Adapted from The Gallian Diaspora
By Hamlet gi Randgriz
Pre-Valkyrian Era
Archaeological evidence of Darcsen origins is scarce, owing to the devastation caused by the Valkyrian conquest and the sheer age that such artifacts would have to be. According to Darcsen tradition, their ancestry is traced back to its patriarch, Abra, who fathered twelve sons, each of whom formed a clan. Although they originated in the southernmost regions of Europa, they traveled north in search of a "promised land" and found it in Barious, once a lush and fertile plain.
As their numbers grew, Abra's descendants migrated throughout Europa, but all twelve clans kept their head houses in Barious, all of which grew to be great cities. In this we have archaeological evidence: There are twelve sets of ruins in what is now the Barious Desert.
The societal relationship between the Darcsen and the more numerous but less powerful Euro in the pre-Valkyrian era remains unknown due to the lack of archaeological evidence. It is generally acknowledged that the Darcsen used their knowledge of ragnite power to establish their dominance, and that the Euro were probably placed into servitude after brief conflicts or demonstrations of power.
The Darcsen had a special connection with ragnite: Abra is said to have been a metalworker and the discoverer of ragnite's ability. Whatever the case, a Darcsen technological golden age was established in the pre-Valkyrian era after the perfection of a ragnite refinement technique. This technique, which has since been lost to time, created ragnite items of astounding purity, up to 98%, compared to the 66-70% purity of modern technique.
War of the Valkyrur
The end of the golden age came with the coming of the Valkyrur. According to histories found in the secret chambers of Valkyrian temples, the Valkyrur arose in northeastern Europa. Their heightened sensitivity to ragnite made them of great interest to their Darcsen neighbors, who gave them gifts of ragnite: lances and shields of their symbol. Eventually, the Valkyrur grew numerous and aggressive, and jealous of their Darcsen allies' protectiveness over their ragnite refinement technique, started the War of the Valkyrur.
While the Valkyrur possessed great physical power, the Darcsen showed more battle cunning and skill with weaponry. Still, the destructive power of the Valkyrur was too great, and the invasion pushed from the frigid northern lands to the fertile Darcsen strongholds at Barious. The Darcsen Diaspora came as a result of this invasion threat, and they were displaced to the South and West, where the highest concentration of Darcsen remain today. The participants of the exodus mostly consisted of women and children, leaving behind the able-bodied men behind to fight.
A deadlock arose as the Valkyrur laid siege to the strongholds, where neither side could achieve victory. It was not until the treachery of a branch of the Hosepha tribe that the deadlock was broken. This branch, from which later arose the House Randgriz, told the Valkyrur of the secret tunnels that lead from each stronghold to the ragnite mines. With this information at hand, the Valkyrur infiltrated the tunnels and entered the forts, slaughtering and looting.
But the Darcsen, perhaps anticipating this eventuality, had one last suicidal trick. Each city had a slab of superrefined ragnite embedded in its town square. From historical accounts, it is known that superrefined ragnite has the effect of amplifying Valkyrian powers so much so that they reflect back on the user. When the Valkyrur used their lances to "leave not a stone intact," they triggered the superrefined ragnite, which reflected back their power and overloaded their bodies with energy, causing multiple "final flames" powerful enough to engulf the entire region of Barious and turn it to dust. The resulting explosion was heard and documented all over Europa. In the process, the bulk of the Valkyrian army was destroyed by this massive final flame, later known as the Darcsen Calamity.
Dark Days
In the aftermath of the War of the Valkyrur, the surviving Barious Darcsen scattered throughout Europa, migrating mostly to the west, which had not yet been conquered by the Valkyrur. This generation is known among the Darcsen as the "fatherless generation," after the many Darcsen males who had been felled at the battle of Barious. Indeed, a very common name among the males of this generation was "Wuba," meaning "fatherless" in the Darcsen language.
With the Valkyrur so depleted, they ended up raising armies of Euro whom they personally commanded, sweeping over the continent in what became later known as the "Valkyrian Conversion." Many Darcsen were killed in this "conversion," and yet they still clung on.
How did they manage to outlast the Valkyrur? Certainly the Valkyrian descent had a role, both with internal struggle and inbreeding. But perhaps most importantly, the Darcsen had a cultural base that had been firmly established by the Barious Darcsen. As time went on, the Darcsen came to embrace different customs, but the language and many of their cultural beliefs have still persisted to this day.