Recovered Portions of 'Old Legends of Ealoria'

Recovered Portions of 'Old Legends of Ealoria'
“During the early ages of the world, all sought to bend nature to their will by using the magic found in the air and the earth. However, few sought to use the magic to the same end. For some used the magic they had harnessed to improve their mining and forging techniques, the some used it to build massive structures and ingenious and powerful contraptions, and some sought to control nature and the natural elements, and bend it to their will." --- Excerpt from On the Origins of Early Magic ---
"It is well known that the White Desert was full of secrets, danger, and most of all, immense magical power. The land of the ever changing, as it is sometimes known, it was full of mystery and rumors of fortune, but who knows how much of it is actually true. Until now, that question was pondered by both historians and fortune seekers alike. Now however, we have a new insight into the mysterious region, and it comes from the tales passed down from the one surviving member of the expedition that resulted in the creation of the White Desert, as recalled by members of a distant Kena tribe group. According to the legend, which was passed down by one of the servants of the master magicians that caused the unnatural phenomenon, an epic voyage into the heart of a desert is described that was at that time barren and largely unexplored. Although the legend gives no context to who it was that began the expedition, we suspect that it was survivors of the ancient burning that sought to rebuild the world. The legend is so old that no known archives contain any information of any such voyage. Even so, the tale details many of the years that were spent planning and preparing for the journey and even more time the many sorcerers spent studying the ancient circles to find a way to accomplish their feat as they sought to change the very nature of the land. The goal of the expedition was to turn a large part of the dry and barren desert into a land that was lush and plentiful, and one that would last throughout the centuries. The group traveled to the center of the desert, where they set up a large, alter like, structure that thrust into the sky, into which they placed their largest, most powerful crystals, and many smaller ones that they had brought for their incantations. They spent many turns of the moons after that casting many spells and enchantments that would prevent anyone tampering with the stone, through force or by magical means. Afterwards, they took a long moons worth of rest to restore their strength, preparing for the long and powerful spell they had prepared to cast. As they began their project, they continued their chanting for many turns of the moon with the help of their servants, who constantly feed energy and nutrition into their bodies as they cast their most powerful incantations. The stories say that the spell was being formed for longer than could be accounted to mortal beings before they finally neared the end, but that is when everything began going wrong. Whether it was by a slip of the tongue at the wrong moment, or a mispronunciation of an important word, or some other unforeseen event, the spell went wrong as they were nearing the end. The peaceful valley that was beginning to develop around them suddenly changed into a cold, ice filled land. Having prepared for the harsh heat of the desert and not the cold of an icy winter, the sorcerers started shivering, which doomed them to further failure and caused the whole place to turn into a howling blizzard. The force of the powerful storm soon took what little energy they had left, as well as all those connected to them, leaving only five survivors. The survivors grabbed as much warm clothing and food as they could and tried to trek out of the vast dessert, but it soon started shifting between blizzard and desert, just as it is rumored to today. Of the five who survived the initial surge of magic, only one kept their life and made it into an isolated inn, deep in the mountains. There he died, leaving only his journal, which remained there for over a thousand years before being found once again." --- Excerpt from Myth of the White Desert ---
“...When I entered the mines, I was imagining that they would be like any other mine I had seen in my travels, with the exception of perhaps having a few such advanced tools as blasting powder and maybe some sort of more advanced carting system than the more common sort,or perhaps a few older, more advanced, tools, but what I found instead still amazes me to this day. Upon walking through the entrance to the main mining cavern, I was immediately met by a powered shuttle that I assumed must be a mine cart that, unlike those of other cultures I had seen, had a ceiling above the seats… …On the ride down I was startled and surprised to see similar carts to the one I was in traveling in the opposite direction attached to a rail traveling parallel to and above us,… ...shooting out of the pit and dumping me at the foot of a mountain. I never found the entrance again, but I still had my grip on the bag I brought back from the depths." ---Excerpt from Messenger's Tale ---

Summary

The White Desert is referenced in a recovered manuscript that references even older oral and written traditional myths and beliefs. The desert is described as a barren, gale filled desert that switches between being a place of burning heat and cutting sands and a frigid wasteland filled with glass-like ice shards. The fierce winds and wild temperature swings are said to be the result of a group of magicians trying to change the form of the world, and the huge forces that they set up to carry out their project are what lead to their own destruction.

Historical Basis

Though the details have become little more than the makings of a myth, the tale is thought to carry thematic meaning as to the the early events around the time of the great burning.

Spread

Though there are many rumors of the existence of the White Desert, any digging into the root of the rumors ends sometime after the rediscovery of the 'Legends of Ealoria' manuscript, which suggests that no other sources before its discovery had encountered any similar tales.

Cultural Reception

Many adventurous souls have gone off in search of the White Desert, which is often rumored to be hidden within a vast, larger desert, and some claim to seek the source of the magic that can power such a spell. Those who do return from their searches are always empty handed, though there are some who claim to have found it after all.

In Literature

Following the discovery of 'Legends of Ealoria' text, many began writing and telling tales of the lands in and around a fictionalized version of the country called Ealoria, with those regarding the expedition into the White Desert being especially popular. Though no other texts mention Ealoria by that specific name, many experts have remarked upon the similarities to ancient civilizations, and have sought to find other links to the country.
Of special interest to historians is finding other copies of the original text, but the sudden influx of copies of dubious veracity following its discovery has made the process of verification a difficult one. The sudden influx inspired a new genera of art that specializes in trying to create realistic recreations of the original work, though the intention to pass it off as an original copy is no longer the goal of such projects. These recreations often include new and unique myths from the supposed land of Ealoria, and continuations of the fragmented works found in the original text. Over the years the the genera has become refined to specific types of themes, with many criticizing obvious differences form the original work contained in many of the early copies.

In Art

Along with inspiring many works of literature aiming to replicate the original text of 'Legends of Ealoria', many artists have attempted to portray life in the lands of the mythical Ealoria, with several great artists contributing their attempts to portray the White Desert as it may have looked.

Date of First Recording

Unknown