History

Ancient History

The ancient history of the world of Shadow Star begins with understanding the creation myth. In summary, the mother goddess, Irotana, created Calacia, and then birthed five children in this order: Tyrea (goddess of Earth), Aeryon (god of Air), Laugar (god of Water), Claeryn (god of Fire), and The Nameless One (goddess of Chaos). These gods created species for each of their own realm, and in the very beginnings, each realm warred against the other in the Realm Wars, though the specifics of such an ancient event have been forgotten.

The creations made by the goddess of Chaos were seen as abominations, and the gods of earth, air, fire, and water banded together against the forces of their youngest sibling Chaos. A great war broke out against the forces of Chaos, and in the struggle the gods of earth, air, fire, and water created the druids and bond creatures to aid in the fight, and the goddess of Chaos made her own bond creatures to answer those of her siblings. The battle between the forces of Chaos and the rest of Irotana's children has continued for an entire age, and the battle continues even today, most often between the isle of Shadow Star and the isle of Chaos.

Pre-Game Modern History

Four hundred years ago (before the start of the game), the island of Shadow Star was plunged into the Age of Darkness when King Shantor was killed by his brother Tairan, who had defected to Chaos, and allowed Chaos to reign over Shadow Star. Seven years before the start of the game, the Age of Darkness ended when King Ryntan took the throne, having been educated by the old druid Marcan, and under Ryntan's rule Chaos was thrust out of Shadow Star.

In the 7 years that followed (before our present game began), royal bonds reemerged, and the goddess Irotana bestowed a telepathic Link upon the top-ranking royals of the four realms so that Shadow Star would never be left without checks and balances between royalty. The Avenging War then took place as Chaos attempted to regain Shadow Star, and though King Ryntan was killed during this war, Chaos did not succeed.

And although the threat of Chaos continues to loom, Shadow Star looks forward, led by the realms of the Royal Council, to climb further out of the Age of Darkness that had hold on them for four centuries.

Recent History

Year One (2000)

As the kingdom continued out of the Age of Darkness, a mysterious call from afar caused the air dragons to desert Shadow Star, and the bond creatures that returned and replaced then were ryuuki.

Shortly thereafter, the Chaosian chimera Deligere led a Chaosian attack against Shadow Star. Later named the Second Avenging War, the Unitarians successfully defended Shadow Star against the Chaosians.

Year Three (2002)

Later, a group of four Chaosians called the New Order, four powerful mages, then led attacks on Cascadia Falls, wreaking havoc on Shadow Star. They were defeated and sent to the other side of Calacia to disappear.

After this began a complicated plot about Irotana's brother, Void, threatening her life. Through some strange plot twists and many things that didn't make much sense, somehow Void was defeated and Irotana was okay. ((Continued into years four and five))

Year Four (2003)

A powerful Chaosian mage cast a spell over Shadow Star that raised the dead, causing the land to crawl with legions of skeletons. Several villages were completely wiped out, sending many refugees to Cascadia, which thankfully managed to hold off the undead army.

Year Five (2004)

All seemed to be peaceful, when suddenly the land dragons of Shadow Star were called to a distant place as the air dragons had been before them. What eventually returned to Shadow Star to replace the land dragons were the kyuushi.

Year Six (2005)

Fire King Shasten was married and expecting a child, and Water King Jerry as well was expecting an heir, and things seemed peaceful. But Shasten's wife was found dead, and Jerry's lover went missing (in actuality they were both the Chaosian High Demonlady Kurai in disguise).

At the same time the royal ryuuki Kaelith became deathly ill and the air queen Nikolia was pregnant by mysterious means (both done by Her Justice Mahja Ris). After the bonding in which Rujko bonded royal flamecat Cvetenal, Shasten was found to have committed suicide and his bond soon followed.

Very shortly thereafter, Water King Jerry, with a long-standing emnity for the Dispassionate Man, became convinced that his lover had been working for the Dispassionate Man and that it was also his doing that she disappeared. Because the Dispassionate Man disappeared from existence (following another long, complicated storyline which totally created a time paradox -_-), Water King Jerry became crazed for revenge and tracking the former Thieves Guildmaster down.

The Water King threw the underground in turmoil as he ordered the Water Knights and Water Guards to round up thieves, and the Wolfpack, a freelancer gang, helped to find and torture these Guilders. Because the Dispassionate Man was nowhere to be found, the Thieves Guild disbanded among extreme infighting and arrests made by Water realm knights.

For a time, dangerous gangs banded together and ruled the streets, making it unsafe in Cascadia Falls at night. With many thieves eager to take over, Kaiose, the leader of the gang called the Reapers took on a gang of former Thieves Guilders led by a thief called Black Wynd. After an intense final battle, the former Thieves Guilders won and began building a new Guild led by a Guildmaster called the Patient Man.

