The class was excited about the Xiallak visiting today. Xiallak is more a title than a name. They are well versed in the history of the Harrow and are skilled story teller. This would be the day the students get to hear the full story of how their ancestors traveled to this planet. They had, of course, heard whispers and rumors from their older siblings, but remarkably they knew only small fragments.
The class was being held in a large auditorium, unlike regular classes. The tiered wooden seats allowed everyone to see the raised stone bench behind a beautifully carved desk made of the mana enriched Telth tree, one of the few native plants that survived the trip to this world. The desk was for the book of histories, not that the Xiallak would need it, but it was a custom.
The class became quiet as the Xiallak arrived. Two Grand Master ranked guardians materialized by the desk at the same time using their racial skill. The presence of the guardians demonstrated how much the Harrow cherished the Xiallak since only Xiallak knew the arts to awaken a Harrow’s racial ability to manipulate the domain of time. The time domain was both a powerful and difficult skill to master. The Xiallak appeared to be of middle age and of average build, dressed in worn long blue and silver robes that blended with his granite-like skin. His appearance is deceptive since his mastery of time would be even greater than the guardians that protect him. Everyone hardly breathed listening to the Xiallak’s footsteps echoing throughout the hall. When he reached the bench, he gently took the book of histories from his inventory, placing it on the desk to his right.
“Greetings class! My name is Folen.” His voice resonated throughout the auditorium, sending a chill down their spines.
The class was in such awe they only managed a mumbled greeting in reply. Folen chuckled, knowing full well the impact he was having on the class.
“Today we will discuss the tale of origin, but truly it is more a tale of how we came to this world. To begin we must go back a thousand years to the time we first set foot on Burra. At that time the Harrow lived on our homeworld of Talos. We shared this beautiful world with the Yikold. They were not elementals beings, but were so in tune with the Earth Domain, their bodies gradually changed to living rock as they aged. For thousands of years, our two peoples had shared the world, with the Yikold keeping mostly to the vast mountain ranges.”
Folen’s demeanor took on a more serious countenance as he continued. “One day much like any other this changed. A Yikold arrived in the town of Hilgurth on the edge of the southern mountain ranges. He was badly injured and nearly incoherent as he told the tale of ferocious creatures that attacked several of their deep places throughout the mountains to the south. These creatures absorbed any spell cast at them. Only by using their mana to propel the earth against the creatures were they able to injure them. The Yikold died shortly after delivering the message. While there had not been a war in recorded history, there were still monsters, dungeons, and natural disasters, such that our people had established a world-spanning network of communication. This was used to spread the word about the danger as guardians and Xiallak like myself prepared to probe the south.”
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He paused and sighed. “Little did we know the problem was greater than we first thought. The warning from the southern mountains was a fluke. The creatures had not just attacked the mountains to the south. We found out they had attacked all the mountain chains of Talos. Later we surmised that the creatures thought the mountains would be the most defensible location, so they took them first. Most of the Yikold race had perished by the time we discovered the depth of our error. As we started to probe the south our Guardians and their Xiallak vanished. Finally, on the third attempt, one of the party remained behind to relay what happened to the group. Even then the entire party was killed in less than a minute, only lasting that long because of the Xiallak put all his power into accelerating time for himself. For a few moments, he evaded the creatures which he identified as Carnos, but on brushing against one he found his power sundered as it absorbed his power.”
Folen looked up from the book of history to take in the class, which was utterly silent and still as they waited with bated breath to hear of the downfall of our home world, as Folen continued. “This explained why the scouts failed to report back. Just a touch was all it took for the creatures to absorb and disrupt our control over time, rendering us helpless. Within a week the Carnos began to attack from every mountain. Our people frantically consulted the gods and even demons in our desperation as we fell by the millions. Our strategies changed to using our powers indirectly to kill the creatures, however it hardly slowed their advance. The demons knew the most about the Carnos. They were creatures that feed on mana and lifeforce. The more sentient the creature the more they gained by consuming them. In our horror, we realized that many of the fallen were not dead, but instead now existed on farms where they were kept like cattle to be fed upon.”
Folen seemed to shake himself as he continued. “Our greatest mages tried to open portals to other worlds hoping that some of our people might escape. Unfortunately, there was a barrier around our world preventing a gate from opening. Our greatest mage Parul found that this did not block access to demons or the gods. He theorized that since they were on a different plane of existence, it might be possible to travel to another dimension. After nearly a month of battle, the remainder of our forces retreated to a collection of time worn islands in the middle of the Eastern Ocean. The barrier of water with no mountains allowed us to hold out, but each subsequent attack became stronger.”