A New History Begins

[Takashi]

Beginnings of a Civilization

In the time before the masses arrived, when the new lands were still largely undiscovered, the pioneers of the new lands swept across the world and began the long and arduous process of rebuilding their civilizations. Everything was new in the lands in those days, and things were always changing. These dedicated souls documented these changes, they watched their new lands take shape. They witnessed the birth of many of the creatures of the lands, and the eldest of the souls even helped in discovering the other climates. The mystic Zorai were the first to develop a home in the new environments, clinging to the jungles where they could remain in their solitary depths. The sturdy Fyros found their lands next in the harsh and unforgiving climes of the desert. After a short while, the proud and noble Matis people set up their camps and began to rebuild their cities in the majestic forests. Only a short time after the other three races had set up their new foundations did the Trykers begin to arrive from the old realms. By this time, though, the numbers had been cut off. The populations of the towns were small at first, but more came in every day. At this time the Kami and the Karavan had to choose who they would allow into the new lands. They could only afford to keep the most dedicated and diligent homins protected in the new lands while they began to rebuild the homin’s place in the world, and make it safe for the rest of the homin refugees.

As the new cities began to take shape, and the select groups of homins began to form their communities, more and more homins were permitted to join the newfound societies until eventually, through the hard work of the Elders of Atys and the Karavan and Kami powers, the lands were made safe and suitable for a limitless influx of refugees. The Elders had laid the way to the refugee lands, and had created a semblance of a government to tend to the cities of the mainland. They then submitted themselves to the will of Jena or the Kami as your faith may demand, and restarted their journeys as refugees.



The Third Generation

And then, so it was that the lives of the new wave of refugees began. It was the third generation on these new lands. The wisdom of the old lands had been partially preserved, while the sages of the lands worked constantly to find and derive other wisdom from the pieces they had salvaged. Again the newcomers trickled in, slowly filling out the towns, filling up the merchant’s stores, and keeping the trainers of the lands with their hands full.

To welcome the newcomers to the newfound lands, speakers arose from the populace, took journey to the refugee isle, and greeted the homins. Elethar, the Matis, was a self claimed noble of the new lands. Although of no legitimate noble descent, his presence in Verdant Heights was beneficial enough to dissuade any Matis from contesting his claim. Che-Lai, the Zorai warrior spoke her mind to the Zorai refugees. She claims no birthright and swears no blind allegiance. After the slaughter of her family, and her surprising rescue by a Fyros warrior, she dedicated herself to the defense of all hominkind. Mynias the Watcher spoke to the Fyros newcomers. He welcomed them with harsh words demanding persistent preparation. He keeps constant vigil over the movement of the kitin hordes, and has dedicated himself to warning the homins in the case of an impending attack. Finally there is Mac’kloud. The Tryker hero of the greatest sort, a jovial homin if ‘ere there was one, whether staring down a kincher, or the bottom of a mug. He can be serious when the need arises, but he is too much a Tryker to take himself too seriously too often.

Soon after the newcomers acclimated to the new lands, there was word of kitin movement in the roots. It was known that the kitin had followed the homin exodus and were now stalking in the roots of the new lands, but to this time, no kitin action had been observed. Although many an unlucky homin had met an ill fate at their claws in the roots of Atys, the kitin had yet to surface in the new lands. The time of peace had ended, as the kitin renewed their war against hominkind. In a show of sheer strength the first attack landed in Verdant Heights, Matis territory. The vile creatures in short time sacked the three subsidiary towns of the Matis, even daring so much as to strike at Yrkanis. Although the assault on Yrkanis was easily pushed back, it took time and many lives to force the kitin out of the other towns. Dozens of Matis gathered their arms, and set out against the invading forces. It was a great show of the power of cooperation as the homins slowly retook their grounds. As some of the homins fought valiantly to reclaim their lost towns, others stayed in the wilds, cleaving the kitin patrols that would halt the passage of homins through the area. Thus the battle raged, the kitin Captains devouring whole groups of homin, but the persistent homin coming back over again until their work was finished. Finally they found the leader of the invading force, protected by numerous defenders. It is unknown this day how many homins it took to overcome that monstrous thing, but the majestic cities bear evidence of the triumph that day. The weary homins trudged home, picking the kitin corpses clean as they went. They had proven themselves in the one place that truly mattered, the field of battle, in defense of their lands.

