Medese un Torill

The scarring

Minerva was an enchantress who was known as a wandering power for the energy that flowed within her came from beyond the reach of Ada, possibly a remnant of a reality long dead. Upon entering the cosmos her energy dispersed and only after a few eons was she able to craft herself a new form, stripped of her memories and reshaped as a young Myrrian of Dathodas, becoming a Child of Light.

Another wandering power who had existed in the cosmos millions of years before the coming of Minerva was the being known as the Oracle of the Stars, considerable the most powerful being whose strength was rivalled only by Khazadhul.

Foreseeing many things to come the Oracle had shaped himself a form of physical flesh and was born anew into the cosmos, connecting himself to Ada as Minerva had done before him. He was of the people Kavatus, a Mysheek of Valores sister world Isis and on that hostile world he was a fortune teller and the son to a wealthy trapper. The Mysheek were the fourth born of the Divines, made from the blood of the Illustara and wild beasts.

His feline characteristic offered him many advanced skills and of these skills archery was his most notable. He offered himself as a knight to the Immortals and rose quickly through the ranks. He was initiated into the order at the age of twenty-six (most Kavatus lived for nearly three thousand years) and descended into the well of the Illustara. It was there he was gifted immortality by Ada and was anointed by the water that pooled before her flesh in the chamber carved out against the world's core. He was trained under the tutelage of the grand master Turmins, a boorish man from the land of Kor.

Minerva grew into a capable warrior and her delight was of the spear, both stave and bladed. She was a tall woman with flaming hair and piercing green eyes, her skin was alabaster and beneath all her regality and severe authority, she was tender in her wisdom. The two trained under Turmins and grew to be the closest of friends and even after all that would come to transpire their friendship would last, and even grow stronger, for such was the Oracles plan.

Now at the age of eight hundred and twenty two, Minerva was held in high respect amongst all the temple knights. She was deliberate in her guidance, taking on many as apprentices and of those under her teachings would come to be the greatest of the Immortals.

The events of the scarring began after she was sent on a mission off world alongside the Oracle and three of her other peers; Quilvan the singer, Ey'yiioe the sword dancer, and Tu the archer. It was a mission Illdaste deemed fit only for his most disciplined warriors for the issue at hand was shrouded in mystery, a veil none could pierce and so a physical investigation was led in order to uncover the truth of why a whole section of space could not be seen by the Divines, nor pierced by the sight of the Oracle.

The Myrrian ships they sailed cut through the darkness faster than light and so they arrived within hours to the silent world of PV-247, an iron rich world no larger than the stone moon of Valore. This planet with solitary and the only recorded life upon the dark grey world were those of the mining settlement. As the ship was brought down into the cargo bay, the Immortals remarked on how odd it was that they had not been greeted or welcomed. Illdaste knew not what had conspired, only that communications had been cut between the settlement and the communications hub in Alavosa. The group had wandered the unlit halls of the facility, weapons drawn, and as they passed through the main corridor that led from the central control to the elevators leading into the mining tunnels, Minerva had separated from the group. Hearing a strange whisper that called to her, she made her way to the mine while the others had gone to central command. She descended into the mines, drawing her spear and casting a ball of light to guide her way. Minerva had stalked through the mazing tunnels of rigid stone and thicks veins of ore, following the alien power that grew stronger as she drew closer.

Above, however, The four knights had made their way to the control room and had watched in horror the recorded security surveillance.

A Visilik had come into the reach, unbeknownst to Ada or the divines, and when Minerva had found it deep within the worlds core she froze in terror as she beheld the horror of Khazadhul. The Visilik was unlike any being that existed within the reach of Ada. It's body wreathed and coiled as living rot and was set ablaze with red flame that swayed about it like a cape caught in a breeze. It wore a shell of flashing light, malign, and of rainbow hues that fluctuated and twirled with sickening vigor. Minerva could not harm the flesh beneath the baleful shell and in retaliation of her sure-footed strike, the visilik had snaked around her and swallowed her whole.

Just as the four had come to her aid, it vanished with a single momentary flash of blinding light.

Minerva was spat out and she found herself beyond the reach of Ada. Such was her pain that it cannot be described in words for her from could not handle the absence of the physical laws of our reality. The chaos around her had torn her apart in every way and within a second she had experienced an eternity of pain as she beheld Khazahdul in his vile form, ineffably vast, and without logic. As the pain overtook her it forced that dormant power within her to awaken and as Khazadhul revelled in the torture of a child of light, Minerva became a flame, matched almost in equal to Ada. Her power burst forth and as Khazadhul became angered and sent his demons upon her she invoked her power and as took form again, more splendid and ethireal then before; Her skin became as white as moonlight, her eyes flaming emerald, and her hair living fire. She stretched her arm out before her and the light that spread out like sunbursts from her fingertips had forced the creatures back, yelping and whimpering. She stood even against Khazadhul, striking a fear into him he had never felt before.

