Tales of a Fallen Empire

[Chancellor Zeffer Winterfur]

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Tales of a Fallen Empire
---A tale of Redwall
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To you, Seeker of stories and tales long forgotten, this is written,

You have just stumbled upon one of the largest struggles that has come durin' the time before, durin' and after the birth of what you call, Redwall Abbey. Seasons have come and gone, the ol' heroes of this tale long past, and laid to rest. Are you wondering who is speakin' to you? Why, I see no harm in tellin' you. I am Daeton Soulbringer, an Umbian, from the land beyond Redwall. Umbia? My, aren't you a curious one. Yes, I am not from Redwall Abbey, nor am I from even the same region of that realm. I was born in Umbia, a beautiful city on the coast of Samius. I see you are still confused. Let me better explain. Did you think that only Mossflower existed in the world? You did? Oh... my, I see you read the stories of those past fights and trials. You never knew of the entire world. I am not disheartened, but I shall be the one to tell you of our lives.

Three continents exist. The region you know as Mossflower, the Woodlands. Azurria, the home of the great and arrogant New Azurrians, and Samius, the continent farthest from Mossflower, where the sunsets. Long, long ago we lived in harmony among each other under the Azurrian Republic. That was nearly one thousand years before the story I shall tell. They were a powerful race, with weapons that was better then the stones and sticks at the time. They had armor, walls, roads, everything. They were the most powerful and the most foolish. Their arrogant lead to their downfall. At the time, there were five Great Races. If you expect to hear my lovely homeland of Umbia among them, be sadly disappointed. I speak only truth in this tale.

The Azurrian, of course, must be on top, for that is where they always see themselves. Superior and smarter then all the rest united under their great republic. However, they were good about one thing. Trade. They were a vast power do to their ability to spread to every corner of the world. That is why every race knows of this story, the Azurrans made it their mission to meet others and trade with them... of course exception to those barbaric kinds such as the realm of Mossflower which at the time was fighting each other... Vermin races against Woodlander. The Azurrans watched and did nothing as they saw Mossflower fight. They were curious to see what species would win the conflict and establish itself and didn't want to intervene in anyway.

Next is the Furrian, the subject of Azurrian rule. The Furrian were always next to the Azurran, always working on every project, directing every building. They are the Grand Architects of the republic. Ingenuity was their gift, their trade and skill. I can respect them, but they were nearly slaves to those they served. No real capital, no army, nothing. They depended on the Azurrian's rule and their power. So naturally when the Azurrian's fell... The Furrian fell.

The Irean, rogues... outcasts of society and perhaps the ones with the most anger toward the Azurrian rule. They were many, and they were powerful. The Azurrian banished them and thought them as less then beings, but as mere savage brutes, while saying that to the Irean's face. They were exceedingly insulted... which is valid... But they went out and began killing those living in the outer colonies. The Irean were blinded by hatred and anger. That would lead to their downfall.

My personal favorite, for they lived for thrice as long as the Azurrian. Merum, homeland of the Merrito, was perhaps the most magnificent place in the entire republic. The building were tall, with shined metal reflecting the world itself. They lived on a rather small area of the world, but made the most of it. Their building were made of steel, not stone. It's kind were militaristic, warriors everyone, both man and woman. From birth, that was what they did. Fight. Titles were won by merit, by those deserving of respect and not parading around like models. If one wanted to be a leader, they had to be a leader. Out of all the Ancient Races, the Merrito were the most faithful, and the most weakest. All who saw them, thought them to be savages, similar to the Irean. Their Warrior Pride was far developed and had blinded them. That Pride would make them give birth to a terrible Revelation. They allowed for the birth of the Empire, and the war.

You might be thinking, why are these groups the Great ones? Their flaws are obvious as day. It was because at that time, they were in control of everything. They were masters of life and death. They determined how all would live, how everything worked. You say I have forgotten one. Truly, I haven't. The last group was Azurrian... but of a different path.

