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Aereshaa_the_2nd
2006-09-13, 07:16 PM
The purpose of this thread is to show off my book for your critique.

[hr]This will only be on the web for a short time, because I hope to sell a few copies. But for now, it's free. :D
[hr]


Adekalin;
Book of Darkness.
And Tæ, The lord returned from the Void, and he saw nothing. And he saw the nothing was evil. And he created the Four, and the Four were his tools. And he said unto them; “One amongst you is evil. So that One who is vile, step forward.” And the One, of the Four, that was called Fiia, came forth. And the lord smote Fiia, and strew forth her remains into the void. And the lord decreed; “That which is evil, is my enemy. Thus I shall smite any who pass Evil
unto others.”
And the lord created a land, of sand and rock, and a sea, of water and salt. And the land was called Tieragua. And the lord populated this land with many beasts and birds, trees and bushes. And he lit this land with an Orb of pure light, and set it in motion around his world. And the lord said unto the Three; “Behold, I have created a land rich in wonders; thus I shall make a being that thinks like unto me, so that someone may gaze unto these wonders; and call it a Lampade.” And the lord created a being that thought like unto him, and it was called Lampade. And the lampades were of blue skin, and dark hair, and wore black cloaks.
And time did pass, and the lord remembered the evil of fiia, and said unto the Three; “You have been good servants. But the One who was Evil, she has been smote. Thus I shall create three laws to govern my land: In Tieragua there is no fire; In Tieragua there is no true evil; Tieragua will be ruled by tieraguans only.” And the lord carved these laws into the plinth of the tallest mountain, for all to see. And the plinth did say: “Tieragua nel fiia, Tieragua nel kif Dæmonæ, Tieragua kal tere tieraguæ.”
And when the lord had finished, the lampades stood in awe at the Qurechæ, as they called them. The lampades wrote upon stone the events that they had seen.


<> * * * * * *<1> * * * * * *<>

In the beginning, our lord tæ created the world. He created us, and we did gaze at the wonders of the world. And we did watch as our lord carved the qurechæ, and did remember them. And a leader rose up among us 104, and proclaimed: “We have been created by our lord, now we must honour our lord with a temple, where we will sing praises unto him.” And we did build a temple of stone, and houses of wood around it, one house for each family; in the plain of Renil. And we called the multitude of buildings by a single name: Larik kol lampadæ, or “Larik of the lampades.” And our leader, whose name has been forgotten, created many poems honouring our lord. And our lord smiled.
And it came to pass that in Larik a lampade named Duran explored beyond the plain of Renil where Larik resided. To the west and south he found oceans, to the north there was only desert, and to the east the land rose up, and was covered with deciduous forest. And Duran named the desert “Cea Far Aguikæ”, The Red Sands; The Sea he named “Tates Ollcea”, the endless water; and the forest he named “Ocea Nefar” the ocean of green. And the lampades feared the red sands, for none who entered ever returned. But the lampades did prosper, for they had much farmland, unlimited wood, and the vast bounty of the sea. And Larik did grow, and a fishing village was built, and we did learn the art of seafaring. And we were glad of it.
On the day of Aerak 3 lemday, 637 KT, Tæ did say; “I have work to be done. The Three are help, but naught like enough. Therefore I shall create beings of good, who shall obey me; and they shall be called seraphim, and they shall live in the palace of Celesta. But what of the lampades? They are lonely; thus some of the seraphim may go to Tieragua. And they shall be called the Descended.” And Tæ decreed that it should be so; and it was so. And the seraphim descended onto the Red sands. And we did welcome them; and they did build houses west of Larik, and the multitude they did call Harel kol seraphim, or Harel of the seraphim. And we did prosper at the feet of the lord Tæ. And it came to pass that we saw that the seraphim thought unlike unto us; that they thought only of tæ, and not of themselves.



