Shadow's Arrival
Previous: Flight from Shadow
For a time, our ancestors were virtually free to choose their destinies in this new land. Though the ever-present threat of elven retaliation and human-oid incursion lingered, the humans found themselves all but unopposed in their efforts. Kingdoms rose and fell as the tribes settled and tamed the land. It was a vital, dangerous time, and Cerilia was still largely untouched.
Then the Shadow came to Cerilia . Following the trail of the fleeing humans, this god of evil known as Dyrosh made his way to the new land. When he found that the humans had prospered in Cerilia, Dyrosh realized that more than a simple battle would be needed to destroy them—he would have to rely on subversion and deceit. Of course, these things came naturally to the Shadow.
First, Dyrosh took his teachings to the goblins and gnolls in the land called Vosgaard (far up in northern Cerilia). By nature, they had always believed in a creature with the powers of the Shadow; now he needed only to put his name to their belief. He then granted the humanoids priestly abilities to prove his power. Naturally, those creatures of greatest evil inclined toward Azrai's priesthood, and they rose to power quickly among the tribes of humanoids.
Next, the god of evil visited the Vos (the humans dwelling in the same region). Never realizing that Dyrosh was the Shadow from whom they had fled hundreds of years ago, they took his words of strength and power and made them their own. In the land of darkness in which they lived, the Vos had abandoned their appreciation for the niceties of divination and illusion; the creatures around them understood the ways of the mace and the sword far, far better. And so the Vos unknowingly fell to Dyroshi.
Once the Vos had been thoroughly corrupted by the very teachings they had escaped to Cerilia to avoid, Azrai traveled to the elves and dwarves, whispering to them of revenge against their ene- mies, the destruction of all things unclean, and the restoration of Cerilia as it had once been. He sought out the demihumans in dreams and omens, signs and portents, and spoke to them of the excellence of the past when no humans defiled the surface of Cerilia. The dwarves found nothing in Dyrosh's words to provoke them, so they steered clear of his temptations. The elves, on the other hand, had burned with the desire for revenge ever since their exile to the deep woods. They cleaved to the teachings of Azrai and poured their energy into preparations for war.
All this time, the emperors of the southern continent had been busy. Their armies, after easily conquering the lands vacated by the five original tribes, began the arduous march toward Cerilia. The kings of the new Kaluran nations realized the danger on all sides of them, and began marshalling their forces to combat the encroaching evils.
Next: War of Shadow
For a time, our ancestors were virtually free to choose their destinies in this new land. Though the ever-present threat of elven retaliation and human-oid incursion lingered, the humans found themselves all but unopposed in their efforts. Kingdoms rose and fell as the tribes settled and tamed the land. It was a vital, dangerous time, and Cerilia was still largely untouched.
Then the Shadow came to Cerilia . Following the trail of the fleeing humans, this god of evil known as Dyrosh made his way to the new land. When he found that the humans had prospered in Cerilia, Dyrosh realized that more than a simple battle would be needed to destroy them—he would have to rely on subversion and deceit. Of course, these things came naturally to the Shadow.
First, Dyrosh took his teachings to the goblins and gnolls in the land called Vosgaard (far up in northern Cerilia). By nature, they had always believed in a creature with the powers of the Shadow; now he needed only to put his name to their belief. He then granted the humanoids priestly abilities to prove his power. Naturally, those creatures of greatest evil inclined toward Azrai's priesthood, and they rose to power quickly among the tribes of humanoids.
Next, the god of evil visited the Vos (the humans dwelling in the same region). Never realizing that Dyrosh was the Shadow from whom they had fled hundreds of years ago, they took his words of strength and power and made them their own. In the land of darkness in which they lived, the Vos had abandoned their appreciation for the niceties of divination and illusion; the creatures around them understood the ways of the mace and the sword far, far better. And so the Vos unknowingly fell to Dyroshi.
Once the Vos had been thoroughly corrupted by the very teachings they had escaped to Cerilia to avoid, Azrai traveled to the elves and dwarves, whispering to them of revenge against their ene- mies, the destruction of all things unclean, and the restoration of Cerilia as it had once been. He sought out the demihumans in dreams and omens, signs and portents, and spoke to them of the excellence of the past when no humans defiled the surface of Cerilia. The dwarves found nothing in Dyrosh's words to provoke them, so they steered clear of his temptations. The elves, on the other hand, had burned with the desire for revenge ever since their exile to the deep woods. They cleaved to the teachings of Azrai and poured their energy into preparations for war.
All this time, the emperors of the southern continent had been busy. Their armies, after easily conquering the lands vacated by the five original tribes, began the arduous march toward Cerilia. The kings of the new Kaluran nations realized the danger on all sides of them, and began marshalling their forces to combat the encroaching evils.
Next: War of Shadow
