have been so, as we have been told this by Boriac, Thursar, and Wickeryadi alike: in the beginning, there was nothing but a vast Void with scattered creatures. Their tale of the earliest time is both confusing, intriguing, and terrifying, as it tells of the immortals birth but also of void creatures, from which they derive and remember tales of a void without light.

Suddenly, in the void, a faint glow appeared; later, far away, another sprang forth, then another, and the void was vaguely lit by these scattered glows. Curiously, some void beings closed up and studied these misty, swirling leaks of energy. Some, touched by the energies, perished; others transformed into living elements or flora; and others realised these glowing mists came through rifts from somewhere else and entered.

Those tainted who stayed in the Void became known as Thursar, living elementars, or Wickeryadi, a kind of living self-aware Flora, that became known as herders of ‘Combat Herbs. Both something else than all other Void creatures, that became known as 'Void Monsters. And those who entered that other place through the leaking rifts, we call Boriac or Vornir, whether they kept to this realm of floating diffuse energy, which they named The Astral, or kept passing in and out, Those who stayed within, taking up the task of understanding ‘The Astral and managing all leaks, are the Vornir, the mothers of all things and fates. Those who travelled ‘The Void, discovering what effects leaks had, and travelled back with news and samples for the Vornir, are called Boriac, fathers of all things.

Over time, the Vornir and Boriac began giving all leaked energies a true name to be able to distinguish each, as a stone is not just another stone, but Astral energies manifested into something in our realm. This obsession resulted in many a bargaining or wrestling with ‘Void Monsters as to truename them with a slight taint of ‘Astral Mana, or discussions with Wickeryadi regarding their untainted ‘Combat Herbs. Thus, some Flora became tainted, but others, the ‘Combat Herbs, were safeguarded and existed outside the ‘Astral tainting.

Skjald Ulrich

 

As Boriac travelled ‘The Void, discovering energies leaked and how Mana reacted to ‘The Void, they told of Mana sparkling life into things tainted, and other already living, thinking beings gained new abilities and powers. Their studies were so intense and long, and the Vornir were so obsessed with ‘their mother’s role’, swirling, shaping, spinning, truenaming, and attaching fate to everything. So, they eventually grew apart, and now, aeons later, they are two different Races.

This dividing occurred despite their attempts to structure their travels across ‘The Void, by linking findings of interest to the Astral, so they could visit previous findings with ease and speed. Linkings that, in time, should prove to be a phenomenon in themselves are considered a disasterous error by those of Humans and Other Races that, in time, came to be. Simply because they forgot to give True Names to these links, and the links grew in thickness, density, and vibrancy as they were used—not only by Boriac but also by all the beings that came to be. The odd self-retraction of the links ought to have told Boriac and Vornir alike of their growing self-awareness, but they in fact supported them by moving things discovered together, so ‘Void Gardens or ”Void Camps of similarities flourished.

As these links experienced increased usage and interest, they became so energised that they not only became self-aware but also able to influence bypassers in several ways, either by adjusting glow, tinting their base ‘Astral Colour, emitting sounds, or leaking some of their energies into the bypasser. So, as the Links slowly grew, as well as where they came into contact with other links, they manifested into self-acting entities outside the scheme of Boriac and Vornir. As they came to be due to beings using them, worshipping what they gave back, and not worrying for time passage but for interaction,  they became self-indulgent and rather whimsical.

In time, as the Human Archaic and Other Races came along, the links grew in power, surpassing the Wickeryadi and Thursar and equaling the Boriac and Vornir. They became known as Gods, thriving through usage and worship. They had no interest in further diffusing the energies, so when the Boriac and Vornir suggested wrapping all things discovered around effectively enclosing the Astral, they helped—and ended the Dark Ages.

Skjald El Mary

 

Special

And none of them could have predicted that the Archaic would become such a force.

Skjald Sejrik