Storybook - History of Ancient Atreia

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In the earliest days of Atreia, Aion created the Drakan to watch over all the other races and govern them as an empire of peace and order.


Humans, Sapiens, and Drakan lived in peace alongside each other. Though tribes would occasionally battle, the threat of Drakan intervention was enough to stop full-scale wars.


Most of the surviving records of this era are Drakan and make little mention of Humans. We know only that small tribal groups settled mainly near rivers and coastlines, surviving by fishing and gathering.


They worshipped Aion as the creator and protector of all things and submitted themselves to the Drakan, knowing that it was his will.


The Drakan's complete dominion over the land inevitably corrupted them. Five of their leaders, seeking to expand their power, tapped into an unknown source of energy and became the Five Dragon Lords--a process evidently similar to ascension.


They used this energy to cause certain of their species to "ascend" as well, turning them into the Balaur. No longer satisfied with being the stewards of Atreia, they declared themselves to be its absolute rulers and all the "lesser" races to be servants.


The Sapiens began to worship the Dragon Lords as gods, but Humans, faithful to Aion, did not.


Aion rewarded the Humans for their faith with the power needed to resist the Balaur. Twelve Empyrean Lords were brought forth, divine beings of power equal to the Dragon Lords.


It is unclear whether the Empyrean Lords were Humans who had ascended or were condensed, fully-formed, from the divine Aether. The extant texts contain both versions of the story and the Lords themselves refuse to speak on the matter.


After the Empyrean Lords came to lead Humanity, other Humans began to ascend as Daevas, though none could equal the Lords in power.


Bolstered by their new divine powers and their faith in Aion, the Humans began a rebellion against the Balaur. They encountered resistance from nearly all the other Sapiens, who now worshipped the Dragon Lords.


Led by the Empyrean Lords, the Daevas flew across the land, liberating Humans from Drakan slavery and striking blows against the Balaur.


The Empyrean Lords led the freed Humans to the base of the Tower of Eternity, where they promised Aion would keep them safe.


Aion's grace and the Lords' prayers raised the Aetheric Field around the tower, creating an area of land where the Balaur could not enter, and Humans could live in peace.


From this stronghold, the Empyrean Lords continued to lead the war against the Balaur. As more Humans ascended and Daevas accumulated more power and experience, the once hopeless-seeming battle became easier and easier.


The Balaur could not attack the Human stronghold protected by the Aetheric Field, but the Humans could not possibly defeat all the Balaur and the Sapiens. And so the war dragged on in a stalemate that lasted a thousand years....