Enderal:The Legacy of the Pyreans

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The Legacy of the Pyreans
by Lexil Merrayil and Lishari Peghast

The most recent, very troubling events on all of Vyn and now also in Enderal make it necessary to gather the all too long just fragmentarily available and tightly guarded knowledge about the Pyreans. This manuscript shall be a starting point for further research and archeological projects for the chroniclers of the Holy Order and the mages of Nehrim, which are supporting you on the search for insight and answers.

The reign of the Pyreans ended as sudden as the trail they left on history, and very little is known about their culture. The former global empire, which the Pyreans established before the first age, was gigantic, an incredible big territory, proven by the scattering of their remains. The ruins are spread all across Vyn, yet they are especially bundled up on a continent, more so than on any other: On Enderal exists the highest number of discovered ruins. It is said that the “City of Thousand Floods” was located here, the biggest city ever built. There is no clear proof of its existence, and nobody knows, if such a big city could have been real. However, it is certain that different Pyrean subcultures originated from a main tribe, like on the continents of the present age.

Magic crystals, of which there must have been a great abundance in the past, were the source of light, heat and served as propulsion for their first machines. The energy-rich minerals allowed for complicated, technical constructions with solid efficiency to be built, of which the functionality still poses an unsolvable mystery for master builders to this day. How it was possible to supply the valuable energy into the crystals without losing it midway or if the crystals themselves were the hoard of power, it remains unclear. It is obvious that the Pyreans — in terms of magic — had a certain knowledge, with which they refined parts of their architecture. With the aid of the crystals they propelled the Undertrain, an invention, with which the people could travel a tunnel system, which was buried in the ground.

Despite the prohibition of exploration of the ruins, which was declared in Enderal, Arazeal and Qyra, there are some bold troves, that shed light on their culture, among them are the legendary stone tablets of the Ishyian, even though they were locked away from public eyes. Allegedly these writings contain ancient, thus far unrevealed secrets about the way the world could have looked before the first age.

The supreme authority of the Pyrean empire was the Highest Being. It was not a man or a woman, but rather a child, chosen from their ranks. The Pyreans believed, that the soul, which sustains and holds together the very universe itself, could be locked inside the child's body through a ritual. It resided there until the chosen one reached a specific age. If the latter happened, a new soul vessel was needed — and the old vessel was disposed of in a bloody sacrifice.

The people followed the visions of the Highest Being blindly. From them originated the two ruling priestly castes of the Ishyian and Dylgar, since the empire Pyra was an aristocracy similar to Vyn under the Light-Born. On top of these castes three Sun Priests are elevated, who were reading the visions of the Highest Being, interpreting and deciphering them. It was them who held the actual power over Pyra, thanks to their knowledge about all that was happening and had yet to happen.

A special role was played by an older high priestess, who seemed to be standing even above the Sun Priests for several years. Her true name was never mentioned in the writings, instead therein she was called “Niri”, which in the old language of the Pyreans means as much as “Mother”. This woman is part of many records and statues. Undoubtedly she accomplished great things, even if it is unknown what it was that helped her achieve her fame.

As family association the two castes placed immense value on the purity of their blood. Nothing was more important than their own, untarnished lineage. Some myths, like those of Yurus and Mirani, suggest officially recognized amours between family members. One cannot rule out the possibility — quite the opposite — that incest was practiced to preserve this purity. There was never a real hostility between the two castes, yet they were highly ambitious and power-hungry, which peaked into a millennial lasting rivalry. Political intrigues and demonstrations of power were the result. The two different architectural styles of the Pyrean ruins developed through the rivalry of the castes, who tried to surpass each other with more and more magnificent and elaborate temple complexes.

There exist many theories about the puzzling disappearance and the with that associated downfall of the Pyreans, one absurder than the other. Researchers and historians have yet to get tired of developing new assumptions about the course of events to this phenomenon, however a handful of explanations is more plausible and stand out of the mass of balderdash.

One of the last-mentioned theories says that the castes of the Ishyian and Dylgar started a devastating war with each other and eventually perished because of it. It is still disputed which one of the two sides could have dug up the hatchet. For their mutual massacre and hate they were hit by the punishment by the gods and their people were doomed. Yet it is rumored, mostly in shady places, that this theory was created in pretence to serve political purposes. The conspirators which are saying these things might have their reasons, however of all the mentioned notions this one seems to be the most plausible explanation for the disappearance.

Other theories deal with the thought that a magic power of higher origin could have obliterated the Pyreans from the face of Vyn. This could also be a possibility, but the existence of a supernatural power, capable of annihilating whole peoples and being ill-affected towards life itself, has not yet been proven beyond doubt. Therefore this theory seems to be solely based on the intention to put fear and disturbance into the hearts of the people, nothing more and nothing less.

The last explanatory approach brings up a cold-blooded assassin as reason, who murdered every member of both castes by the order of a secret organization to contain the power of the Pyreans and to possibly overthrow them. A brutal mass murder to restore the balance appears more believable than a magical cataclysm, however it is still just a speculation thus far as well.

These kind of explanations are as numerous as grains of sand on the beach, all of them are less like historical truths, but rather like tales, told to make people pleasantly shiver. It will probably forever be a mystery how this glorious culture found its sudden and deavastating end — the myth of the forgotten folk.