The oracle had sailed back to Valore with a speed their ship could barely stand and as they landed in the temples ship bay they burst out and bolted through the vast halls to find Illdaste who sat in council with the other three divines. They had come to feel a strange presence within the reach and knew not how to take action as this presence was fleeting. They had not known of the Visilik and as the Oracle declared before them that Minerva was taken by this creature, the anger of the divines that day was terrible.

Nirrium had slipped away in secret and travelled to the edge of the cosmos while her siblings sat in council, devising what they should do. She took on a monsterous form and travelled beyond to face Khazadhul alone, hoping to rescue her child.

She stood before the edge of Ada's reach and with a heavy sigh had gone beyond into the chaos. The other three had come to notice their sisters absence and knew immediately where she had gone. Illdaste’s angered welled and Lauriel screamed out in fury, they had taken flight. Beyond the reach they had come to witness Minerva in her truest form as she fought with the help of Nirrium. They held their ground and the three had fought back the chaos long enough for Nirrium to bring a weakened Minerva back into the reach. When Minerva had awakened, knowing herself to be transcendent even to the divines, so too did the Oracle and he came to know all that was, all that is, and all the paths of the future, and such was his plan.

It was when Minerva was returned to the temple that the Oracle would stay at her side while she recovered in strength and the friendship between them hardened for he was beyond worry when she had been stolen away and, even though he knew now their parts in the coming future, he still cried out in joy when she had awakened from her deep slumber, embracing her with tears streaming down his face.

A seed of malice was planted within Minerva however and as she spent her days at the side of the Oracle the seed blossomed into a burning hatred. She came to see the cosmos in a new light. She had come to loathe the mother for what she had gone through, blaming her for all the evil that existed. The Oracle would quell her anger though with words of soft reassurance, but the peace of mind would last only for a short time. They would sleep together, travel together, and when she had regained all her strength they would lead missions together. As they trained in their skills of combat together the Oracle had come to notice a fierceness in her offenses, one she had not expressed before. She would counter his attacks instead of holding her defense, a tactic she rarely implemented as she opted to keep a passive style of fighting. She would growl and scream as she brought down heavy blows and strikes. She was a warrior now, not just a knight, hardened by the chaos and what she had seen.

Illdaste had made a grave mistake though and while tensions had grown between two civil states at the outer borders of the galactic empire, the Oracle was sent as a diplomatic emissary to prevent a civil war. Minerva was troubled by nightmares and phantom pains, she was tormented by the memory of Khazadhul and of her origins. In her dismay she took off into the night during a storm, the absence of the Oracle brought fear into her heart as the terror was beyond what she could mentally handle. She stole a ship from a civilian bay and made her way over the sea to the small island of Mirwe'endumet-ilme. There she stood before the gateway of souls, looking down into the deep depths of the Well of Souls. She descended the spiraling steps of the sacred well and traversed the lava-lit bowels of the temple. Overcome with hatred and fear she stood before the core of Valore, an extension of Adas being. Knowing of her suffering Ada remained silent and called no being to her aid and resigned herself to what was to come, for even though Minerva was not of her, Ada still loved her like her own child and so she was a subject to Ada's gift; She gave all those within the cosmos freewill and became a deist figure.

Minerva, using her immense powers, conjured a blade made of crystallized malice and pierced the core of Valore....

Bedlam spread through the cosmos. Animals and beasts began killing for sport, civilizations declared war on the front of xenophobia and malcontent. Worlds were destroyed, suns drained of their life, g******e spread through the reach, and the enslavement of weaker races became a booming industry. The cosmos was filled with chaos.

A rift opened between the planes of darkness and light, a grey. Ada was wounded and in her scarring her powers dwindled and the malice seeped in through the cracks of her borders. This grey was a manifestation of her wound and stood as a veil between the two planes so that all who died would face purgatory and would have to find their own inner peace before coming to Ada. Those that became trapped within the grey would become twisted and deformed, fading as they grovelled in their own putrid contempt. Demons they would become and these beings of malice that came from beyond would pull those lost and depressed souls from the grey to use as mindless soldiers who would fight only for the taste of blood and the chance to be free of that stagnant realm. These monsters, who would come forth and call to them legions of demons would be named Elderic Lords for they existed long before the coming of Ada and they held a violent dominance over the demons they enlisted.

Asaltamun was affected the most by the scarring and so here we learn of the Illiban and the fall of Lav'namoor:

Now the country of Kzvelta remained untouched by the atrocities committed by the Illiban, but being of their kin the world would forever look down upon them.

