DARK AGE [YEAR 999-YEAR 6666]

The first day of the year 999, Pyros, the capital city of the eighth realm, once famous for its rich cultural and religious life, was reduced to ashes.

However terrifying the Giants and the Dinosaurs might be, they were incapable of countering the rising influence of the Dragons. After a terrible and unequal battle, Diplood’s creatures were forced to acknowledge their defeat and lay down their arms. For forty-four years, the Dragons grew more numerous and stronger year after year. They were about to conquer Ganareth in accordance with Dragoon’s schemes.

Year 1144 was marked by the fall of the Goddess Aesir’s realm. Daemonia’s demons were wiped out by the icy breath of death, belched out by fearsome and powerful Blue Dragons. Having thrown herself headlong into the battle, Daemonia was about to reverse the situation when she came face to face with a Dragon of new species, bathed in a ghastly light. As she also was bathed in this strange light, she felt her strength desert her and Lucinrhog had taken hold of her.

Dragoon had just sent away the first of the five Lieutenants that it had secretly conceived in order to neutralize the mystic entities and immortals by nature. Focalohr, Haboroth, Vapulrogh and Bunekorh were holding themselves ready.

The Gods then started blaming Calder for letting Dragons multiply and thrive in his realm without opposing it. Aesir, weakened and too exhausted to materialize in the outside world, could not leave the Wahl anymore.

In the year 1225, it was the turn of Neutra’s realm to be invaded. Coccifera, the mother of animated plants, was ordered by Neutra to give shelter to the Elves. The latter’s intelligence had enabled them not to fall beneath the Dragons’ spell but their magic was no longer powerful enough to give them any hope of victory. Coccifera’s animated plants put up a passive resistance, hiding the Elves or partly blocking the way of the Orcs who were streaming up from the South at their masters’ command. Many of these plants were devastated by the Orcs which entailed the mutation of certain species. Plants began to eat up their assailants’ flesh. The Elves resisted as much as they could while hoping for better times for their realm and for Elven folks.

On the 55th day of the year 1432, as Neutra’s strength was waning and the Elves split up into three factions, believing in three different interpretations of magic, they quarrelled bitterly during a meeting over which interpretation is to favor.

Most of the Elves wanted to carry on with practicing traditional magic while the rest of the Elven folks wanted to explore new ways to counter the terrible power of Dragons. Among the supporters of change, some wanted to practise a constructive magic which they considered as a necessary evolution of the traditional magic while the others intended to experiment with a destructive magic in a total conflict with the fundamental precepts of Elvish culture. Consequently, followers of this kind of magic were banished at once and they had to move into caves.

The supporters of traditional magic and the followers of constructive magic went on arguing after the departure of the ones who they considered as heretics. Only Sylvandiel, a venerable, wise and respected Elf, managed to persuade them to stay united during battles in order to face the troubled times ahead.

For 122 years, the Dragons fiercely and unrelentingly attacked Neutra’s realm before moving on to conquer the God Agnar’s realm.

In the year 1554, Dragoon’s troops reached the heart of the second realm without coming up against much resistance. Yet, at the expense of great sacrifices, the Dwarves succeeded in wounding several Dragons and killing many Orcs by attacking them by surprise in the mountains. But many other Dragons came as a back-up from Neutra’s realm.

Complying with Agnar’s orders, Maam immolated several thousands of mammals and offered up their ashes to the Dragons so that they would spare the lives of combatants who existed but there were very few chances to survive. The Dragons went on thriving within Agnar’s realm without exterminating the Dwarves even if the latter had come to strengthen the Elves’ numbers in many battles. Indeed, many Dwarves had escaped unharmed from particularly bloody battles such as the battle of 1555 which caused the death of thousands of combatants.

Just like Aesir and Neutra, Agnar’s strength was waning and soon he was not able to materialize in the outside world.

In the year 1655, totally unexpectedly, the Dragons entered Malecta’s realm. As it was surrounded by water, her realm had seemed inaccessible until then. The Trolls, who had been in a state of lethargy until then, seemed to be waking up. A glimmer of hope rose within Malecta’s realm but it soon vanished. A few thousand of Nthuma’s Trolls and Living Dead were heading towards the coast but the Trolls turned against the Living Dead at the very moment when Nthuma was giving the order to push the Dragons back into the sea. No one except Gothar would have imagined how strong and extended was the hold of the Dragons over the Trolls. Once the surprise was over, Nthuma felt hopeful again as the shores were strewn with Troll corpses and she turned them into Living Dead, thinking that the latter would rejoin her.

