The War Of The World

Valen stared sadly at the crumpled spires and burning peaks of Athelon. A tiny tear flowed down his cheek. It glowed and sparkled in the evening sun, emitting a steady golden sheen. The light glinted off the moist leaves of the few lariatis trees that still stood proud and true. Their branches swayed casually as a gentle breeze fanned the long grasses of Carharadros. Many had been felled by the foul hordes as they plunged over the hills surrounding Athelon but none had come to Carharadros. The six pinnacles of stone climbed high, as if clawing for the very heavens above. On each an intricate rune was delicately carved. One stone for each of the Elements - as it had always been. Time eternal had passed over Carharadros - the mount of the Valaar.

Long had it been since Valen stood beneath the shadows of the stones. Their obsidian faces reflecting the dimming rays of the autumn sun, the stones still represented all that was once fair and true. With a sigh he ran his fingers over the faint glyphs that embroidered the stones.

So it had once been. Balance and harmony, peace and prosperity - many wonders had he seen rise. And now all but Carharadros were gone. Destroyed in the dark fires of a heinous treachery. A tide of evil had ridden the wind of shadows, and as he walked the golden fields of Leriethelle, a plague of death had descended upon the land. At first he heard nothing but strange rumours of dark men attacking outlying settlements. Dark men who wielded shimmering swords of shadows and whose faces were clouded and murky even in the brightest of summer's days. To Valen it had made little sense. The Elements had been in balance for what mortals would call æons. Even he could only vaguely remember all that had been before they descended to earth. There was no reason for conflict, no need for battle, no place for war.

All was in harmony, all in unity - what could have brought such a spate of violence was beyond his mind. Light was balanced with darkness, fire with air, water with earth. The ascension of the Valaar had made it so. Eventually rumours begin to come in about a new force in the world - a power which put the newer races in a position to dominate those who had lived in peace since the dawn of time. They said the time of the Valaar was over and that the time of the mortals had come. They spoke of spirits and gods and powers beyond the comprehension of Valen. They said that the Valaar would fall and that mankind would take its rightful place in the seat of power.

And still Valen knew not why this terrible battle had begun. Darkness was massing all around and he knew not what shrouded the light. Shadows were falling and yet the sun still shone in the sky. Finally, one had come who spoke in more than riddles. His name was Matarra and he was of the Mantis. All his life he had served the Valaar; walking the mountains, crossing the seas, far and wide he had travelled. Skilled he was in the Elements and long he had watched the lands for Valen. What he spoke of would make a legend.

Long he spoke to Valen, and longer still did he wait in Leriethelle for a word from the master. Of what he spoke, little is now known. Of the treachery of Kaleth, Valaar of Darkness, even less. Ever since the time of ascension Kaleth had waited, the seeds of evil dormant within him. Year after year, age after age he had waited, until the vigilance of the others waned. As mankind spread he learnt of a new power - a power which was vested within all men. A spiritual power that could be tainted by evil and twisted to the will of others. The source of this power he knew not. The manifestation of this power he knew not, and long he doubted its existence. But still his spies brought word and when he learned of Vathek his mind was made.

Vathek was a twisted man, of body and soul. His heart was tainted with evil and his spirit black as the starless sky. It was he who showed Kaleth the power of the spirit. It was he who formed the dreaded Knights of the Ariadæ Loren. It was then that Kaleth saw his chance. With his shadow powers and these Knights his chance to overthrow the other Valaar had finally come.

Outlying settlements were the first to be attacked. Those that were not slain were inflicted with a terrible disease that twisted their hearts and minds to the will of evil. Once the smaller villages had been taken, Kaleth turned his eye to the larger towns and cities. Nothing could stand within his path and none could resist his power. The fall of Athelon was the crowning jewel in his mantle of Tyranny.

And so it was that Valen finally understood the nature of evil and could see the true face of Kaleth. It is told that the heavens wept for three days and three nights as he learnt of the terrible destruction of all he had sought to achieve. Nigh on all the mortal Valaar had been slain within the first few months as they strove to hold back the forces of darkness. Against an Elemental Lord such as Kaleth they stood little chance.

Now he stood alone on the peak of Carharadros and gazed forlornly at the destruction of Athelon. Infernoes still raged through the marble streets and billows of acrid smoke cast a mournful shadow over the ruined buildings. Five days he had waited and five days there had been not a word from Matarra. But now he had heard they were finally coming.

A faint ripple in the air made the stones' shadows flicker and sway from side to side. Four sashes of light penetrated up from the hexagonal plinth situated in the centre of the stones. They rotated slowly outwards, forming four glowing portals that shimmered with power. From the light came four humanoid figures. Their forms were surrounded by golden nimbi of power and as they approached the summit Valen turned to meet them.

"And so at last we are gathered as one. As it has begun so it must end."

Turning, the five figures made their way slowly back to the circle of stones. As each in turn touched a stone the surface runes began to glow. As the fifth was touched the power began to spread along the glinting obsidian surface until the stones were gleaming in the darkening skies. Slowly the figures began to chant.

"All was one. All is one. All to summon. All to come. Standing here we call you now. Take your place among the crowd. As we came we now depart, to lock thy form, in mortal part. Elements all we do rejoin, ascend the heavens, our powers drawn."

"As one we call thee. As one we demand that you come. Element of Darkness come forth. Come forth! Come forth! Come forth!"

As the chanting rose to a climax the sixth and empty stone began to resonate. The runes embossed upon its surface swelled with power and the obsidian pinnacle shimmered violently. In a haze of power a sixth and final form appeared in front of the stone. As the figure appeared the skies rippled with thunder and lightning stabbed at the peak of Carharadros. The ground trembled and heaved as bolts of power arced between the stones and the central plinth. Suddenly six brilliant beams of light erupted skywards from the hexagonal structure and the figures shimmered and disappeared in a blinding flash of light that spread rapidly across the heavens.

And so it was that the Valaar returned to the heavens and Kaleth was bound for all eternity upon the Elemental plane. Of the demise of the Valaar little more is known, although several prophecies speak of their eventual return. Whether this is fact or fiction still remains to be seen...

So it was written by Matarra of the Mantis.
So it is told now by I,
Galen of the Mantis, Emissary of Valen.