By Prospero

This is a story of fiction. Many of the events described in this story have parallels with actual events that happened since the founding of Tysan, and uses names of actual members wherever possible. Every 10 years in this story correspond to roughly 1 year of actual history since the founding of Tysan in 1997.

Lost in thought, a hooded man walked through the forests southwest of the great city of Everstar. His simple priest robes swept away some of the fallen leaves as he passed underneath the great oak trees. The robes did not cling to the ornate chain mail he wore underneath, and even though they were large enough to conceal weapons, the man had no need of them. The road to Everstar was usually abandoned; very few people traveled east toward the Old Fortress, and most trade from the coast used the river instead.

The man was thinking of old times, when the nation of Tysan was still young, and he himself an eager young warrior desperate to prove himself. He remembered a time when the Old Fortress was still in use and the Council lead by Tadrith ruled these lands. Even for such a barbaric time, the lands of Tysan had been a glorious place.

A smile appeared on his face as he recalled many fond memories of those times, but it instantly disappeared as a cry for help sounded from further ahead. The hooded man swore under his breath, as an attack in this part of the forest was usually the work of the Dyoryi, a strange group of creatures that thirsted for the water of human bodies.

The hooded man started running, hoping he would be in time to help the one who had cried for help while at the same time wondering what fool would traverse these woods without soldiers to protect him. Up ahead he could see a small cart, and a desperate peasant holding a sword, trying to fend off no less than three Dyoryi. Fighting off even one was challenging for a trained soldier, but a simple farmer able to hold off three for more than a moment was unheard of. But the hooded man had other things to worry about at this point, fully aware that such matters were best pondered about later.

Facing the Dyoryi, the hooded man focused all his emotions. He poured in all his anger, all his hate, all his dispair and every ounce of feeling he had ever felt. Channeling his rage, he embraced Sagaia, the Outer Chaos, the destroying force. His body filled with arcane power, pulling at his every fiber and threatening to tear him apart. Only through extreme concentration was he able to use this power and survive.

The Dyoryi had noticed him, and two of them turned to face him. They advanced slowly, unaware of the power coursing through the hooded man, confident that they could overpower a simple unarmed priest. The hooded man let them approach to within a few feet, and then raised his hands, unleashing Sagaia. The air between the man and the Dyoryi rippled as if by heat, and two black beams of non-light burst from the hooded man’s hands. The beam struck the Dyoryi, and they screamed in agony as they were torn asunder by the rippling Chaos. The hooded man grunted as the power of Sagaia sent a feedback of pain and anguish back into him. It was the price of using the Outer Chaos, and there was no escaping the consequences of the destruction one created.

With two of the Dyoryi out of the way, the hooded man advanced, readying another burst of Sagaia energy for the last Dyoryi. But as he advanced, the peasant who had been holding off all three of them lashed out with his sword and beheaded the last of the Dyoryi. As the beast’s head hit the ground, it let out a final scream of defiance, and then it’s body collapsed.

The hooded man relaxed his emotions and let go of Sagaia. As the chaotic energies left his body they pulled at him, trying one final time to tear him apart, yet he managed to control them. He turned his attention to the peasant. “Are you hurt?” the hooded man asked. “I have a claw wound on my left arm, but I’ll be alright,” the peasant replied, the pitch of his voice betraying his young age. “Even a small Dyoryi wound can be fatal, let me look at it,” the hooded man replied, and gathered his concentration. With significant effort, he released the chaotic force of Sagaia. The man braced himself for the inevitable backlash of releasing this power, and even though he had wielded it many times and knew what to expect, the sudden pain throughout his body was still intense.

The peasant held out his arm, as the hooded man closed his eyes as he focused his breath. Clearing his mind of emotions, he embraced a different sort of power. Shutting off his senses one by one, he became aware of Tanath, the Inner Order, the creating force, and embraced it. A warm glow washed over his body, and the hooded man opened his eyes to regain his senses. The destroying force of Sagaia could tear a person apart if left uncontrolled, but Tanath was no less dangerous to use. A person surrendering his senses completely would never regain them, never waking from Tanath’s sleep and dying of starvation while experiencing perfect bliss.