A conspiracy was uncovered in the Knight's Guild after the Knight Guildmaster died under mysterious circumstances and the barracks themselves were attacked by a group of hired thieves. These assassins were found to have been hired by the Knight Council, and the Patrol put them under arrest. It took some doing, but a new Knight Council was elected soon after.

Year Seven (2006)

On Firstday of this year, a group of Chaosian Thieves and Hands attacked Cascadia Falls during the celebrations. At the same time, the Chaos Council confronted the Unitarian Royal Council, when High Demonlady Kurai revealed she had been King Jerry's lover and (now-dead) King Shasten's wife. This was a test of the new fire king's abilities, and the Unitarians managed to defeat the attack on Firstday.

Unbeknownst to the Royal Council at the time, on Firstday Oceanica was also attacked, but fell to the attack and Chaos took over the major port.

Camp Black Rock was soon after attacked by Chaosian Thieves and all of the criminals incarcerated there were freed.

Many events soon culminated in a large-scale attack by Chaosian forces at Cascadia Falls. Although the battle ensued for hours, eventually the Unitarians were victorious.

About a month later, the former Knight Council (who had been arrested, incarcerated, and then freed from Black Rock) came back and abducted the new Knight Guildmaster and a new Council Knight, taking them to still-Chaosian-occupied Oceanica. This spurred a Unitarian march against the Chaosian forces in the city, and Unity forced the Chaosians out of the port city and off of Shadow Star Island.

After the forces of Unity defeated the forces of Chaos, news soon came from the Isle of Chaos that High Demonlady Kurai was dead, and Her Justice Mahja Ris had taken over as the new High Demonlord.

Although it seemed that the activity and attacks from Chaos had died down, Chaosian Thieves seemed to have gained power, infiltrating much of Shadow Star Island. Chaosian Thieves have been named responsible for the death of royal flamecat kitten as well as repeated attempts on the lives of Royal Council members.

Year Eight (2007)

Most recently, the Patient Man has disappeared, and a new, more ruthless Guildmaster known as the Saint has taken over.

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Detailed History

The island of Shadow Star, ruled by the realms of earth, air, fire, and water, was relatively peaceful for many years, although the forces of Chaos had always been a threat. Four hundred years ago, however, the island of Shadow Star was plunged into the Age of Darkness.

It all began with King Shantor. He was a skilled healer but knew little of the art of war, and it was his ignorance that destroyed him. His brother Tairan defected to Chaos and murdered Shantor to usurp the throne. Once he became king he oppressed the people and united Chaos with the other four realms. Ogres and demons and trolls were free to roam the island, the base of operations of Chaos was moved to StarScape Mountain, and Unitarian bond creatures and druids were outlawed. For four hundred years Shadow Star was led by rulers allied to Chaos. Any revolt that was started was stamped out by the Chaos armies of the kings. Many of the people gave up hope.

One old druid called Marcan, who hid the fact he followed Irotana, was the only one who saw that the new prince Ryntan had a good soul and the spirit of his ancestor King Shantor. As the boy grew, he asked the boy's father King Zurach if he might school the boy in all that a prince needed to know. Since he was a learned man, the king consented to his tutoring of Prince Ryntan.

Marcan risked his life to teach Prince Ryntan about King Shantor and the oppressive rulers that followed his murderous brother. He taught him of the evil that plagued this once beautiful island, and about the Unitarian gods. Ryntan began to oppose Chaos, but Marcan warned him never to speak of these things until the time was right. The boy kept his word and did not speak until the day he was crowned king when he was nineteen, upon his father's death.

On that very day seven years ago, he freed the people of Shadow Star and drove the Chaos realm back to their own island. He reinstated bondings and made preparations for them immediatly. The people of the island became active under their new king and the cities were shining bright again. Ryntan struggled to find enough bonds to start rebuilding the Unitarian realms.

A royal white air dragon was found in StarScape, unbonded and free. Her name was Shaytenelle. She flew and laid a clutch of eight in the caverns of Cascadia Falls. A fire swept over the newly laid clutch. Shaytenelle was beside herself with worry that none of the eggs were alive. The only egg that survived was miraculously a royal. The royal Ashalle bonded to Jessamyn, making her Queen of the air realm.

Soon after the royal pair finished training, Ryntan petitioned the goddess Irotana for the gift of telepathy to be bestowed on the members of the Royal Council, which he was instating so there would never again be only one ruler. He was granted his request and he and Jessamyn were linked to each other in an unbreakable bond. This same link would be given to the Kings and Queens of the other realms once they had royal bonds, and would be given again throughout time to all Kings and Queens of the Council that ever would come.

