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Fiesta Silver Guides | | Taken from fiesta.outspark.com
Fiesta Story
Chapter 1. The Creation Isya, the Gods, and the fall of Legal
The universe was born in a sea of darkness and chaos.This primal force called itself Legel, and embodied both creationand destruction. Legel's ever churning forces gave birth toa myriad of worlds and creatures both great and small.Many creations were quickly snuffed out by the very force thatmade them, but there were areas of temporary calm.It was in one such peaceful location that the Goddess Teva andthe world of Isya were born.
Like many before her, Teva was a being of tremendous power.She reveled in the power given to her by Legel, however temporaryit might be. She was fully prepared to accept the inevitability of herown destruction at the hands of the very thing that created her.
But before this could happen, Teva looked down upon the world thathad been born at the same time as she and saw a variety of new lifeon its surface. She saw many brutal and vile creatures upon this world,but also something else
She saw children playing and animals nurturing and protecting their young.There were two species in particular that caught her eye. These speciescalled themselves humans, and elves. What made them so remarkable wasthe fact that they continued to struggle even against all odds, even when mostanimals would have surrendered. They were frail compared to many other specieson the new planet and should not have survived. But soon Teva began to see someof their virtues. She saw their kindness, their self sacrifice, but most of all somethingelse she couldn't understand. Something kept them holding on even when circumstanceswere dire. Something made them fight on, even though there was no reason to believe in the future.These creatures called it 'hope'.
What was this hope these creatures held onto so desperately? How could such an indescribable, intangiblefeeling give them strength? How could it drive them to persevere against tremendous odds?Teva wanted to know more; she NEEDED to know more. But Legel had other plans.
Teva saw the bubble of calm surrounding both her and this strange world begin to collapse. Legel had come to reclaim what it had made, as it had done for eons. Teva decided she couldn't let this happen.Not this time; not until she understood this 'hope'. Teva used the power granted her by Legel in an attempt to hold back the forces threatened to destroy her and Isya. But those efforts were in vain. Teva felt herself becoming consumed by Legel. She felt exasperation. Fear and uncertainty gripped her heart. Teva knew she couldn't possibly resist the awesome power of Legel.
Teva decided to take one last look at the world that was born with her and the strange species that possessed a strength she seemed to lack. Teva saw the people of the world looking up to her, seeing her attempts to save them. Once again, these creatures astounded her. For the first time Teva noticed they felt the fear that gripped her. It was a feeling of uncertainty. Was it always there? Did she somehow miss it? Or did its tight grip on her help her see it within others for the first time?
Despite the uncertainty, the humans and elves held onto their hope. Teva saw they wouldn't give up, even with Legel's awesome power threatening to crash down upon them. They hoped for something to save them. It somehow gave them the power to make it through one more day. Then Teva realized something else. The humans and elves were looking to her for hope; they wanted her to be the light capable of giving them a reason to look forward to a promising future.
For the first time in Teva's existence, she understood what hope was.She knew what it meant and why it gave these species such strength. Why they never gave up.
With a new found light within her, Teva pushed back against the darkness with renewed strength. She felt Legel lose ground ever so slightly. But it was enough. That small victory filled Teva with greater strength. She pushed harder, and every time Teva felt Legel back away a little more.
Legel couldn't believe what was happening. Something it created should stand no chance against its awesome might. Teva was not only resisting him; she was winning. Legal knew it was in a losing battle and began to fragment itself. Turning to pieces, Legel created many more beings like Teva. These became the gods.
Markis was the first god born of this fragmenting; Legel imbued him with powers of destruction. Pagel was next; Legal gifted him with greed. The goddess Apoline followed with the power of desire. Next was Anis, gifted with Legel's strength. Bijou was given Legel's power of creation. Last came Nik, imbued with the power of Darkness. As each god was born, Legel gave them a desire to reunite and once again make it whole. But Legel kept the greatest power for itself however. The power of Chaos.
Teva saw this happening but could do nothing, as she was completely focused on the battle with Legel. But Legel became extremely weak in the fragmentation process; so weak, in fact, that with a single mammoth effort Teva managed to seal Legel and the power of Chaos away. She buried the sealed God deep within the world of Isya. In a way it seemed fitting to her that Legel be imprisoned upon the very world which helped Teva defeat him. Teva then introduced herself to the inhabitants of the world she just saved. They thanked and praised her, calling her the Goddess of Hope. But this is just the beginning of our story.
