Post by Sparrow on Sept 12, 2010 14:05:20 GMT -5
Recent History
Over 300 years have passed since the flight of Arrahna. There have been rumors of sighting of her, but no solid proof of her health or whereabouts. It is a sure thing that no one yet has managed to snatch her secret to extended life, but there is little more known of her at the moment
A new king has recently taken the throne, beating out the family that has sat in it for years and revolutionizing Lidae. At first he was a popular ruler, but as of late a desire for at least one of Arrahna’s orbs has begun to overtake him. It is rumored that he has hired out a Sohin assassin to find the hidden dragon and bring back an orb. With his mind focused there, his ruling has been faltering and unrest is growing again in Lidae. The race for Arrahna, with the possibility of the king also trying for her, has grown more deadly.
Despite political troubles, dragons are still laying their eggs on the public sands and new bonds are always forming between human and dragon. Wyverns on the southwestern border are still wreaking their usual havoc, and the sirens of the eastern coast still sing to draw in sailors and then laugh over their dooms. Farmers still farm, traders are still growing rich or losing their money over the smallest things. But amid all these regular bits of life still happening, the orbs of Arrahna have been forgotten by no one. There is still an air of anxiety throughout the realm of Lidae because of it.
Full History
Thousands of years ago, a human came upon an abandoned dragon egg. It, likely, had been left in a hurry as its parents ran from hunters- dragons were viewed as a danger then. Allan was about to smash the egg himself when it began to hatch. When the dragonet emerged, small and sweet, clumsy with its overlarge wings and new legs, it ran to him and spoke.
I am Luim.
As with many dragons, it was some time before Luim learned to say more, but a new era was begun. Allan was quick to discover new abilities he seemed to receive from his close relationship with Luim and dragons, suddenly, treated them both with reverence rather than aggressively. They immediately saw their chance for peace with humans, and weren’t going to miss out on it. Years passed, and Allan found himself hardly aging. When Luim was fourteen, she rose to mate and later laid a clutch of six eggs.
These she lay on the vast sand flats outside of Lidan, Lidae’s capital, and offered them as a peace treaty to humans. People were skeptical about it at first, even though it was followed by a lull in dragon encounters. When another female clutched on the sands outside Lidan, however, people grew more trusting. Only two of Luim’s eggs hatched, but it meant two more human and dragon bonds, and progress. More and more females began to lay their clutches on these sands, and more and more humans began to bond with the dragons.
The dragons, finding themselves at peace with Lidae, began to lay their eggs nowhere but. Surrounding areas, already weak from fighting dragons, were suddenly clear of them, but Lidae was suddenly a superpower as well. It began conquering surrounding areas and taking more and more land for itself. They seemed unstoppable.
Within fifty years, Lidae’s borders were bulging with new lands. But they were blocked by two other vast kingdoms, Alamd to the west and Bolk to the north. There was also the much smaller but still dangerous kingdom of Sohin, the mountain folk. None were realms with a recent history of war, but they were known to be powerful. They made a preemptive strike toward peace by sending ambassadors to Lidae, asking for peace and offering much in return. They didn’t fail to remind the people of Lidae that they had each already destroyed the dragon populations in their lands (possibly an overstatement, since by then most dragons had migrated to Lidae). Not wanting to take chances with their newfound strength, Lidae relaxed and its borders haven’t altered since.
Following the age of Dragon Wars, Lidae entered its age of Diety. A great goddess rose up among the people, a god of dragons and humans (although the dragons paid her little attention), and held power for a couple thousand years.
Over time, people began to grow skeptical of this god. The clerics, desperate, started to claim that the goddess would come down to Lidae as an embodiment of beauty, power, and endless life. It came as a great surprise to everyone when Arrahna appeared, with her life-bearing orbs, her skill with magic, and sleek, glowing beauty.
For hundreds of years, she, along with her bond, the sorceress Sari, was treated as a deity and took full advantage of the peoples’ belief. They became cool and glittering queens over Lidae, with everyone but the true king of the realm at their beck and call.
Skeptics, eventually, did begin to rise again. If Arrahna had the power to live forever, why did she never share it? When someone well-loved and important died, why did she not revive them? Arrahna seemed to care only for herself; she had never once done something for her devoted followers, even though she constantly drained them. Her life-giving power, it was well known, was held in the glowing orbs in her tail.
