It is said...
For now, for the first time, the full telling of the tales of Nycos begins again, for the Heraldstars have indeed received the signs of the Ninth Circle's conception. Has not the Cataract of The White Veil been driven from the Eye of Marragon before the witness of the world? Was not the ever-embraced Eye of Marrevar, always blue as the ancient ocean, red-rimmed as it may have been from time to time, now finally seen as the baleful Eyes of Marragon foretold, finally held dominion in the sky, rending mindfulness from the wise and ravaging the peaceful, driving them to warlike fury? Did not the danger, oft warned of in the Black Book, that sundered mother from daughter, that tore families to shreds and count as sacrifice its own innocent children? Are there not now voices, younger than that of the lost moonchild of the first King and his beautiful, breathtaking Queen, that cry for the birthing of the oft-foretold Perfect Way? We could lose ourselves in the bitterness of that despair, but let us first put down that which must be known of the dimness of the Time Before. The chronologies always begin the same, and the problem with a good beginning is knowing what that really means. In this case, it means the beginning of the Knowing, the first writings of the dim times of history back, before the stories of loss and the highness of Kings. For in the mists of Nyx, the Forests impenetrable, thee were three Watchers, eternal and just, known as the Guardians of Erafor.
The tales of the Guardians, these Watchers, are so lost in time as to be the stuff of myth and dreams, yet across time and cultures, whether Men or others, the descriptions are virtually the same. Eo, the matron and sister of the Eldressani, who walked too often among them and to whom it is said she gave her heart. Warm and welcoming eyes large as soupspoons, she was just and fair, and not a little capricious herself. Most tales tell of her distance from her little ones, and as time passed, it seemed as if she diminished, and they Eldressani grew in her shadow, until she and they were indistinguishable.
Quandiu, who lived in the heights in a legendary fortress of the stuff of cloud itself is never far away from Eo, for it is said he coveted her more than life. It was on her behalf, that Eldressani quickly came to know him as the Headmaster as if the forests, foam, and fire were his classrooms, and each Eldrassar his student. For countless ages after the Expulsion from Nyx, of which we will soon learn they would ever look behind them for signs of his approach. As the master of Nyx, his lessons were learned swiftly, precariously, or not at all. It was said the master could offer a student a challenge so difficult that the very concept of the solution became a sort of trap. Thus today, that term now is quandary and those that see them work quickly to avoid being brought into their web of dangers.
Antea, from the stories the oldest of the Guardians, has remained as he has always been, a giant of unimaginable proportion, eo= 3rd In Nycos, after the innocence of the First Iteration subsided in the dark and monstrous Days of Dragons, three lands met in what is known as the Guilder frontier, stretching north to south across the Eldrassani Archipelago. In the most ancient of times, Eldrassani, the Tenders of the Gardens of Nyx to the west came into the shining lands, following the Eastern Star away from their creche in Nyx. This Star, the queen of their nights and the leader by day, was known to them as Rae, the First Light of Helios. Her golden, wild tresses reflected the innocent beauty of that time, and though they called her many names now lost in antiquity, even today art in her image blesses ancient places. These travelers bore gifts, shared plentifully along the path, and wherever they made contact with culture, they would leave three gifts to their hosts as they moved constantly to the Rising Sun. Along this path, they founded the Kindred, the Brethren of Nycos.
Surprisingly, the first of the Kindred were of their kind, of a sort. In the tangles of the eastern heights, near what is now the city that bears their name, Eldrassar, the Five Fingers rose in the valley, and were discovered to be inhabited by beings that called themselves 'elves'. Similar to the Eldrassani, these beings had a love for the natural world, for life, song, and merriment. They were, at least for a time, considered to be indeed kindred, and for a season, the two cultures were as one, sharing music, magic, and the warmth of a hearth in the cool of the night. Perhaps it was the siren song of the Elves, perhaps it was the Impatience of the Eldrassani to find a home again. Whatever it was that guided them, the folly of their youthfulness despite their undying nature led them to make an error with the first of those gifts, given them by Eo so long ago. they were called Eon Stones, for they were the gifts offered to the Eldressani by the first of the Guardians, she who walked among them and taught them language and song.
So it was that the Fellstones would become known by that name, but at this time,the First Fellstones, hoping to find allies worthy of their importance. The trek was long and difficult, but the Eldrin, as they came to call themselves for simplicity and brevity. leaned on their natural love of and understanding of the forests, and from the Wylderlands of their homes to the borders of the First Kindgom, their march was matched with merriment and beauty.
The Guilders to the North, and the Florentine Knights of the south were surrounded by allies and ancient enemies round about, and did battle one with another for love, for sport, and for adventure. Our stories begin here, in the lovely innocence of the One King, and the One queen, whose endless love shone down from their orb, Nimbus. The Eighth Circle cannot end until it has closed and the Rising of the Moon, the lifting of the Genesis curse, can only mean the time of the Black Queen is at hand. Before we can tell her tale, you must have the stage set for you, the veils lifted from your eyes, the world seen for what it is... For before that which is perfect can come, that which was in part, in flame and mirror and shadow, must fall, inevitably and completely into ruin.