<> * * * * * *<2> * * * * * *<>

A history by Lord Latapas
On the day of Aguk 4 Tæsday, 824 KT, we the lampades heard from the seraphim that great evil was coming. *Six days later we saw to the north, a giant spider. And we saw that the spider was evil, but we could not fight it. So we did hold a meeting of the elders. And one man, Latapas, spoke. “We must go across the sea, to find a new place where we may be safe from the spider Xtchlt. We have learned the art of Ship building and sailing; thus we may cross the sea”. And the elders agreed, and we did build a fleet of ships. And we did cross the sea, west, and then north, and eighteen days later we did sight on new shores.
And on the day of Aguk 9 Monday, 824 KT, we landed on the beach, in a land of palm forest teeming with animals. And we built a settlement by the shore, and a lampade named Duran II kol Larik explored the inland.
Duran II was a lampade who landed on The First Boat. He, like his father, was determined to explore. Duran set off north. He came through rich forests and found and ate fruit. On the first night, he placed a shining-stone at the entrance to a lean-to he had built. In the middle of the night, at 11 hours, he heard a roar. He came outside his lean-to to see a huge looming boar. At once he drew his sword, and as the boar turned to charge, he ran forward and stabbed the boar. The boar squealed and slammed into Duran, hurting him badly with scrapes. He slashed the boar twice to the neck, and its blood steamed in the cool morning air. He trekked farther north to the northern edge of the forest to a land with a red sky.
When Duran *got to the land of the red horizons, he was afraid, for he sensed evil in the air. Suddenly, a man with red skin, wings and fangs dropped from the sky. Duran drew his sword, cried, “You don’t scare me!” and charged at the Demon. The Demon shattered Duran’s reinforced glass sword with a flick of his spear. Duran fled from the Demon into the forest to the south where he dug a pit 15 feet deep, and covered it in weak branches. He kept some logs nearby. When the Demon caught up with Duran, he fell in the pit. As the Demon got ready to fly out Duran rolled the logs over the pit. The Demon was trapped, and it cursed.
And when Duran brought back the Demon in chains, we the lampades were afraid, and we did not know what substance his spear was forged of. Our own weapons were of either heavy stone, or the glass that we had been taught to make by the seraphim. His weapon was cold as glass; however, it was opaque, and shiny, like gold, only duller. The demon could not speak; only shrill screeches could it enunciate. But, by showing it different objects, we soon learned its tongue; and it was soon quite friendly. Thus we learned that the second Qurecha was true; no being is truly evil.
And it came to pass that on the day of Aguk 10 Duesday, that we asked Tixti, the Demon, what substance his spear was forged of. He quoth thus: “My Spear is forged of Bronze, a mixture of two weak metals. To make it, you must find a rock the colour of spring plants. You must heat the rock, until the rock turns red, and keep it this hot. A liquid should ooze from the rock, and cool. This is called Tin. Do this over sand, and the cooled liquid should be silvery. Then heat a dark green rock, called limestone, and heat it until the rock glows with an orange light. A liquid should ooze forth, and collect this too, it is called copper. Then with heatstone, melt both metals together. Shape it while hot, for once it is cool, it is extremely hard”. And we followed his instructions, and made many hard, terrible, glass-edged weapons. And we were grateful, and we honoured him with a monument. And we built the town of latapas’kol, in the forest of Aia.
And it came to pass that in the month of Tatek Tixti fell in love with Melenar, second daughter of Lord Latapas. And on Tatek 6 Taesday, they were wed. And the event was a merry one, for Lord Latapas decreed that their progeny would rule the lampades.
And in Eight years’ time, on Fiika 8 Jadsday, 832 KT, Anav the Half-Demon was born. And the people saw their future ruler, and were joyful.


