Visualizing Zalanthas..

[spicemustflow]

[James de Monet]

I realize this isn't what I'm supposed to focus on, but that is one hell of a name. Could she get any more Scandinavian?

[spicemustflow]

She is boarding a longboat as we speak.

[ShaLeah]

I realize this isn't what I'm supposed to focus on, but that is one hell of a name. Could she get any more Scandinavian?
Northern?

FTFY

You know those northies are notoriously elf loving. Her hair is hiding the breed ears.

[spicemustflow]

She looks like my professor. If said professor was prettier and was an elf sex expert.

[Rahnevyn]

the blonde, high-cheekboned halfbreed

[Barsook]

Some where out in the Silt Sea.... 

[Delirium]

Meanwhile, in Nilaz...

[Rathustra]

Immaculate.

[Zoan]

She is boarding a longboat as we speak.

Everyone knows elves can't ride skimmers.

[MeTekillot]

It's leg-powered, so it's okay.

[CodeMaster]

Long ago, servants of the Dragon - a powerful sorcerous entity - roamed the earth, crushing all opposition.



Then the dragon mysteriously vanished - some unknown task complete or perhaps interrupted.

628 (Year 12 Age 9)
600 have passed and civilization is arising anew.  However, during a war between the city-states of Allanak and Tuluk at Wyntek Harzen, a black fortress is discovered in the sands. It is believed to be the home of Luir Dragonsthrall, last living servant of the Dragon.



(A fun project would be to make a video out of these with some appropriate music, kind of like the introduction of Robin Hood Prince of Thieves (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AxVTvrD3HY).

[CodeMaster]

(Warning: some poetic license in this post)

Over 100 years pass.  Luir's activities during this period of time are unknown. He is apparently without the Dragon to guide and empower him.  An elusive figure, his whereabouts during this period are lost to history. Historians speculate he merely wandered these many years - a dangerous, faceless outcast that few encountered (or lived to tell about).


120 years after his fortress was first uncovered, the whereabouts of this dangerous wanderer were somehow made known to the powerful ruler Tektolnes.  Perhaps a
High Templar or Tektolnes himself was able to sense his whereabouts during a rare but careless lapse in shielding his mind from detection.

This spelled Luir's demise: circa 744, (Year 51 Age 10), Tektolnes confronted Luir Dragonsthrall deep in the obsidian mines of Allanak.  This might suggest Luir was more powerful than any of Tektolnes' High Templars, and that only Tektolnes himself could challenge the dread servant.


But, Luir was outmatched. By use of incredible magicks, Tektolnes buries Luir under ninety-nine cords of rock, cementing his position as one of the most powerful entities in the Known.

[CodeMaster]

~8th age: Due to the horrific fates suffered by those unfortunate enough to stumble in his way, the sorcerer Valasurus gained legendary status as a terrible force to be reckoned with.



The "vile sorcerer" as he became known had aspirations to conquer and to rule, and realized the value of city-states as a way to concentrate and multiply his power.  But, he was wise enough to know know he was outmatched by significantly more powerful entities, notably Tektolnes himself.  So he lay in wait.



By the 34th year of the 9th age (c.650), Tektolnes was heavily distracted and faced numerous impending threats.  First, by the uprising of a warrior from the north - now powerful leader - named Muk Utep - known to lead a seemingly unstoppable conquering force in the north. Moreover, at least one servant of the Dragon was rumored to still abide in the Known: Luir Dragonsthrall had to be dealt with.

Perhaps the vile sorceror Valasurus perceived Tektolnes' distraction, and this is when he seized his opportunity.  He emerged from hiding and, in a quest to machine his own center of power over the Known, raised the city-state of Steinal in the far east.



Steinal became a rival of Allanak in the Known World's Southlands, growing to occupy the land east and south of the Salt Flats (q.v.). Its heights of decadence rivaled Allanak's, and its wealth was prodigious. The nobility of the city lived in such opulence as to border on that of royalty.  The city prospered for many hundreds of years.