Why not take these from her?
If someone else were to steal one of the orbs, would he be treated as a god? Would he be invincible? One man, a deranged cleric trying to preach a new religion, decided to test this theory. One night, as Arrahna and Sari slept on their beds of treasure, he snuck in.
The dragon and human pair had grown overconfident during their reign. They slept with no protection. The cleric made short work of Sari and slit her throat as she slept. He didn’t realize this would wake Arrahna- into a vicious rage. But Sari’s sudden death left Arrahna confused and she battled ineffectively. The cleric managed to drive his sword through Arrahna’s throat as well, and then rushed to her tail to steal what he could before an orb activated and revived the dragon.
He cut through the flesh surrounding the fifth orb and was about to remove it from her completely when, with a blinding burst of light, it activated. Arrahna, her injuries closed but dark blood still caking her neck, rounded on him. This time she was in a much better state of mind, and killed the cleric swiftly.
Suddenly woken to a new life, however, Arrahna’s memory was temporarily lost. Confused and frightened, she fled the cave she had lived in for hundreds of years to recuperate somewhere private. The fifth orb hung, dim and cracked, from the end of her still injured tail.
The religion built around Arrahna crumbled soon after. People quickly found the bodies of Sari and the rogue cleric, as well as a few black, glass-like shards that had broken from the orb in Arrahna’s tail when its energy burst from it. It wasn’t long before the betrayal was well known throughout the land, but when Arrahna did not return, the knowledge backfired on the people that had followed her.
Without Arrahna lingering as solid evidence over them, the skeptics and preachers of other religions began to grow in prowess. People began to think that perhaps the cleric that had died had been right- perhaps they could steal the life in Arrahna’s orbs and use it for themselves.
The hunt was on. Some were ambitious men and women longing for that extra life and power, others were people fearing for Arrahna or the levels of power on Lidae and hunting for her in hopes of protecting her. Civil turmoil hovered in their wake. For centuries Lidae’s organization had been based around one religion, this one dragon. Although there was still a king ruling and dragons and humans keeping guard over the country, people were growing skeptical or tired of them as well.
All was trouble caused by five small, magic orbs: the orbs of Arrahna.
Over 300 years have passed since the flight of Arrahna. There have been rumors of sighting of her, but no solid proof of her health or whereabouts. It is a sure thing that no one yet has managed to snatch her secret to extended life, but there is little more known of her at the moment
A new king has recently taken the throne, beating out the family that has sat in it for years and revolutionizing Lidae. At first he was a popular ruler, but as of late a desire for at least one of Arrahna’s orbs has begun to overtake him. It is rumored that he has hired out a Sohin assassin to find the hidden dragon and bring back an orb. With his mind focused there, his ruling has been faltering and unrest is growing again in Lidae. The race for Arrahna, with the possibility of the king also trying for her, has grown more deadly.
Despite political troubles, dragons are still laying their eggs on the public sands and new bonds are always forming between human and dragon. Wyverns on the southwestern border are still wreaking their usual havoc, and the sirens of the eastern coast still sing to draw in sailors and then laugh over their dooms. Farmers still farm, traders are still growing rich or losing their money over the smallest things. But amid all these regular bits of life still happening, the orbs of Arrahna have been forgotten by no one. There is still an air of anxiety throughout the realm of Lidae because of it.
Full History
Thousands of years ago, a human came upon an abandoned dragon egg. It, likely, had been left in a hurry as its parents ran from hunters- dragons were viewed as a danger then. Allan was about to smash the egg himself when it began to hatch. When the dragonet emerged, small and sweet, clumsy with its overlarge wings and new legs, it ran to him and spoke.
I am Luim.
As with many dragons, it was some time before Luim learned to say more, but a new era was begun. Allan was quick to discover new abilities he seemed to receive from his close relationship with Luim and dragons, suddenly, treated them both with reverence rather than aggressively. They immediately saw their chance for peace with humans, and weren’t going to miss out on it. Years passed, and Allan found himself hardly aging. When Luim was fourteen, she rose to mate and later laid a clutch of six eggs.