<> * * * * * *<3> * * * * * *<>
So, on the day of Fiika 8 Lemday, 1789 KT, Anav came of age. And he began to experiment with many substances. And he came across a crystal that glowed white. And somehow, staring into that crystal, he cleared his mind, and something, deep inside his heart, snapped; and that snap broke the crystal into many shards, and he fell unconscious.
When Anav woke, he was weak in body, but his mind was afire with a certain strength. He got up, and one of his retainers, seeing him well, asked him what he desired. Anav said: “Go quickly, and bring me the shards of the crystal.” And Anav’s servant brought 7 shards of luminescent crystal. And without knowing why, Anav stared at the glass of water on a table beside his bed. Suddenly the glass shattered, and Anav’s servant screamed. “What can this possibly be, that shatters glass without any evident cause?” said Anav. “Is it some sort of spirit, come to harass me?” But Anav heard the Voice of Tæ, and was not afraid, for the Voice told him: “It is not any spirit that has caused this, but a force and magic inside the lampadic mind. It is called Gar kol Scitæ, and you the lampades possess it, and may harness it, and those that do are called Sorcerers.”
And many outside the house of Lord Anav Latapas had used magic, and heard the Voice. And soon they were using sorcery to do many things. And the Eyes of Tæ saw this, and the Voice of Tæ spoke again: “You are using the power that you possess for many good things; but beware, the power can also be used for great evil; I leave it to you to decide your intent.”
So the lampades used their powers to make a tower, that they could live in, and outside the tower they built walls, ramparts, and outposts farthest out. And they created many things, such as stones one could talk to, and others, with stones, would hear. And the lampades prospered in Latapas’kol, and were joyful.
But what of the Seraphim? They had stayed in the plain of Renil, even when Xtchlt approached.
On the day the spider appeared, the seraphim held a meeting of the priests. And they decided that they would seek the lands north of the Ring of Qur, mountains surrounding the chain of Atarkia. And the seraphim forged glass swords, spears and arrows, and prayed to tae for strength. And the lord blessed them with flight, by wings of white feather. And they came towards Xtchlt, and fought through a terrible battle against the demons, Spider-kin, and many terrible creatures, spawn of Xtchlt. The demons were armed with bronze, and wore red leather armor, with crimson cloaks, stained red by each others’ blood. But the seraphim flew over, even as they were pelted with heatstone-tipped arrows.
And as the seraphim flew, they shot their arrows at the terrible demons, and many a demon fell to the onslaught of vorpal shards of glass. And they flew over, but hardly any of them escaped with still no injuries, and more than half of them died. And they flew, north over a plain of bare rock, to a frozen wasteland, and beyond that, to a plateau of ice, where the seraphim built a temple, still having faith in Tæ, despite their mourning. And the lord still had faith in them, and did not forget them.
In Latapas’kol, the Garak scried upon the battle of the seraphim, and was upset. The garak issued an order that the lampades must destroy the demons, for they had been blessed with power capable of it. 200 sorcerers assembled, each wielding their own repertoire of terrible spells. And they levitated themselves, and flew to the red sands, and challenged the demons. The demons flew into a blood-rage. As the demons charged up the hill where the Garak and the sorcerers had landed, the Garak held out his hands, and the demons were stopped dead, and the Garak closed his hands, and the demons evaporated into the air, causing the second line of demons to stop in fear. The sorcerers unleashed their powers on the demons, killing them in 200 painful ways. And the spider Xtchlt looked upon the Lampades, fearing them. But Xtchlt hardened her heart, and gave her spawn a gift, that would allow them to fight the sorcerers, and kill the Garak. The gift was a magic of runes, which allowed them to imitate the sorcery of the Lampades. The demons soon created many runes that imitated the magic of the lesser sorcerers, and scribed these runes to their shields of wood imbued with bronze. And the demons approached the sorcerers, hiding behind their shields, the Sorcerers could not touch them. But the Garak held out his right hand and threw the demons upward, and they were dead before they hit the ground. The rest of the demons poured toward the Sorcerers, but the Garak held out his left hand, pointed two fingers at the ground below him, and closed his eyes. The ground split apart, and a 100-foot wide circle of the land rose up above the demons. The demons shot arrows at the sorcerers, but the sorcerers created shields of Wind that blew the arrows away. And the demons, seeing that they were doomed, fled. And the sorcerers, seeing that they had had their revenge, retreated to Latapas’kol. And they were satisfied.
On the Red sands, the ghost of Fiia wandered. She knew she was looking for something, but had no idea what. The ghost of Fiia flickered, then set off to the Spider Xtchlt.


