The noted scribe Aristos ri Culstir (Epoch of Creation II) made mention of objects from the Epoch of Creation that were the precursor to the material plane, physical objects that contain a form of pure elemental essence.  It was said these objects evolved into their current state on their own before the necessary elements gathered to create what is now the material place.

Like water on curved piece of oiled parchment, the Caldra’fa Elements would soon be drawn to the worlds created.  As Evindale was declared home to its Creator, the Elements would also make this their home.  When placed end-to-end they form a single spiraling tower in and through which all communication with the Elder Gods is permissible; this is their gateway to the Realm of SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane.  Through it also their power may be used in their name.

 

Nine of the Caldra’fa Elements were known to exist during the founding of Prundem by the Myrad’il.  During the Prunish Wars, three of the Elements (Dren’al-bath, Oerst’al-neh, Sret’al-bah) were used to annihilate 45,000 humanoids who assaulted the city by binding them to the area (Dren’al-bath; control), turning the land to boiling blood (Oerst’al-neh; transmutate), and finally removing the bond between life and body (Sret’al-bah; the scythe).

 

Each Element may be used independently as was reported by Emperor Ghal of Talais wherein a servant’s body was “changed in frame [form?] to create a gorajish (ceremonial vase) for his new bride.  Like liquid he flowed to become a gift.”  Compare to the Annuls of the Grandastium which states “sevenfold did Alin flow into new form, each in accordance with Worit’s words as held held aloft the gem and commanded him as thus.”

 

Worit may refer to War’it of Talais who was said to gift his Emporer with the Horet’al-roh (change of state).

Only five of the Elements have been named by Aristos though he died before his work was complete.  Seekers of ancient lore have made the completion of the scribe’s work their life’s mission though none over the past 600 years have succeeded entirely.

Rabek of Staabri, a noted warrior-poet in his lands, tells a story of a great wizard-king from “between where the sky and earth meet, where the foot of the gods lays its final rest” who has in his possession a “pale stone, like one used for grinding” which “when held to the head made man capable of commanding and bending steel to his whim”.  This ‘wizard-king’ is believed to be fictional given the Staabri have had no such being in their history and instead was a king who used the stone to produce effects and was thereby labeled a calliacde, or wizard.  One leader, Balinek Twvidol, is noted for having mastered the sword to such a degree that he could “split the hair of a child’s head with a blade he did not wield nor watch yet commanded with great efficiency.  This he did from his stead whilst the child be a league away.”  He stated his power was in the blood of his line, meaning royal line of family which to the Staabri at that time was anyone who sat on the throne; any who sat upon it were called Astir-Dol, or ”kin of kings” until their coronation.  Aristos believed it was literally in his throne, meaning the throne contained a piece of an Element and whosoever sat in it would gain its power.

From his writings in Gr 5:3:225,

“Behold,” the servant claimed of his king, “the power of the Steelwarden.”  And Rjokenthir’s head separated from his shoulders and spoke the Truths unto those gathered.  This the Steelwarden did from his high seat, such was the power of the Steelwarden.”

If Steelwarden were to be translated to the Celestial, it’s name would be byr’taalto, or ‘seat of steel’.  For some scholars this is a near match to an artifact known as the Sar’al-bir, or Master of Steel*.  The Sar’al-bir is the name of a throne constructed from a single crystal upon which sits the ruler of the Slindari folk.

*Bir (Ma.) — byr (Cel.): fired iron, or steel.  Ex., byr’xi, sword (steel edge).
Sar (Ma.) — taalto (Cel.): a) one who sits in a high position, b) a throne and its occupant, c) the position one holds that would require a throne, d) master

From the lessons of the MalanAn inhabitant of the Grand Duchy of Mala. A Denath Re`GrenHigh Priest of SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane in the Grand Duchy of Mala, Myrad`ilDesert-dwelling race of elves, predominantly in southern Erinnal. Cleric of SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane to his student Aron of Katak:

“It was during this next period in time that many of the so-called intelligent races came into being.  However you must first understand that not all races are created equal.  There are the Natural, the Touched and the Born.

The Dreg`nThe primordial dragons, the first intelligent and self-aware race. evolved naturally. They came from whatever existed before them and are the natural conclusion of time and evolution.  It is also natural that they perish and die off as a species.  But many believe they continue to exist as my story to you will show.

The TenguA race of highly-intelligent anthropomorphic ravens and a distant cousin to dragons. were the most intelligent of birds before SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane wished them to gain independent thought. She altered their course of being and are now called `Touched`.