The hooded man took the peasant’s arm, and instantly sensed the wound in his arm: an imperfection a clear disturbance among the intricacies of the man’s body. He could feel the foulness of the wound, a clear sign of the Dyoryi infection, and he could feel it slowly spreading. Concentrating, he channeled the energy of Tanath into the man’ s body, slowly mending the wound and curing the sickness. Using Tanath in this manner was a slow process, and not one the hooded man was especially skilled at, yet he managed to mend the wound.

As the hooded man released Tanath, he was overwhelmed by his returning senses. The sounds of birds were amplified, he could feel the slight breeze flowing through the forest, smell the grass and leaves, and the corpse of the slain Dyoryi. The hooded man once again reflected on the gifts of Sagaia and Tanath. They were opposites, yet strangely similar in many ways.

Focusing on more urgent matters, the hooded man spoke to the peasant, who had sat down on his cart. “What is your name?” the hooded man asked the peasant. “Aderion,” the peasant replied. “So you were named after a hero?” the hooded man asked. “Yes,” the peasant - Aderion - said, and then asked a question of his own, “May I ask yours? I would like to know the name of the man who saved my life.” “I am Prospero,” the hooded man - Prospero - responded. “So you were named after a famous man of Tysan as well?” Aderion asked. “Actually, no,” Prospero said, and threw back his hood. A gasp of startled surprise escaped from Aderion’s throat as he recognized the man standing in front of him. The visage of Prospero, former King of Tysan, was well known across the lands of Tysan. Recovering from his surprise, Aderion asked another question. “So, you knew the real Aderion?” he asked. “I did. We spent much time together,” Prospero said, and started to smile. “What’s so funny?” Aderion asked. “Oh nothing. Right before I ran into you I was thinking of old times,” Prospero said, and changed the subject, “are you heading for Everstar?” “I am, I want to join the King’s Guard,” Aderion responded. “Then why didn’t you travel by river? These forests are known to be unsafe. They have been that way since the time of Tadrith,” Prospero responded. “I’m good with a sword, I figured I could take care of myself,” Aderion responded, “besides, you’re traveling alone aren’t you?” “Yes, but that’s because I have other means to defend myself,” Prospero responded, “We should get going, Dyoryi travel in packs, so there are bound to be more of them.”

They continued moving toward the city of Everstar. Prospero joined the young man named Aderion on his cart, and they talked about the practical matters of joining the King’s Guard (which would be renamed to the Order of the Silver Mantle), as well as pending changes to the government of the lands of Tysan, with King SilentPothead stepping down as King and holding general elections for the new position of Chancellor. Prospero also talked about Sagaia and Tanath, the forces of Chaos and Order, and how the trial process would also determine if he was skilled at either. “How much further to Everstar?” Aderion asked, eager to start the trial process. “I’d say another hour or two, unless we run into more trouble,” Prospero answered. “What is the city like?” Aderion asked. “At the moment it’s covered with scaffolds,” Prospero said, a grin appearing on his face, “aside from that, it’s our largest and oldest city. Describing the city in detail would take longer than getting there and seeing for yourself” “Did Tadrith build it?” Aderion asked. Prospero responded with a burst of laughter, but quickly regained his composure and explained, “there is a fortress hidden in these forests. That’s where Tadrith ruled. We tried renovating it after his departure, but eventually moved west and built Everstar. I was in charge of the construction, just as I am in charge of the renovation.” “But why is that funny?” Aderion asked. “Because the man you were named for was head of the Council when we started construction,” Prospero explained, “I find it funny that someone named for Aderion would not know our history.” “I’m afraid I don’t know much about Tysan’s history at all, aside from a few names of famous people,” Aderion responded. “Would you like me to tell you about it? I think we can cover most major events in the time it takes to reach Everstar,” Prospero asked, upon which Aderion agreed.

