Storybook - Kirhine's Records
- Contents -
To the young Daevas of Asmodae
Chapter 1: The World in its Infancy
Chapter 2: Balaur Ascending
Chapter 3: The Millennium War
Chapter 4: A Peace Offering
Chapter 5: The Cataclysm
Chapter 6: Chaos and the Creation of Pandaemonium
Chapter 7: The Discovery of the Abyss
Chapter 8: The Battle in the Abyss
To the young Daevas of Asmodae
Ancient Atreia was once unified. There were no Asmodians and Elyos in this world - just people. These people all followed the will of Aion and defended the Tower of Eternity against the Balaur.
But this era, in which all humans were equals, belongs to the past and will never return.
The world before us is divided. After the Cataclysm, we found ourselves back in this dark, desolate place. We had to adapt to this cold, dark wasteland to survive. Our ability to adapt no matter the circumstances ensured our survival. But we still have to undergo difficult tests and brave many dangers.
We had to learn that tolerance and forgiveness do not make peace. If we had decided against tolerance long ago, Atreia would still be united. But we won't make such a mistake again. Even though we live only on one half of this world, we will fight to the death to defend it.
My name is Kirhine. I fought as a Daeva before the Cataclysm struck.
I witnessed the fight against the Balaur, the Cataclysm and the first skirmishes of the war against the Elyos. That's why I know exactly how we Asmodians must prepare for the future.
We cannot forgive the Elyos, for they called down the Cataclysm. Peaceful coexistence between Asmodae and Elysea is impossible. Now the time has come for the Elyos to take responsibility for their actions.
Today's Daevas know nothing of the tragedies in our past. Only a few of them actually take the threat of the vanishing Aether seriously.
They must learn more about the massive threat facing Asmodae. They must learn how to live the life of a true Asmodian Daeva.
Chapter 1: The World in its Infancy
Atreia was once a paradise. Aion's light shone everywhere, and there were no lands of cold or darkness such as there are today.
There were vast plains and green meadows full of grain, grazed by abundant herds of cattle. Nature was a blessing for all, not an environment in which you had to fight to survive.
But the humans still faced dangers. They were threatened by the Balaur, who wanted to subjugate them. Despite their mental and physical similarities, they were significantly stronger than the humans, for whom it was almost impossible to escape.
Despite being oppressed by the Balaur, the people were able to build their own common culture. The foundation of their culture was their belief in Aion. They praised him in their poetry and songs, and their architecture was influenced by Aion's Temple.
They could have lived in peace if the Balaur had not pursued their dark aims.
Chapter 2: Balaur Ascending
The Balaur who lived in Ancient Atreia were Drakan. Their physical superiority made it possible for them to suppress other cultures.
Even the wild Mau or the Krall could not defy them. The humans kept out of their way as much as possible and sought shelter in hidden places.
The Drakan fought for more and more power. They wanted to control larger and larger areas and subjugate even more Sapiens. They were constantly searching for new ways to increase their physical superiority and magical abilities.
After many arduous attempts, they finally managed to ascend. In doing so, they not only gained increased mental abilities; they also changed their physical appearance.
After their ascension, they were reborn in larger bodies with massive wings.
The Drakan who ascended in this manner called themselves Dragons. Some of these Dragons had even more powerful abilities, and they became the leaders of all the Balaur.
These Balaur rulers titled themselves "Dragon Lords".
The Dragon Lords wielded far more power than any Balaur had ever done before. Under their leadership, the Balaur were able to further expand their rule, making the humans and other Sapiens suffer even more under their tyranny.
But not even overthrowing Atreia could still their hunger for power.
They finally recognised the true goal of their quest for power. Aion still towered over them.
Now, these foolish Dragon Lords actually believed that they could surpass Aion himself. They wanted to drive Aion out of Atreia and become gods themselves.
Chapter 3: The Millennium War
At the time the Dragon Lords emerged, the Mau and other Sapiens like the Krall were already serving the Balaur. When they learned that the Dragon Lords wanted to dethrone Aion himself, they dutifully obeyed their leaders' orders.
The only ones who followed Aion and defied the Balaur were the humans.
Aion sent them twelve Empyrean Lords to protect them and to eliminate the Balaur.
To protect himself, he created an Aetheric Field. Since the Balaur had no way to counter Aether, they could not penetrate this field.
The twelve Empyrean Lords brought more and more people inside the Aetheric Field and began training them systematically. They had to be capable of fighting the Balaur.
