Chapter III:
Concerning The Elves
Daryas Returns
It was not long ere Daryas returned to visit Athann. When it was rumored through the village that the old Spirit had returned, Athann retreated once more to his tent, thinking he might, through deep meditation, find some satisfactory answer to give that luminous emissary. But when at last Daryas appeared before him, he asked for no explanations, but simply said, 'You have seen fit to join the great Dragon in his rebellion. You think that in denying your desires you will be made free from suffering. But in denying them you will only be shown to be powerless. No creature can choose to suffer. But to the end that they should do so, and thereby survive, they were given their desires. The very passions you shun exist precisely so that men like you cannot thwart the work of the Almighty.
'You have called this world evil,' Daryas continued, asking rhetorically, 'But what right have you to judge what is good and what is evil? That is a power that was never granted to your kind. But if it is your will, that the word of man shall establish right and wrong, then your will shall be done. And you will see in due course, that the lies of the Dragon have worked within you for evil and not for good. If you find the path of the Almighty King too hard to tread, then tread your own path, and see whence it leads.'
'I never asked to tread any path at all!' Athann said, defiantly.
Daryas laughed, 'For whose sake was the world made? Think you that it was called into being from darkness so that you, Athann, son of the apes, might be happy? Why should your happiness matter to any but yourself? Do you really think, child, that righteousness is the same as happiness, and that wickedness is the same as suffering?
'This world is a hard fate,' Athann grumbled, 'and it is a sorrowful tale your master tells.'
'Perhaps,' Daryas said, 'But it is HIS tale to tell, and it will be told whether Athann pleases or no.'
'I shall have no part in it at least,' Athann said, almost hissing.
Daryas grew so bright in that instant that the whole world seemed to become black and dead by comparison. 'Then your part is taken away,' he said, calmly, but with a voice more powerful than the world. 'And your destiny shall be given to another.'
Within a week, Athann took ill and died. He had grown thin since the day he chose the way of death, and his body was empty of vigor. But in his last hour, his resolve faded away, and he commanded a great feast to be prepared. He ate one last meal of meat and bread, and then fell into a fit of sickness. The people mourned him, and his servant Furann took charge over the tribe.
Athann was not the only man to meet his end in this manner. Death had entered into the tribe, and every which way they looked, there was sorrow and pain. Furann, faithful to his master's commands, exhorted the people saying, 'Do you so easily forget, my friends, how death is nothing to us, who have given up pleasure in life? This is the path we have chosen; to suffer the death, so that our suffering will not pass on into our sons and daughters, even as it does among the wild brutes of the world. Take heart, and face the grim master with courage, therefore, and make an end of suffering for as long as the world endures.'
Nonetheless, the people did not follow Athann's old laws with the same conviction they had at first. Many began fishing the rivers again, and some even hunted for birds in the forest, growing strong on the flesh of the animals, as they had done before the coming of the Dragon. The situation was more than Furann could control, and the whole community broke apart. The death throes of Athann were exhibited fully when three of the younger women were discovered to be with child.
In the end, man's instincts, and his desire for life prevailed, and the folly of Athann and his wife was ended. But the work of the Dragon that had driven them to their rebellion in the first place continued in the hearts of man, and has passed down from generation to generation. And so the despair of the Dragon passed into man, and haunts him to this very day.
Of the Elves and of the Aggelos
Even as Daryas spoke to Athann, the lord of mankind, another messenger, known to the world as Paley, was sent to the exiled Adapann and his wife Avann. They were led into the west to the place the ancients called Vitiai, which signifies, the Mountain of Life. There they were given a place to live and a land to tend, and promised that, so long as they held fast to the purposes of the Almighty King, they would not see death as their fellows in the world below.
Their descendants became known as the Aggelos, and they were, for an age, hidden away from the world. Upon that mountain they built great cities and lived in peace such as the world had not known before, and has not known since. But the echo of the Dragon's words still rang, faintly, in the hearts of the people. Though one land was filled with life and joy, and the other with death and sorrow, both tribes of men, the humans and the Aggelos, multiplied, and filled the land with their children.
It was not long, then, before the people of Bel Albor left their northern homes and spread out into the wilderness to the west and to the south, coming to settle in the shadow even of Mount Vitiai itself.
Now, the men of Vitiai had very dark skin, and, over time, the people of Bel Albor had become fair-skinned. Thus, when at last the young men of Vitiai beheld the daughters of the mortal men below, they were captivated by their strange beauty.