“The lands of Tysan have been inhabited for quite some time, but aside from a few loose alliances between various tribes, they were never truly united until the time of Blayde. I do not know much about Tysan’s earliest history, except that I was borne during Blayde’s lifetime.” “It is said that Blayde was somewhat skilled in the use of Sagaia, but that he could not wield Tanath. It was during Blayde’s time that well known warriors such as Mach and Tadrith rose to prominence, but even that I do not know for certain. I do know that one day, after nearly 20 years of ruling Tysan, Blayde simply vanished.”

“It was during this time that Tadrith became the leader of Tysan, and he constructed the old fortress that is hidden in these forests. Contrary to Blayde, Tadrith could wield Tanath. The result was a marvelous fortress that no ordinary stonemason could build. By his own admission, his skill in using Tanath as a means of construction do not equal my own, though I myself must admit that Tadrith was better at using it for creating art.” “Tadrith’s reign is often referred to as the first Golden Age of Tysan. There was prosperity, great acts of heroism were done by the King’s guard, and Tysan was part of a grand alliance with 3 other nations that sought to bring justice to all. Tadrith’s reign also lasted almost 20 years.” “Sadly, all good things come to an end, and a period of strife and turmoil signaled the end of the Golden Age. The King’s Guard did not yet exist during this time, as Tysan did not have a King yet. Instead there were three separate orders within Tysan, namely the orders of Light, Darkness and Honor. From each of these orders, a small number of warriors rebelled and proclaimed an independent nation in the lands near the southern border.” “Normally this would not have become any serious issue, as citizens are free to leave these lands, but they declared war on Tysan. In later days Tysan has often maintained a role of neutrality, but these were more barbaric times. Things became more complicated as a number of warriors on both sides were able to wield Sagaia.”

Prospero paused for a moment and turned to Aderion. “You have seen what I can do with Sagaia,” he said, and by Aderion’s grimace he found the sight of exploded Dyoryi distasteful, “Do you have any idea what happens when two factions of warriors start using it against one another?” Prospero continued his story.

“Eventually, after 3 years, the war was won by Tysan, but at a great cost. A lot of warriors were slain, others resigned, and there was general distrust among the ranks. Tadrith among others were no longer satisfied by the way things were going in Tysan, and recognized many of the characteristics of the rebels in many of the Orders’ new recruits.” “So then they decided that they could no longer manage Tysan the way it was, and decided to leave for greener pastures. Only those they deemed worthy were allowed to follow them in this exodus, and they called themselves the Guardians of Light. Many of the more noteworthy members of this time left, but among those who were left behind were Aderion and Greenfirestorm.”

“And it was during this time that I made my first noteworthy appearance. I was already known among some of the members of the Orders as an independent commander who did joined missions with some of Tysan’s warriors, Aderion among them. I was already on good terms with many of the people who were left behind in Tadrith’s exodus, and precisely two weeks after they departed, I joined Tysan’s Order of Light.” “It was strange at first, being a new face in a land in turmoil, but since many of them already knew me as a friend I was accepted rather quickly. In an emergency meeting convened by Midnight, the leader of one of our allies from the Golden Age, a new Council was formed, with Aderion as chairman and with new leaders for each of the Orders. I was appointed head of all matters involving construction due to my skill with Tanath, and we rebuilt the old fortress.” “Things went well from then on. There had been some minor skirmishes with the Guardians of Light, but I managed to prevent escalation of these incidents. Apparently Tadrith and his followers were confident that Aderion and I could keep the rest in check.” “For several years, our Council did well and the land flourished, though those times were no comparable to the Golden Age that had come before. And then it all collapsed.”

