The Wanderer

“There is power in the air. You can feel it. It is almost a soft humming. A tension you can feel in your spine. It is said that they fell here. The Wanderer. Giving up their essence, presumably to save us. To save the world. We have no records of what came before. Or who The Wanderer was. They simply ceased to exist. Well, not entirely. Their legacy remains. Their last words to us. Their warning…. Carried down the ages.”

"A traveller's companion - a guide to the realms" by Nathanyell Littleburye, historian and traveller

Summary

Not much is known about the time before the Fall. Or who the Wanderer was. The only indication of their existence is located at an ancient site. So the Wanderer’s Fall indicates not just the beginning of The Irimondian Calendar. It is an actual place. On the Plains of Iodreth east of Thrunnsdir, guarded by The Obsidian Order, there is a great open space among the stones. Like a bowl or a shallow crater. It seems as if something blasted out of the centre of this space, over a thousand years ago. It blasted out with such force that it turned the stones into obsidian. No organic life remained here and the cold stone makes it impossible for plant life to re-grow. Not far from the perimeter of this site there is a plaque installed upon a stone pillar. It was installed there after the Wanderer’s Fall by the Obsidian Order. The plaque reads:

"All that came before is lost. All that has yet to be is hidden.

Remember me. Remember my sacrifice."

Historical Basis

It is said that The Wanderer gave their existence to seal the doorways to the Abyss. The ancient civilization that fell before the demon army was responsible for opening these doorways. Demons poured out and destroyed civilizations. They enslaved the people and held them as pets, tormenting them, eating of their flesh, keeping them in endless despair. Several generations suffered the yoke of the invading horde and endured over a hundred years of this slavery. Cities were burned, entire peoples were wiped out. Human civilizations were scattered and congregating was forbidden and most likely resulted in the slaughter of the attendants. Hardly any records of this time remain. The demons sought to punish the humans for their arrogance by destroying libraries and colleges.
The Wanderer was a God who decided to channel all of their powers into an avatar to battle the demon hordes in order to save the human race and in fact all of the living beings on the earth. It is said that the Wanderer appeared as a beautiful, athletic human man, over ten feet tall, who was surrounded by a glowing halo. They were clad in a shining breastplate of seemingly liquid silver lined with gold and they held a tall, slim spear at their side. Those who saw them singlehandedly fight the demons were in awe of their speed and deadly accuracy. Even fire-spewing fiends were no match for their power. Nonetheless the Wanderer saw that they could not win, as the demons seemed countless in numbers, pouring out of portals from their abyssal planes.

It was not just the Wanderer, the God known to Irimondians, who gave their essence to save the humans. There were several of such entities, called The Sacrifices. Powerful and selfless, these deities had their powers converged to seal the fragile veil between planes which had been ruptured by the human civilization. In consequence of this rupture denizens of the abyssal plain befell the earth and brought humanity to the brink of extinction. So the avatars of the Sacrifices decided to combine their essences, combine all of their powers to seal the portals. In order to succeed they needed to tap into the planet’s leyline-net to gather and channel their powers. Through their combined forces they were able to sever the connection to the abyss, which the humans inadvertently had opened. Subsequently these deities were obliterated, their powers exhausted and their essences consumed. They died. Knowingly and willingly.

Cultural Reception

What about the other races?
The other races were of course also affected. The bond between the races wasn’t as strong before the Fall as it is today. Elves have long been distrustful of the humans’ ambitions, their love of technology and their propensity for exploitation and the elves were quick to retreat into their realms. As their connection to the earth and indeed life as such was and is very strong, the elves were able to put up strong wards against the demons around their domains. Likewise the dwarves were relatively safe in their kingdoms under the mountains. Narrow corridors and cleverly engineered traps enabled this sturdy folk to protect their empires against the invading, demonic forces. Gnomes and Halflings, not as organized as the other races, were nonetheless in strong exchange with the elves and dwarves. The gnomes’ keen minds and the expertise of their tinkerers were sought after commodities and so most of the gnomish race found refuge among their sturdy cousins. Likewise, the halflings’ connection to the land and their perspective on nature and their place in the world made them find a safe haven among the fair folk.