'There are no such women among our kind,' one named Azale said to his comrades, 'And why should we be denied their love?'
He and his comrades, some two-hundred men altogether, swore to themselves that they would make their home in Bel Albor, rather than in Vitiai, and departed from their home in a great caravan. They brought to the people below gifts of gold and silver, and many other fine things that their age of peace had provided them with in abundance.
They came first to live among the Western tribes of men, who had settled nearest the Mountain of Life. As might be expected, their dark forms and their mighty horses stirred up the interests of the people, and they were treated in every way as gods. It was here that they first received the name 'Immortal' so as to distinguish themselves from the rest of mankind. As they had sworn, they made their abode among mankind, each taking a bride (some taking many brides) and mingling their undying blood with the blood of the dying.
A new race of men appeared in that day. The offspring of the Aggelos and human beings were called Aglews, which in time became the word 'Alws' and eventually, 'Elves'. They possessed the vigor and passion of the mortals, yet also the wisdom and nobility of the Immortals, and in many ways they were right when they said of themselves, that they had been 'born to rule over all mankind.'
The Aggelos and their children soon led their people to war and carved out kingdoms for themselves in Bel Albor. Chief among those who had descended from Mount Vitiai was Azale, who settled in the north where Athann had once lived, Semya, who settled in the far east, where the Dragon had deceived Mainlann in ancient days, Arakiba, who settled in the Wilds, which lay in the heart of Bel Albor, and Armaros, who had his domain in the south, near the border of our own world. Rameel, Satarel, Turel and many other Immortals made their homes near the foothills of Vitiai itself. But the plagues and hardships that befell them in that place soon made an end of their prosperity. It is believed that some of their number departed into the deep south, bringing their wealth with them and inspiring the legends of the people of Kharku before passing away into legend themselves. But who can say of a surety whence the people of Kharku derive their many superstitions?
Vitiai Assailed
The memory of Mount Vitiai would not permit the Aggelos to find contentment, however. The love of women, the hoarding of wealth and the acquirement of power was not sufficient for them so long as the beauty and peace of that mountain remained in their minds. They lusted after their old homes, even as they had lusted after the daughters of Bel Albor. Desire turned, with time, into envy, and the first rumblings of war, properly so called, began to be heard. Azale marched with Semya back into the west, leading an army of e
lves to lay siege to the Mountain of Life itself.
By the very paths through which they had entered Bel Albor, the fathers of the elves returned, bringing war and death to the peaceful immortals of Vitiai. They ravaged the eastern foothills and slew all that would not surrender to them.
In the City of Life, from whence ruled Adapann himself, preparations were begun for war. 'It is in our seed alone that the memory of man's purpose survives,' he said to his captains. 'We shall not lose this war.'
But his exhortations were interrupted by one with wiser council.
'Nay,' said a strange and powerful voice. 'It is not so.'
'Who questions the Lord of Men?' the father of Vitiai demanded.
Standing before him was the figure of a man, clothed in white with a scroll in his hand. Tears were in his eyes. 'Adapann, restorer of the hope of man! It is not the day of your victory.'
'What is the meaning of this?' Adapann demanded.
'Has it been so many ages that you have forgotten the one who called you to Vitiai?'
'It was the Almighty himself that has ever instructed our deeds,' Adapann replied.
'Yet you have never seen the Almighty yourself,' the intruder said. 'Can you forget the voice that spoke to you His will and not forget also that will? If you truly know the Almighty then you will know also him whom he has sent unto you; for without his messenger, you are in ignorance.'
'Paley?' Adapann said, finally recognizing the dissenter. 'My lord,' he said, kneeling, 'forgive me.' His captains and his queen all fell to their knees in unison, for they would not dishonor their lord by standing taller than he.
With great emotion Paley looked upon them. 'Greater beauty has not been seen in the whole of the earth, not since the beginning. Nor shall its like be seen again. Yet it is not through the power, wisdom and beauty of Vitiai that the Almighty shall have his will. There are many paths that seem right to a man bound by time; but no man, be he ever so cunning, can see all ends. But the Almighty chooses the end, and knows well all the roads. You are right, Adapann, that in your seed lives the hope of mankind. But Vitiai shall fall; and that seed will be spread in the world below. You have chosen aright, and your enemies have chosen foolishly. But they are still your brothers and your sons, their folly born of your life as surely as their form and their features. But they shall not all be left in their wickedness - not forever.'
