The Archivist "I cannot teach you to work the runes, that is beyond the scope of my abilities." "I can, though, teach you the history behind them." "This one." "Hundreds of years ago, the world was torn apart by the forces of Heaven and Hell.The sky rained fire and vengeance, and the earth spewed forth demons and devils both. I suspect you remember that from your lessons. "In the years that followed, war raged. Angel slaughtered devil, devil slaughtered angel, and while they were not, each turned their wrath on man and beast alike. Eventually they had slain enough, the devils became bored, and the angels wondered why they had not been recalled. They looked for answers from their superiors, but none came. The devils could make no further contact with Hell, and angels were denied their return to the Heavens. Those that came to Earth for the glory of their heritage found themselves abandoned, stranded, cut off from their place of origin. "The early devils, being a worldlier sort, took to a life devoid of infernal command easiest. They began to settle here. Build lives for themselves. The Archdevils built great castles and cities, turned themselves into Kings. The angels were not so happy. Rather than revelling in freedom, they felt betrayed. A life of service to the Gods they once knew could not be parted with so easily. "Of course, you know all this, yes? I will skip through to the matter at hand." "In the days after the fall, the devil Eligos and the angel Azariah fell afoul of each other. Both were explorers, wandering the scorched earth, revealing the sites that would become sacred to their kind. They fought for possession of these sites, continually engaging in bloody skirmishes and guerilla warfare. Months passed, and each expedition grew weaker every day as they lost men to the other side. Eventually Eligos and his winged steed were the only fiends remaining, and Azariah the only archon." "In time, both became restless with this constant fighting. Eligos searched for a goat with pale fur, as a symbol of his goodwill. Taming it, and tying a missive to its neck, he sent the animal to Azariah's camp. Azariah slew the goat, eating of its flesh and sacrificing the organs to his god in another vain attempt to contact the Heavens. He then read Eligos' message, which presented his challenge to Azariah. The two would race across the known world, planting stone tokens as they went to track their passage. They met the next night, and toiled a week to create their markers. In Azariah's pride, he fashioned stones that would grow into monuments, places of pilgrimage that would bring glory to his god and kin." "This is my favourite part. Eligos presented to Azariah with arrogance when they were to begin. He offered the Angel a day to begin his journey before the devil would depart, wagering that the Steed of Abigor could carry him faster than the Azariah's angelic wings. Azariah merely laughed at Eligos, damning him to failure. And so they raced. "You see, Azariah set the creature as the guardian of the stones, but it was Eligos that changed its nature. The lamb that was meant to be a guide for pilgrims was transformed into a guide to the Earth. Eligos gave us the gift of far-travelling, though we require a guide to utilise it. The stones in the hills above Sennica cannot be travelled from, as they possess no guide. Our nearest guide sits upon Mount Kamus, the beast known as Thunder. It is only by his permission that one can travel through the paths within."
May 22nd, 2015, 11:53 AM
