Cerantia: A history

[Cerce]

(OoC Note: This is NOT a history of Kiwike; instead, it is a history of Cerce, and his roleplay backstory, and the nations of Sarkom, Gahma, Teevahna, and soon-to-be-once-I-get-started-and-have-enough-people-towns-and-cities nation of Cerantia. Any relation to people or places, living or dead, is purely coincidental.)

The Tale of Cerce Tentones
(An explenation as to how Cerce came to Kiwike, and his homeland's relevance in general)

Countless years ago, on an island far to the North and East of all known lands, man lived. Men fought each other for the most trivial things and the most petty of quarrels. Violence carried on, untill a unifying leader, Sarkora, brought together a large group of men under his banner. They called themselves Sarkomians, after the man they all fallowed and revered as a god. This band of rabble conquered the other peoplegroups and subjugated them under the Sarkomians, and treated them as slaves building the foundation for the first kingdom in the isle that had come to be known as Sarkom. When the slaves could no longer work, they were sacrificed in a lake of fire, or lava pit, to Sarkora. This also occured to small children and unfertile women. Sarkom considered men superior, as they contained the seed to life for all mankind.

Meanwhile, on an island not far south from there - within eyesight, even - another kingdom arrose, also bent on savagery, sacrifice, and slavery. They called themselves Teevahnans, after a demon that supposedly created the people on that island. To appease the demon, so that it would not destroy them for not recognizing it as their creator, they would drown slaves that were not fit to work, allong with small children and unfertile men. Teevahna considered women superior, due to the fact that they carried the burden of the child.

As commonly occurs between opposite views, these two upstarting civilizations (which were barely civilized enough to be considered as such) fought, endlessly and bloodilly. Hundreds of years went by, with neither country gaining a foothold in the ceaseless fighting. They grew to hate and loathe each other. Warriors died by the thousands as the milenia drew on, all over petty quarrels and differences.

Yet there was a third nation in all of this. The nation of Gahma, a peacefull nation which worshipped the One and the All, lived to the far east of these islands, beyond even a weeks travel by boat. These people had never known warfare, or even unrest. All lived together in harmony, and all seemed well.

However, Sarkom, searching for a new source of slave labor after ruthlessly exploiting their own native subjugates, sailed far and wide seeking new and easy lands to conquer. Teevahna, never to be outdone, did the same. By some trick of fate, both Teevahnan and Sarkomian forces landed on opposite sides of the island of Gahma. A fierce seccond-front war broke out over the new found lands, decimating a large section of Gahma with it.

Sarkom took hundreds of prisoners back to their kingdom after defeating the smaller Teevahnan forces, and demanded that Gahma surrender and submit to their demands. The great Gahman nation gave up withought further adue, seeking to save their kinsmen. Sarkora, who was still worshipped as a god (and seemed to be, as he had never died as of yet), wished to be appeased further, and demanded a sacrifice. The Sarkomian military was all too happy to provide, and killed every last prisoner in a massive sacrificial inferno.

Now, there was an agnostic young guard called Cerce Tentones of the Tentones clan of Sarkom. He had been stationed on guard of the prisoners of Gahma, and had learned the basics of Gahman language during his time there. A particular prisoner, who refused to say his name, told him daily of the All and the One, of the One's forgiveness, and of how the All (that is, the human race) is in essence good, but tainted by Blarma (a Gahman word thought to be 'Them', but not sure, as Gahma never said 'them', only 'us', as there never was any other peoplegroup besides Gahma that they new of), or evil, and how the One will send the Other to save the All from Blarma. Cerce came to convert to their beliefs, as he had seen the horrors of warfare and, unlike his bretheren, hated the mass bloodshed that took place for almost no reason.

When the order to execute the prisoners came, Cerce secretly released the man who told him of the One and the All. However, he was highly advanced in age, and told Cerce that he could no longer go on. "Spread the word," he said, "Stop this madness... I can no longer move, I am too old and tired... Only the kissing embrace of the One's flame awaits me..." At this, he screamed, and demanded to be thrown into the fire, not wishing to live in shame while his kinsmen died beside him. Cerce ran from Sarkom, stealing a boat, and traveled to Teevahna.

Now, Teevahna was still licking its wounds as it were from the beating its forces took at Gahma. Therefore, the head priests of the order of Teevahna were more than happy to accept a rebel Sarkomian, who could provide information. But when Cerce saw the mass drownings to Teevah, he was appalled all the more. Cerce was cast out from Teevahna, and sailed far west.

A great storm came to Cerce as he sailed. It lasted over four days and, when it cleared, he came upon a new land... "I will start a new civilization," said Cerce to himself, "One that is strong enough to fight, but wise enough for peace... One that fallows the One's morals of honesty and peace, yet judgement and chivalry... One called... Cerantia."

So begins Cerce's quest in Kiwike.

The Tale of Nomanic Carver
(An explenation as to an origin of all things undead)

Nomanic Carver was the head advisor to Sarkora, leader and supposed 'god' of Sarkom. However, Sarkora did not contain any real power; this Nomanic new. For Nomanic Carver was a practiced necromancer, a worshipper of all things evil and dark, who revelled in death and destruction. He was neither Sarkomian nor Teevahnan or even Gahman, but was a man of evil intentions. He believed that all of humanity was a scorn on the earth, and that to purge the earth of this evil, he must kill every single sentient being, so as to create a paradise where mortals did not contaminate all that they touched.

His age is unkown, allong with his origins. But the following tales of his mischief are true...