'Then what shall we do? Lay our necks before our betrayers?'
'You mean your sons?' Daryas said, reminding Adapann of the lineage of their assailants. 'Though many ages have passed, is not Azale your kin, even as these are who stand around you?'
Adapann was silent, he broke into tears and held his head in his hands. There he wept, and his court wept along with him, for the folly of their relatives, and for the evil that it had brought upon them.
'I say again,' Daryas continued at last, 'Vitiai shall fall. But do not fear that what you have done in this place has been done in vain. Even now the Almighty has prepared the vessel that shall bear his name and memory into the world below - and there is naught that you or Azale can do that shall prevent him. Go, therefore, and make an end to the people of Vitiai in what manner you see fit. Surrender to your enemies, and live as slaves. Or fight a war such as shall never again be fought, and perish. Long ago you wished upon yourself all the horrors of the world for the sake of love. Now, for the sake of love, accept them, even as you have committed yourself.'
Finally, the Queen, Lady Avann, spoke to her husband, 'It is a cruel fate that the Almighty has made for us.'
'Nay, my love,' he said, embracing her for the last time, 'It is a gift to belong to the Almighty. Do not fear Azale's army. We knew long ago that the end we chose was not for our own sake only, but for the sake of our children. Let us walk down it boldly, then, in our children. Therein alone is the hope of all men.'
From that hour the people of Vitiai were split into two groups. The Faithful, as they came to be called in later ages, remained upon the mountain awaiting the chains of Azale and the scourge of Semya. The others, not content to live their life as prisoners, took up arms and met their kinsmen on the battlefield as enemies.
For ten years the battle raged. The mountain itself was torn to shreds as fire leaped up from secret places and the weapons of Vitiai were unleashed upon the elves and their fathers. Semya fell to the ground in the third year, pierced with a hundred arrows. Azale, in desperation and anger, summoned to his side those who remained of his companions (of those who had deserted Vitiai for the daughters of Bel Albor).
There perished Arakiba and many of his sons. Armaros also, and Rameel with him were killed in battle, slain during the sixth year by the spearmen of Adapann, who had abandoned their lord to seek their fortunes on the battlefield. Satarel and Turel, and nearly all their host were destroyed by the armies of Vitiai, who raged against the elves and their fathers with unending fury.
In the tenth year, the warriors of Vitiai had driven their foes from the mountain, and had taken Azale captive. They bound him with unbreakable chains and threw him cursing into the deepest hole on the mountain, his hands still red with dripping blood.
They threw a great feast and celebrated their victory over the elves and their traitorous fathers. Especially they celebrated their victory over Azale the Red-handed, whose fingers had been awash in innocent blood for the greater part of ten years.
It seemed to their eyes as though they had not only triumphed over Azale and his cohorts, but also over the very decrees of heaven. Paley and Daryas' names were openly mocked among them and the captains of the army laughed at the prophecies that had been given to them. The Faithful they bound with chains and confined in dungeons that had hitherto been used only for storage.
The men of Vitiai had underestimated the elves, however, thinking that they would be weak in proportion to the degree to which the blood of the Holy Mountain had been diluted. But the very opposite proved to be the truth. They were wiser and more beautiful than the men of Bel Albor, but also stronger and hardier than the noble people of Mount Vitiai.
It was in this age that Lord Parganas came to rule over the elves. He was the grandson of both Azale and Semya, his father being the son of the former and his mother the daughter of the latter. For a single generation the Mountain of Vitiai enjoyed its blood-bought peace. Lord Parganas united the people of that region into a single nation, and made one final attempt upon the Holy Mountain. His rage has not been matched, it is said, by any ruler of any age. He set fire to everything that had been wrought by hands, and reduced the mountainside to ashes. No tree remained standing, no field remained unscorched, and no enemy was permitted to live. Adapann himself was slain, though he offered himself up as a prisoner. Lord Parganas was merciless with his enemies.
Except, he was prudent enough to understand that those who had, for a generation, languished in the dungeons on the mountain would be grateful to him for their release, though he was a conqueror and not a savior. These he sent down into the land of Bel Albor to be servants of his generals and captains. Among these went Maelani, the youngest daughter of Adapann and Avann.
