The Imprisoned Ones

A

t the end of the Great Strife, when the The Gods of Coercion were finally defeated in the final battle, four of their leaders were brought before the collected Astralar for judgement. It was the opinion of most of the Astralar that the destruction and chaos wrought by these four and those that followed them should never again be unleashed upon Cartyrion.

Thus it was that Ghaa'raagh the Render of the Orokar, Sssekhasssa, the Warrior of the Reptisssar, Giknik the Breaker of the Gobbinar, and Jocundalyn the Miser of the Humanar, stood before the Astralar and received judgement.

The Judges that stood before the Four were comprised of all of the Astralar that had taken parts in Awakening of all the Folk.The verdict of the judges was unanimous - the Four would be imprisoned for all time. Even Khaara'khaash the Warchief and most powerful of the Orokar - who had fought on the side of the Dark Ones during the battles - voted in favor of perpetual imprisonment. It was believed among the Orokar that this vote was the only condition which permitted Khaara'khaash to avoid imprisonment himself.

Imprisonment would prevent the instigators from ever bringing conflict to Cartyrion or the planes beyond it again. It would also weaken the power their devotees on Cartyrion might still wield, as these would be cut off from any divine connection to the imprisoned gods. Thus, it was hoped that these mortal minions would not be able to raise the specter of darkness again either. Thus, the unique talents and skills of several of the Astralar were combined to build an inescapable prison, and the four were cast into it.

Historical Basis

The events as told above are a record of what really happened in the planes of the Astralar at the end of the period on Cartyrion known as the Great Strife - the God-War. But it should be said that no mortal being on Cartyrion has complete knowledge of the entire event.

Spread

Various cultures claim to have had revealed to them the account of the Imprisonment of the Dark Ones. Many of these accounts begin the same way. Some have details that others lack. None of them are complete - none of them tell the full tale of how the Triumphant Astralar dealt with their defeated kin.




The Annals of the Dwarves do not speak of the keys, other than to agree that Allarana crafted them. They do, however, speak extensively of the prison itself forged by their chief deity, Forgemaster Goranin, who also caused the Awakening of the First Dwarves. They tell that the prison itself is made of the hardest of metals and stones that even the Duagnar could work, and that they were further reinforced with the flowing primal energy of Earth. The Prison was created on a rock set in the middle of a vast sea that was fed with the Primal Energy of Water. Tempests forever rage on that sea, lashing the rock on which the prison stands so that none could survive outside its walls for long - not even the Astralar. The Dwarven Annals do not mention gifts from the gods or keys of any kind.

The secret writings of wizard-sages that have devoted themselves to the Mysticar include hints that support the Dwarven accounting that Primal Earth and Water form part of the prison. They go on to say that Allarana used Primal Fire and Air to craft two keys. As an added protection, these two keys do not unlock the prison itself, but merely a chest that contains a third key - the key to the adamantite door of the prison. The chest with its Black Iron key was hidden away where the Folk would never be able to retrieve it, thus even possessing the Key of Fire and Key of Air would not permit one to free the Defeated. The Key of Fire was given to the Humanar for protection, the Key of Air went to the Alevar.