Time wore on, and as the memory of the kitin’s attack on Matis faded, the trials of daily life became the primary concern of most homin. There were constantly new threats found, from the carnivores of the lands, to the bad seeds of homin kind. A sorcerer named Oba appeared, of Zorai lineage, but whose disposition reflected nothing of his people. He maliciously kidnapped a Tryker ambassador and threatened death, were his demands not met. Although taken quite seriously, nobody was sure where to begin. No instructions were left, nor were any demands placed. Oba seemed to have simply disappeared. Nobody is quite sure where he may have vanished to, but his ransom, the Tryker ambassador, was discovered alive and well in the Nexus waiting desperately for rescue. He had no clues to give as to the whereabouts of Oba, although he is presumed to be alive since no information has been discovered proving one way or the other.

As the once feared name of Oba became more of a standing joke among the homins, more worries arose in the Fyros lands. These were far more disturbing than the ill-planned antics of one dark homin. The tribe of the Leviers, known well for their stalwart defense of the Fyros people, were attacked by a group of seemingly intelligent Frahar. The frahar, with their superior numbers and their vicious dogs of war decimated the Levier defenses and kidnapped several of their nobles. Who was directing this invasion and abduction is unknown, although speculation was rampant. Claims ranged from accusations of Oba being the ringleader, to a peculiar notion that somehow the kitin’s were responsible. These speculations all turned out to be unfounded, although the true director of this attack was never discovered, no real evidence has been found to support any of these claims. Shortly after word got out that the Levier camp had been sacked, the homins of Fyros and Zorai lands quickly responded. The nobles were being held in five separate camps around the Fyros desert. These camps were heavily defended with the gingos who were somehow tamed by these intelligent frahar. After a valiant battle the cooperative forces of the Fyros and the Zorai freed the captives of all five camps. They received confirmation that there was a directing force hiding out nearby. There were continuing waves of attacks, and there would be no end while the leader remained at large. After the final camp was freed, the homins regrouped their warriors. They mustered every ounce of remaining courage, strength, and will, and they set off. It was not long before they received word of the whereabouts of the raiding leader. Immediately, the teams set their course for the reported location of the Frahar boss. As they approached, they caught sight of the defenders of the boss’s camp. They could not yet see the leader himself, but his minions began to swarm over the homins. Before long the homin forces stood eye to eye with the leader himself. His defenders dead, and his raids foiled, you could see the desperation in his intelligent eyes. That is, at least, until he was slain by the protectors of fyros and the whole ordeal was finally closed.

Shortly after these happenings, a summit was called by Mynias the Watcher. He asked that the guilds of Atys send representatives for a discussion on the impending kitin assaults. Although Mynias himself keeps a close eye on the kitin movement, they somehow eluded his eyes when advancing on the Matis cities. Feeling somewhat at fault for their lack of warning, Mynias made a pledge to be ever vigilant in keeping watch, and to ensure the Homins of Atys time to prepare in the case of another attack. After Mynias delivered a rousing speech to the attendees of the summit, a man in the shadows, his name Mournblade, stepped forward, and cut Mynias down. He was heard shouting “We are doom, and Atys shall bleed” as he made his escape. The homins gathered near the stage, where Mynias was speaking, immediately revived him. While Mynias, dazed by the strike, and poisoned by the blade spoke his last words of the summit, a small band of Homins chased Mournblade through the streets of Pyr. They did not find him, however, as he had seemingly vanished. Meanwhile, Mynias collapsed again, this time he was whisked away for healing that only the Kami could provide. The talks continued in his absence, and although some left shortly, many homins stayed to discuss the goings on, the appearance of Mournblade and the Harbingers of Doom, and the kitin threat which still hung heavy over the heads of all.

Soon after the Pyr Summit did the primitives of the Tryker and Zorai lands become agitated. They began to stir trouble for the residents of those lands, when they invaded the outlying territories in an attempt to claim those regions for themselves. We know now that there were two groups of the primitives, the cutes and gibbai had taken to cooperation, but there were a great many who had been infested with the Goo. It was the Goo infested primitives who had attempted to take over the lands. The remaining, untainted, were hiding in the Roots of Atys, where they waited for help. They held information for the homins when they arrived, this time it was only the forces of the Kami that made it to the end. What they told the faithful was shocking news that the Karavan was in fact responsible for the infestation of these poor creatures. Now, as a direct result of the Karavan’s carelessness with the natural order, hundreds of Cute and Gibbai had been slaughtered in defense of an otherwise uncontested region. In addition to this terror, it is also apparent now that some of the tribes have learned to manipulate the Goo, as was taught to them by the Karavan. Although the trouble is over for now, the lingering threat will be felt until the Goo is fully cleared away.