Unkown years ago, Sarkora led a group of people to form Sarkom, which I have already elaborated in some detail earlier. However, unkown to most, is that Nomanic Carver was among the first 'followers' of Sarkora. He had planned in his heart to usurp power in the long run - so he planned and plotted and presented himself as a Sarkomian would, to hide his Outsider-ness.

Sarkora recognized his great power and gave him a high position in the years to come. Nomanic slowly built up his support among the peoplegroups, and when Teevahna was discovered by Sarkom, he called for war against those that went against the belief in the great Sarkora. His supporters rallied to him, and a bloody war ensued.

As the events depicted formerly acted out as fate decided, Sarkora became deathly ill, and soon died. However, as only Nomanic was present during his death, he used his necromancy to possess Sarkora's body with a spirit that bent to Nomanic's will. With Sarkora never aging or dying, he was revered as a god. With Nomanic controlling over Sarkora as a puppet master would a puppet, he continued the bloody warfare for ages t ocome, seeking to build up the dead and lost souls untill he could summon a great army of evildoers to whipe the world of all mortal life.

After Cerce had left the isles, the war had entered into a great climax. Finally, Sarkom and Teevahna had broken through each other's battlemets, with both forces moving into their oponents territory. Passing each other by, they reached the others cities and pillaged, killing all in sight. When most of the killing had subsided, and most of the forces of both sides were dead, Nomanic finally unleashed all of those dead in the uncounted years past, launching a massive surge of undead minions. Nomanic ordered them to cleanse the earth - and they did as he bid; but, due to Nomanic's dark powers, they could not enter the light. Seing Nomanic as a mortal in need of clensing, and seing as how he was the only one in the dark nearest them, they killed him first; and after nightfall, they descended upon the rest of the known world, both skeletons and zombies allike.

The Tale of Teevah the Demon
(An explenation as to how spiders mutated into larger forms of themselves and the diety of Teevahna)

Teevah, as I have explained before, is the god-demon of Teevahna, who supposedly created the humans on the isle of Teevahn. It is still debated today as to Teevah's actual existance; however, many tales exist of Teevahnan peasants being visited by a large, talking spider, demanding tribute through trial by water, or they would be taken instead as sufficient sacrifice to their maker, Teevah. There have been those who did not provide said tribute, and mysteriously vanished the next night.

Ever since the beggining of these sightings, Teevah was worshipped as their maker and sacrificed to at the highest peak of the moon. During the longest night of the year, custom dictates that a larger sacrifice than any that year must be performed, or else the night will last forever due to Teevah's displeasure. If it is missed on any other night, Teevah will reign death through her minions of lesser, but still large, spiders. On the shortest night of the year, no sacrifice is required, and Teevah rests from her usual torment of her underlings and followers. The prophets of Teevah have also claimed that she has prepared a great nest for her loyal followers during this time, which holds great treasures and enormous pleasure.

After the afore mentioned Tale of Nomanic Carver, there were none on the island of Teevahna to sacrifice to the demon of Teevah. It was not the shortest nor longest day of the year, and was by far a relatively normal night; therefore, Teevah saw fit to unleash her demonic legion of minions upon the world to express her displesure.

Legend has it that a champion shall be selected from the desendents of Teevahna, who will be faced with a choice by Teevah herself. Kill the great demon who is responsible for countless deaths... Or be given great treasures, talents, and things that cannot even be described with the English language. Such a champion would need to build a shrine to her, within close proximity to a portal to the nether, which is her domain. Even then, she may fail to present herself due to her displeasure over the lack of human sacrifices.

And, if she shows herself, she might not think you the champion, and she might take one last, belated sacrifice screaming back to her nest...

The Tale of Borous Merkenly
(an explenation as to the existance of pigmen in the nether)

Borous merkenly was a glorious fighter of Sarkom. His blade was legendary among all the isles. Borous killed more people in the various wars in Sarkom than any single batallion of troops He was never conquered and never lost a battle. So revered was Borous that he was hailed as the prodical son of Sarkora.

Borous's prowess lifted him up to the position of third most powerfull man in Sarkom. However, despite his winnings, fame, and fortune, he found his life lacking in something. He came to despise the Sarkoran religion, hating his metaphorical father. He turned, instead to nature. He saw the sheep of the fields, the cows of the pasture, the chickens among the wildlands, and the jellyfish of the sea. But above all, he loved the pig.

The pig was the lifeblood of all Sarkomians, as they were numberous and tasted better than fish. Borous was especially fond of the delicious pork, and eventually the pampering of the pig and its ultimate slaughter came to be his joy. He eventually even set up a special alter of sacrifice to the pig god, whome he named Boar, after his name's likeness (in sound).

Borous, as I said, had come to hate the Sarkomic god, Sarkora. In an effort to stamp out what he considered a pagan pretender, he poisoned Sarkora's pork, and Sarkora became deathly ill. After the beginning events of Nomanic's rise to power came to pass, Nomanic finally found out of Borous's ill-fated plan.

Therefore, Nomanic cast a dark, necromantic spell on Borous's bedchamber door. This door came to be a portal to the nether, drawing Borous through when he turned in for the night. Within the nether, he began to hear strange voices, which sounded as if a mixed sound of pig squeals and human screams resounded inside a deep pit. Suddenly, the spirits of Borous's past enemies, and his swine sacrifices, merged forces in mortal flesh, and appeared as Pigmen. They struck down Borous Merkenly, and spread throughout the nether...

It is said that he who kills and eats more pork than Borous will inherit his strength and prowess... Only time will tell if this be true...