Shortly after the linking, Ryntan was killed in the Avenging War along with royal Shaytenelle and many others. Jessamyn found herself as a lone ruler and it worried her. She needed other royals from the realms. She carried on the plans for bondings and hoped that one of them might harbor a royal. She was beside herself with relief when a golden royal appeared in a wild phoenix clutch and bonded to Tyrona Starfyr, introducing itself as Kylranal. But even with another Council member, two realms were still leaderless.

A few years after Tyrona ascended to the throne of the fire realm, a land bonding was held. The two queens were immensely relieved and excited, albeit confused, when two royal kraenons bonded. The younger kraenon royal, Rishinn, bonded Riikii and then conceded queenship to Aquatre and her royal bond, Sariann. Now Land had a Queen and a Queen's Own, and only the realm of water was left without a leader.

Soon after, a water bonding was held. Calithia bonded a royal water dragon, Kyrsialle. Tragically, the hatchling was murdered a week or so afterwards, and Calithia killed herself. That same day, Kyle Rimbrand, the guildmaster of the Thieves' Guild, bonded royal dolphin Eranthra, becoming King of the Water Realm. At Kyle's coronation, Sariann, Aquatre's bond, was changed into a Common kraenon by Irotana, and the land royalty was given to Riikii and Rishinn.

Things seemed to finally be settling down... until Ashalle, the dragon bond of Queen Jessamyn of Air, felt an inexplicable call to a large continental mass north of Shadow Star. She was killed, and Jessamyn was no longer a royal, leaving the Air realm without a royal. Not long afterwards, two strange creatures resembling air dragons, only furred and different in other ways as well, arrived at the island with their two bonds. These creatures were called the ryuuki. The female ryuuki, Ceralinth, flew and soon laid a clutch.

Events seemed to be looking up, but then an army of Chaosians, led by the chimera Deligere, attacked Cascadia Falls. After a bitter battle, the Chaosians in the second Avenging War were defeated. More relief and joy was added to the victory when the ryuuki clutch hatched and bonded. One of the ryuukettes was a royal named Kaelith, who bonded Nikolia. At the Firstday Festival, Nikolia was crowned Queen Nikolia of the Air Realm.

Somewhere during all this, Land Queen Riikii Neoko and Water King Kyle Rimbrand were wed. It wasn't long until the Land Queen was found to be pregnant.

Not long afterwards, royal phoenix Kylranal flew and was caught by Claenal. She laid a clutch, and out of that clutch hatched a royal, a silver male named Burinal. He bonded the dragoon-smith, Shasten, who was crowned Queen's Own.

The next month or so passed in a blur of events. Several Unitarians were captured and shipped on a Chaotic slave ship back to Chaos. Air Queen Nikolia contracted a sickness, thought to be of Chaos, as her bond Kaelith was in her mating flight. And then Fire Queen Tyrona came down with a sickness similar to the Air Queen's. The healers and Council discovered that Tyrona's sickness spread through telepathic links, like the bond link to Kylranal and the Council link. Her link to the Council was severed, but she could not be cured - only treated. She retired to the Starfyr Ranch outside Cascadia Falls, and Fire Queen's Own Shasten became Fire King Shasten.

Just before spring, there was a water bonding and out of it came a royal, N'dura, who bonded to a young telepath named Jeremiah. Earlier, Water had lost its only royal Kyle due to Eranthra's poisoning. Riikii, who had twin babies now, was having a difficult time being mother and Land Queen simultaneously, so she stepped down too. Land Prince Rian Gentry would, in a strange turn of events, take her place as Council Royal, and Jeremiah took Kyle's.

Late that spring, four Chaosians got together and formed what they called the New Order (known to many as the Odd Squad.) These four fairly powerful mages gathered an army and set out to capture Cascadia and try to wreak havoc everywhere else. Meanwhile, under the orders of a false Irotana, the Maugh Klarn were preparing for an attack on the Ctsu town of Nivoh. The Ctsu were arming up and preparing to fight the Chaosians as they'd heard about the surprise attacks. As they went to fight the Chaosians, the Maugh Klarn took over Nivoh.

The Unity won this battle with Chaos (ultimately one of the four leaders was magically sent to the other side of the world.) But a larger, more frightening war was unfolding. Irotana herself was afraid of this opponent. The Void, her brother-god, was sucking energy out of her and it was all she could do to fight him. He possessed people, animals, plants, anything that could lend him energy, regardless that they would end up sick, mad, or worse...dead. As Void began his wild rampage to begin eating up Irotana's oasis--ShadowStar, Irotana united the Maugh and Ctsu Klarn (the Ctsu warriors returned to Nivoh as soon as they heard about the raid) and they began their desperate fight against the Void.