Chaper 2: The two Siblings and the Death of Bijou
The new gods immediately began to use the powers given to them by Legel. Markis brought natural and unnatural disasters to the world of Isya. Anis traveled the countryside, fighting all he could find in order to test his strength. Pagel and Apoline corrupted the hearts of mortals, while Nik did the same toIsya’s peaceful creatures.
But there was one among the new gods who did not possess the samedesire to corrupt or destroy the world. Bijou, god of creation, decided to sidewith Teva. He grew to love the world that Legel created and Teva saved.Bijou became particularly fond of the Elves. Some say it was because he fellin love with an Elf woman. But regardless of the reason, Bijou admired how theElves lived in harmony with creation and made beautiful art and music. Theycrafted homes from living trees without harming them, and never took morethan they needed from the land. This way of life appealed to Bijou’s very nature.Every time the other gods sought to destroy a part of Isya, Bijou would use hispowers to help counter it. If Markis destroyed a tree, Bijou helped two grow inits place. If Anis turned a mountain into a crater, Bijou would make it rain to create a lake.
Bijou’s actions angered his fellow gods, and they conspired to take his power. One day,as Bijou wandered through the Elven woods, enjoying the beauty of the world, the godsstruck. They attacked Bijou with all their might and their monstrous power began to destroyeverything in the nearby forest. Bijou, caught in the middle of the maelstrom, shattered intopieces and scattered throughout Isya. With Teva’s only ally gone, the gods thought there waslittle to prevent them from destroying her and the races that helped defeat Legel.
But they were wrong.
The pieces of Bijou scattered throughout Isya began to transform the world. Wherever they landed, forests grew and animals were born. Known as Soul Stones, these pieces proved that even in death Bijou found a way to fight the destruction and chaos plaguing Isya. Angry at Bijou’s continued interference, the remaining gods decided to capture the Soul Stones scattered throughout the world. All mortals who opposed them would be destroyed.
Having recovered some of the Soul Stones that appeared when they destroyed Bijou, the gods began to create horrific monsters to ravage the land. But without all the Soul Stones they lacked Bijou’s complete power of creation. To compensate for this, the gods used their own blood to change what already existed. But it came at a cost. The gods turned everything they could find into monsters, from boars and horses to trees and even inanimate objects like mud and stones. While the transformation created strong, intelligent creatures, it caused them endless pain as well. The new army, savage and merciless, tore across the lands of the Elves. The beasts sowed carnage in an effort to claim the Soul Stones for their creators and destroy everything that got in their way.
Many Elves died in the early stages of this horrible conflict. Having enjoyed peace for centuries, the only combat skills they still possessed were in archery and sorcery—and even those had been used only for hunting and civic projects. The horde of terrible creatures quickly crushed the meager Elven resistance. The Elves who managed to survive chose to hide deeper in the woods rather than stay and fight.
Just as all seemed lost, an Elf named Elderine called out to her people. Known for her skill as an archer, Elderine was joined by her brother Epith, a talented mage. The two pleaded with the remaining Elves, asking them to protect those unable to defend themselves and fight the monsters threatening the Elven way of life. Only a few answered the call at first, but Elderine and Epith worked with them. Elderine showed other archers how their hunting skills could be used to slay dangerous monsters. Epith taught mages how to use spells as weapons. The two also showed their countrymen how to outmaneuver the enemy and lead them into ambushes using dexterity and speed.
The monsters were more than a match for the small Elven resistance created by Elderine and Epith, but this new band of warriors did manage to slow it down. By doing so they gave countless Elves enough time to flee further into the woods and to their capital city. As Elderine’s small victories began to mount,more Elves flocked to her banner. Together they managed to collect Soul Stones from the defeated monsters. By the time Elderine and Epith withdrew to the Elven capital, their forces numbered in the hundreds. The group had also collected a large amount of Soul Stones and the Elven people embraced Elderine as their leader. As she walked through the streets and met with its people, she saw how the entire city had been busy preparing for the siege that lay ahead.
As the terrible army of the dark gods approached, the Elves prepared for what they feared wouldbe their last stand.
Chapter 3: The Making of the Guardian Magi (GMs)
The plight of the Elves during this time had not gone unnoticedby Teva. She had sealed Legel away, but even with the power shehad managed to find in her fight against him, she didn’t possesenough strength to make the Seal perfect. Legel, Teva knew,would still be able to exert an influence in the world of Isya.With the new gods roaming the world, each with their owndesires and a rooted longing to free Legel, Teva saw that thetrials that she and the people of this world faced were far fromover. She did acknowledge, however, that some of these trialswould be good for the people of Isya. She had discovered earlyon that the enlightened people of Isya needed hardship aroundthem as a catalyst to bring forth their innate good. Without trials,without pain or loss, there could be no hope, no reason for kindnessor self-sacrifice. Furthermore, without chaos the world and the people onit would grow stagnant; nothing would ever change for good or for ill.
