Complied by Werner Keplin
The History of the People of Narria has been a topic causing great and heated debate throughout religious, arcane, and academic societies for as along as there has been a Narria. Such debate has become so intense that it has sparked conflict among civil authorities and religious society. One such time was the attempted extermination of the Church of Tarkahnnan by Emperor Phillip. Great effort and resources have been expended to discover the true nature of humanity’s history on Narria.
Over the next few sessions I will endeavor to pass on an understanding of the Narrian culture as seen by the original Narrians, those who are commonly known as “The Mountain Folk”, the elves, the orcs, and the dwarves. I have spent considerable time in my long career speaking and living with the peoples of Narria piecing together legend with fact and folk tale with truth. What I have produced I believe to be an accurate and detailed history not only of Narria, but of Iridor.
Part I
The Coming of the Celestials, the Summoning, and the Great Creation
From the Elven Scriptures of Ce-Lai:
“From the Never Ending Nothing they came. Brother and sister; one loving and loved, the other bent on control and understanding (the word “understanding” is the closest translation to human standard). Whirling around in the Nothing, Brother and Sister were lonely and longed for company and children. The decision was made and the selfs were taken. Sister becomes Mistress and Brother becomes Master. Ce-Lai and Sidrael looked upon the Great Nothing with purpose.”
Though much of Narrian culture preaches the Skylord bore forth from the darkness followed closely by Lord Tarkahnnan & Auros, it has been overall discovered that this is a human conceit. Ce-Lai and Sidrael were two beings of immense power traveling through the void beyond who decided to tackle the great task of creation. Taking on their current aspects of Light and Darkness, the siblings called out into the void summoning to them what they would need to create a home for the children that Ce-Lai desired and the Empire that Sidrael desired.
The first to arrive was a gentle being who eagerly agreed to aid the siblings. She spread her essence over the void and allowed herself to become material. Her great body formed a world. Try as they might, the siblings and the Earth Mother could not create life.
The second to arrive was a fiery, excitable man who looked down and seemingly knew something of the undertaking. He said that life needed blood, it needed a warmth to be carried upon that blood and without it the world would remain a dead rock in the void. He sent his spirit down and coursed through the bones of the Mother and warmed her flesh with his liquid fire. But still, no life would take root.
The third to arrive was an ever-changing spirit. She said that life could not exist without change and without water nothing would ever grow. Her spirit flowed into the empty places and deep places of the world. Clean water filled those holes and rivers flowed into seas and seas into the great places in between the Mother’s Features. Rudimentary life sprang in those seas and plants began, but nothing would take true hold.
The fourth spirit arrives. He was blustery and proud of himself. A braggart among the elements he said nothing other than giving the assembled a smug smile. He breathed upon the world and the sky filled with clouds and breezes. The world let out a sigh to the heavens and Ce-Lai knew then, that life was possible.
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Part II
The Lord of Night, The Firstborn and the Dwellers of the Deep Places
From the Elven Scriptures of Ce-Lai:
“The assembled host looked upon their creation and counseled on who would create the Firstborn. A patch of the void began to move closer. A massive being silently approached the assembled and in a voice that chilled even the Lord of Fire said, ‘I have looked upon what you have done. You need me. Nothing will thrive on your world with a clear view of the true void. I will give the world a shroud to protect it and teach your children the skills needed for mortal beings to survive. I will provide them with the Hunt. And thus, Lord Tarkahnnan shrouded the world with his night and his host settled upon Iridor.”
Ce-Lai, now taking on the mantle of Goddess of Light and Life, won the bid to create the First Born. She created a delicate race; celebrants of the nature around them and the divinity that spawned them. This race was extremely long-lived and were attuned to the aura of creation that permeated the virginal world. Under the tutelage of several of the gods they did indeed learn what it took to survive in the world, which was thus far a wintry tundra.
During the immeasurable stretch of time, little did the elves know that a race of beings lived under them. Born of the Earth Mother, a race of people perfect for living in the dark places within the bosom of the Earth Mother had already begun their considerable civilization. Long-lived, but not so long as the elves, the race called themselves the Dwellers of the Deep Places, or “Dwarves” in the human standard. As the elves dwelt upon the forested surface the dwarves made their home in endless caverns and built great underground cathedrals, fortresses, and sprawling cities of stone under the elves feet.
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Part III
The First Dawn & Tarkahnnan’s Curse and the Darkness Gains a New Light
From the Scripture of the Sun:
“During the warm nights, Auros would roam the forested paths of the world. In a land the elves called Wesmoor, Auros would often take elven form and linger with those he gazed upon by day.”
It is said that the light started as a pin prick among Lord Tarkahnnan’s sky. It grew and grew, brightening the sky from black and purple to a sky of whites and blues. Auros brought forth the sun to Iridor. As he stood among the growing family of gods he pointed to Iridor, saying that an endless night and endless winter was unfair to the mortal life on the surface. He petitioned Ce-Lai & Sidrael to give to him half of every turn of Iridor with which he would shine upon the surface. The great elements saw wisdom in the petition.