Sephron... The Puppet Masters of all. They were Azurrian, but weren't. Azurrian's were connected to the cosmos, looking to the stars for guidance. They believed in the steam of life, the origin of all life came from the skies. Nothing is if there were no heavens above. Why think more then just eat and sleep if thought leads no where? The Skies above gave birth to questions and questions gave birth to sentience. The Sephron were the praisers of the ultimate evil and power in the world. Vulpuz, the Guardian of Hellgates. Oh, you have heard that name before? You have faint memory of it. Ah yes, the Taggerung and the Juska, they worship the Vulpuz. The Sephron built monuments to him, they followed his code, the worshiped him as their god, not as a force to see the future, but as their creator.

Overwhelming, isn't it... do not fear, my dear reader, it will clear with time.
So, the Fall of the Great Republic. It came not from pestilence, plague, but of war. The Irean's hatred for the Azurrian became so great that they fought the republic. The Sephron blinded the Azurrian from the war and used the Irean to destroy their enemy and take the place of the Azurrian Overlords. They would have succeeded if not the greatest deus ex machina hadn't occurred. The moment the combined Sephron and Irean Army fought to the Azurrian capital, defeating the Order of the Knights of Terra, stars fell and destroyed the Capital, killing a vast amount of Sephron and Irean. The world built by the Azurrian's crumbled as the Azurrians fled. The Knights of Terra left to the Woodland's North, hiding away. The Merrito watched as the world burned.

What does this have to do with the tale? The Sephron and the Irean were not destroyed. Weakened, but not dead. Vulpuz still lived within the Sephron's mind. Their homeland of Sephmus, on the Samius, had been undamaged. And like a patient hunter, they waited. A thousand years and their war would begin again, the blood as offering to the powerful Vulpuz. Their empire rose with armies of devoted servants. It would last four hundred seasons, and would cover the world.

The tale you read is one where a few stand against many, where the free choose to fight to keep freedom. And where destiny and birth is defied. A hero exists in all beings, wither one embraces this or defies it is all to the mind of the being. My best friend showed me what it means to be a hero, when he stood against his birth of Sephron blood to fight for freedom against the Sephron Empire.

Daeton Soulbringer
Former Fox Seraph Warrior
Chieftain of the Freelancers

[Wildrun]

Cool...just a question, because I am curious, where are you going with this? It's really awesome, I love it. What do the Merrito think of Mossflower now?

[Chancellor Zeffer Winterfur]

This will follow the follow the life of Daeton Soulbringer, a Serapth Guard (Warriors directly under the command of the Overlord as well as an unknown warrior group) which will be from the First part giving insight of the Empire itself and then lead up to his eventual leaving// Zeffer Winterfur, Commander of the Merrito and Warlord of the Empire, part II will show the Merrito's reason for fighting in the war and the expaination to the 'DARK CHILD' Prophecy// Part III will be in perspective of Daeton (again)and the conclusion of the war/// Part IV will contain letters written by the warriors for and against the empire called 'Letters of a Fallen Empire'
These are up to change and will be extremely long parts...when I write them up. This story is to give perspective into the Empire and what it was like.

Merrito see the land of Mossflower as a land filled with those who will eventually come to lead the world. The Merrito see their time as ending and are the leaders of the Restoration of the Imperial Land which were destroyed by the Empire as well as the counterattack. The White foxes take the leadership of the lands and rebuild them, slowly leaving the lands of the empire over the course of a 120 seaons. The Merrito give the Felians the the discission on what to be done and return to Merum. However, they have a respect for Mossflower and believe that when the Felian's (New Azurrians) become worn down that the Woodlanders of Mossflower will lead the way to greatness.

[Wildrun]

Are you posting it here or modleing it to become a book? It does sound like that, it's a mouth-watering plot idea.