These she lay on the vast sand flats outside of Lidan, Lidae’s capital, and offered them as a peace treaty to humans. People were skeptical about it at first, even though it was followed by a lull in dragon encounters. When another female clutched on the sands outside Lidan, however, people grew more trusting. Only two of Luim’s eggs hatched, but it meant two more human and dragon bonds, and progress. More and more females began to lay their clutches on these sands, and more and more humans began to bond with the dragons.
The dragons, finding themselves at peace with Lidae, began to lay their eggs nowhere but. Surrounding areas, already weak from fighting dragons, were suddenly clear of them, but Lidae was suddenly a superpower as well. It began conquering surrounding areas and taking more and more land for itself. They seemed unstoppable.
Within fifty years, Lidae’s borders were bulging with new lands. But they were blocked by two other vast kingdoms, Alamd to the west and Bolk to the north. There was also the much smaller but still dangerous kingdom of Sohin, the mountain folk. None were realms with a recent history of war, but they were known to be powerful. They made a preemptive strike toward peace by sending ambassadors to Lidae, asking for peace and offering much in return. They didn’t fail to remind the people of Lidae that they had each already destroyed the dragon populations in their lands (possibly an overstatement, since by then most dragons had migrated to Lidae). Not wanting to take chances with their newfound strength, Lidae relaxed and its borders haven’t altered since.
Following the age of Dragon Wars, Lidae entered its age of Diety. A great goddess rose up among the people, a god of dragons and humans (although the dragons paid her little attention), and held power for a couple thousand years.
Over time, people began to grow skeptical of this god. The clerics, desperate, started to claim that the goddess would come down to Lidae as an embodiment of beauty, power, and endless life. It came as a great surprise to everyone when Arrahna appeared, with her life-bearing orbs, her skill with magic, and sleek, glowing beauty.
For hundreds of years, she, along with her bond, the sorceress Sari, was treated as a deity and took full advantage of the peoples’ belief. They became cool and glittering queens over Lidae, with everyone but the true king of the realm at their beck and call.
Skeptics, eventually, did begin to rise again. If Arrahna had the power to live forever, why did she never share it? When someone well-loved and important died, why did she not revive them? Arrahna seemed to care only for herself; she had never once done something for her devoted followers, even though she constantly drained them. Her life-giving power, it was well known, was held in the glowing orbs in her tail.
Why not take these from her?
If someone else were to steal one of the orbs, would he be treated as a god? Would he be invincible? One man, a deranged cleric trying to preach a new religion, decided to test this theory. One night, as Arrahna and Sari slept on their beds of treasure, he snuck in.
The dragon and human pair had grown overconfident during their reign. They slept with no protection. The cleric made short work of Sari and slit her throat as she slept. He didn’t realize this would wake Arrahna- into a vicious rage. But Sari’s sudden death left Arrahna confused and she battled ineffectively. The cleric managed to drive his sword through Arrahna’s throat as well, and then rushed to her tail to steal what he could before an orb activated and revived the dragon.
He cut through the flesh surrounding the fifth orb and was about to remove it from her completely when, with a blinding burst of light, it activated. Arrahna, her injuries closed but dark blood still caking her neck, rounded on him. This time she was in a much better state of mind, and killed the cleric swiftly.
Suddenly woken to a new life, however, Arrahna’s memory was temporarily lost. Confused and frightened, she fled the cave she had lived in for hundreds of years to recuperate somewhere private. The fifth orb hung, dim and cracked, from the end of her still injured tail.
The religion built around Arrahna crumbled soon after. People quickly found the bodies of Sari and the rogue cleric, as well as a few black, glass-like shards that had broken from the orb in Arrahna’s tail when its energy burst from it. It wasn’t long before the betrayal was well known throughout the land, but when Arrahna did not return, the knowledge backfired on the people that had followed her.
Without Arrahna lingering as solid evidence over them, the skeptics and preachers of other religions began to grow in prowess. People began to think that perhaps the cleric that had died had been right- perhaps they could steal the life in Arrahna’s orbs and use it for themselves.
The hunt was on. Some were ambitious men and women longing for that extra life and power, others were people fearing for Arrahna or the levels of power on Lidae and hunting for her in hopes of protecting her. Civil turmoil hovered in their wake. For centuries Lidae’s organization had been based around one religion, this one dragon. Although there was still a king ruling and dragons and humans keeping guard over the country, people were growing skeptical or tired of them as well.
All was trouble caused by five small, magic orbs: the orbs of Arrahna.