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As Chronicler, one finds there are countless subjects and moments in history that must be recorded at some point and discussed with some detail. The emergence of the Dahken as a race is one of these topics, and you will find their history in the paragraphs below. The Dahken first came into being as a race in what is now known as the Shining West, and that is where most of their history is centered. Certainly, they have had a historical impact on the other continents of the world, but I will reserve those stories for other texts.
Around five hundred B.C., the god Dahk manifested to a Westerner named Tannes, appearing before the man as a great iron fountain, bubbling and gurgling enormous amounts of blood. Dahk bade Tannes drink from the fountain so that he may gain full knowledge of what he was. Tannes had no desire to drink of the blood, but he was overawed by the pure power of divinity. Slowly, but deliberately, he lowered his hands into the pool at the base of the fountain and brought them forth again, cupped, blood trickling between his tightly closed fingers. The blood tasted no different from his, and as he forced himself to swallow, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He threw his head back, howling in pain as thousands of images filled his mind at once. Stars exploded in his vision and then went dark as he lost consciousness.
When Tannes awoke, his head and body throbbed with soreness. He sat up slowly, beginning to make sense of everything he had seen, and he understood why he was different from other Westerners. He also knew there were more like him, and he must find them. Tannes was deeply aware of the power that coursed within him, power that all Dahken would have if they were only awakened to it, and it was his task to help them find it. He knew Dahk would not be able to aid him, having exhausted much power appearing before him in such a way.
Tannes set about finding more of his race; he found their blood was drawn to each other, which allowed him to find them easily, so long as he went where he felt led. Some he found as newborns, others as children or adults, and many were outcasts. Westerners feared and shunned them, and in the north, where their condition would be seen as frailty, many were killed as babes or left to die in the icy snows. Tannes taught them how to unlock the power within, though some had discovered some small part of it on their own. As they grew more powerful, he bestowed on them the title of Dahken, and they came to call him Lord Dahken.
They built a small castle, wall, keep and tower, on the southwestern coast of what is now Aquis and called it Sanctum. Sanctum would be the center of Dahken power, home and refuge to all. Here new Dahken would be brought to learn their power and train, and those who died would be laid to rest below.
It became clear to Lord Dahken Tannes that more such castles would be needed. After all, Dahken could be born from parents of any race of the world, and he selected his most powerful six, gifting them with the title of Lord Dahken; their names were Drath, Xalta, Yorina, Baen, Keldin, and Noth. All were set with the task of establishing a castle like Sanctum in different parts of the world. Drath was sent into the north, Xalta and Yorina to the southern continent of Tigol. Baen and Keldin set out for Dulkur across the eastern ocean. Noth went with the latter two, but did not join them in crossing the ocean; instead he stayed to build a castle in what would become the near center of the Loszian Empire.
The Lord Dahken discovered in other parts of the world the same fear and mistrust they were accustomed to in the West. Baen and Keldin found their situation particularly difficult, as it seemed in Dulkur it was common practice to kill those who turned to Dahken immediately. Apparently, the elemental gods warned their sorcerers some years ago, and the rulers of that land would not risk anything that threatened their power. As it was, the two Lord Dahken, who had originally planned to establish two separate citadels on opposite ends of the continent, were forced to stay together for each other’s strength, and they built their stronghold deep in the jungles of Dulkur.
Drath found he did not care much for the north; the weather was extremely cold and inhospitable, much like the people who lived there. They watched him with great suspicion, and he was forced to stay hidden much of the time. In the first few years, he found only two grown Dahken, and he had limited time to find any newborns. The north men did not recognize the condition as anything other than sickness and often left the babes to die. Even when he did find a newborn in time, he was no nurse and had trouble caring for the infants. He finally established an icy stronghold in underground caves.
