#Lore24 – Entry #345 – Sci-Fi Month IV #10 – The Age of Legends

Transcribed From the Personal Recording Implant of Andra Ganim, Chronicler of the Codex Infinitum

AG:  “Was there anything specific that you sought within those ruined draconic cities?  And how exactly did these events jumpstart the Age of Legends from your perspective?”

RV:  “Knowledge of course was my primary interest, though of course, along with that came further power.  I wanted to know all that could be gleaned about the mysterious race that had so shaped the world and then mysteriously vanished.  You could say that I felt a certain affinity with the dragons, something I realized even then, given my vastly superior understanding of magic compared to others in the world.  I daresay that without my studies following the Great Cataclysm, magic would have stagnated for a thousand years or more as people tried to relearn it.

I say that these expeditions were so very important because of one of the most prominent of the legends to emerge, the one you serve now.  Were it not for the human then known as Angeliqua Cartacustos and her meticulous study and research into these sites, she would never have found the path that led to her ascension to godhood.  She was but the first such legend to attain that mysterious spark that allowed her to reach such a lofty position during that time, and the first to do so.  Though this too was the will of Marcon Shadowmist, for he was somehow aware of the danger that lay before Andyllion and had nudged Cartacustos on a path that would see the world saved.”

AG:  “Could you explain that more?  I have never heard of this.”

RV:  “Oh, you wouldn’t have, my dear.  For as good a job as your order does at recording history, you can’t exactly record it if it never happened, though I suspect that if you dig deeply enough, you may in fact find some recollection of the event.  It was a bit of a paradox, you see, and once Cartacustos had figured it out and remedied the situation, time itself was altered into the timeline we currently exist upon.  I don’t have all the details, mind you, but I do know that our world, at the very least, would have been doomed, the very source of magic, even that which the gods grant to their followers, sucked dry.  It’s…almost like a dream, you see, how I remember it.  I know that it never happened, yet I also know that it did, for I lived through it to the bitter end and witnessed her actions for myself.  I suppose my…unique nature…has kept me aware of these events, when all others who may have experienced them have forgotten them.  Don’t trouble yourself too much over it; if you wish, I can discuss it more later.”

AG:  “Yes, I would very much like to delve deeper into that subject.  Back to my original questions…you seem to have been curiously quiet during the Age of Legends, for your name doesn’t appear in many accounts of the era.  Was this intentional on your part?  What were you doing during this time?”

RV:  “Study and research, mostly.  I poured over all the details gleaned from Cartacustos and her order, and several others I had working on the project.  I kept my interference to a minimum and had mostly divested myself from the Elvish Dominion’s leadership by this time.  My intentions were carried out as I had wished them to be through my lesser that I left in charge, and they handled their duties satisfactorily.  I had far greater ambitions than mere political power then, for I would come to understand my truest nature, and something of what had happened to the dragons themselves through my experiences.  In this, Marcon Shadowmist and I were alike, quietly guiding events while we performed whatever machinations we would behind the scenes.  I can tell that you’re itching to know what I’m alluding to, but you’ll have to be patient  a while longer yet.”

AG:  “You certainly have a way of teasing things, Ms. Volcari.  During your, I suppose I’ll call it a sequestration during this time, did you encounter any of the others who would be considered Legends of the Age?”

RV:  “I would, yes, however briefly our interactions may have been.  I met Korvalis Nightrunner before he became the Right Hand of Mausolus, and for a wonder, this legendary assassin was never sent after me.  I daresay he would have been the one person who would have been able to slay me during that time.  I would regularly convene with the likes of Marcon Shadowmist and Azalina Fang during this period. Yes, that Azalina Fang, the very one that the academy was named after, though her growing instability meant that it was only a matter of time before she was dealt with for a final time. 

I may have…nudged Shibaru Sukimono in her direction when I refused to teach her the arcane arts after she had escaped her bondage, before she began her true task of freeing the kerryns from their bondage within the Imperium Draconis, knowing that their personalities would clash to the point of violence, and that Azalina would seek to rip that special power Sukimono had been granted from the goddess she would eventually free.  I could sense Sukimono’s power then, knew that she was destined for greatness.  I’ll admit to being rather surprised that she had managed to find the single remaining aerian upon Andyllion as well, Maltizar Skyrider, and was even more surprised when he didn’t try to kill me upon our first meeting.  He’s a hard one to put down, and one of the few beings in this galaxy that rivals me for age; thankfully for me, his memory is terrible”

Note:  A peculiar frown, a look of distaste, passed over Rivalle’s face then.

“Then there was Lila Darius…that would be my first encounter with the woman who I still absolutely cannot stand to this very day…the bumbling fool somehow managed to tap into a remnant of Saressh’s power that remained from before the goddess was captured by Suzu’reitani and resurrected over a thousand aerian warriors before the final battle with the demon lord.  I suspect Marcon had something to do with that little feat, though I have no proof of it.  How she has vexed me ever since she awakened her true blood back then…”

AG:  “Her true blood?”

Note:  I was beginning to form an idea of why Rivalle’s assistant looked like Lila, and why the poor girl looked worried when Rivalle’s mood darkened.  I’m not sure if there’s someone I can alert to her situation who would actually be able to do anything about it, no matter how much I want to.  Rivalle has resumed her more pleasant demeanor with my latest question.

RV:  “Ah, yes…well, we’ll be getting to that later, for it is something we have in common.  We can’t all have the blood of gods within us, but close enough.

Continuing on, I did have occasion to meet Mantok Badaxe before he ascended to godhood for his people as well.  He was quite brilliant for an orc during that time, though no less a great warrior, and even I will credit him with evolving his people through shear force of will.  This was before his clan would turn against the Draconis Emperor and fight alongside the kerryns during their uprising, again due in so small part to the interference of Lila Darius.  I daresay she did more for the kerryns than Shibaru Sukimono did, though it was ultimately Sukimono who slew the demon lord and broke the blood curse and the power that bound their goddess.  Had Darius kept to that, I might not hate her so…

I would have a brief encounter with the mysterious Yasraena Onimatsuri during this time as well, though it was more random chance than anything when she happened to emerge, cut her way through a battlefield and two armies, just to keep walking as if it were nothing for her.  Her family, her mother specifically, had been one of my apprentices during the time before the Cataclysm, and had taken to her own unique studies of the arts, seeking power to perhaps rival my own.  Yasraena was, and still is, I suppose, wherever she may be now, a unique case to say the least.  Even though I was vaguely aware of her comings and goings throughout the centuries and millennia, she always kept to herself.  It’s almost like she never grew out of her “brooding teenager” period, honestly. 

I do believe that was the last notable encounter with those who would be considered Legends, though I did briefly meet a handful of others…let’s see…Naiya and Shank Serana come to mind.  Did you know that Shank’s adoptive father also adopted Lila Darius?  It’s how that family name came to be a kerryn name, in fact.  Curious that link…  Then there was Shibaru Sukimono’s vampiric clone who came to me seeking a remedy for her condition at one point; you’ll have to track down her reincarnation if you want the details of that story, for I couldn’t be bothered to delve into it myself.  There was the legendary gnomish craftsman Fitzgerald; I commissioned some work from him and would use his superior artifice in my creation of several golems.”