<> * * * * * *<4> * * * * * *<>

In the northern wastes, the seraphim dwelt in houses made of ice. Above them resided Atarkia, the home of Tæ. And tæ watched them, from on high, and saw that two intelligent creatures was not enough. And he crafted a creature that was like both seraph and lampade, one that had wing without feather, magic without mystery. And he called it a Nightfollower. And they were creatures of the night, and they descended to the Plain of Rock on Nulke 4 Monday, 1789 KT. And the Seraphim saw them, and welcomed them, and the nightfolk lived there for a long time, and they multiplied, and heard news of the lampades’ battle. And they, having powers similar to that of the lampades, were not beholden. nd the sky was full of magic, and the shards glowed evermore brightly.
In Latapas’kol, the Garak scried upon the nightfolk, and saw that they had powers similar to him, and was afraid. And the sorcerers were afraid, for they had never seen the Garak have fear. And the Garak sent a runner out to the nightfolk, to tell them he wanted peace. The runner came back with their message: “We do not know we can trust you, but we hope we can. We will make peace unto you as long as you do not attack us”. The Garak became horrified with each word.
So the Garak sent for his best sorcerers, and they assembled in the main meeting hall. The Garak said unto them; “The night folk may attack us. Thus we must prepare. First, we must compile a book of spells. Second, we must have walls of Wind around Latapas’kol, to stop such things as rays of cold. Third, we must prepare magical weapons for those of our allies who do not possess Gar kol scitæ”. The sorcerers agreed, and they began collecting spells.
And on the day of Aerak 7 Jadsday, 790 KT the Garak ordered a preemptive strike against the nightfolk. The sorcerers, thirty strong, opened gates to the northern wastes. They entered the nightfolk territory, and the walls disappeared without a trace. The nightfolk went outside, and held out their hands. The lampades sent streaks of blue lightning towards the nightfolk, but they were deflected by the white shields of the nightfolk. The nightfolk retaliated with black stars that streaked up, and down at the lampades in a wide arc. The lampades were shocked. But the garak led the sorcerers forward, and he created purple waves towards the lines of nightfolk. The nightfolk resisted, but could not overcome the wave of thaumaturgic power. The nightfolk sorcerers fled even as they evaporated.
On the day of Aerak 7 lemday, the nightfolk made a conditional surrender. They would give up, as long as they were allowed to be citizens of Latapas’kol. The Garak accepted this, and a city like unto latapas’kol was built in the northern wastes, and it was called Garak’kol. Half the nightfolk stayed in their homes, one-quarter went to Garak’kol, and the rest went to Latapas’kol.
Latapas’kol at that time was a city in layers. The first layer consisted of houses of local hardwood, and was populated by the poor. The second layer was stone apartments, owned by a dirgaren, or lord. The third layer consisted of glass towers, supported by bronze framework.
On the day of Aerak 9 duesday, the Garak watched the nightfolk fly between the bronze spires of Latapas’kol. He was jealous, for none of his spells allowed him to fly. Thus the Garak sent out a call to any inventors and thinking men, to create a machine that would fly.
Seventeen men answered the call. Each had a recommendation signed by 100 men. They assembled in a grand workshop, supplied with all sorts of materials: wood, heatstone, cable, vinegar. For 3 months they toiled, and on the day of Fiika 10 Monday, 790 KT, they revealed their product, the Sky-Craft, to the Garak.
It was a pole, with two umbrella-shaped sails at the top, and bags of air in the middle, with weights at the bottom. ‘How does it work?’ asked the Garak. ‘Well,’ said the engineer, ‘the bags are filled with hot air, and the sails direct the wind down, thus pushing the craft up’. ‘Then, how does it move?’ asked the Garak. The engineer replied: ‘After several experiments with kites, we found that the wind changes direction high in the air. Therefore, all we need to do is move to the right height, and you may find a wind that takes you where you need to go’. The Garak applauded.
The engineers, as they were now called, constructed many Sky-craft for the lampades to use. They created many new ways to find a good wind, including flags upon the many towers of Latapas’kol.They created magical bombs that exploded upon contact with the ground, to be thrown from the sky-craft. They also worked with the Garak’s Archmages to create weapons such as the Deathstick, a mace that fired blue lightning when swung.
So, the years went by, and the towers were built higher, and on Aerak 4 Taesday, 951 KT, the Garak suffered a fatal heart attack. And on that day the sorcerer’s power began to fade, and they understood why. And on that day the lampades saw orbs appear in their left hands, and these orbs were the source of their magic. And on that day the Voice of Tæ reminded them that Gar kol Scitæ was a privilege, not a right. And a new Archlord was elected, for the Garak had no progeny.
And the demons heard that the terrible Garak was dead, and they sought to hold Garak’kol for their own. So they assembled at the gates of Atarkia, Seven thousand strong, and, led by the Hell-Wyrms, climbed the Ring of Atarkia, heading for Garak’kol. And on Aerak 8 Lemday, the nightfolk and lampades of Garak’kol prepared for a long siege.
The demons met Garak’kol at the south, where it was guarded by two lines of walls, dotted with posts. The first wall was of stone, 4 metres high, 1 metre thick. The demons brought rams made from cauldrons on the ends of tree-trunks, and rammed the first wall down. The second wall was 6 metres high, 3 metres thick, with walkways on the inside. The lampadic garrisons attacked with lightning from the top, but after an hour, this wall too was rubble. The lampadic defenders could naught but hold them off. Then the seven Hell-Wyrms came.
The lampadic defenders could not believe the size of the wyrms at first. They sounded the alarm, and skycraft reinforcements came, wielding great spears, and carrying rocks, which they dropped on the massive hell-wyrms, but with no effect. The skycraft soldiers threw the spears, piercing the hide of the wyrms, but still the wyrms proceeded to demolish the buildings. The defenders on the ground brought ballistæ, which hurled great spears at the hell-wyrms. The hell-wyrms lifted their claws, and swatted the sky-craft out of the air. The remaining skycraft fired lightning and crossbows at the hell-wyrms, two of which were slain by the ensuing ballista fire.
Then one of the hell-wyrms clawed at the base of the nearest of the 7 towers, and it fell, crushing many buildings, but also hitting the hell-wyrm. The captain of the lampadic defenders, in a dark blue cloak stained with blood, walked towards the immobile hell-wyrm, and drove his bronze-reinforced red-glass sword into the head of the wyrm. Three seconds later, he was crushed by a Hell-wyrm’s claw.
The Hell-Wyrms plowed into the buildings. On the ground the captain of the lampadic guard cast a healing spell on himself, and ordered retreat & flight. The guard evacuated the buildings even as they were crushed. The people fled the city south, some on carts, some in skycraft, some in boats down the Far Aguik River. As they left, they saw the city that was their home, and a flag of the demons over it.