Trained by the twelve Empyrean Lords, a number of humans also managed to ascend, just as the Balaur had done. They received wings and were able to use the power of the Aether. What no one yet knew was that they had also become immortal.
The ascended humans were called Daevas. They believed their ascension was a blessing from the twelve Empyrean Lords. Countless people ascended to become Daevas during this time, and I was one of them.
But the appearance of the Daevas completely changed the war. In the past, the Drakan did not encounter too much opposition from the humans, but now the Daevas could fight them as equals.
Lady Lumiel gave me a spellbook that enabled me to craft chains of ice and arrows of fire using Aether, and to use them to fight the Drakan.
The power of the Daevas and the power of the Drakan were largely similar. Because the 12 Empyrean Lords were also equally strong as the Dragon Lords, the fight became a constant repeat of advancing and retreating.
During a very long period during which my son died, my grandson died and countless descendants followed in their footsteps, I continued to fight as a Daeva.
The war between the Balaur, who wanted to overthrow Aion, and the humans, who wanted to protect Aion, lasted over a thousand years.
Chapter 4: A Peace Offering
The proposal to put an end to the fighting came from an unlikely source. It was Lord Israphel. Even though he hated the Dragon Lords more than anyone else, he was the first to speak of sending them a Peace Treaty Proposal.
Lord Israphel reminded us why the war began and pointed out that our goal was not to exterminate the Balaur but to protect Aion.
Lord Israphel's proposal necessitated numerous discussions among the other Lords. Since the Lords were divided into two camps, those who supported the proposal and those who rejected it, the Daevas and the people were initially quite confused. Finally they, too, aligned themselves with one of the two camps.
I was convinced that peace between us and the Balaur would be impossible. How could we offer a peace treaty to an enemy who wanted to destroy Aion?
I knew that I had to prevent this Peace Treaty Proposal at any price. So I gathered up all my courage and went to see Lady Lumiel, my former trainer.
When I entered her chambers, I heard an angry voice. It was the voice of Lord Azphel.
"What was Israphel thinking? No matter how long this war has lasted, how could he even think about a peace treaty? These heretics refuse to recognise Aion's holiness. If we make peace with them now, the sacrifices made by humans and Daevas for the past thousand years will have been for nothing!"
For some foolish reason, I felt better when I heard Lord Azphel's words. I thought that if even the Lords violently opposed this treaty, it would never happen.
But Lord Israphel did not care what the other Lords thought. He was only interested in persuading Lady Siel.
He finally succeeded in convincing Siel with the argument that the war was originally declared in order to protect Aion. Thus the two Lords, who were also the protectors of the tower, spoke in favour of the truce. The other Lords could offer nothing in response.
But I was not the only Daeva who could not bear the thought of making peace with the Balaur. Our entire legion rushed to Aion's Tower, where we tried to persuade Lady Siel and Lord Israphel to change their minds.
But it was in vain.
Chapter 5: The Cataclysm
Finally, the day of the peace treaty came, the day that should never have dawned.
As Lady Siel and Lord Israphel had agreed with the five Dragon Lords, the Aetheric field around the tower was deactivated. The Dragon Lords laid down their weapons and faced us unarmed.
Tears sprang to my eyes when I saw the Dragon Lords arrive. In my eyes, this was not a peace treaty: it was shameful. I saw the tension in my comrades' shoulders as they tried to control their rage.
Now the twelve Empyrean Lords were facing the five Dragon Lords. They spoke the words they previously agreed upon, and the peace ceremony began.
But then it happened. Suddenly, one of the Dragon Lords sank to the ground and chaos broke out.
Amid the screams and cries, I saw Fregion, the leader of the Dragon Lords, rise into the air. Moments later, there was a bright flash of light that almost blinded me.
It was followed by a petrifying roar, even more chaos and a wild outburst of screams. The earth below our feet began to shake and crack. Everything in the immediate vicinity of the tower collapsed.
I saw Aion's Tower break into two halves. I could barely believe my eyes. I just stared at the crumbling tower until I was blown away by a huge Aether Wave.
The last thing I saw before I lost consciousness were Lady Siel and Lord Israphel, who spread their huge wings to reactivate the Aetheric Field.
Chapter 6: Chaos and the Creation of Pandaemonium
When I came to, I found myself with my comrades in the place we now call Altgard. As our shock and confusion gradually subsided, we tried to find out what had happened. But we could not, would not believe what we saw.
