Tales From the Second Age

Story: Tales From the Second Age

Here-in contains the tale of the beginning of the Second Age, which is the present age, according to the Sacred Writings passed down from the Ancient Stewards to the Elves, and according to the understanding of the Elders of Effrendell - the most powerful and wise of the Elven folk:

Though the peoples of the world, (the Elves, the Humans, the Dwarves and the Halflings) had been cast out of the throne room with the Fallen Ones (the Circle of Kings and their Legions), the Most High did not abandon them. Because of his great love and mercy he had pronounced a prophecy over them (that a day will come when a remnant of the people will rise up as one man and pierce the heart of darkness with the light of the sun), and he continued to influence the path of history moving forward, (but most people could not see this).

After the casting out, Da'rook tried to call together the Circle of Kings again, but they were angry and refused to obey him. Instead, in their hurt pride they began to prepare the peoples of the world for war, and determined in their hearts to see who was the greatest among them. When Da'rook tried to convince them to work together under his command, they laughed at him and said, "you do not even have a people for yourself! Why should we listen to you?" and they refused his council.

So, with his own hurt pride, Da'rook set out with plans to regain control of the Circle of Kings and the peoples of the world. With stealth and secrecy Da'rook kidnapped members of each people group and brought them to the Northern Wildlands - a place already filled with Dragons, Ancient Giants and all manner of great and wild beasts. There he worked the Magic of the Undead and created the first Monster Races - the Orcs, Goblins, Duergars, Kobolds, Yuan-Ti, Bugbears, Hobgoblins, the Lesser Giants and Trolls. But soon after Da'rook discovered these creatures were impossible to reason with and only responded to fear and tyranny, so he enlisted a young Red Dragon named Ashardalon to rule over them with force in the Northern Wildlands while he went back to carry out his other plans.

Meanwhile, the peoples of the world continued to wage war against each other as the Fallen Ones set themselves to the task of proving who was greatest among them. The Elves settled among ancient forests in the East. The Humans expanded from the Waters of Haal in the north, along the west coast of the Great Sea of Kraag, and all the way down to the South Eslen Ocean. The Dwarves built great underground cities in the mountains along the east coast of the Sea of Kraag, and the Halflings managed to isolate themselves in the far south-east where there are gentle lands hidden in vast regions of great wilderness. All the Peoples of the World fought internally as one war lord after another rose and fell. And as some lords began to consolidate their own peoples under common flags, their eyes turned to conquering other lands.

Over time, Da'rook proved again to be more clever than the other Fallen Ones for he approached each privately and gifted them with power from the Magic of the Undead, and they began to unleash Agents of Darkness raised up from the peoples who were enslaved to them. But what the other Fallen Ones did not realize was the more they exercised the Magic of the Undead, the more they became slaves to its power, and to the one who wielded it's authority. Eventually, after many years, Da'rook was able to regain control over the other Fallen Ones, and gathered them again, this time reluctantly, under the Circle of Kings.

During this time, the Most High was also busy with his plans, and he appeared to the peoples of the world in a series of dreams and invited them to turn back and to share in the responsibility of the remaining faithful Ancient Stewards, if any were willing. The Elves were willing and to them was given the Sacred Writings and the Knowledge of the Most High and the Magic of Nature. Most of the Elves then turned away from the Fallen Ones and embraced wisdom, while those that did not were driven away to the North Eastern Wildlands and became the Drow Race.

And as the generations began to pass, the Elves influenced the other peoples of the world to pull back from relentless war and build up great civilizations instead, and to engage in peaceful trading with one another. All of this produced great anger and frustration in the Circle of Kings, for their influence over the hearts and minds of the people, the frequency and scale of devastating wars, and the number of available Agents of Darkness all began to shrink.

Thus began Da'rook's hatred for the Elves and his vow to destroy them. And from this hatred sprang forth his master plan - that he would raise up the most powerful Agent of Darkness the world has ever seen, a human who would be his champion and would conquer the world with the help of the Monster races, (for the Humans are the easiest to temp with visions of wealth, power and fame, and they are crafty and capable with acts of cruelty against others). And the Circle of Kings would once again rule over all creation together with Da'rook as their leader and guide. And the Most High will be forced to recognize their demands!

And thus began the search for an Emperor who will be used to build a Kingdom of Darkness that will stretch across the entire Known World.