<> * * * * * *<5> * * * * * *<>

On the Red Sands, Xtchlt met the ghost of Fiia. “I have, at last, found you,” Fiia said, “I give you an offer. You are an Alascit. You are weak, and I am strong. If you grant me another life, You shall be as Belakir, as God over evil.” Xtchlt agreed, saying: “O Fiia, princess of Evil, I grant you a new life, as you give me the power of a Belakir!”
In the land of Demons, Xtchlt thought of how to break the lampades. She thought for three years, and finally she calculated a plan. She created a prophecy that could break even the will of Tæ. She wrote upon the face of a mountain, the words:

“The Staff of the Garak shall Splinter,
The Land of Latapas shall Die,
The Rule of my Children shall Hold there,
And All of the Nations shall Fall.”

And Tæ saw the Prophecy of Xtchlt, *and he was displeased. But there was nothing he could do. Therefore he uttered a command to the Three, to delay the prophecy of Xtchlt for as long as possible.


<> * * * * * *<6> * * * * * *<>

And the Three were loyal, and over 3,000 years they toiled.
And the lampadic lords came and went, and the city of Latapas’Kol grew. And on Aerak 1 Monday, 3954 KT, The Three awakened their creation: Halles. And Halles saw the creations of Tæ, And created his own, that looked like unto his image, but thought like only unto themselves. And he called them Man. And Men bred fast like the boar, and were strong like the horse. *And they descended in many places.
The Men of the North were pale and blond, and they lived in houses of thick wood, with thatch roofs, insulated with shredded wood. The men wore trousers of hide, a hide shirt, and a woolen leather overcoat that covered their entire body. The women wore *a hide skirt, a jacket, and the same type of overcoat. The warriors of the northern men were armed with bronze axes and swords, and wore armor of thick leather.
The Men of the South had dark skin and black hair, and lived in tents on islands to the south. They wore white robes, both men and women. Their warriors wore white cloth from head to toe, wrapped up in cloth strips that flaped in the wind. They were armed with bronze short swords and daggers, which they threw with great accuracy. They moved from island to island in dugout canoes, growing cotton.
The Men of the East were pale like the northern men, but lived in stone houses in the mountains, and wore robes of cotton or silk, which they discovered themselves. Their warriors were armored in wooden plates, and armed with extremely sharp iron swords; iron that they mined themselves.
The Men in between were a mix of these arch-tribes, and were the first to be noticed by the current lord of Latapas’kol, Achelt’al Latapas.
When lord Latapas first heard of the race of Men, he was scornful and thought them weak. So he sent a party of sorcerers to conquer them. And the sorcerers flew over the red sands where demons and untold horrors dwelt, to a plain of green grass, dotted by houses of stone. And the men there were numerous, and strong, armed with bronze swords and wooden shields. And they landed their skycraft, and the men approached, with swords drawn. One man, standing on a cart, spoke to them in a language they did not know: “Kral Srak Atajet?” *The sorcerers remained silent. Then, in the demonic tongue, he said: “Lidikaliktiqinivix?” *The sorcerers shook their heads. Then, in the lampadic tongue, he said: “Do You Speak Lampadic?” The sorcerers nodded.
The man seemed happy, and said: “Welcome to the realm of Ataje!” He then said: “What reason have the distant lampades to come here? What is it you want?” The sorcerers replied, regretfully: “The heir of the Garak orders you to be a part of our empire, to follow our laws, and to bow down only to him.” The man laughed, and said: “He thinks HE *has the right to command me, Aaron the Wind-lord, Warrior of the plains? Well he is wrong, O foul sorcerers. Wrong!”