“With him, my warmth will be felt above as below,” The Fire Lord agreed. “With him, I shall bloom with life,” The Earth Mother agreed. “With him, my gift of the sky can be truly appreciated,” The Skylord spoke. The Water Lady spoke last, “Though his brilliance will dry my water, it gives me reason to return water to the world. He is the start of change and I stand by his petition.”
Lord Tarkahnnan was the voice of dissent. “And what of an eternal summer? Is that any better than an eternal winter?”
Sidrael voiced wisdom. “For half of every … day Auros will shine in the sky to be covered by you, Lord Tarkahnnan. For half of every … year he will bring growth, warmth, and summer only to surrender to you as Lord of Winter. He will shine in the winter sky, but his warmth will be distant. Cold shall reign in this time, and all will remember the name of Tarkahnnan in this time.”
Ce-Lai smiled radiantly, “And as there are four who make up the elements of life, there shall be four seasons and each shall govern one. Let it be set into motion.”
And so it was the first dawn broke and the elves gazed in wonder at this bright light in the sky, a gift of Auros and Ce-Lai. And on this day began the first spring, a gift of Auros and the Earth Mother. The snow and ice melted, the plants grew tall. And life did indeed bloom on Iridor.
Auros fell in love immediately with the elves upon the world’s surface. He would spend his nights walking among them and pretending to be one. A god in mortal form is subject to the whims of mortals and soon his love of the elven race turned into the love of one elf in particular.
Among the Wesmoorans were two sisters. From a young age the sisters had great understanding of the mysteries of the Aura around them. Born twins, that understanding was enhanced by their own connection to one another. Twins are rarer in the elven folk than even in the peoples yet to come. Celis, beloved of the god of the sun, reveled in the mysteries and knowledge she learned from the Aura and from her divine lover. Pymor, while equally as powerful (as power could be measured in those early days), held darker thoughts than her sister and reveled in the control the Aura gave her. She excelled in reshaping and controlling other life; animals and even her fellow elves.
Pymor saw Auros for what he truly was and her jealousy over the prestige of what her sister had grew more and more dangerous. One night, while she spied on the lovers, she resolved to usurp her sister in Auros’s arms the very next night. After listening to the lovers agree on their next meeting, she made her plans.
As Celis prepared to spirit herself off for her nightly rendezvous with Auros, Pymor struck. Rendering her sister unconscious, Pymor took Celis’s clothing and ran to the tryst herself, seducing an unsuspecting mortal Auros easily. The pair remained together through most of the night.
Celis awoke in the deepness of the night, still with no understanding of what was passing. She only knew she was late to meet her lover. The elf reached the clearing where she was to meet Auros and found Pymor, lying asleep in Auros’s arms. The cry of anguish shook the heavens.
Lord Tarkahnnan answered that anguish. Upon seeing the scene below him he could hold his distaste for Auros’s dalliances no longer. He accused Auros of lowering himself and acting far too base to deserve what had been granted to him. Tarkahnnan ripped Auros from the mortal plain and the two divine beings set to a fierce argument. The following day was wracked by strange storms and eclipses.
As the night approached, Tarkahnnan summoned his strength and in vengeance, for now he was Vengeance, slew Auros’s form and scattered him into the depths of the night sky. “There you will remain until your dawn. You shall forever be separated from mortals you love. Always to look upon them, but never to be with them.”
Tarkahnnan took the sisters before the others. “Grant them what the power of Auros has already stained them with, and they shall serve me and be kept from the Lord of the Day.”
Both Sidrael and Ce-Lai knew that Tarkahnnan was right and gave him what he wanted, but Ce-Lai gave it with a twist. The sisters themselves became goddesses, true, but they were now the great moons in the night sky, shining with the reflected light of Auros’s love. A reminder to both Auros & Tarkahnnan that while their power was indeed great, they must never again abuse it, endangering Iridor as they did with Auros’s dalliances and with Tarkahnnan’s mindless vengeance that could have caused untold disaster.
And thus, every night does Tarkahnnan slay Auros, shattering him into countless, powerless pieces. And thus, every morning does Auros rise again chasing Tarkahnnan’s shroud away. But never can he be with the mortals he loved to be among, nor especially the one who now lived within Tarkahnnan’s shroud whom he hurt so horribly with his recklessness.
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Part IV
Consistency and Change
Time was immeasurable during this age. Little happened among the Heavens or among the mortals of Iridor. A complacency settled over the children below. Ce-Lai looked on with growing dismay because this malaise threatened all the children of the gods. She called for answers and there was none. Her pleas were, however, answered.
On the heals of Auros and Tarkahnnan came something that resembled one of the elves below. “I shall give them purpose,” he said, “I will codify and bring order to the nothing. I will instruct them on what should be and when it should be. The great pendulum will swing with me, for I am Praeteus. I am Order. I am What Should Be.”
The gods readily gave their input to the newcomer who in turn gave divine inspiration to the mortals below. Order begat purpose and purpose begat action among the mortals. Thus Praeteus, Lord of Order began the swing of the Great Pendulum. Thus time as it is now measured began its endless spin. Working with the others, Praeteus brought together night, day, and the passage of seasons and assembled them into years.