In her infinite wisdom, Malecta asked Nthuma to surrender. Dragons had the power to kill the Living Dead and the corpses of Trolls that Malecta had been bringing to life and which were turning against her. The only possible way out was to negotiate peace with Dragoon. No one ever knew what Malecta’s pact with the Beast was, but the Dragons had acted like masters in her realm ever since.

In the year 1815, Hydra’s realm was invaded by the Dragons and their vassals, the Orcs and Trolls. The Gnomes had foreseen this invasion and they had fled to underwater cities. Reptansa, mother of reptiles, only put up a formal resistance against invaders. Yet, the Dragons looked for the means to devastate the underwater cities and therefore tried to crossbreed their people with numerous kinds of reptiles. Monstrous creatures were born that way. Mad with rage, the Dragons tried to decimate these newborn creatures but many of them survived on dry land. The Goddess Hydra felt her strength deserting her and then coming back again .She felt about to faint so frequently that she wouldn’t venture outside the Wahl anymore. On Ganareth, Reptansa suffered from the most dreadful abuse as she couldn’t resist the grip of Haboroth, one of Dragoon’s lieutenants. In the year 1991, Dragoon launched an attack upon the seventh realm. As Hel was sure of his power and of the strength of Placeeb, the mother of spirits, he refused to ask the other Gods for help, knowing that they were already in poor condition. Hundreds of Dragons were struck by the lightnings that he had aimed at them as they were crossing the seas. Hel gave free rein to his terrible and fiery anger but the Dragons nonetheless were too numerous and too strong. When they entered Hel’s realm, the Dragons used their magic to adapt to this new environment. They used it so well that they soon ruled it and defeated Placeeb and her spirits who were the only ones left to defend the realm after the Korrigans had disappeared.

Elytra, the mother of insects who was born of Zephyr’s heart, had taken advantage of the Orcs’ departure to give birth to multitudinous swarming and buzzing insects. They were so numerous that the sky of her realm had become dark and impenetrable. The insects had been spreading out in every realm and they were used as messengers by the members of the Alliance which were preparing themselves for a counter-attack, well hidden from sight under the clouds of insects . The Alliance was composed of Elves, Dwarves and Men firmly determined to resist at all costs.

Zephyr offered them his protection but refused to have Elytra officially involved in the battle by being loyal to his friend. Zephyr wanted to remain neutral in this uncertain fight. Dragoon was keeping a close eye on Zephir’s realm as it had noticed for some time the unusual bustling going on there as well as the disquieting proliferation of insects. Till then it had considered wrongly that Zephyr’s realm had been conquered since it had held sway over the Orcs for a long time already. As it had misgivings, it sent five of its fast-moving and ferocious Dragons out, but none of them came back. On the last day of the year 1994, as its troops were heading towards Ysatis’s realm, they were redirected towards Zephyr’s realm.

On the 55th day of the year 1995, the Dragons set off to re-conquer the third realm The Orcs were sent to the slaughter by their masters to the Dragons. The members of the Alliance fought with determination and courage, counting many heroes among their ranks who were killed in action or burnt alive by the infernal flames belched out by the Dragons. The Alliance managed to stand up to Dragoon’s troops for 221 years. Dragoon spent five more years trying to track down survivors who had become virtually elusive.

In the year 2221, Dragoon embarked upon the conquest of Ysatis’s realm which it had too long delayed.

Coming from all sides, the Dragons, the Trolls and the Orcs were streaming onto Ysatis’s realm which was thus completely surrounded. The land was deserted and only the sky was occupied as Galinaa’s birds flew across. The Orcs and the Trolls did not fight at all during the first five years of occupation but they were affected by deadly fevers and mysterious diseases, inflicting heavy losses on their troops.

In the course of the past 1112 years, the Sprites had secretly been digging a wide network of galleries which was spreading underground throughout all mainland realms in 2332. The members of the Alliance were making clever use of it in order to make surprise attacks on Dragoon’s troops. Galinaa’s birds and Elytra’s insects were providing them with all the information they needed to put up a fierce resistance.

On the 55th day of the year 2355, a secret meeting, which was initiated by the Men and the Elves, was held in the underground regions of Ysatis’s realm.