The sorcerers came back to Latapas’kol with the message, and lord Latapas was not pleased. He looked upon the Garakalin, and found a spell of death, and made plans to smite the Kachlitae, as Men were called. But his sister, Naru’al, begged him not to, to instead fight fairly, and with honor, to send an army, not instant death. And lord Latapas waned, and did her will. *He sent 200 sorcerers to conquer them. The sorcerer descended once more to the grassland. They surrounded two villages, one of the tribe known as Elives, the other the home of Aaron the Windlord. The commander of the sorcerers, Firik’vel Hiarkni came within the walls peacefully, and challenged Aaron to a duel. Aaron accepted, and then, his skin grew white, and his eyes glowed and he said, “You have come with Gar Kol Scitae, which is granted by Tae. Whereas I am armed with magic given to me by the Aerakir!” With every word, he rose into the air, his skin now scales, his hands now claws. The sorcerers below were struck with fear. But Firik now rose, his hands crackling with blue lightning. “I shall make you as nothing,” he *said, “for you are nothing. Compared to the advanced civilization of the Lampades, you are but a band of primitive cavemen!” Aaron said a few syllables in Draconic, and a burst of steam came forth from his hand, scalding Firik, and freezing the air as it evaporated. Firik fell inside a block of ice, and shattered with it as it struck the ground. The sorcerers took this as a sign to attack, and fired blue lightning at the Wind-lord. But Aaron created puffs of steam, which absorbed the lightning and fired it again towards the sorcerers. The tribesmen now thought to use their bows, and the sorcerers were now the targets of a hail of heatstone-tipped arrows. Aaron used the distraction to summon three Aerakir, white dragons which soon killed many sorcerers, being immune to the lightning.
And so, the battle of the Great Plain was won. Only 19 sorcerers returned to Latapas’kol, and lord latapas was infuriated. He looked upon Garakalin once more, and devised a rocket, a magical artifact that would destroy both the Men and their land, through sound and fury, light and heat. The rocket was a cylinder, filled with alchemical substances, scrolls, and heatstone. When activated, it would soar into the air, then fall with precision, to destroy Men and their homeland utterly. The construction had only just begun on Aguk 3 Taesday 3954 KT, when an alarm was sounded at the northeast gate of Latapas’kol. Five armies of Men, each with their own lord, each of 100,000 men, stood before latapas kol. The lords stood tall: Aaron the Wind-lord, Celesta the Lake-lady, Ordus the Stone-crusher, Delia the Green lady, and Tarkus the Storm-lord. Lord Latapas saw the armies, and was afraid. He sent a diplomat to converse with the druidic lords. He came back without his head, but with a message: “Give us each a crystal from the Garak’s shattered soul, and we will spare your city.” Lord Latapas again was displeased, but saw that no amount of spells could destroy an army like the one before the city, without destroying Latapas’kol. So he took five gems from the staff of he Garak, and sent one to each of the Druidic Lords. The Lords were satisfied, and retreated to the Great Plains.
Xtchlt saw that the Men were numerous, and strong. She peered into the depths of the void, and saw they would be her undoing. She knew she should save her progeny. She took out her own eye, and placed it in the sky, as a dark moon, ever watching the happenings below. And her greatest progeny, the Xtchlx, dwelt there.
In Latapas’kol, Lord Latapas saw that the Druids had retreated to the great plains. And he saw that now he could destroy the Men forever. He began to prepare his device of destruction. For seven days he toiled, and then on the last day, he placed the device on the roof of the tallest tower in latapas’kol, and placed one of the crystals of the Garak in the center of the device, to be a source of infinite power.
But Naru’al begged him once more not to use the weapon, but his mind was set. Naru’al sent word, secretly, to all the Druids of what was to come. None answered. On Aguk 4 Jadsday, Lord latapas fired his Weapon. As it took off, Naru’al grabbed hold of it, and it flew into the sky. 2 days later, the Device landed.


