Transcription 2 - Origins

Spellbook,

Here are the remaining tidbits of interest in that unnamed book. Most of it was early Dwarven history, very dry, but the texts on dragons were new to me. There are many rumors from the time of the Avatar, but not much written. Well, not much written I would trust.

Dragons

At her birth, Illunia knew little but possessed a burning desire to learn. While the other gods were born into the void that made up the heavenly realm, Illunia was born into a world rich with wonders to explore. She explored all the realm before returning to Kaltis, for here the gods still labored, creating new wonders each day as they kept the Wardens company.

Intrigued by the creatures that Assuine created on Kaltis, Illunia asked if she could assist in creating more. While had Assuine created the plants and animals of Kaltis all on her own, with the aid of Illunia she was able to create something greater and more powerful. Illunia was new to creation and in her excitement gave a small portion of herself into the creature. What was meant to be a simple but beautiful creature instead grew to be what we now call a dragon. Instead of being distraught by her mistake and loss of power, as small as it was, she was thrilled. For the creatures she helped create possessed something that no other creatures but the gods had. The creature was intelligent and could speak.

This breakthrough showed the gods the key to the creation of sentient races, but that is a different story.

The dragons spread out over the world, exploring the wonders that the gods had made, and when the gods followed the creation of dragons with the creation of the races of Kaltis the dragons acted as shepherds and guides.

As the races grew and prospered, the dragons grew in knowledge and power alongside them. Like their mother Illunia, the dragons had a hunger innate to them. Some hungered for knowledge, like her, others for power or wealth. Eventually this led to strife amongst themselves and between the dragons and men. The dragons did not seek to do harm, but they could not remain with the races without doing so. With heavy hearts, they retreated to the far reaches of Kaltis to live in isolation and conquer these strange new urges.

After the gods had left Kaltis, as the races spread across the world, men and dragons would meet once more. At that time the dragons had learned to reign in their hunger, and they began to interact with humans once more. The relationship was not the peaceful one it had once been, and there existed a distance between men and dragons from then on.

The Races

For ages untold the gods worked across Kaltis, creating wonders great and small. Even the presence of Erebog and Bilieth was tolerated in those happy days following the battle. They filled the world with wonder and beauty. Eventually, they discovered the secret to creating lesser beings like themselves, capable of thought. Illunia and Assuine discovered the trick, and in the discovery made the first dragons. Soon after, the other gods desired to create a thinking race of their own but they quickly found that without Illunia and Assuine’s aid, the creations failed. It was in these trials that many dangers were created that still roam Kaltis. Learning their involvement was required, Assuine and Illunia approached each of their siblings and with them created one or more of the races of men.

With Torc, deep in his earthen shell, the three created the race of dwarves. The dwarves were made to be a strong and enduring race, like their progenitor. Torc was happy with his creation and allowed them to reside within him, but felt like he needed more from his people. While the dwarves embodied his enduring nature and passion for building, Torc saw that they did not share his passion for progress. While the dwarves could plan and build, they never strove to innovate. Trying once more Torc created the gnomes. In the gnomes Torc found the capacity for invention that the dwarves lacked. Where the dwarves were stout and strong, the gnomes were nimble and weak. The two races, ever pragmatic like their God, found they complimented each other and together filled Torc's body with great wonders.

With Aurial, deep in her waters, they created the race of seafolk. The seafolk were a race content, like their god. They did not long for wealth or power like the races that were to come after, but lived simple lives upon the sea, which provided for all their needs.

Riloth, with the help of his sisters, created the humans. Humans embodied the storms of Kaltis that Riloth created and loved. They had the capacity for great power but left destruction in the wake of their passions. Eager to see what else he could create, Riloth asked his sisters’ for another try, and this time the orcs were created. Like humans, the orcs were a people ruled by their passion, but the orcs were not as covetous of wealth as their siblings the humans. Instead, the orcs hungered for glory, driving them ever towards war.

Waas created the elves, who shared her love to craft beautiful works, but the elves were too serious for her liking and she asked if she could create once more. With her sisters’ aid, she created the halflings, a whimsical folk who better embodied her playful nature. The elves, a prideful people, felt betrayed by this, though she meant no offense. Believing their God spurned them the elves turned their back on their mother and worshipped Assuine as their god.

Bilieth and Erebog, while tolerated, were not loved. Not approached to make a race of their own, in secret they performed experiments to uncover the missing piece. They created many horrors in their pursuit before realizing their goal was beyond their abilities. Ever crafty, they captured the races of the other gods and began to warp them. Through these experiments, many horrors were brought into the world. These warped creations are referred to as the Fallen.

Corruption

When the Avatar of Faust broke free, the dragons sought to aid humanity in fighting it. But as the Avatar rampaged across Kaltis, the dragons grew crazed. The control over their hunger they had fought so long to control was broken. Furthermore, they grew vicious and angry at all. The corrupted dragons would follow the Avatar, amplifying the destruction in its wake and reveling in the violence. Where the Avatar was a tornado of destruction, terrifying but aimless, the dragons were ruthless, leaving none alive in their wake. Eventually it became clear that the dragons were being corrupted by Faust’s influence through the Avatar. As the gods had learned—which ultimately led to their departure—all things created on Kaltis had a touch of Faust’s taint on them. He was able to use that and twist the dragons to his will. Having so large a portion of Illunia’s being in them, Dragons were more susceptible to Faust’s corruption than most.

The remaining dragons fled once more to the far corners of the world to keep their minds intact, forced to watch as the world burned. It was not until the gods created and sent Bild to the world to seal Faust’s prison once more that they were safe. Though Bild sealed Faust from escaping or growing the Avatar further, he could not contain it. Bild granted the remaining dragons a gift and a task. He tasked them with the protection of the races in the absence of the gods. He gave of his own power and self to provide a protection from Faust’s corruption to any dragon who would accept his task. Not all accepted, but those that did had their scales transformed from the dull colors they bore before to shining scales of metal that shone like brilliant gold.

The protector dragons rushed to the aid of the remaining races, now immune to the corruption. Together they helped devise a plan to contain the Avatar, but that too is another story. Since that time, dragons both good, evil, and in between have been a rare sight. Some that refused Bild’s call eventually succumbed to the Avatar’s power, but still, others found ways of their own devising to protect themselves.

I looked through the whole book, but there was no reference to how the Avatar became bound. I suppose it is too much to expect lost secrets to be revealed to me in a random book I found on a couch.