The four representatives of the Alliance forces were there, namely: Sylvandiel the Elf, Lillkin the Dwarf, Gilhen the Man and Frolwen the Sprite. Three representatives of other races were sitting in front of them: Gruhun the Half-Orc, was born of the crossing of Orcs with Men, Hoguànk the Half-Troll, born of the crossing of Trolls with Men and Sargiaàn the Half-Elf, born of the crossing of Elves with Men.

Gruhun, Hoguànk and Sargiaàn wanted their people to join the Alliance forces. Gruhun and Hoguànk were filled with hatred for the Orcs and Trolls whom he blamed among other things for having fallen under the domination of the Dragons. As for Sargiaàn, he wanted to follow his forefathers’ way and throw the Half-Elves forces into the battle on their side. The seven representatives of the seven people therefore signed the Treaty of the Seven Pillars which was binding for the whole battle until the fall of the Beast or their own death. Thanks to the Sprites’ galleries and the members of the New Alliance who succeeded in destabilizing Dragoon’s forces. The Orcs and the Trolls suffered from heavy losses and still now, the Dragons remained virtually untouchable.

As it was greatly annoyed about the Alliance’s deeds, Dragoon broke off the agreements that it had concluded with Malecta, Agnar and Calder. As a consequence, Diplood was shut away in the mines, deep inside a mountain and was one of the most powerful spell ever cast on Ganareth by Dragoon and its lieutenants. Nthuma was imprisoned by Bunekorh in the depths of the Pure Water Lake. As to Maam, she was plunged three times into an erupting volcano before the lava was finally able to hold her definitively. Although Reptansa had remained neutral, she was buried by Haboroth in the putrid sludge of the marshes and tortured by all kinds of pains. To capture Elytra, Vapulrogh and Focalohr, she had to join the forces and she was held prisoner by the evil lightnings created by both monsters.

The entities, which were openly fighting against the Beast after having refused one more time to go over to him, were subjected to the same spell as the others. Created by the magic of two of Dragoon’s lieutenants, four constantly blowing winds made it impossible for Placeeb to leave the desert in which she was held prisoner. Daemonia disappeared at a crossroad in a field to which she had been drawn to by Lucinrhog. On account of their shrewdness, four of Dragoon’s lieutenants succeeded in having Galinaa caught in the ice and she therefore lost all of her powers before drowning completely. Coccifera was the only one Dragoon’s lieutenants who did not manage to get rid of certain creatures although she was considerably weakened.

Consequently, the bonds that the members of the Alliance had been establishing with the creatures born of the entities were broken. The fighting was taken up again even more bitterly after the loss of such precious allies.

On the 44th day of the year 4444, the harbor city of Al-Drifa was created. Named after its creator, the city had been located on the border between Agnar’s and Ysatis’s realms and had rapidly emerged as the capital city for business and trade on Ganareth, remaining neutral during all conflicts. Dragoon paid very little attention to the rapid expansion of this city as he was busy tracking down the members of the Alliance. The Dragons who went to Al-Drifa were getting acquainted little by little with the people who they were oppressing.

In the year 5555, after their terrible defeat in the Rhuria, the members of the Alliance loosened their grip on Dragoon’s forces. Sylvandiel wasn’t able to keep the Elven people united anymore and the break-up was complete between the supporters of constructive magic and those of traditional magic. Day after day, hope deserted the warriors’ hearts. The Wahl itself went dark and sad. The walls that used to be lined in gold and sunny shades took on a grayish shade.

Three days before the end of the year 6666, Dragoon decided to launch an attack on the tenth realm with five of his lieutenants. Using his magic to force the doors of the Great Corridor of the Gods to be opened, Dragoon entered Gothar’s realm. The two sphinxes guarding the entry were killed after a fierce fight. The nine Gods then felt the Mana which was surrounding them. Once again, Gothar was putting his hand upon the face of the earth. The Gods felt the quiet and irresistible strength of Gothar. The air started shimmering. Gothar materialized in the form of a Titan and made them all Titans.

Dragoon’s troops were repelled out of Gothar’s realm but went on attacking the borders for three days.

Unfortunately, the ten Titans couldn’t go through the Great Corridor of the Gods as it was not possible to do so, especially when incarnated like that. Gothar and the nine Gods abandoned their outward appearance and went back to the Wahl. The ten Titans, deprived of their souls, went on guarding the Wahl’s entry and Dragoon finally gave up all idea of invading it. In the nine realms Dragoons still held and they became ferocious by putting the population under greater pressure .