The Awakening, Act II: The Watcher: A History
Title: The Watcher: A History
Author: Adranath
Time tramples
greatness to rubble and
dust, but glory is never
forgotten. Elder winds
sing of the past to
those calm enough to
listen. - Meer
proverb
We are ancient. We are
eternal. I write now of
what was and what will
be.
Our ancestors speak of the birth of the Meer people, cradled in the Great Forest at the heart of Ilshenar. Meer history is long, but we were not the first. We know others came before us. Some are long dead and forgotten, destroyed by unspeakable acts. Others, like the great elementals, left our world to wander the Void. While a few older races remained, such as the great dragons of blood and silver, they ignored the Meer in favor of their own struggles. We were alone to grow as a people.
Then the Juka came to our forest. Nomadic and militant, they wished to conquer and destroy what they did not understand, but they were not without nobility. They were honorable fighters, following the Way. The ancestors recognized in the Juka something our people had lost. They shunned magic in favor of physical prowess. The Juka were young and passionate, so contrary to our ancient and quiet ways. They were our spiritual opposite. Our ancestors forged a balance with the Juka: cycles of conflict and cycles of rest. The ancient balance between Juka and Meer had never faltered.
That balance was destroyed by the coming of a mysterious being called Exodus. He was an impurity in our world. None had ever seen his face, but the Juka had heard his voice, teaching them sorcery and guiding them away from the Way. Without their honor, the Juka attacked the Meer's very soul, the Great Forest. Our home and heart burned. Ours are now the lands of despair. The ash of the Great Forest had made the rains caustic and bitter, Meer tears.
So I gathered our people for war, a final war. They did not know what I had planned, but I went forth to destroy us all. The old balance had ceased to exist. All that remained was revenge and the tranquility of oblivion.
For a brief memory, I got my wish. I saw my most terrible spell cast, an inferno that engulfed the Juka fortress and all that remained of both peoples. The memory of such hatred still makes me weep centuries later.
By some magic, we were saved. The universe blinked, and the Juka and their fortress disappeared.
Later, my spells whispered to me what had happened. Exodus had saved the Juka from my wrath, moving them through time itself. With both the Great Forest and the Ancient Enemy gone, we were a people without purpose. A decision was made. The Meer would enter a timeless sleep and wait the return of the Juka. We would wake and rebuild the Balance, saving our enemy from their own darkness.
To atone for my madness, I volunteered to wait and watch while my people slept. I have seen the millennia pass. I have watched civilizations born and die, gargoyle and human. I witnesses the first stone placed at Ver Lor Reg. I saw the great Anskitas city of Monitor fall. I have been alone.
Strange metallic creatures
have started gathering. A
force has started
manipulating and enslaving
human and gargoyles.
Exodus. It will soon be
time to wake my people.
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