The nights passed on and the tensions between the Kami and the Karavan grew. Rumors of conflict floated in the breeze around Atys, as the followers of each faith readied themselves to answer any call of the masters of their faith. It was not long before the Kami and Karavan called their servants to arms to claim a relic in the nexus. It was claimed that it was recently discovered there, and that the kitin had taken a liking to it. The kitin had a camp set around the artifact for defense, as well as other forward camps which they were using to send waves of creatures against the Kami and Karavan forces already present. It was the homin’s call to go to the nexus and defend the existing camps from the onslaught, overtake the kitin’s own aggressive camp, and finally claim the artifact. To do this, of course, they would have to destroy the main kitin camp and battle toe to toe with the boss of the nest. The Karavan forces prevailed on the field and claimed the artifact, so that the Karavan might study it and find out why it had such an effect on the kitin. Why it attracted them so strongly, and perhaps, how it could be used in the war against them. It was discovered that the artifact itself was a Kami creation. Why they would create such a device has yet to be discovered, but it is most surely the handiwork of the Kami. read more…

The Kami’s loss of the artifact to the Karavan further stimulated the conflict between the groups. And so it was decided that to prevent another homin war, there would be zones of conflict where the followers of the two sects could conduct their battles of faith, keeping the fighting off of the lands of those homins who preferred a peaceful resolution to their differences.

With these changes, many homin were disheartened by the state of their world. Most had hoped that these differences could be set aside and the true enemy of all homins, the kitin, could finally be defeated. With this confusion in the air the Harbingers of Doom resurfaced in Matis lands, bringing with them sheer chaos. After the quick defeat of a lower member of the Harbingers of Doom, one of their officers appeared to reprimand and ridicule the Matis for their policies of cooperation. Claiming that the Matis alone had the strength and will to rule Atys, Mournblade demonstrated his position when, with 3 other Harbingers, they slaughtered the Green Seed tribesmen. Citing the Tryker involvement with the Green Seed, and boasting wild allegations of a Tryker plot to enslave the Matis people, the small pack of Harbingers laid waste to the Green Seed encampment. They were quickly confronted, first by only a few, but as time passed, more and more began to arrive until the Harbingers were but 4 trees in a forest of homin. Totally outnumbered, the Harbingers finally saw their only chance of victory in a ‘fair fight’ against a limited group of the homin’s boldest warriors, and most devout healers. Along the way, the Harbingers picked up two recruits from the Zorai people who served as healers in the battle. The Harbingers were entirely unprepared for what came inside the Matis Arena that night, as the champions of Matis fought valiantly, and thanks to the powerful magic of their healers, they were able to dominate the Arena, killing all but one of the Harbingers, who quickly vanished having seen his comrades fall.


The kitin took the loss of the artifact as a serious sign of aggression, and even as we go about our daily routines, they are preparing an attack. Mynias the Watcher saw these warning signs, and made haste to warn the homins of the impending strike. Applauding the first defeat of a Harbinger of Doom, and celebrating the solidarity shown by the homins on that day, he issued his warning. Perhaps he was too eager to send out this warning, as the attack did not come for some time, and with the delay, many homin had already forgotten his warning.

The kitin, in what seemed to be retaliation for their defeat in the Nexus, sent soldiers and patrols to all four lands. They were clearing the way for an encampment, which they would form later, and would, if successful, be used to launch attacks on the homin cities. The homins of the lands wasted no time in setting up camps to try to isolate the kitin infested areas. There were some raids on the Fyros camps early in the week, but as the week drug on, and the homins made preparations for the coming battle, no further incidents occurred. At last, the kitin sent their leaders to the surface to control the kitin soldiers, and defend the kitin camps. This was the catalyst for the homin assault on these bases. Spurred by threats of coming attacks, unless these camps were destroyed, the homin set out. In what seemed an endless struggle, the homin lay waste to the kitin camp, and made carcasses of the kitin leaders.

Such is the beginning of the new history of hominkind. Where the old lore and legend are lost, new legends are born, and lore is spun for the tales of future generations.

[raynes]

Such is the beginning of the new history of hominkind. Where the old lore and legend are lost, new legends are born, and lore is spun for the tales of future generations.

So does this mean that the actions taken by the players will now start forming the history of the game? That our attackes on tribes will actually start to mean something? Please tell me that's the case.

[ackir]

Nice summary, Takashi.

Coupla things... isn't "Oba" also the name of the boss Yubo in Majestic Gardens? Also, none of the linked information says anything about the Nexus artifact being of Kami design. Lastly, do you know which Harbinger survived? You report on that event says that they were all defeated, but all vanished. Might be nitpicking, but maybe these details are important...

[brackish]

Coupla things... isn't "Oba" also the name of the boss Yubo in Majestic Gardens?

Think you mean "Ora".

Yes, thanks for the summary, its puts it in better perspective of how things have gone since our arrival to the mainlands. Lets hope the future stories such as this show how much we have learned about our past and what the true goals of the Kami and Karavan really are.