The Taming of the Wild
The Prosperity of Durnarel
During the latter Years of Peace after the War of the Races, the thousands of lives that had been on the brink of extinction were now experiencing an unprecedented era of peace, unity, and prosperity, especially in the shoreside city of Durnarel. The folk of Durnarel had founded the city with a mind to make a city fit for all races in an attempt to make a lasting alliance, and it was a marvelous success. Soon, Durnarel became one of the biggest cities with its own unique style of architecture that reflected each culture in its own way to make something greater than the sum of its parts. Gleaming white Heandorian towers stood over earth-hewn terraces laced with vines, neighbored by Noidyr longhouses decorated with Vrenian murals. And more than simply builders came to Durnarel; artists, craftsmen, loremasters, warriors, and quite notably shipwrights.
The Unknown Land
The city grew tenfold its original size until it at last slowed. Yet although Durnarel grew little in size, it grew much indeed in matters of skill and wisdom. Yet these wise minds were restless and longed for more, for they knew too much of the world around them; there was naught left to discover. Yet as the star-watchers learned more and more of the Night, they saw that the cycle of the stars told of a world far bigger than the land on which they stood. The watchers shared these views, and upon his hearing of these findings, a plan came into the mind of Taran the shipwright. He would make a sea-vessel to rival the very islands of the sea, and with it, cross the Eastern Sea. Immediately he set to work; messengers were sent, trees felled, forges started, and laborers hired.
With long work made short by the work of many hands, the ship was finished. Goranthaid it was named; Sea-searcher. Its mast tips soared higher than birds above the roofs of the city. Its deck held farms so as to sustain the sailors. Indeed, its vastness was such that before its construction a bigger wharf was made for lack of one the appropriate size.
The Voyage
Soon Goranthaid was under way. The day was fair when the ship had set out, but as the sun rose in the sky, clouds gathered darkly to block its path. Yet even as the stormclouds surrounded the Goranthaid, they did not call forth their rain, and their shadow did not touch the brightly polished beams of the colossal voyager. The sailors watched with wary eyes, but unbeknownst to them, wary eyes looked down upon them as well; these clouds were not mere vapors of water, but watchful spirits. The spirits held counsel, for they knew that this voyage would change the world forever.
When a fortnight had passed, a queer change came upon the clouds. Their voices rang and their bellies thundered, and they billowed about the ship to make a dome of deep grey to surround the Goranthaid. The waves grew restless and climbed all the way up to the deck. The wind whipped at the sails and tore at the ropes. Yet suddenly the chaos stopped, and the sun beamed down upon the vessel once again. However, the clouds did not recede; they instead formed vastly tall walls that led a solitary route forward.
It was thus that after much debate, the spirits led the Men of Durnarel to the Wild. In the entire time of the mist-bordered journey, hardly a sound was uttered. Even the beasts held their cries. They seemed surrounded by still winds and waters, yet they knew they sailed with incredible speed. It mattered not if the sails were furled or extended. The days and nights seemed to pass by quickly yet not at all. After an eternity, a break in the clouds could be seen, and behind it, land.
The Words of Warning
The long quiet was broken, and the voyagers rejoiced! The new land before them gleamed with white-sand beaches bordering vibrant green foliage of a vastly tall forest that stretched along the coast as far as the eye could see and farther. Before the giant trees sat a wide and shallow lagoon.The anchor fell into the sapphire waters with a joyful splash, and the rowboats were set out with a heartened cry of mirth. Taran himself stood at the prow of the very first boat, and he was the first of all Men to set foot upon the Outer Lands.
He felt the silk-soft grains of the land beneath him, and he looked up at the towering trunks of the mighty trees before him. In the untamed glory of the nature that stood before him, Taran quelled in fearful reverence. He knew not the magic of this land, but he was no fool; the mists that led him here were not ordinary stormclouds. He knew something awaited him here.
Even as he thought these thoughts, a slight figure came out from the trees. It looked Fae in its garb of green leaves, yet it looked to be not so tethered to its form, for it could scarcely be discerned from the plants around it.
As it approached the Men, many a sword was drawn, yet Taran stayed their hands, and bade the creature, "Ho, there! What land is this?"
The figure halted, and a voice rang out with soft clarity that did not so much come from the creature as from the land itself. "A land ne'er seen by the eyes of Men. A sacred land. Yet by the virtue of your people and the charity of the spirits, a land where you may make your abode." The speech, though in the common tongue, seemed to be made of foreign sounds put together in the wrong way. "Here you may do as you please, but be warned; take not that which you do not need, and taint not the earth but within your town. Follow these wishes not by word, but by soul, and ye shall find contentment and peace upon these shores."
And then, the creature was there no more. However, its words lingered long in the minds of all.
The Forging of the Colony
In the months following that strange encounter, much was done. However, the words of warning were always well-heeded. Few trees were felled, and little land was used. In fact, most of the permanent settlement was made of stilted buildings which sat above the shore and the shallow lagoon. The cleared land was used for the growing of crops and the keeping of beasts. Yet even this land was used little, for from the forest came Fae. These Fae were closer in lineage to the Fae the Men knew, but they were of richly dark skin and hair. The Fae of the Wild taught the newcomers the ways of sea-farming, and the keeping of sea-creatures. This wisdom was well-accepted, and soon the settlement was unlike any other, yet just as prosperous, if not more so.
After one month passed, the Colony of the Wild was self-sufficient; it was time for the Goranthaid to set sail once more. This journey, no cloud or foul wind hindered the fair sails, and in but a fortnight, the mighty ship was again in the port of her birth. A great feast was held in honor of the Men, and there was much joy in Durnarel that night.
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