Vardis
I
The Demons of Light descended from the fires of Nagash to make their home in the grasslands of Deis, and after blinding the disciples of Order who had brought them gifts and welcomed them with open arms, they opened up the gates of Nagash and spewed forth great destruction upon all those who embraced the night.
During these times, the Great Destruction, the fires of chaos ravaged the land, both grass and tree, plains and forest. However, none of the Demons could withstand the cold, nor the night. During the winters, they burrowed deep in the earth to protect themselves from the harsh cold of the Nibosh, whose mighty trees blocked all sun and harbored those disciples who had not yet fallen to the Great Destruction. Many praises were offered unto the Angels of Darkness that this was so.
For the Demons of Light possessed mighty spears that could pierce the strongest hide and impale the largest Kudluskk cleanly, and darts that could fell a man from seven hundred paces. They built a mighty city in the northwest, the White City of Tjaris, whose splendor and might rivaled the mightiest mountain and the tallest forest. The disciples of Darkness were pushed back, and soon there were none left save those who had escaped to the Nibosh, and even they were in grave danger. The children of the Night cried out mightily to the heavens for salvation, day and night, for many years, hoping to be freed from their fallen state.
In time, the keepers of Order were blessed with the might of the Angels, who brought a great cold to the land and drove the Demons out of the forests and onto the open grasslands of Deis. There they battled, Angel and Demon, Order and Chaos, Darkness and Light, for the fate of the world.
The Demons were pushed back, their spears of Light and their blinding darts unable to defeat the double blades of the Angels, who smashed through their Legions of Fire and smashed Tjaris into the dust without leaving a trace. The disciples of Order celebrated as the Great Destruction came to an end. Peace and prosperity reigned in the land, and all were joyous. But just as suddenly as they had come, the Angels vanished, taken up to high heaven to watch over their children, and ever-ready to defend their creations should they ever cry out again in distress.
The Angels gave the Dark Ones power over the followers of Chaos, subjugating them into their tribes to suffer for their crimes. They also left the great Oak as a symbol, a reminder of the past and a beacon for help. It is said that anyone who partakes of the bark of the Oak shall…
Sounds of the Night
(Manual of the Temple of Order at Ardis)
Preface
In the First Age of Man, there was great peace and prosperity. The children of Light prospered under the direction of their creators, the Demons. The Demons taught them of the best ways to gather, and to build, and to hunt. They did this out of the goodness of their hearts, asking only for three years of service by each able-bodied man in exchange for the powers of Nagash, the Sun. Together, The Demons and the children of Chaos built a mighty civilization, fashioning buildings of stone and learning of the secrets of the Sun and the Day in the great city of Tjaris. They lived in harmony for many years, until the coming of the children of Darkness.
The Dark Ones spewed forth from the Dark Forests of the Nibosh and spread across the whole face of the land, killing and plundering as they went. They cared little for the possessions nor the settlements of the followers of Light. They lived where they liked and they took what they liked. They would take a man’s land, his livestock, and his wife as it pleased them, by force if necessary. There was much suffering across the land and the Night held sway over the sky.
The children of Light and the Demons rallied together to fight against this Dark menace. They achieved many victories by the powers of the Sun, the fires of the Great Forge. In time they managed to push the Dark Ones back to the Nibosh from whence they had come. They celebrated their good fortune and marched forth to defeat the Night for eternity, but alas, the Demons of Chaos could not survive in the harsh cold of the Great Winter. This Winter had been much colder than all others before it, and all afterwards. The Demons were forced to dig deep underground to protect themselves from this evil in the hearth of Light and Life, leaving the children of Light alone to fight these great enemies.
It was during the Great Winter that the Angels appeared. They marched forth, their blades of Shadow cutting down many of the followers of Chaos, mercilessly destroying all in their paths as they approached the Demons. It was there, in the grasslands of Deis, that a mighty battle was fought. For a time the Demons had the advantage, ripping through the Armies of Shadow and engulfing hundreds in fire. But alas, the Night did come, and in this combined Night and evil Winter the Angels were able to defeat the Demons. They were forced to the shores of the sea and departed on the horizon, sailing home to the sun. The Angels then forced those who followed Chaos into the tribes of Order, the tribes of the Dark Ones. This tribal Order, this structure of bonds, was great torture for those of Freedom and Light.
For many years those of Chaos have been forced to reside in Order, living as one with those of Darkness. The Angels did hope that the Chaos would be bled out of the children of Light, that they would forget the ways of goodness, Freedom, Life, and Light. The children forgot all that they had been taught, and melted into the culture of the Dark Ones.
But hope still remains. There are still those who follow Light in Vardi, and they wait for the day when the Demons shall return from the seas of the Sun to vanquish…
The Glass of EnLightenment
(Scripture of the Clan of Light at Vardi)
Introduction