The quests for the Etherium Crystals began, as those would ultimately be the only things to imprison Void again. Meanwhile, Ctsu Light-master Kynisha Jalansi and her novice, Inula set out on their own quest--to find the legendary StarStone that would renew Kynisha's memory. Kynisha had lost her memory upon dying in a fight with a Maugh named Mara. Irotana had then used precious energy to reveal to the Maugh what was going on, and to revive Kynisha. She couldn't, however, give Kynisha her memory. Thus, her name was changed to Nareyo at her reawakening. She had to relearn everything she knew, and learned the Maugh as well. Nareyo and Inula went to the old Realms, the Shadows Forgotten that had split from ShadowStar's world hundreds of years ago, in search of the StarStone.

Finally, the battle with Void was won, and life returned to fairly normal...until the Harvest Festival when one of Chaos' most powerful mages announced to all that the truce necessary between Chaos and ShadowStar for Void's disposal was now null, and to expect attacks soon.

A few weeks afterward, the famous pendants pinged and the bells rang announcing a bonding. Another fire bonding. This one was special in its own way. There were two royal eggs, and all were expecting two royals to come out of this, as the eggs were thriving. Many people bonded, but right in the middle of things, an evil magician named Yuki appeared and killed all the eggs. Almost everyone thought all was lost, but one egg was saved. A golden dragon egg, and out of this egg hatched a proud golden fire dragon, Miralaurelle. She bonded Dante, one of the controversial Chaosian leaders from the battle that spring, and by doing so, made him Fire King's Own.

Meanwhile in Chaos, there was a bonding, and Kurai bonded a royal gargoyle named Chaotus. She was now powerful enough that she could take over the High Demonlady position. A Council was held on Chaos Island. Clouds of strife were rolling in yet again.

The Air Realm received a new royal: Fawn, bonded to a royal gryphon. The current classes finally graduated while the old Land Princess and Land King's Own had to be demoted.

As winter passed and spring rolled along, farmers began to get worried. There was not much snow all winter, and there was not much rain this year. Their fears of a drought were slowly becoming true.

As if that wasn't problem enough, a powerful Chaosian mage cast a spell over Shadow Star that raised the dead, causing the land to crawl with legions of skeletons. Several villages were completely wiped out, sending many refugees to Cascadia, which thankfully managed to hold off the undead army.

Not long after the undead attack, a surviving Winglie from Taerone, Yuki, began preparations to make his own army of bondcreatures, calling the land dragons to him in much the same way that the air dragons had disappeared a few years before. Not long after, the new land royal, Queen Kyrea, led a small expedition to discover their wherabouts. Yuki was eventually found and defeated, and the new kyushi brought back to their bondeds.

A few months afterwards, the first all realm bonding took place. Four royals were chosen: Tempest, air princess, fire princess Tigra, who disappeared, water king's own Suki, and Land Queen Kyrea.

The bonds of Shadow Star were finally starting to proliferate into respectable numbers. Gathering together, they banded together and successfully drove Chaos completely off the southern edge of Shadow Star.

Unnoticeable to most, Irotana, weakened from the fight with her brother Void, was slowly losing her power. Kynisha, with the power of the Starstone, was able to draw Irotana into her body to preserve her life and take her to Nivoh, where, after defeating Joril for the title of Lightmaster, was able to restore the Goddess with Nivoh's hidden power.

The second all-realm bonding came and went, with two new royals being bonded: the kyushi Shantrush, to Keina, and the fire dragon Pfeiralle, who bonded Keldris Desryn. However, both royals would soon after disappear, presumably to whisking-away.

As eggs once again began hardening on the hatching sands, everything seemed to be going much better than it had two years ago. The Fire King was married and expecting a child, and the Water King as well was expecting an heir. The rains had returned to the lands, and things seemed peaceful for the moment.

- Shasten's wife found dead, Jerry's lover missing, Kaelith ill, Nikolia pregnant, bonding gave Fire King's Own to Rujko and Cvetenal, Shasten found suicided later, Burinal suicides, Rujko/'veta become Fire King & bond.

- Jerry go crazy b/c of thieves guild, underground in turmoil as Water Knights/guards round up thieves, Thieves Guild disbands, gangs rule streets, soon new Thieves Guild emerges

- Conspiracy of the Knight Guild, doom. new council put in

- Firstday attack, testing new fire king, manage to defeat Chaos Thieves invasion, Chaos Council confronts Royal Council, Kurai reveals she was Shasten's wife and Jerry's lover

- Oceanica attacked/falls, Black Rock falls, attack on Cascadia Falls follows, fails, then driven out of Oceanica

- News comes of Kurai death, Mahja becomes head of Chaos

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