Despite the growing threat of Steinal to Allanak, Tektolnes' focus was largely to the north, where the Dragon itself appeared to make what can only be described as an "obscure exchange" with Muk Utep.



That's another story, but this exchange left a great part of Tuluk destroyed.  When this happened, it appears that Tektolnes was able to shift his focus east, to the growing threat of Steinal.

By 1055 (Year 54 Age 14), war between the two city-states was in full effect, their armies clashing just west of the Great Salt Flats.  Steinal's military prowess was leading to important losses for Allanak, and to some it seemed as though Valasarus' army might prevail.



His full focus on the east now, though, Tektolnes was able to summon an awful magick, and a sandstorm of unheard-of magnitude rose out of the sands.



As it grew in intensity, this storm smashed the city of Steinal, burying it, its citizens, and Valasurus in the desert forever (Tektolnes, in the process, gaining a fearsome reputation for burying anyone who dares to challenge him).



The tales of the riches of Steinal persist, as travelers claim to have found an entrance to this or that buried estate on the far side of the Salt Flats, but none of these have ever been authenticated.

[CodeMaster]

(Warning: major speculation in this post, which is just for fun)

1389 (Year 3 Age 19): It has been almost 500 years since the last appearance of the Dragon, and even longer than that since any of his dread servants roamed the Known.  To most, the Dragon and his poisonous, defiling magick are like the dim memory of a nightmare.



Suddenly, the first "true" Defiler in over 1500 years is found and somehow killed outside of Tuluk.  The details of how this defiler was slain are lost to time.  However,  it is known that ancient texts miraculously resurfaced as a result of this, which detailed much of defiler magick: it is very real, very powerful, and has immeasurable depth.  The consequences of such a discovery are clearly profound; but where this library of texts ended up, and who or what consumed their knowledge, are unknown.



What is known is that Tektolnes' activities are completely unrecorded during the ensuing five years.  In fact, he remained silent and inaccessible even as his city was put under a grueling siege for a year, circa 1394.  However, at the end of these five years, Tektolnes reappeared in the guise of a dragon and breathed death upon his city's sieging army - the army simply ceased to exist.



50 years later (1441 - Year 55 Age 19), a fire of questionable origin starts in the scrub plains south of Tuluk and almost destroys the city.  A mere 9 years after this (1450), a terrifying and presumably magickal cataclysm strikes the city-state of Tuluk, leaving it to be nothing more than a pile of rubble and ruins.  Over seventy thousand people were killed that day in what has since come to be known as the Fall of Tuluk.



This cataclysmic event does not destroy Tuluk, but puts the northern forces on the back foot.  Allanak is also likely still suffering from the economic effects of its own besiegement, though it is fifty years past now.  Neither city-state has a clear advantage.

And so commences decades of overt battle - skirmishes, terrorism, and guerilla warfare - between the two city-states, with terrible losses on both sides.  



By 1476 (Year 13 Age 20), Allanaki troops, in a series of bloody battles, conquers all of Gol Krathu. The lone surviving Allanaki templar, Elaira Fale of the Blue, is credited with the victory.  However, the invaders are unable to finish the job, as Muk Utep holes up in his pyramid and an indefinite siege begins.

[CodeMaster]

Forty years of Allanaki occupation have elapsed, and Muk Utep has not left his besieged pyramid.  Allanak's forces are either unwilling or unable to penetrate his fortress.  No enemy of Tektolnes' has ever been so difficult to vanquish.  It is now 1516 (Year 53 Age 20).

After much preparation, the northern powers muster enough force to launch a counterattack against their conquerers.  The multifaceted resistance army is comprised of the Sun Legions of Tuluk, a number of rebel resistance fighters, various human tribes of unknown origins, and hordes of hideously mutated and deformed creatures.  The motivations of each group may be up for debate, and are not commonly known, but they formed a devastatingly effective and agile fighting alliance.



They successfully penetrate the Scaien Walls and liberate the land inside and, with no loss of momentum, marched for Luirs, liberating the outpost from Allanaki occupation as well.   When the surge was over, high templars (Sathis, Valika, Ihsahn) and precentors (Kul, Israr) lay slain on both sides.  Thus the twentieth age ended in significant and continuing defeat for Allanak's overextended forces - Tektolnes' greatest losses ever recorded.