The End of the Aggelos
In the generation that followed the end of the War on Vitiai, the Aggelos vanished from the earth altogether. The conflict itself had nearly made an end of those who had rebelled against Vitiai; Semya was slain, Azale lost in the Abyss, and their chief comrades were slain by the captains of Adapann. Those Immortals who remained, whether they were allies of Parganas or not, were hunted down and eliminated by Lord Parganas' servants, until all that remained in Bel Albor were the various tribes of men and those who had been the offspring of mortal and immortal - the elves. The latter of these groups soon gained the mastery over the other, as their long lives endowed them with a prudence the tribes of men could not match - or, so it has always been taught in the elvish histories.
It is unlikely that any king, whether elvish or human, save, perhaps, for Adapann h
imself, was a more brilliant ruler than Parganas. Knowing the advantage his kind possessed over the humans, he immediately set about the reordering of the ancient traditions. He learned and then destroyed all the histories of Vitiai and Bel Albor alike, preserving the truth within his breast alone. In time the humans accepted his version of their origins, and forgot the tales of their fathers, or began to view them as myths and fables. The very existence of Vitiai was wiped from their memory in but three generations, and only those elves who had partaken in the battles remembered what had come to pass on that now barren mountain. The very stones of the City of Life were pulled down and reused in Parganas' own fortresses, lest the ruins demand an explanation inconsistent with his official narrative.
The history he had invented for his kingdom stated, in short, that the elves had descended from heaven to end the constant quarrels of mankind, and, therefore, all the hardships the elves inflicted upon their race were penalties, and every good thing they received was more than they deserved. If in addition to this the legends of man taught that the elves had destroyed the gods of old, Parganas thought it just as well.
Inheritance
There is a difficulty that the first fathers of the elves did not entirely foresee. Their long lives provided them with many children, but no heirs. For an heir, properly so called, does not receive his inheritance until his father has deceased. But the elves had no intention of doing this. So their children, languishing in perpetual subordination, were given to despair.
Their hopelessness led them to many excesses. Some took to the sea, seeking new lands over which they might make themselves lords. It is the firm conviction of our Lapulian historians that the greater part of these adventurous elves came to reside in Kharku, though a fair number of them dwelt in Vestron and even (our historians are less firm in this) in Dominas. Others resorted to patricide, and indeed inherited the kingdoms of their fathers after all.
Showing the depth of their fatherly love, the elvish lords, to avoid these dreadful perils, resorted to unending wars and conquests, hoping to skewer two boars with one spear, so to speak. Any prince who proved himself to be overly ambitious was sent to the frontiers to battle goblins, monsters, wild men and whatever else might bring them to a quick and tidy death. If the perils of war were not sufficient to make an end of them, the servants of their fathers would poison them in their sleep.
Lord Parganas was not above these methods. Indeed, it is partly because of this that his reign lasted as long as it did. But in the end he began to feel weary of the constant struggle between lord and hopeless heir. It was not his will at first, however, that any of his own children should succeed him. 'They are altogether weak minded and pampered,' he complained, and he banished his many wives from his chambers.
It was then, some one thousand years after his reign had begun, that he first beheld the great beauty of Aedanla, who was the great granddaughter of Maelani, the last daughter of Adapann and Avann.
The lure of such a union overpowered all other interests in his mind. He believed that uniting the blood of the elves with the blood of the Aggelos would grant his kingdom a legitimacy that could never be questioned. He had become so absorbed in his own fictional histories, apparently, that he forgot that his grandsires Semya and Azale themselves had been descendants of Vitiai.
In time, Aedanla bore him two boys, whose fame has so overshadowed their father's that his name is now all but forgotten.
Were it not for the protests of Aedanla, Lord Parganas would have left all, his kingdom and his authority, to Agonas. But the will of Maelani's granddaughter proved to be as fierce as that of fell Semya's grandson - neither Pelas nor Agonas would be given preference. Moreover, in every contest they were proved to be equals.
The solution presented itself by the rise of Sunlan, a kingdom of elves that sprung up beyond the eastern marches of Parganas' own domain. The brothers were told: 'Upon your shoulders is placed the burden of bringing this land under my dominion. Whichever of you accomplishes this deed, and is first to sit upon the throne of Sunlan, will rule my kingdom as well.'
Upon hearing this cruel decree, Lady Aedanla abandoned the halls of Parganas and settled in one of his villas, where she remained until sometime before the fall of Parganas' kingdom.