The Saga of Elmar and Dilgar

The Saga of Elmar and Dilgar was put down into writing a few generations ago, but before that Hayim poets would memorize it and recite it at festivals and special events.
What is interesting about the text is that it is the sole mention of humans that live outside of the main continent. The Khantag are not mentioned in any other texts except this one, and the fate of their race - if they ever existed at all - is unknown.

Purpose

The text gives a history to the Hayim people, although it is unknown how much of it depicts actual events and figures and how much of it is purely spectulation.

Historical Details

Background

The story takes place in the centuries preceding the rise of The Gratic Empire, back when the Hayim people still lived on the other side of The Dark Sea. It describes the migration of their people from their homeland across the Dark Sea to the land of Hayim, as well as a few other short episodes that took place during that time.

History

Troubadours have been reciting this piece since time immemorial, but its contents only became known outside of Hayim when the land was occupied by the Gratic Empire in 158 I . Along with the trade goods and silks that the Hayim were already known for, Emperor Artus V brought many Hayim books for members of The University to translate, including this text. From there, it became well known among academics, but the average person in the Empire still doesn't hear much of it.

Public Reaction

The piece is a celebrated part of Hayim culture, and there are very few Hayim who do not know it. Many remember the first few lines, if not much of the text due to its popularity. Outside of the Kingdom of Hayim, the text itself is rare and few study it.

Read the Document

The Saga of Elmar and Dilgar

Centuries ago, there existed a great city known as Dendan by the ocean. Here lived the Hayim, as they would be later known, but the text calls them the People. The Hayim were living in relative peace under their king Elmar I Almunkminsari until the Khantag arrived. Adept sorcerers, the Khantag are jealous of the beauty of the Hayim and their city, and resolve to destroy it.
The Khantag use their dark magicks to raise the demon prince Xernar, who immediately begins to destroy everything in his path on the way to the city. The Hayim people gather in the city and prepare for the worst, but Elmar has a plan. He orders that a great weapon be made so that he would have a chance at defeating the demon. His smiths slave for several weeks, at the end of which a flaming sword, the storied Roseflame Blade, was made.
By this point, Xernar's approach is obvious, as the entire land is plagued by earthquakes, thunderstorms, and destructive dust storms. The Hayim people, still oblivious to Elmar's plan, continue to seek refuge in the city as the Khantag harass any people still outside the city walls. As the Khantag mistakenly believe that they have the element of surprise with Xernar, they leave.
Elmar orders all of the people, including his young son Dilgar, to seek shelter in a temple near the ocean as he goes off to fight the demon single-handedly. Again, Xernar believes that he has the advantage, as he is unaware of Elmar and his flaming sword. The two become locked in a great conflict that nearly destroys the entire city. Elmar comes out victorious, but is gravely wounded. He later dies, surrounded by the grieving townsfolk.
@Dilgar I Asirlefuladfirubi is now the King of the Hayim, and realizes that this land "has no future" and makes preparations to cross the ocean. As the Hayim are not skilled mariners, boats are not a reasonable option. Frustrated by the lack of a plan and no hope in sight, Dilgar prays to a dusty shrine in what remains of the temple of the city.
His prayers are answered by Agharna, one of the great goddesses of the Hayim. This deity who gives him the ability to part the ocean, but only long enough for his people to cross the ocean. Dilgar thanks the goddess for Her kindness and promises that his descendants will build great temples and shrines in honour of Her. This pleases the goddess even more and the goddess gives a warning to Dilgar: he should not pick the flowers of the land that they are now travelling to, as the first to pick a flower there will be the first to die.
Sure enough, Dilgar leads his people to the ocean and uses the power that Agharna gave him to part the ocean. He repeats Agharna's warning about picking the flowers of that strange land and gestures for them to cross the ocean. The Hayim are astounded, and many are in fear that dark magic must have possessed their leader, but they all cross anyway. As they begin to arrive at the site of modern-day Bindi, they begin to build shrines and temples to Agharna. Dilgar crosses last, but it still takes him several days to cross to the other side.
One person in the group is, however, not a Hayim at all. This is Ngrif, who is actually a Khantag that discovered that the Hayim were escaping across the water and followed them. He has grim plans to kill Dilgar as soon as he arrives, and decides to poison a goblet of wine. Recognizing a poisonous flower that had taken root in the area, he picks it. As he was not there when the waters were parted, he did not hear Dilgar's pronouncement about the flowers. Also unbeknownst to him, a villager sees him pick these flowers and hears him mutter something about killing the king.
Dilgar arrives, and is immediately beset by Ngrif, who gives him the poisoned wine. The second that Dilgar raises it to his lips, the villager that spied on Ngrif comes and warns him that it is poisoned. He immediately puts it down and has Ngrif taken away for his treachery. He asks if Ngrif also picked the flowers from the plain, to which the villager replies that he did. For this act against him and Agharna, he has Ngrif put to death. This fulfils Agharna's prophecy, as the first to pick the flowers of Hayim was also the first to die. The story then ends.

Close

Type

Manuscript, Literature

Medium

Oral Tradition / Word of Mouth

Authoring Date

The dating of this piece is unknown.

Location

The Beyond

Art Credit: emperorcharlesii (me!)