“For almost a decade, the lands of Tysan decayed. Many people left to search for greener pastures as the council desperately tried to keep order. We created a small wooden village near the old fortress to house people who had fled their homes in the parts of the nation that could no longer be protected by our warriors, but things did not improve. Aderion went missing during these days, but was replaced by Greenfirestorm, who would play a larger role later on. It was during this time that we started the construction of Everstar.” “Construction was slow, and it took us another ten years to finish the city, but it was the salvation of Tysan. Stories of the magnificent city spread far and wide, and people flocked to it. It was at this point that we decided we required a single person to lead the clan, a person to act as a symbol to all and to lead the Council, but above all else a person chosen by the people of Tysan.”

“This was the start of a second Golden Age. With Greenfirestorm as King, we flourished as never before, and built many more cities. We forged an new alliance with a warrior nation known as the Blood Legion, whose members still visit Everstar from time to time. GreenfireStorm has some basic mastery of both Tanath and Sagaia, but he was beyond anything else a King of the People. He knew how to motivate people like no other King after him.” “The next ten years went by smoothly. GreenfireStorm eventually stepped down as King, upon which I was elected to replace him. Despite many successes, I made a few painful mistakes. I am not the great motivator that GreenfireStorm was, even though I can give nice speeches from time to time. Due to my skill with Tanath I was always a better builder than ruler, and my skill with Sagaia at times made me a volatile person.”

“It was during my reign that we heard of a magnificent new land across the sea named Azeroth. Along with many other nations, we prepared to journey to this new land. It was with the help of the Blood Legion that we managed to build the ships required to sail there, and our initial colonization efforts went well.” “There were a lot of issues with our operations in Azeroth. Our forces in Azeroth included both a military contingent and a colonization group, and they were often at odds with one another. A large number of the colonizational group were concerned that I supported Thalos, our military commander, too often, and they would rather see a more neutral leader in my stead.” “During these events, our alliance with the Blood Legion had dissolved. Their operation was primarily military in nature, and rather than founding a simple colony, they had moved most of their population to Azeroth, far removed from our colony. We occasionally hear from them, but only rarely.” “As people grew less content, a group of them prepared a rebellion of sorts in the city of Seven Bridges. Due to a quarrel between myself and a junior warrior whose name I can’t remember, I found out about it. While I was obviously not pleased, I confronted GreenfireStorm about it, as he was one of them.”

“The discussion that followed was interesting. While obviously surprised that I knew about their gatherings, they were glad I was keeping an open mind and speaking to them in earnest rather than sending the Truthsayers after them (who had been neutral so far). Quite a few senior members were part of their group, and felt me reign was too one-sided - and they were certain many in Tysan supported them. While obviously not happy about the situation, I offered them a compromise: I would step down as King, and would allow the people to choose between a candidate of their choosing and one of mine. They nominated GreenfireStorm, and I nominated Thalos.” “I don’t know how or why, but strangely enough, the people voted Thalos as the new King by a very narrow margin.” “Needless to say, those who wanted me to step down were not too happy with that result, but Thalos was an able leader, and did manage to see to the needs of both the military contingent and the colonists. However, he grew increasingly frustrated by the lack of willingness of the colonists to assist the needs of the military. It did not take long until he resigned. The elections that followed saw GreenfireStorm once again elected as King.”

“GreenfireStorm took drastic measures. The military arm in Azeroth was already crumbling, with many soldiers deserting and joining a band of mercenaries. GreenfireStorm arranged for a different nation in Azeroth to shelter any colonist wishing to stay there, and arranged for ships to return those to the nation of Tysan who did not wish to stay there. There are still warriors who travel to Azeroth once every now and then, but Tysan no longer maintains any active presence there, and no effort to restore one has been undertaken, and myself am a rather vocal opponent of any such effort.” “The colonization of Azeroth had failed, and it had taken a severe toll on the population. Many had chosen to stay in Azeroth, and there were not enough soldiers to properly protect the borders.”