When the Aetheric Field was reactivated, the Dragon Lords fled the Aether and left the battlefield. But the fall of Aion was also the fall of Atreia.
On that day, remembered in history as the Cataclysm, many Daevas as well as Siel and Israphel lost their lives.
Only after the discovery of the Abyss did we learn that both Lords had used all their powers to protect Atreia from complete destruction and to send the remaining ten Lords either to the north or the south.
I had landed in the North of Atreia. Since Aion's light no longer shone, the veil of darkness was spread over the land, which was only illuminated by the dim light of the stars.
Humans and Daevas suffered in the cold and the dark. The once lush land became infertile. And there was not nearly as much Aether as there had been when Atreia was united.
Many humans and Daevas were close to despair, but luckily Lord Azphel and the other Lords stood by us.
In order to adapt ourselves to the barren land, we gradually changed. That's how we became what we are today.
First our skin grew paler. Then, over time, our fingernails and toenails morphed into claws. And just as we thought we had gone through all the changes, our manes grew.
It was a little painful to see how much different I was from the person I once was.
But when we overcame the suffering and rebuilt Atreia, when we finally built our capital city, Pandaemonium, as a symbol of our recovery and our prosperity, even I blinked away tears of joy.
Chapter 7: The Discovery of the Abyss
A good deal of time had passed since the Cataclysm.
Peace had returned to Atreia. The war against the Balaur and the Cataclysm was gradually forgotten. Except for the Mau, who sometimes made life difficult for us, the Asmodians faced very few dangers.
But one day something strange happened.
The fragments of Aion's Tower which had fallen to the ground began to shine and levitated. Anyone who approached them vanished abruptly.
Pandaemonium issued a strict decree to stay away from the tower fragments. Archons were dispatched to investigate the mystery more closely.
They found out that the missing people had entered a new space that was connected to Atreia.
Many Daevas set out to explore this new and unusual space. They departed from the floating islands to bring back more and more knowledge about this space, which they called the Abyss.
But countless dangers lurked in the Abyss. The fragments of the Tower did not bring everyone to the same place. Entrances closed so suddenly that some Daevas were never able to return.
But the biggest surprise of all was yet to come. When I was dispatched by the Shadow Judges to find the missing Archons, I saw them with my own eyes.
They look just as we once did. They landed in the south after the Cataclysm
Now the Abyss connected them to our world.
When I found them, they were standing before Lord Zikel.
Their leader's name was Deltras. He said he did not want any trouble; he simply wanted to take his people and return to their world in peace. I didn't get the impression that Lord Zikel wanted something awful to happen to them.
But the problem was Lord Zikel's arrogant attitude.
He urged them to curse their Lord, Nezekan, otherwise he would not let them return home. The words were barely out of his mouth before Deltras raised his head and cursed Zikel instead.
A few moments later, fighting broke out. It was the first battle in the Abyss War.
Chapter 8: The Battle in the Abyss
Deltras' death in Morheim thus became the beginning of the war against the Elyos.
At first, it was all about revenge. And then more and even more revenge. I never could have imagined that this war would rage for so long.
After all, despite the long years apart, the Asmodians and Elyos come from the same people.
But then this development took a completely unexpected turn. We learned that the Abyss itself constitutes a threat to the survival of both two halves of Atreia.
Our only chance was to destroy the other half of Aion's Tower in Elysea.
We were facing a new war, more dreadful by far than the Millennium War against the Balaur.
A little later, the Balaur appeared too. We have long fought the Drakan, but now we must also defy Naga and the Draconutes.
In the past two thousand years, we spent the first thousand on the battlefield trying to annihilate the Balaur.
Afterwards, we tried to rebuild the ruins of Atreia and bring back peace to Pandaemonium. We Daevas did all of this in order to protect the people.
But after all these years, I know my work is far from finished. I will trade my pen for my spellbook once more to thank the Empyrean Lords for their blessing.
Atreia is surrounded by enemies. If we can't eliminate them, our own existence will be in serious danger.
Once upon a time, the twelve Empyrean Lords taught us Daevas to fight the Balaur. Now the Elyos and the Asmodians train Daevas to fight each other.
The Elyos and the Asmodians blame each other for the Cataclysm, each believing themselves the only true rulers of Atreia.
But neither the Asmodians, the Elyos or the Balaur have ever managed to gain victory. The delicate balance fluctuates constantly.
Who will finally be victorious on this battlefield of survival and hatred?