The `Born` is admittedly a poor choice of wording but the term existed long before I and therefore is used out of convention. These are the creatures born from a mating of a god and a material life. In the present, such creatures would be called demi-gods but in the Epoch of Creation, mortals didn`t exist as you and I know them.   For everything was born of gods.

SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane loved the flora that had sprung up around her world.  She saw in it possibility but wanted more.  She imbued one kind of tree with life so it may act as a shepherd to all others. But it was so tall it only saw the other trees (horribly far-sighted they were). SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane noticed other creatures starting to form and married the spirit of life with physical form from nature.   Thus the fae were born.

These nature spirits performed their single-minded mission of tending to SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane`s creation. SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane enjoyed their company but she wanted to see them be free of mind and not be a servitor race.  They quickly adapted to their varied regions and to this day the fae live a life very close to nature in all its varied conditions. In Evindale, the fae are very active but do remain very much out of sight.

One particular fae grew apart from the others and SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane noticed. It grew taller, stronger and more defined, more physical like SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane herself. She felt a distinct love for this creature — whatever its name is/was — and gave some of her soulSuffix, "soul" of a specific creature, the life essence granted by Sythlia. E.g. Hum'an, sa'drath'an, orc'an, etc. to create more like it. From this the elves were created.  This is the beginning of the `Born`.  You can see now why the term can be confusing.

With heavy ties to the nature spirits, these first elves remained loyal to nature in some fashion. Some darted into the forests (Adri`ilA race of elves with extremely close ties to the natural world. Though many refer to them as "wood elves", Adri`il may be found in any temperate natural locale, i.e. not cities, deserts, tundra, etc., wood elves). Others made their way to the southern sands on Erinnal and became the desert-based Myrad`ilDesert-dwelling race of elves, predominantly in southern Erinnal., such as myself. Others dug deep into the hills and mountains and became like their habitat, squat and powerful; these became tirfolk (halflings) and dwarves.  Of course, no dwarf will admit their life and mine are bound by common blood.  They believe they were formed from the very rocks themselves but as you will soon hear, this was not the case.  After all, The Spine of the World, that great expanse of mountains from which they claim their bones were first formed, did not yet exist.  No, my dear Aron, they were once elves.

The dragon-kin that had lived in these mountains found their millennial homes now invaded by dwarves.  These ancestors of the dreg`nThe primordial dragons, the first intelligent and self-aware race. petitioned SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane, claiming theirs was the right to these underground passages. SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane refused to get involved, allowing Her PlanReferring to the laws of nature supported by SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane that all things have their place within a cycle of life and death, that creation and destruction are part of that cycle and finally that all things on the material plane are natural and therefore can only perform actions deemed to be natural. Magic is the only "unnatural" occurrence, meaning its origins hail from deity whether clerical or arcane. (Nature) to take its course. Some dragon-kin went to the surface and adapted, they became the orcs and goblins over time.  They, too, are `Natural` creatures.

Those that remained under the earth fought against the dwarves.  With captives on both sides, new breeds were created.  The Slindar`ilConsidered an aberration by most other races, the Slindar`il are half dragon-kin, half-dwarf. Tall and muscular, pointed jagged elf-like ears, ashen gray skin, large teardrop reptile-like eyes, a flattened snout/nose with side nostrils akin to a reptile. Their teeth are jagged and pointed., or “black elves of the deep” are ashen gray dwarves mixed with dragon-kin blood. They retain characteristics of both races but are taller, more muscular.

War broke out. Nature was fighting itself. SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane viewed this war as no different than any other facet of nature conflicting and destroying all around it so something new may come of it.Volcanos erupted and destroyed with no more anger than an ant who carved tunnels and spew the contents of the earth around its mound. To her, the War of the Races changed the face of the land in the same fashion.

Her consort, the first elf, though he knew of the dangers.   He felt his kin dying in rage.   He claimed Her PlanReferring to the laws of nature supported by SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane that all things have their place within a cycle of life and death, that creation and destruction are part of that cycle and finally that all things on the material plane are natural and therefore can only perform actions deemed to be natural. Magic is the only "unnatural" occurrence, meaning its origins hail from deity whether clerical or arcane. had gone awry, that hatred and greed were not a part of nature. She nodded and allowed one of the sleeping Dreg`nThe primordial dragons, the first intelligent and self-aware race. (“First Born”, or dragon) to arise once more. N`galirOne of three ancient Lords of Dranath`tir (Guardians of the Gods), an immense dreg`n who "stood as tall as the continent of Erinnal is wide." Immune to natural attacks, it was killed by the use of magic (deemed "unnatural") and cold iron weapons (one of the few man-made creations deemed "unnatural"). stood as tall as the continent is wide. With one step it crossed half the distance of Erinnal and crushed much of the surface dwellers. Fearing for their lives, all manner of creatures banded together to fight against N`galirOne of three ancient Lords of Dranath`tir (Guardians of the Gods), an immense dreg`n who "stood as tall as the continent of Erinnal is wide." Immune to natural attacks, it was killed by the use of magic (deemed "unnatural") and cold iron weapons (one of the few man-made creations deemed "unnatural"). but it was futile.