Then the Loszian meteor struck Rumedia less than a mile to the east of Noth’s citadel, and in its descent, sheared off the citadel’s great spiraling tower. The falling tower, combined with impact of the meteor when it struck ground, shook Noth’s citadel apart and it collapsed amidst great destruction. In the aftermath, Lord Dahken Tannes sent several of his own Dahken in search of Noth and his warriors. The first never returned, and those he sent later came back with reports that the citadel was completely destroyed, and there was no sign of Lord Dahken Noth.
The Loszians set about enslaving the West, conquering Garod’s people at will, and as I have already described, they battled with the Dahken only once, finding their dark sorcery ineffective. Tannes, some six hundred years old now, led his men and women to a terrific victory over the Loszians annihilating thousands of undead servants, weak soldiers and necromancers. The Loszian Emperor then sent an emissary to Sanctum requesting peace and making great payment in the form of gold and jewels. Tannes accepted the payment and signed the peace treaty, giving the Dahken full autonomy so long as they did not interfere in Loszian affairs.
Tannes died shortly thereafter. It seemed to the others that the battle had taken all of his strength, and he aged horribly fast over his last few years. What had been a seemingly strong middle aged man died decrepit and ancient, his skin stretched across brittle bones.
Over the ensuing centuries, the Dahken found they never numbered more than a few hundred at Sanctum. They could not rebuild their citadel in the heart of Losz without dishonoring their treaty with the Empire. The messages from Dulkur spoke of constant battles with the people there and began to decrease in length and frequency before they ceased altogether. The Dahken also ceased to care about many things; as a whole, they became enamored with their own abilities, constantly seeking artifacts or other methods to increase their strength. It became a narcotic, and they tuned out the rest of the world as many of them ceased to even look for other Dahken.
Then The Cleansing began, and Werth and his people began to push the Loszians out of the West. As a whole, the Dahken were uncaring about this, having long lost interest in the happenings of the world around them, that is until the final battle of that war occurred. The rending of the world that resulted from Werth’s sacrifice led to great earthquakes across the western continent, felt all the way into the Northern Kingdoms. A great gout of lava spilled forth from the caves in the north, completely obliterating the underground Dahken stronghold. The Dahken, so concerned with the power in their blood, felt this sudden cataclysm as dozens of their kind died in an instant.
As the Loszian Empire licked its wounds, the west coalesced into its kingdoms and became the Shining West. It was then that the Westerners realized the Dahken, with their near immunity to necromancy, could have helped them defeat the Loszians from the beginning. The Westerners quickly became incensed, then enraged. As the veterans of the Loszian campaigns disappeared into history, combined with the apparent absence of the Loszians, the Westerners targeted the Dahken with their ire. The rulers of the Shining West agreed the Dahken must be taught the price of their inaction and that the Dahken center of power must be Cleansed just as the Loszians were.
In fifty two A.C., they fielded a massive army and marched upon Sanctum. They did not anticipate that most of the Dahken would have a natural immunity to Garod’s power, and while their priests had no more luck against the Dahken than the Loszian sorcerers, they could heal their wounded, quickly returning them to combat. The Dahk
en, having met the Westerners on an open battlefield, found themselves overwhelmed and fled to their keep, losing many of their brethren in the process. The Dahken had never been besieged in history and were wholly unprepared for that type of warfare. The Western army built siege engines, catapults, towers and battering rams from the surrounding forests and nearly battled down the great tower. They breached the walls and rushed inside. The Dahken fought with all the will of their being, but in the end, a mere one hundred fifty could not hope to withstand a siege against thousands upon thousands. The Westerners left none alive and with the castle nearly destroyed, returned to their kingdoms and homes.
Despite this Cleansing, it is nearly impossible to destroy a race, especially one that quite literally appears through the power of a god. Despite attempts by most of the world’s rulers to stamp them out, the Dahken do survive in the world, but only in shadow. All but the most learned have never heard of the Dahken, and it is doubtful even they could recognize one for what it is. It is uncertain what role they may play as the world moves on.
9.