And so the great creation in the sphere of Order prospered, creating the minor forces and all of the children of the three Ancient Ones. Soon the greater forms of life roamed the face of the land, developing themselves in ways that astonished the Ancient Ones themselves. Our ancestors were already learning the basics of their magical capacity, bending the created nature to their will.
But it was this very capacity that brought them to the attention of Acron himself. It appeared that this power which us mortals call magic was born out of the residual chaos that served as foundation for all creation, and the fact that mere mortals could control chaos made the Lord of Apeiron uncomfortable, for it was chaos that the Ancient Ones could not control, they had no power over it, there was more to this mortals than he had anticipated.
Ascan, on the other hand, was pleased with this, seeing all his different creatures mastering the arts of magic, be it elf, dwarf or man, they all were developing, achieving greater knowledge and power.
The mysterious Terrible Lord Kindramar marely watched and waited, what he waited for is unknown as are nearly all things about one of the most powerful Ancient Ones, it is said that perhaps he knew of the disaster to come, but stayed quiet for his own reasons.
And so Acron, Praised in earth and heaven, decided to take action on these mortals that in his view defied him, and he did so through one of the forces born from him. It was Asckura, father of the earth; upon Acron's command, Asckura began plotting in secrecy the destruction of the sentient races, so that they would never disrupt the delicate balance of the sphere.
The great father of the earth went deep into the inner crusts of the world, and the land itself trembled as his terrible ambition of destruction became a harsh reality, it was on that fateful day that th Dust Men came to be, harboring nothing but hatred in their unbeating hearts. These Dust Men were beings whose very existence proved abhorrent to Ascan and all the others forces of life, because they had form, but not purpose. These beasts were nothing but animated earth, with no trascendence whatsoever, and this angered Ascan, considering that Asckura was playing with forces that were not for him to interfere with.
The Dust Men reached the surface and began his depredations upon the sentient races, destroying entire villages at a time, leaving no survivors behind. Their victims had little or no chance to defeat them, considering the raw power of the beasts.
And it was this predations that brought about the begginning of a battle on earth and on heaven, as the forces of life were not ready to accept the destruction of their creations. Little is known about the battles between the forces of form and purpose, but it has been said that at least one of the worlds within the sphere is no more.
On the face of the earth, great numbers had fallen prey to the Dust Men, aided by mysterious allies wielding strange magic. They were now heading to the place where all the developers of magic and knowledge lived, the place where humans, elves and dwarfes had achieved greater knowledge. But all of these tribes were petty and fighting amongst themselves, leaving little hope for survival.
Every time that our people are in trouble, be it past or present, the great heroes of Soul and Steel have appeared to help us, and this was no exception, for it was only through them that the tribes united and mounted an effective defense against the Dust Men.
Meanwhile, within the storm, dark eyes gazed upon the sphere, watching everything on heaven and earth, finding it good. The force lounged forward, rupturing the sphere and destroying a great part of it in the blink of an eye, the great Walker of the Storm raised his head, throwing it back in a laugh that made the Ancient Ones tremble.
Inmediately, all squabbles in heaven stopped; for the Ancient Ones now contemplated Rao, the Walker of the Storm, and even Misznhá's power seemed to pale in comparison. It is said that even Kindramar himself gasped in fear at the sight of Rao.
Oblivious to the arrival of the Walker of the Storm, great battles raged in the land below, the Dust Men's numbers were depleted already, but the final battle was yet to be fought. And so all the fighters converged on the plain for a final combat, one that would decide the survival of all the creatures of the land.
The Lords of Soul and Steel stood defiantly at the head of the allied army, it was as if all the creatures on earth held their breath at once. The Lord of Soul and Steel reached for his weapon, grasping it tightly, then shouted and charged forward at the Dust Men, and all the land shouted with him.
As battle raged below, the Walker lounged forward into the sphere, destroying anything in its wake. The Ancient Ones could not bring themselves to take action, knowing that it would only bring them a quicker death.
All seemed lost now, even the Ancient Ones were powerless before Rao, the great Walker of the Storm. But then a light appeared within the storm, repairing the sphere as it entered it. The Lady of Order had returned, only to fing her creation in pieces, needless to say, this did not pleased her.
While all the other forces hid waiting their destruction, Misznhá rushed forward towards the Walker of the Storm, just as he was reaching the world of our ancestors. The battle below still raged, but it was being won by our great ancestors, the Dust Men falling before the might of the Lords of Soul and Steel.
What happened then had been passed from mouth to ear for generations until it was recorded here, and this description was given by one of the warriors that saw it.
" The land beneath us was covered in blood, and the battle was furious, but still, the beasts of the dust were falling now, their power forever broken, but suddenly, everything was covered in shadows, and every man on the field felt cold running down his back. We turned to the sky, and saw blackness all over it, except for the colossal figure of two red eyes looking down at us, then we heard a thundering hiss, and every single one of us felt a scream caught in our throaths."
"And then, out of nowhere, a blinding light appeared in the sky, and I could swear I saw the face of a beautiful woman within. It lasted less than a second, the light went toward the darkness, then a blinding light and a force that made us fall to the ground, before we knew what what happened, the earth itself began to shake, mountains and trees falling everywhere, and flaming blood poured from the cracks in the earth, when it was over, only a few of us survived. And light was falling around us, little sparks of light rained from the skies in an unspeakable wonder, we could not help but behold this in awe."
After the battle between Order and Chaos, great Misznhá had died, and it was her essence, the remains of her form that rained upon our ancestors, bringing them knowledge and power above that of any other mortal, just as a dark sphere fell fron the sky and sunk into the ocean, blackening and corrupting the water around it, but that is a story to be told another day...
And so it was that the great ascan race was born and the Walker of the Storm fell before the Lady of Order.
And It was from that day forward that both man and Ancient One knew the world as Raokrá; the tomb of Rao.
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The information contained herein was extracted from the ascan tome "The Wisdom of the Ancients", and it tells of Rao's appearance in the sphere of Order, I must mention here that the exact nature of Rao was never revealed, and that his origins are unknown even to the ancient ones themselves, and so the story told here does not clarify anything concerning that matter. Also within this story, is the first recorded appearance of the Lords of Soul and Steel, and make no mistake, these warriors are the same ones that saved the planet thousands of years later from Rao's avatar, it seems that they travelled the flow of time to stop strange enemies that wished the destruction of all sentient races, and are described here as " mysterious allies wielding strange magic" |