One enterprising dragon-kin lord knew no weapon of stone or wood could defeat N`galirOne of three ancient Lords of Dranath`tir (Guardians of the Gods), an immense dreg`n who "stood as tall as the continent of Erinnal is wide." Immune to natural attacks, it was killed by the use of magic (deemed "unnatural") and cold iron weapons (one of the few man-made creations deemed "unnatural").. He petitioned SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane to stop the world from being destroyed and allowed her consort to go with the dragon-kin lord for a great meeting of all races.  SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane commanded N`galirOne of three ancient Lords of Dranath`tir (Guardians of the Gods), an immense dreg`n who "stood as tall as the continent of Erinnal is wide." Immune to natural attacks, it was killed by the use of magic (deemed "unnatural") and cold iron weapons (one of the few man-made creations deemed "unnatural"). to stand by and wait.

All the races gathered, all were present except SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane who kept N`galirOne of three ancient Lords of Dranath`tir (Guardians of the Gods), an immense dreg`n who "stood as tall as the continent of Erinnal is wide." Immune to natural attacks, it was killed by the use of magic (deemed "unnatural") and cold iron weapons (one of the few man-made creations deemed "unnatural"). at bay. Her consort (now simply called EvinThe first consort of Sythlia who was killed and raised as the first revenant. by we Myrad`li, or `beloved host`) attended and asked representatives to ponder their actions, to compare what they had done to how the rest of nature resolves its conflicts through selfless action, through give and take. It was the lord of the dragon-kin who took action first and foremost, however, and had the Lord of the Slindar`ilConsidered an aberration by most other races, the Slindar`il are half dragon-kin, half-dwarf. Tall and muscular, pointed jagged elf-like ears, ashen gray skin, large teardrop reptile-like eyes, a flattened snout/nose with side nostrils akin to a reptile. Their teeth are jagged and pointed. craft from the bowels of the land a weapon of mortal-fashioned metal, the first iron weapon. Tired of the lack of action EvinThe first consort of Sythlia who was killed and raised as the first revenant. had taken he slew the great consort. EvinThe first consort of Sythlia who was killed and raised as the first revenant.`s blood was the essence of natural magic and seeped into the ground, imbuing all natural life with it. His breath was the essence of creation magic and imbued all intelligent creatures with the power of molding it to its will.  This is how magic came into being; we each have a touch of SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane within us.  She created EvinThe first consort of Sythlia who was killed and raised as the first revenant..  From him magic was made available to us.  This is why some exclaim, `Bloenbreth!` when they see something extraordinary.  It means, `the Blood and Breath of EvinThe first consort of Sythlia who was killed and raised as the first revenant.` or `all that is possible`.

Nonetheless, when EvinThe first consort of Sythlia who was killed and raised as the first revenant. was murdered SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane immediately felt the disconnect. She released N`galirOne of three ancient Lords of Dranath`tir (Guardians of the Gods), an immense dreg`n who "stood as tall as the continent of Erinnal is wide." Immune to natural attacks, it was killed by the use of magic (deemed "unnatural") and cold iron weapons (one of the few man-made creations deemed "unnatural"). to destroy everything but the newly created metal and magic wielders focused their efforts on the ancient Dreg`nThe primordial dragons, the first intelligent and self-aware race.. It fell and crushed the ground beneath, forcing up huge mountains. Where its body lay, a great depression was formed and the ocean to the south poured in.  Thus was The Spine of the World created.  Back then, however, it was called the Spine of the Wyrm and time (or some fool) changed it to Spine of the World.

Where was I?   Ah, yes.