<> * * * <7> * * * <>

First, there was a flash of blue light, like unto a second sun, rising in its glory, northeast of Latapas’kol. Then, there was a roar like thunder a thousandfold. A great sphere of light appeared, growing larger with each second. By the fifth second, the globe had dissipated, and a crater one hundred miles across had formed, mountains around it. Then, a low, mournful cry was heard across the land.
But in a tiny village, at the center of the explosion, nothing was destroyed, not even one leaf on the ground ruffled. And the people of *the village saw that they had power unlike the lampades, but greater. And they saw that they could take revenge on the lampades for what they had done. Thus they swore an oath, by Tae, Halles and the Three, to avenge the fallen, and punish the guilty, and they renamed themselves the Cognoscites. So they used their power of their minds to fly to Latapas’kol.
And in Latapas’kol, Lord Latapas scried upon the Cognoscites. He saw their power; and so he decreed that the situation was no longer controllable: The horrors of Xtchlt were closing from the Eye; the humans of the South were attacking from the Sea, and the Aerakir were descending to punish the Lampades. “So the Lampades must flee”, he said, “Or we all shall perish”.
So the Lampades loaded their possessions onto boats, and fled upriver, beyond the northern wastes, to a far northern realm. The Cognoscites ruled their crater realm with an iron fist.
The other elder races soon followed, the Xtchlt, Nightfolk, Demons, and Unnamed Horrors disappearing to far-flung realms.


The End
[hr]
Well? What do you think?

HempRope
2006-09-13, 07:37 PM
I haven't read it. But... it's more of a rather short story, isn't it?

AmberVael
2006-09-13, 07:53 PM
Definately a short story. If not that, a novella. But this really isn't even in the right thread.
((Well, now it is))