You may have believed you came to see a miracle, and that may yet come to pass. But before that, may the fingers of the creator bleed once more, for the Eighth fall will be of the Construct itself. So, shall we begin?""
In those days, Nimbus was undamaged and unsundered, and Helios made regular visits from his mighty halls, coming each year to bring blessings to the many and myriad peoples of Nycos. the History books now tell a very different story, of the Emissary and his cleverness, his ingenuity, his worth. But that is a tale for later... much later.
Controlling the Midge.
Despite the arrogance of the Eldrin, their ancient Fae Rie Court, it is not the Eldrin that are the most ancient of peoples. That honor goes to the meek and masterful Midge. The Midge was and remained a peace-loving race that at the time inhabited the warm hills and valleys. Creatures of the evenings, little prevented them from easy living, joyous song, and the light of an evening fire on hearth and stone ring. Indeed, the rings of light that marked hill and highland, moor, meadow, and mountain, that dotted the Barrens and the Sands, were all once the anchor of peace and prosperity brought in on shoeless feet of children and bearing up their songs into the heavens.
To be sure, their world, compassed about as it was by the ruins of the Ancients, gave rise to theories about even older cultures, of the possibility that Giants that walked the world before the First Dawning. As curious beings, the Midge would send expeditions into those ruins regularly and conjectured constantly. Search as they might, they found only echoing large structures of that even older world. No fossils, no bones, or artifacts remained, only the silent, gigantic structures, the archaic homes and workspaces of what must have been a mighty nation. Despite the wonder of what might have been, the Midge soon took for granted that they, small as they were, had always been and that the dreams of Giants were just that. Fantasy. They accepted that they forever lived on the shoulders of Giants and that their role would never be to control, only to live. So, despite the seeming despotism of an Ancient race that never held sway, the Midge learned to be happy in their place, living their lives their way. And they were, for the most part happy.
Enter the Emissary.
The tales speak of the Little Emissary, one from among the many Midge that could not be content. His thirst for knowing, not just learning, led him on numberless adventures and countless quests. His name was lost in antiquity, and this Emissary took upon himself the task of studying and understanding the purpose and processes of this satellite, this object that crossed the sky every four weeks. His research drew him across the lands of the world, learning mysteries ignored or perhaps intentionally buried. Through his own experiences, he discovered secrets that few others dared comprehend. He found the universe was a place of wonders and miracles. From his position within this world of wonderment, the Emissary noted singular power resided in the night sky, drawing the tides and raising the waters, driving the rains and the storms at its whim.
He soon learned core truths that only the Gods of the Ancients could fathom. The world itself seemed to respond uncomprehendingly to the presence of a tiny blue and red Sphere, and this response was at once fantastic and terrifying. None had ever attempted to harness this dichotomous energy, its volatility seemingly uncontrollable. Its effects turned docile beings into beasts and changed the very tides of the oceans. It even drove wise men mad. So it was ignored, unrevealed by those who might have, should have known. The power was, to be true, incomprehensible.
The Emissary determined that should he find a way to attain its surface and experience it first-hand, perhaps he could understand its purpose and thereby manipulate and control its function. This concept excited the Little One, though it took many more decades of research, travels to distant lands, and adventures uncounted. Eventually, he had enough knowledge. He had discovered the rhythms of its seemingly eccentric orbit and could predict the course of its pattern. Finally, he had a strategy and a plan, and the Emissary eventually coordinated with both the Powers of the Shadow Realm, and the Dragons of Nimbus to mount an expedition to the tiny world he called Nyx for its insignificance. To the Shadow, he offered half the dominion, a phase wherein they would be able to have sway. To the Dragons, he offered solace, a place of peace from the destiny-demands of Dragonic existence.
Turning Nyx into Nycos
Over the following millennia, the immortal Midge made many passages to and from the lifeless little world, sometimes accompanied by great caravans of goods lifted by unfathomable magics, sometimes seemingly alone. He toiled there in the silence of space, preparing a plan that would lead this Sphere, this moon, to transfer its magic, its power, and its resources, freeing it from the hold of mighty and unrelenting Nimbus. and the accompanying sphere, his His plan took form, and his Presence pressed it forward. Yet one thing did the Emissary lack that would permit this adventure, this journey to come to be. For the mission to succeed, the Emissary needed to gain the powers of Illumnis, the Light of Life. The passage demanded a control that could open the pathway from a source of limitless power to this seemingly lifeless place. Controlling that, the Emissary would be as a god, granting life and death to those on the tiny world.
Only the greatest of the Gods of the world had this power, and alas, such a lowly and insignificant being as the Emissary could have no audience. Yet, the cleverness of the Little One would change the universe forever. In time, he tricked the Gods into allowing Light of Helios, the ultimate source of the Illimnis to strike while the tiny moon still enjoyed directly the protection of Nimbus, that had shrouded the whole of the world from the eyes of the universe opened its eyes, and the pure energy from Helios to strike the tiny moon. In that instant, the Emissary transported Nycos from its orbit around the World into the orbit of the Life-bearer Nimbus, appealed to the Dragons in keeping with his promises, and receiving the promised shadows from the Shadowlords to prevent the Powers from finding and reaching her.
Finally, and ultimately, Nycos was free.