These defeats were further punctuated by a terrorist attack on the Tor Academy inside the very city of Allanak... and the slaughtering of several more Allanaki forces by a Tuluki force led by the Jihaen templar Gavale Uaptal.

[manonfire]

I like everything you are doing here.

[Barsook]

Awesome job!

[TheWanderer]

I like everything you are doing here.

[RogueGunslinger]

I like everything you are doing here.

It would be cool if it has its own stickied thread.

"I visual history of Zalanthas."

[Barsook]

Maybe we can beg the staff to do so!  And sticky this one too.

[CodeMaster]

During the the Allanak/Tuluk conflict of the 20th Age, an ambitious sorceror of great potential was wandering the edges of the Known, studying and learning from dark, pilfered texts.  Accounts of his activities are scarce, but children's tales often include some detail about him finding sanctuary in the eyes of the worst Zalanthas storms, wherein none could approach him.


It is conjectured that at some point this "Lord of Storms" became deeply interested in the mantis clutches.  He may have learned their language and culture.  He may have grown to admire their physical prowess, their incredible agility on the hunt, and their military potential.  And he may also have seen into their sleepless and deeply alien minds, perhaps perceiving some exploitable psychic flaw in their pack-driven mentality.  But, he lacked the power to turn the key.

Sometime around the start of the 21st Age, the Lord of Storms' wandering led to a chance encounter with a being from east of the Tuluki plains.  The consensus seems to be that this "dark creature" was a entity of great power, its origins possibly even lying somewhere outside the Known.



It is widely assumed that a pact was made between the two, very likely empowering the Lord of Storms beyond his own potential - but little else is known of the meeting.  Nevertheless, the only recorded precedent for such an arrangement is the rumored exchange between the ancient rulers of the Known and the Dragon himself (which, as we know, led to armageddon).



Following this exchange, the Lord of Storms exacted an incredible influence over a massive swarm of mantis.  He led them to Luir's Outpost.



The violent and total conquest is thought to have been uncharacteristic of these ecologically minded creatures, and little is known about the ensuing occupation.  Legend has it that the storms around Luir's had a poisonous quality during this time.

After some seven year gestation period, Luir's burst forth with an incredible army comprised of the mantis (some perhaps appearing sickly and altered) as well as some of the most hellish creatures ever to have roamed the Known.  This army swarmed towards towards Tuluk, which was hard pressed to bring the mantis advance to a halt.  The invaders easily broke through the marshaled defenses to make their way to the heart of the city.  The loss of life was tremendous.



Some suggest Muk Utep had somehow foreseen this unlikely attack, and had somehow been prepared for it: just when loss seemed certain, an enormous eruption of psychic energies poured out from the center of the city and sent ripples throughout the Known World.  Apparently traumatized by the unleashed energies, the invading forces became disoriented and confused, turning on each other and allowing the city defenders to push them back.  Hoping to capitalize on the victory, the Kuraci forces and their allies launched a quick assault on the Outpost and force what little remained of the mantis invaders to retreat.

It is not known what happened to the Lord of Storms, but some say he was ravaged by the psychic attack, which he felt ten-thousand fold through the mind of every creature he controlled.



Some say this was fatal, while others say he continues to wander the Known, a damaged shadow of his former self.

[CodeMaster]

Mostly this is just for fun as I familiarize myself the chronology (and to bide the time until my password thing gets sorted out, I hope I didn't bug it out too bad).  None of the images are mine, but making a visual history of Zalanthas sounds like a great idea to me.

[FreeRangeVestric]

Mostly this is just for fun as I familiarize myself the chronology (and to bide the time until my password thing gets sorted out, I hope I didn't bug it out too bad).  None of the images are mine, but making a visual history of Zalanthas sounds like a great idea to me.

It's really great, and helped me to remember some things from the chronology as well. 

[Delirium]

(Warning: some poetic license in this post)

I'd say.

Neat, though.