Somewhere north of the Black Mountain, in the dark forest of the Giants, there was a temple as large as a modern cathedral made of massive stone.

All around it were wooden houses, fortified with a stone base that vaguely resembled Viking buildings of the old world. But all similarities ended there, except for the traditional equipment like flags, racks and bronze tines.

Everything was made of bronze and iron was extremely rare.

There was a real city with its fortifications made of wooden pallisades, stone overhangs and pits with spikes. This city formed a network with a whole infrastructure of villages protected by the forest. Indeed, the forest naturally protected the inhabitants from the wild wyverns, who did not venture into the forest to avoid hurting themselves or piercing their wings.

However, they did not spit fire but they had a stinger and their bite was poisonous. The victim sweated and indicated his presence by his typical smell, was slowed down and finally fell paralyzed by a kind of curare.

The saliva and venom was sought after for hunting.

But in the temple built on three levels, there were openings that pointed to stars and in the mathematical and astronomical language, the drawings and figures represented constellations indicating the fall of snakes and that of a mega snake that ate the world.

Future generations could again use this time capsule to transmit the message and warnings of the arrival of the black mountain and the cataclysm that followed.

A whole pantheon of nature's gods were represented but with a cut line showing that they were swallowed by the serpent.

The elves had no more gods... their powers had vanished and a huge serpent was depicted coming out of the mountain devouring everything in its path.

Another warning described dragons around with enslaved humans and some being devoured.

An Aztec style pyramid was also depicted with sacrifices and their hearts torn out falling into the mouth of a wyvern lying around the temple.

Apranax, the elven arch shaman, rose to his feet and after recalling the story of the cataclysm 1000 years before now to his followers. He approached the pantheon and the mourners supported the disappearance of the deities.

There was one candle for each deity. And each one was made according to the traditions and powers of the deity it represented.

The first candle was lit but the flame went out.

Each time, there was crying and everyone covered themselves with a white scarf, signifying death but also resurrection.

Thus it came to the last God. The Divinity of Aurelia, the goddess of light and... to everyone's surprise, the flame flickered for a moment and then shone with a thousand lights.

The statue lit up and fairy wings appeared on its back.

Apranax got down on his stomach.

"By the Great Cataclysm, Aurelia is alive! All is not lost!" implored the arch-shaman.

Two acolytes ran up to Apranax. They were bald "Warn Prince Hagen!"

All the dignitaries and faithful were overexcited.

Then, in the evening, a military delegation arrived. A general arrived on a chariot pulled by slaves covered at the head with a veil with 2 slits to see and breathe.

This was the mark of the untouchables.

Another delegation, but this time of long-haired humans covered with a kind of studded armor and finely decorated scales and topped with a helmet with a stylized wooden elevation showing a crudely carved spiral.

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This was Prince Hagen, he was subject to the elven kingdom, the human population decimated during the cataclysm and never able to recover even with a much higher reproductive capacity than the elves. The latter were able to better foresee and protect themselves from the unleashed forces of nature, their shelters strengthened by magic, better designed and above all better placed.

Meanwhile, in the world of dreams ...A'Arnateth...

The sea of storms was calm and the sun was shining for the first time in millennia at the Cape of Storms.

On an island of basalt, once battered by storms, was a temple,

But everything there was quiet, as if dead.

On the coast, almost level, there was a beach and a gorge.

And, on the sides, stone figures that no one could recognize because they were so worn, crumbled

One guessed a vague form of lion, but all had collapsed since millenniums.

The sphinxes were not any more...

The city of the boats...was no more than a heap of blocks, some carved but the wood, draperies did not exist for a long time.

The Hindu temple, was only a heap of rubble of broken and rounded white stones. No one could tell that they were bricks or blocks because they were so worn.

On the other hand, his den was carved with figures representing past history.

No one could tell what it meant but one could see a huge stylized snake devouring cities, humans and a Hindu, representations of the stone table and human sacrifices

Everything was finely chiseled, and all of a sudden torches lit up, revealing a wall with snakes and a final sculpture with warnings that said, if one could understand them: Do not wake the sleeping nightmare.

And yet, the cold was diminishing in the temple, and little by little, the eternal flames were rekindling.

Further south, survivors of the cataclysm had reclaimed their capital, a fortified city built on a rocky outcrop. This allowed it to resist the tsunamis following the cataclysm and to prosper again.

The nature was still semi-desert and the woods were precious and the exclusive territory of the elves.

Queen Tarakmis was accompanied by her war champion and lord of the royal guard. He was a man with a lot of muscle, with a collosal strength and probably with a lineage of giants or gods in his blood. A Hercules in an era between the Stone Age and the Bronze Age.

She was covered by a horned helmet with a golden mask camouflaging her face.

On her back, a special bow covered with rune and strillas.

They were in a flat rocky area but with open canyons and rocks gathered by the torrential flows resulting from Tsnunamis.

In short, a scorched, arid and sandy land with a few miserable bushes trying to survive the sun by feeding on dew and condensation at night.

An eagle arrived and landed on the guard's arm

"Thur..."

And the guard gave without reading the piece of parchment attached to the leg of the bird. The bird circled, waiting for the reward and the meal in exchange for its journey.

"It's time to join the council!"

Thur then took a rope connected to a hollow clay object and twirled it around his head, his arm outstretched and with the wind, the object began to whistle like a mermaid and, all of a sudden, many warriors, hidden and on horseback, came out of all sorts of predefined hiding places.

Tarakmis: "The hero's quest is postponed... we are all going to Ggigantia!

These troops were known for their barbarity and traveled light, feeding on looting, killing tribes and hunting anything they could eat.

They immediately headed northeast towards the elven forest and were expected to cross paths with the tribe of primitive men, hunters of which Tau was the leader. But there was nothing left when they got there.

And they were satisfied with the non-transportable remains.

Thur bent down and saw the marks of two wyrms on the ground

"Majesty, they were scattered by at least 2 wyrms, probably all eaten...

Here, there are traces of wolves and saber-toothed tigers that followed them. They hastily added Cairns and given the state of the fire, they had to leave 3 days ago. "

Tarakmis: "The men?"

Thur: "They are elites... they have already eaten the remains of wolves "

Tarakmis: "What a bunch of idiots... they would have trained those wolves as mounts and could have made great warriors but they are just barbarians who believe in everything and anything".

This had the art to irritate Thur who was of Barbarian origin and it is in the arenas that he progressed and made his way to the guard and passed all the tests to become what he is today... the right arm of the queen but also her left hand.

The delegation arrived at the edge of the forest where groups of dark elves greeted them and showed them the way further north, deeper into this green hell and they arrived in front of some rocks and men pushed a lever and a huge wheel pierced and wrapped with vegetation and skins rolled to the side, giving access to the entrance of deep tunnels.

The structure was like a natural vestibule but the rocks inside were carved and showed the past glory of the empires of this world and the arrival of a star without light, like a crystal... that destroyed everything in its path and accompanied by a frozen moon that, like a club or a flail, pulverized everything without even being affected. A bit like two worlds colliding and forming a new planet, the opposite surfaces intact and the space between, filled with fire and lava to form a new, even larger mass.

Oceans vaporized but emerging from the bowels as steam, clouds and torrential rains and tsunamis extinguishing the oceans of lava formed by the impact.

The life known before had practically disappeared and it was a miracle that the atmosphere managed to survive, formed by the 2 celestial bodies together.