Another arrived that moment as well. As often as not, he passed unnoticed at first. A flash of color heralded him and a flash of sound was his footprint. And he brought with him a word that many would come to dread. “We are Voioch” called a myriad of voices, “We are change. We are Chaos. We are fun.” Where Praeteus laid order, Voioch gave option. While Praeteus laid the groundwork for time and set the pendulum into motion, Voioch gave that movement meaning.
Many concepts were born upon Voioch’s heals. The races grew because of Voioch as much as any other god. They knew from Praeteus what was and what should be but Voioch taught them the invaluable lesson of What Could Be.
Voioch brought Change and Chaos as he promised. And our world has never been the same. Many blame Voioch for many of the horrors of our world and it is true he brought those; the worst of which was the concept of War. Though without him we would not have the animal of the field or the awe inspiring beauty as his chaos allows the elements to interact and change around each other. Voioch brought us tragedy and he brought us fun. Voioch also was the inspiration for one of the most important moments in our history.
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Part V
The Coming of Man
From the Book of the Sky
“Upon windswept hills and airy valleys the Skylord’s essence saw all. And he expelled a great breath and from the misty exhalation forms arose. With great sighs this new life looked upon the sky for the first time and gave thanks to their creator and he flowed around his beloved.”
The Skylord looked constantly upon the world and smiled, knowing that he was such a vital component in making Iridor work. Though in that smile there was a hint of thought. He watched the elves, the dwarves, and the orcs and wondered if he could do it as well. His thoughts were heard by none other than Voioch who one day stood next to the Skylord gazing down upon Iridor. Voioch said little but in the little he said the world would again be changed. “Isn’t it your turn?”
Man emerged from the forests and dales and valleys. Sheltered far away from the other races man looked upon the sky for the first time in the image of their creator. “Look upon this world,” the Skylord told them, “Look upon it and know that it is yours.”
The gods of Iridor looked upon these humans and all saw the potential for wonder and the potential for disaster. Ce-Lai looked upon them warily, knowing perhaps, what would come when they met the elves. The Earth Mother looked upon them with only the love that she could. Tarkahnnan saw their potential as did Auros. Both approved readily of the creation. Praeteus simply added them to the order of the world as Voioch clapped his approval loudly. Water and Fire shared Ce-Lai’s wariness, for they saw an ambition in the eyes of this new race, and they knew that man would stop at nothing to master their world. Celis saw what was to come but kept her secret to herself. Pymor, already rejoicing in the chaos of Voioch looked at the humans and wasted no time.
In order to help them grow as a race as rapidly as the others, the Skylord appeared before a chosen human and taught him the secret of the Aura. He appeared before another human and taught him the secret of artisanry. He taught them rapidly, as their lives were rapid, changing, and very short in comparison to the elves and dwarves. He encouraged them to study the words of Praeteus while worshipping only the Skylord so they’d know order and from order would come government. Humans bore children and spread rapidly and in a matter of years stretched over their home, which stretched over two great lands.
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Part VI
The Republic of Synn
From the Constitution of the Republic of Synn:
“We the People of the Continents of Synn do acknowledge and decree that all the peoples of Synn are one and as one we establish the Republic; a government of one made from all and for the benefit of all.”
Very little documents or artifacts remain from the days of the Republic of Synn. Whatever disaster befell the nation obliterated the majority of the records and writings of the time. What we know has been pieced together from the dwarves who first made contact with the humans approximately 1000 years ago when they came upon the Republic literally built above them shortly after it’s formation and from the elves of Narria who met with the humans via the dwarves.
Raelphos, the elven explorer and Hersud, a dwarven ambassador had the honor of the first real contact with the Republic of Synn. Raelphos was known to have said to the elders of his people that the Republic of Synn was a model for how a government should work. Hersud’s opinion was slightly dourer; however it was no less admiring of the humans’ progress and mastery of the forces around them. The first of the organized mage orders began to form at this time.
Humans began to explore the surrounding world. A group of explorers left for the Eastern Sea and additional settlers went west toward the elven continent. The few humans who landed there formed Orlyak with the elves permission while other settlers stopped at an island halfway between the two continents, calling it Atropos. The first trade lines between human, elf, and dwarf were promptly established. For 100 years these three prime races lived in a mutual prosperity until.
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Part VII
The Orcs
Amidst the chaos of the early days, even before the Skylord fell to the whim of Voioch in creation, the Fire Lord and Water Lady bore their children into the world. And like their parents, the orcs were a contrast. The orcs were fine examples of both gods and those in the high places served their father and those in the lower the mother. Their bestial nature was tempered by a tendency to form tribes and much of the early history of the gods was recorded mouth to mouth in the fierce wilds of Gorheim.
The Sundering
From recovered records of the
There is no man alive this day that knows the truth of that night. 950 years ago, a full half millennium before the birth of the Narrian Empire, the Republic of Synn fell when it’s beloved capital city ceased to exist in a grand explosion that could be seen throughout the southern continent. Recovered records place the explosion on Summont 19 in the year 1007. Comparing the calendars of Ancient Synn to the Narrian calendar would place this date on or around Pymor 23, 445 years prior to the formation of the Empire of Narria.