The destruction and chaos that was being unleashed, however,was too much. The intense rush of derangement threatened todestroy the delicate balance of nature, and with it, Isya as a whole.With the loss of Bijou, and the rest of the gods eagerly seeking herdeath, Teva assumed a mortal form to hide from the god’s mercilesseyes. The goddess was not going to allow the influence of Legel or themachinations of the other gods to go unchecked. She was a being of nearinfinite power and it was difficult for her to understand the Human or Elvenmind. She needed to find creatures who possessed an understanding of thismindset, who could inspire those around them, and could help maintain the delicate balance in the world.
So the goddess created the Guardian Magi or GMs, as they were often called.
Teva selected the bravest, strongest, and best amongst the Human and Elven races. She imbued them with a fragment of her power as well as a Soul Stone to make them more than mere mortals. Then she charged them with
4 distinct duties:
1.Ensure the forces of chaos do not grow too powerful, and if necessary intervene to prevent such an occurrence. If the forces of chaos’ power becomes too great, the Seal may become weakened and unleash Legel once more.
2.Test the people of Isya, so that they may grow stronger. Inspire them to become greater than they ever knew possible.
3.Aid the enlightened races only if they are performing some great service for Isya. In all other circumstances only offer aid to ensure their continued existence and that their hope remains kindled.
4.Protect and serve Goddess of Hope’s mortal incarnation.
This task completed, Teva sent her first two Guardians to the Elf City to reinforce them.
They almost didn’t make it in time.
The Elves had been holding the wall for several days and nights. They endured endless waves of monsters and curses thrown down by the gods. By the time the Guardians arrived, the monsters had just breached the Elven defenses, and the battle was quickly turning into a rout. When the Guardians appeared, the horde didn’t even slow their advance. All their menacing eyes could see were two more victims, two more obstacles to their master’s wishes. The monster army crashed into the Guardians.
The Guardians crashed right back.
It was as though the advancing horde had hit another wall. The front of the enemy line was quickly punched through and decimated. Before the army knew what was happening the Magi were in their midst striking with weapons and blasting with spells. As the monsters attempted to surround the Guardians or gain any distance from them, the Magi simply vanished and reappeared within their midst. No blade, claw, or fang seemed capable of harming the Magi. The chaos and confusion caused by the Guardians was more devastating than the number of monsters they had slaughtered.
The effect on the Elves was even greater. Seeing as help had arrived, the Elves struck back hard. They hit the enemy’s rear and flanks, seizing the opportunity for distraction by this new threat. What was almost the end of the Elven nation became a day of hope and revitalization. After the battle, the Guardian Magi sealed the breaches in the wall, and began to move amongst the injured and the dead, healing and blessing all those who fought. The Guardians then approached Elderine and introduced themselves as Banen and Sayel. They informed Elderine that they had been sent by Teva to aid the Elves in this dark time.
The gods’ anger knew no bounds. The Elven leader had proven herself to be a formidable and frustrating enemy on her own , and her brother’s skill in the magical arts had proven to be the saving grace of Elderine’s little band many times. Still, the gods had been on the verge of eliminating the Elves once and for all. They sought to gain a substantial amount of Bijou’s essence in the process. Now they had been foiled by these servants of Teva, these Guardian Magi, whom had shown up and stopped their army on the verge of victory.
Markis and Nik lashed out in all directions. Great expanses of forest were destroyed, rivers turned to ash. Even their own forces were not spared their gods’ wrath. Apoline and Pagel also raged, but in a more insidious way. They did not lash out; they plotted and schemed. Meanwhile, Anis who had become well-schooled in the arts of combat and war during his battles, and now took command as the general of the monster army, showed no anger regarding the turn of events.
After their raging, the gods came together to contemplate their situation.With the appearance of these strange warriors they were going tohave to change their strategy. A frontal assault was out. Having theGuardians at the helm of the Elf forces would surely result ineradication of any assault. The gods understood they couldn’trisk unleashing their full power, as that would likely destroy theSoul Stones they coveted. So the gods chose to employtheir most lethal power: cunning. Apoline and Pagelwere experts and they already knew the perfecttarget for their “gentle” attentions - Elderine’syounger brother, Epith.
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