Gone was EvinThe first consort of Sythlia who was killed and raised as the first revenant. and SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane mourned his loss. She created EvinThe first consort of Sythlia who was killed and raised as the first revenant.`dale, or `Home of the Beloved Consort`, a group of islands to the west where she would keep her memories of EvinThe first consort of Sythlia who was killed and raised as the first revenant.. She asked Death for control over that natural process within her realm. Death knew this was for selfish ends for she wanted to reverse EvinThe first consort of Sythlia who was killed and raised as the first revenant.`s murder. The neutrally-aligned Death was now divided and so divided it became: Fayan and Fayer, sister and brother, murder and natural death. Fayan spoke quickly to SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane and took advantage of her grief. She granted SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane the ability to grant the dead life once more in exchange for allowing others to do so as well. SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane didn`t care and agreed. EvinThe first consort of Sythlia who was killed and raised as the first revenant. rose from the dead and joined his beloved in EvinThe first consort of Sythlia who was killed and raised as the first revenant.`dale. But now those so imbued with magic could also raise the dead. For the selfless, they could Raise Dead or Resurrect. For the selfish, they could create the Undead. For SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane, a new race was born, the Revenant. But SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane`s sacrifice for this was that her newly created EvinThe first consort of Sythlia who was killed and raised as the first revenant.`dale could only be reached by the dead; no living mortal will ever see its lands.

Fayan saw the possibility of cults within all of Sythlila`s land, now inappropriately (and possibly mockingly) called Evindale. The goddess of murderous death slew three kings of each of the elven races. Their blood dripped in the Pond of Lament. Medres, goddess of plague and the undead, crept from the blood of the Slindar`ilConsidered an aberration by most other races, the Slindar`il are half dragon-kin, half-dwarf. Tall and muscular, pointed jagged elf-like ears, ashen gray skin, large teardrop reptile-like eyes, a flattened snout/nose with side nostrils akin to a reptile. Their teeth are jagged and pointed.; Urthes, goddess of perverted truth and lies, grew from the blood of the noble Myrad`ilDesert-dwelling race of elves, predominantly in southern Erinnal.; Zelres, goddess of insanity, was born from the pure blood of the Adri`ilA race of elves with extremely close ties to the natural world. Though many refer to them as "wood elves", Adri`il may be found in any temperate natural locale, i.e. not cities, deserts, tundra, etc..   Into the mouths of scavanger animals did Fayan pour these vile liquids. Thus was born the harpies, the children of the Sister of Discord.

So it continues to this day that Death is split, the dragon-kin and Slindar`ilConsidered an aberration by most other races, the Slindar`il are half dragon-kin, half-dwarf. Tall and muscular, pointed jagged elf-like ears, ashen gray skin, large teardrop reptile-like eyes, a flattened snout/nose with side nostrils akin to a reptile. Their teeth are jagged and pointed. remain at war with the living, the Cults of Discord worship the three Harpies, and SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane remains in EvinThe first consort of Sythlia who was killed and raised as the first revenant.`dale awaiting the arrival of her recently demised children, the mortals of her world.

Where did the humans come from you ask?  True, I did not mention them.

All of the races — the tenguA race of highly-intelligent anthropomorphic ravens and a distant cousin to dragons., elves, tirfolk, dwarves, dreg`nThe primordial dragons, the first intelligent and self-aware race. and their dragon-kin offspring and their orc and goblin cousins — existed before humans came to be.  Even the revenant existed before humans.  As a matter of fact, the other races evolved according to Her PlanReferring to the laws of nature supported by SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane that all things have their place within a cycle of life and death, that creation and destruction are part of that cycle and finally that all things on the material plane are natural and therefore can only perform actions deemed to be natural. Magic is the only "unnatural" occurrence, meaning its origins hail from deity whether clerical or arcane. long before the Children of Desire came to be.

Do you remember your first lesson?  When the Tirsar created and became the Adrihar?  Drenathis was the first of the gods, the will of creation itself made into entity.  A deity of New Beginnings.  Right, keep that in mind.

Soon after the clans of dwarves united into the Empire of the Spine in 243 DA (Dwarven Annal) under the great King Ekli they encountered a new breed of dragon-kin, the Strin`gith.  The baleful creatures were of demonic origin, products of unholy unions between the Sisters of Discord and mortal dragon-kin or worse, Slindar`ilConsidered an aberration by most other races, the Slindar`il are half dragon-kin, half-dwarf. Tall and muscular, pointed jagged elf-like ears, ashen gray skin, large teardrop reptile-like eyes, a flattened snout/nose with side nostrils akin to a reptile. Their teeth are jagged and pointed..  War erupted once more and the lands of SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane were once again in chaos.

Enter the next age, the Epoch of Desire, which I will save for our next lesson but I will give you this:  Drenathis had a strong following in those days and Drenathis was powerful because of it.  The desire for a New Beginning was strong in SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane and this was made manifest: one human — born of all the races in all of SythliaGoddess of the Material Plane and neither male nor female — stopped the war.  Humans were created to bring balance to the chaos that existed.

But this was before the reawakening of the Great Lich.”