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TABLE OF CONTENTS
- History of Malas and the Origins of the Paladin
- The Discovery of the Ankh of Life and Rebirth of an Order
- The Founding of Darkmoor and the Darkmoor Alliance
HISTORY OF MALAS AND THE ORIGINS OF THE PALADIN
Malas is commonly known as the Dark Facet, a fitting name considering the origins of the land. No one knows when the first humans stepped on this land, once a single continent, now split in three. However history may explain the emergence of humans, one thing is well known. Prior to the emergence of humans, the land was a dead land, home of a race of beings devoted to the lure of death.
The first settlers faced a dark evil, one that eventually required them to band together, and a settlement was founded. From this settlement, volunteers manned the walls to protect the settlers from the creatures of death. The darkness of night is the time when evil flourishes, and when the powers of the evil sorcerers known as necromancers are the strongest.
These volunteer soldiers came to be known as Paladins, much like the mythological heroes of old, only unlike these heroes, these Paladins lacked the power granted to Knights of the Faith. It appeared that in this desolate land even the gods of old had abandoned all hope. Every enemy slain, every Paladin fallen, only served to provide more soldiers for the armies of the dead.
In time, the settlement grew to a city, and it was discovered from fearless scouts that on the opposite end of the continent there lay a great city. A city of Darkness, where little light penetrated, where the lands had grown dark with the blood of the dead, all happiness and joy lost with the souls stolen from the once living.
This city was named Umbra, for like the meaning of the word, the city was a leech stealing all light and life from around it. For leagues in every direction, the evil of this city emanated onto the lands. From the stalwart settlement the great city of Lunas was founded, a bastion of light in the impending darkness. Just when it seemed darkness would finally swallow up the land, Lunas provided a fortress from which the Paladins trained and ventured forth.
Year after year, as the city grew and more boys grew to mature age, the army of volunteers grew. As the army grew, so did their efforts. Finally, after what had been several generations hiding within the walls of Lunas, a great army ventured forth, to begin what would some deemed at the time as the war of the two cities, or the War of Light and Darkness. In later years historians dubbed it the War of Duality.
For several hundred years, the two great cities sent forth armies in a battle that would decide the fate of the land of Malas. Sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, all sacrificed and many died in these battles. It was a war which knew no end or beginning, one that required a test of strength and faith, and of devotion to win, even in the face of incredible odds. No mercy was asked nor given, and men and women died as warriors side by side in stands to hold back the darkness.
These were hard years, where those who fell were dragged on the backs of the living, to have their remains cremated or burnt to avoid providing more soldiers for the Necromancer armies. Such a horrid sight could not be imagined, where you would fight by the side of your best friend one day, and the next day fight against the living corpse of that same friend.
This war is hard to imagine now, where several generations of humans lived for the express purpose to provide more living, breathing bodies to fight the undead. It was a war that consisted of battle after battle, where the gains were not measured in leagues but in small increments of territory gained.
It was during one of these great battles that a miracle was discovered, one that would provide the salvation not only for humanity, but for the forces of light. This miracle would give life again to the lands, and bring new hope to the besieged humanity in an ocean of darkness. This was the re-birth of the faith, and the tool which humanity used to finally win the War of Duality.
THE DISCOVERY OF THE ANKH OF LIFE AND REBIRTH OF AN ORDER
In the middle of the third century of the War of Duality, the armies of Light had won many battles, and were driving back the forces of Darkness. But if the ability of the necromancers to raise the dead were not enough testament of their power, they were soon to show even greater power.
In order to prevent the forces of Light from combining their separate advancing armies and use their superior numbers, the necromancers cast a great evil spell that broke the continent in two. Thus had Darkness achieved a breather and been given time to reconstitute their forces. However, they soon realized their error as a portion of their continent began to crumble.
As they raced to repair their continent and stabilize it from all crumbling to pieces, the armies of Light had not been idle, and they constructed a great bridge to gap the abyss and cross over to complete the destruction of all that was evil. However, the necromancers were more desperate now, and seeked to reclaim the more stable portion of the continent back, and as such their counter-attack was more ruthless and powerful than had been previously seen.
They summoned great magical things from the bodies of the dead, and directed these animated slaves towards the battlefield, where one by one the great heros of Light were slain, and their bodies re-animated to serve their new dark masters.
All seemed lost, for the necromancers were desperate to regain the stable portion of the content (they were unaware as of yet that the continents would all stabilize, even though every year a portion of the land in the middle does crumble and disappear). At one point, even the city of Lunas was abandoned as the armies of Darkness swooped forth. It was during the retreat that a band of warriors made a great discovery.
A band of battle-hardened Paladins, retreating and conducting desperate holding actions to give the noncombatants time to retreat, came upon a rubble of rocks and decided to camp there for the evening. All was normal and they didn’t much of the pile of rocks, though some wondered if it was a grave of some sort.
It was in the morning that the strangeness occurred, when all the soldiers awoke feeling refreshed, and all sought the counsel of each other, where it was discovered that they had all shared the same dream. Odd as that seemed, something odder was discovered. Overnight, the pile of rubble had gotten larger, as if something had pushed up the pile from beneath.