During the scarring those of Asaltamun had fallen to the malice of Khazahdul for they lived in a land that sought to kill them almost daily, a land of hardship and terrible climates, terrain that brought forth only trials. In their hearts grew a lust for power, power beyond any seen on Valore before. Necromancy became a commonplace practice amongst the southern tribes and their cities were gaunt and resembled skeletal figures made of black stone. The Illiban feasted on the flesh of their brethren, offering up sacrifice to false gods in exchange for untamed power. They became grey in hue with darkened eyes adapted to the shadows that clung to the stale air of their sacred cities. The Northern tribes built the purple city of Lav'namoor; painted with the blood of slaves and tainted with the staining scars of black magic.

Of these wizards there was Vanna, the vampiress and Duromin, the mystagogue whose story will not be told here.

The kingdom of Lav'namoor was ruled by the king abolute, Inkiravalla-tira, worshipped as a god and adherent in his rule, enslaved all of Asaltamun and his kingdom was of stolen lands and his rule secured by blood. Often he would come down from his keep of misshapen iron and would drag unlucky citizens into the womb of his hold, feasting on their living flesh. He revelled greatly in the pain and fear of others and would become demented in mind and figure, growing to a terrible height and appearing almost wyrm-like. At his side there stood the vampiress Vanna and his loyal guard and lover, Mandui'etteyimir. Mandui had grown up on the edge of the southern jungle, where it met the clamouring savanah of thick-hided beasts and flowing yellow grass, a realm named Ghemna. Mandui was a hunter whose skill with a net and dart had met no parallel in the land of his home. He wore a cape of spotted monkey furs and wore hide armor decorated with snow white bones and the finest of traditional beadwork. Shamu-edettyi he was called by his peoples, the Odewqi.

Together the two loyalist had been potentates of the king's command and carried out the acts deemed unfit for his sole attention, unworthy of his imperial majesty. They led the raids upon Illlustar settlements that had been built upon the islands along Asaltamun. Mandue would help hunt down those who would defy the law of the king, or even those who would worship Ada. Vanna was given free reign to practice her magics and so would steal children away in the nights and left those in these scattered abodes drained of their blood.

The two were feared above the king and their influence of horror held the obedience of the people for nearly two thousand years, then there came the healing of Ada. When Ada had recovered from her wounds the confusion had settled and many had to behold the aftermath of their crimes and the universe descended into sorrow, a period of mourning that lasted deep into the coming history. Deep wounds could be seen throughout the cosmos as an aura of grey clung to places of heavy loss and war and even where stars were littered, there lingered only a dark expanse where they had been drained of their light.

On Valore the Sanahn had grown to hate the Illiban and so in the city of Eltamir the tribes had gathered and held a counsel in regards to judgement upon them. As those gathered sent up declarations of war, the Nayir'ostan had held a position of peace, one that would be disregarded in the final assertion.

And so it was decided that slaughter would be answered with slaughter, as rage had overcome the Sanahn, and so they assembled their armies and sent their airships across the ocean to the land of Asaltamun where they burned the kingdoms of the Illiban, condemning the dark wizards who would be butchered in their domed churches. The land was set aflame and the Sanahn cut down both soldier and civilian, using crystal swords and dressed in armour of black with yellow and white plumage.

The realm was left as a wasteland in the wake of the march of the Sanahn, all but Kzvelta. The Nayir had opted to act as defendants of the people, yet could not stop the Sanahn and held no obstacle against their wrath. The Nayir had established a base in the capital of Zjinn and stood surrounding the metropolis so that no Sanahn would dare charge the city. The airships of the Nayir held legions of soldiers and hovered low, close to the city, so that no aerial assault could be advanced without taking down a Nayir ship, or at least without damaging one and possibly killing many Sanahn soldiers.

When the g******e had come to its conclusion most peoples of Valore had praised the Sanahn for their racial cleansing, deeming the Illiban to be corrupted beyond salvation and so it was that all the remaining Illiban would be brought to the temple of the Immortals and judged for their crimes. The Nayir had protected Kzvelta and so those of Zjinn were left out of the judgement. The four divines knew immediately what their sentencing would be and had already prepared a prison, a pocket reality where there existed only a lingering dawn over a vast sea of gold.

The Illiban were brought before a mirror that had been encrusted with three shimmering gems of innumerous perplexions. Those that stood before the divines were named the Quajyn and were banished to this shadow realm, neither dark nor light, stepping through the mirror to find themselves upon large islands that floated in an endless void of shadow, lit only by the gold shimmering sea far below. Nirrium had pity in her heart for the Quajyn and so in secret had built a kingdom of gold and black alvantium upon those islands and so it was they lived peaceful lives, denouncing their ties to the wizards of Asaltamun. That land was then named Savvage'usta for it now was a graveyard to those slaughtered at the hands of the Illustara and only the ruins of the Illiban and their many tribes remained; Truly as corpses consumed by jungle, the whistling winds of tuscan veldts, and the desert sands that appeared black beneath the smog that clung over them.

So it was that peace found Valore, but the cost had sent a rift between the younger children of light and the Illustara, for as time passed the Myrrians, Lara, and Mysheek had come to see the tragedy that was the cleansing of the Illiban.