“This situation has been going on for almost 30 years, but slowly we recovered. The lands of Tysan never decayed as they had in the time before the Second Golden Age, but they never quite recovered. A series of Kings followed in short order, among which were Aragorn and Elysian, and even I had a second term.” “Despite many attempts to restore the strength of Tysan, none of these Kings had much success. Eventually, SilentPothead became King. Like many of his predecessors he had joined during the Second Golden Age, but he was a different sort of King in many ways. Where some Kings before had been somewhat elitist, SilentPothead was always considered just one of the rest of the warriors despite his position, and he was quick to put good ideas into practice no matter who suggested them. During his reign Thalos returned from Azeroth and suggested an expedition to Tyria, a land that was discovered in the same days as Azeroth, yet was not as well known.”

“The first expedition to Tyria was ill-organised and failed, and rather selfishly, I took this opportunity to suggest SilentPothead step down and allow me to run as his replacement. I won the election, and attempted to organize a second expedition to Tyria, with far better preparation, and help from some of the veterans from the Azeroth expedition such as Thalos and Castion. While we had some initial success in establishing a forward base, we found Tyria to be heavily populated, with little land to settle on. We dismantled our colony and returned to our lands.” “After that, I attempted a few more attempts to increase the welfare of Tysan, with some mild success. I reintroduced the tradition of so-called Iron Man tournaments, which has to this day been continued by LordInfiniti, who by this time had become the leader of the Truthsayers.” “Dissatisfied by my own reign, and with increasing demands on my skill in Tanath, I resigned and held fresh elections, which again saw SilentPothead as our King, where he has been ever since.”

“Which brings us to recent history. With SilentPothead again at the helm we saw a gradual improvement of national welfare, but still no restoration of Golden Age glory. We realized that many of our ways could use improvement, and that sooner or later we would have to look for new lands to settle.” “ With this in mind I started the renovation project for Everstar and our other cities. Where the city had once been a shining beacon, many of it’s buildings had started showing signs of decay. We also created plans for reorganizing the way we rule the nation, with the King permanently giving up his position, being replaced by a Chancellor who would serve for 5 years before elections start again. The Truthsayers would still maintain the law, but the laws themselves would be written by a newly formed Senate, which unlike the Council members would not be appointed by the King, but chosen by the people.”

Prospero paused for a while, letting Aderion consider all that he had just been told. “If you’ve been here since the time Tadrith left, wouldn’t that make you over 80 years old?” Aderion asked. Prospero laughed, and revealed his right lower arm, revealing an intricate tattoo with strange runes, “This is the Mark of Tradition. Within the walls of the King’s Palace, as well as in the Old Fortress, stands a glowing blue pedestal. To join the King’s Guard, you must take the oath to uphold the traditions of Tysan, and as long as you fulfill your oath, this mark will grant you long life and health.”

Aderion and Prospero continued talking, with Aderion asking various questions about ancient times, and they talked about many warriors of old, such as Tadrith, Aderion, Sengir, AshenSun, Aehla, Ckxx, Judicator, Wolf, Vengeance, DarkGazer, Samurai, Stealth, Mach114, GreenfireStorm, Aruy, Thalos, Lautaro, Darkflame, Errorist, Aragorn, ElysianReborn, LordInfiniti, Arclizes, SilentPothead and finally about Prospero himself. As they cleared the forest, the huge outer walls of the city of Everstar came into sight. Aderion simply gazed at them, the sight amazing him even with the scaffolds visible from a distance. “I’ve built this city, approached it a thousand times and lived in it for countless years, and yet it never ceases to amaze me,” Prospero said. As they reached the massive reinforced gate, Aderion noted a large rune inscription above the gate, and asked, “What does that inscription mean?” “Don’t feed the animals,” Prospero replied, with a grin on his face, “It is the first tradition to uphold.” As Prospero dismounted from Aderion’s cart, he gave him directions for the guard barracks. As he turned to head in a different direction, Aderion asked a final question, “What will happen to Tysan next?” “That is up to you and the rest of the warriors of Tysan. I am simply here to make everybody’s job easier,” Prospero replied and turned away.

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