Feeling an irresistable urge to discover the truth, all of the soldiers began to dig into the pile, moving the rubble one stone at a time. The task took most of the day, and as the sun began to set, they finally completed their task. Standing in the spot where a great pile of rubble had been, was a stone symbol.
The ankh, symbol of life, appeared to be more than just a symbol. Something about it was so powerful and so overwhelming, that the soldiers, all grown men (and some grizzly men with graying hairs) suddenly felt an impulse to cry, not from sadness but from happiness. Through their tears, they could sense a change within themselves.
The ankh appeared to possess some power, which had sought this band, knowing that despite the toils and horrors of war, they had sought the noble route, avoiding all acts of wanton murder or reckless pillaging. Even in the such horrors and overwhelming evil they never gave up continued to expend their lives to delay the slaughter of the innocent.
These soldiers were men of virtue, and it was by no accident that the ankh had sought them, as they had unwillingly sought the ankh. A quest unknown to them had been fulfilled without their having realized they had accepted the charge. Many of the healers and squires to the Paladin felt that their weapons were unbearable weights, and they cast them to the ground and knelt before the ankh.
They placed their hands upon the ankh, and in that moment an unspoken vow was made. Without knowing why, they suddenly felt a power flow through them, the power of Healing. These men, who came to be known as Clerics, felt a strong devotion to wander and heal the lands and preach the new faith. Gone was the faith of Light, and in its place was a faith of the virtues.
While many would still continue to believe in the duality of Light and Darkness, the Clerics were the first to discover the truth and realize there is no such thing as true good or evil. Instead there is a system of virtues, which guide one in his decisions, and no man is fully righteous, nor is any man fully evil. In recognizing thus, the Clerics could only hope to guide others on the path of the virtues, in the hopes of saving all mankind.
And yet, that was only part of the miracle. For while the Clerics were given the knowledge and strength to wander the lands, testing their strength against the hardships of life and sharing the knowledge of the virtues with others, they were not the only ones given gifts. For while many of those who had not seen combat could willingly surrender their weapons, the veteran soldiers were unable to forget their path of violence.
As such, the band of soldiers all felt compelled to kneel before the ankh as well, although their arms remained on their persons. With their hands resting on the symbol, another vow was acknowledged subconsciously. For these men, who had long seen battle, they could not pursue a path of purity as the squires and healers had, but instead another path was opened to them.
They, like all warriors in the army of Light, had been called Paladins, but that was only in name. Now, with their hands resting on the ankh, they all suddenly felt an influx of power, a power that only men of combat could wield. To combat the evils of an army devoted to life, the Paladins were given the power of Life. Only the inherent powers of Life could throw back the evil and put to an end the hold of the necromancers on the undead.
These Clerics and Paladins rushed back to the front lines and marshalling the forces of Light, armed with their newfound powers of Life and Healing, they drove the necromancers back. As word of their exploits spread, more warriors and believers came to touch the ankh, where they too made vows and were armed in the fight.
While the war was far from over, the forces of Darkness were reeling before the onslaught of these new powers. It would be another hundred years before the armies of Darkness would be driven back to their source of power, the undead city of Umber. And yet, while this war continued, more of the faith came seeking the ankh.
From the rubble surrounding this artifact, a temple was built upon the location, encasing the treasured Ankh. And while the Paladins and Clerics were both equal, each with a mission different and yet similar, it was agreed that the Clerics would be better administrators, as the Paladins would be needed away from the Temple and at the forefront of every battle.
This arrangement was meant to be temporary, but in time it was accepted that the Clerics were given deference by the Paladins, for while warriors were need in time of war, in times of peace the Clerics were the true fighters against evil. And so it became that wherever war or disease ravaged the land, Clerics were sent to Heal, while the Paladins were sent to protect Life. Not just any life, but the lives of the innocent and of the Clerics. The Paladins came to be the defenders of the faith.
The pre-requisite for a Paladin was usually strength of arms and conviction of heart, but the Cleric was the opposite. The Clerics were non-soldiers, people who had no military background, or as later Clerics demonstrated, had the mysterious power of magery. All life was precious, to take one was contrary to the beliefs of the Clerics. As such their protection became the charge of the Paladins.
Life was a sacrifice, and the unarmed Clerics quickly grew a reputation of courage and fearlessness that not even weapons could have provided. Venturing into battle zones and towns plagued by illness, the Clerics displayed no fear of death in their mission to cure and save lives. Many gave their lives to rescue others, and no regret left their lips at their moment of death.
In fact, their reputation grew so much that a lone Cleric could venture into locations where entire companies of soldiers could not. Brigands and murderers dared not molest one, for even they could possibly need the healing and curing services of this noble group. Today the Clerics are guides, healers, and most of all, diplomats, seeking to bring peace to war ravaged lands, and where they roam, know that the Paladins are not far from their charges.
THE FOUNDING OF DARKMOOR AND THE DARKMOOR ALLIANCE
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