Man of the Mark

by Larrance

The Middle Realm is in danger. Prophecies tell of three embittered Sages who will bring chaos, fury, and destruction to the land. The prophecies also told of a man who will defeat the sages and restore the land to peace. Arthur, along with his companions, must find the four artifacts of the Divines and defeat the Sages of Doom.

1. Prologue:History of the Middle Realm

Ah, hello reader. Eager to hear the tale of the Vanguard I see. Well not too hasty now, you need to understand the history of the Middle Realm.

The Middle Realm was said to be created by three beings. The three "Sages" divided the Realm into three different regions. The regions are known as Vorswort, Teyoun, and Meslovor. They are connected by three land bridges. All three regions have their specific geographic landscapes and weather conditions. Vorswort is composed of flat plains, low valleys, and high mountains. Fairwind (spring) seasons are warm and Magnork (autumn) seasons are cool. Rain is plentiful all over the region. Teyoun is composed mostly of desert and thick jungle. The weather is usually hot year round. Rain only falls in the jungles. Meslovor has only swamps and marshes. Weather conditions are almost always cool and damp. Rain falls heavily in this region. The first humans, elves, and dwarves appeared in Vorswort. The first written evidence of the three races was recorded at 200 D.S. (Days of the Sages). The D.S. era is said to be billions of years before the B.C. era. Humanoids and Halflings were said to arrive at Vorswort on 274 D.S. The five races lived together in peace until 482 D.S., at the start of the Steel War. The war acquired that name because steel was just being developed by blacksmiths. Humans did not get along with elves or dwarves at that time. In fact, the humans sided with the humanoids and halflings in the war. The humanoids and halflings were promised that if they helped the humans win, they would be given an insurmountable amount of land and great riches. The war eventually ended with the defeat of the elves and dwarves. Consequently, the elves were pushed back to the valleys and the dwarves were pushed back to the mountains. Corrupted by the lust for power, the humans broke their promise and forced their allies into exile. The humanoids and halflings never forgot what the humans did, and they hold a grudge still to this day. The Sages were very displeased with the humans. So they planned to destroy the human race. Adriac, a servant of the Sages, warned the humans of this plot. The Sages found out what Adriac did and attempted to kill him. Adriac escaped with his life and rallied the humans and elves into an uneasy alliance. The dwarves did not participate in the war, but they supplied weapons and armor to the two races. Taking an oath of undying loyalty to the Sages, the humanoids transformed into the Urocs and the halflings transformed into the Goblins. The Urocs and Goblins formed an alliance with the sages, vowing to destroy their opposition. One hundred years after the Steel War, the Great War began. The war was one of the bloodiest to date. Both sides suffered heavy casualties. The fate of the war was decided on one battle, the Battle of the Slopes. During a turning point in the battle, a human soldier named Imperius hurled an Urocian general down into a pit of sharp rocks. The Uroc died and his soldiers surrendered. The Sages were eventually captured and put to trial. They were sentenced to a million generations of hard labor in the Under Realm. Adriac stripped the Sages of all their powers and created the Under Realm. After the Under Realm was built, the Sages were banished there. Ever since then, evil souls were sent there as a punishment of their crimes in the Middle Realm. Adriac created the Upper Realm and appointed one person of each race to live there. The Divines, as they were called, watched over the Middle Realm from their temple. After many years of peace, several humans, elves, and Urocs migrated to Teyoun and Meslovor. The geography and weather conditions caused an alteration of each race. Humans and elves were split into three different species. The Urocs were split into two species. The humans and elves of Vorswort became rivals for centuries. The Dwarves lived quietly in their mountains, although some lived and worked among humans and elves. The Uroc, still holding the Grudge against the humans, continued to attack villages. Goblins lived either underground or in captivity in Urocian lands. The recorded history of the Middle Realm ends during 2768 D.S., two years before the Man of the Mark was born.