[Chancellor Zeffer Winterfur]

I plan to post the entire Tales here into a story format. Currently I am getting up all the informational parts so that it is understood why everything happened. These next sections will be sort of like thesaurus so that one can understand what a 'True' Sephron is, and why they went against the Azurrian when everything was peaceful under the rule of the Republic.----

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--Codex of the Covenant
Translation from the Ancient Language
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This marks the beginning of the long path that shall lead all who follow this code to ultimate wisdom. Those who take on the codes of our Covenant will live by the philosophy of the Centra and Ayakaza. To understand why we created this Codex, we shall tell you of why. We, the Centra were once at an endless war with the Ayakaza. For countless ages we fought for no reason at all, but merely to gain power over each other. The struggle between us lead to our eventual fall from former greatness. Blinded by mindless rage, we destroyed the Ayakaza from fear that they would grow more powerful. However, we soon grew tired of fighting, despite our longing for victory. For the first time in countless ages, both of or people meet and spoke. At first we felt no kindred to the Ayakaza. They were nothing but barbaric, uncivilized, monsters. Yet, they were not, as from what I witnessed. They wanted what we wanted. Peace, after centuries of war. This became the foundations of our Covenant, our vows to begin our new age together in peace.


I. We shall never establish a single master over the lives of all. A single master or a small group of masters will eventual lose sight of what is necessary for the good of all. However, never shall all rule as well, for they will become selfish and wish only the power to grow in themselves rather then all.
II. Divisions between one to another will always bring conflict. Conflict is inevitable. If dealt with by casting no injustice, the divisions will grow. No divider will receive something another wouldn't. Area of birth is irrelevant to how one is able to learn.
III. The strongest weapon is knowledge and wisdom. Without these all that would exist is those who merely fight, eat, and sleep. Age will eventually destroy the strength, and ultimately that being will become nothing. Knowledge may pass through time, giving birth to stronger minds later that will grow even more.
IV. As long as there is a way to gain power, some will go by any mean to achieve it. War will begin and fighting to achieve dominance will occur. Appeasing will accomplish nothing but wet the appetite of a power-seeker.
V. When blood is split, the taking of equal blood will lead to escalation. It is in the nature of all beings to inflict more pain on an attacker. Eventually this blood will fill rivers and make all blind, and all guilty of vengeance.
VI. A time which power means nothing, will be the time which war will never be. As long as there is a struggle for dominance, war will live forever.
With these acknowledgment of the cause of war, the Centra and Ayazaka turned away from the past, and we began the great journey to salvation from the damnation that we had given to ourselves. All Centra left in every direction, along with the Ayazaka. The only way we would stop the fighting was if we lost the divide of Centra and Ayazaka willingly, and not to each other but by merely choosing our new life. The wars had gone on too long, with no point to them but to rule over blood. Those born of blood will end the same way.
Hicum

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The Sephron
Written by Archmagus Vulpuz
Translated by Daeton Soulbringer
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Vulpuz, Lord of the Sephron, master of her armies, and the First Sephron Archmagus.

I learned of our long forgotten lineage and reminded us whom we are. We are born from the Taika, the forgotten race. Our ancestors were the seekers of wisdom and power, but were hunted to near extinction by the Centra. So, the Taika fled to our land, Samius, and they vowed that one day we would return to the land of origin. This vow became our oath of vengeance against the Centra, now days called the Azurrian, Furrian, and the tiny vermin speck of the 'Woodlanders of Mossflower'. When the Covenant was formed, we, the Taika formed the peace as well. Unlike our other ancient brethren, we continued to move to our goal of vengeance. The Azurrian's built their empire from empty words. They are weak now, thinking that they are ultimate. There is no supreme, no master above that of our Lord and master, whom gave to us life and existence. The Centra are arrogant and blind to the rise and fall of life. They are mortal, and all that is mortal exist to the height of their being, and then are casted down. The same holds true for their mortal creates. What they have made will one day fall, there is no denying that truth. Our immortal Creator is infinite, thus is the cycle which it has created. We will always have life, death, and the continuing cycle even past our existence.

That is why the Sephron shall become immortal, with the Ascension of one of us to godhood, the rule shall be immortal, and thus his kingdom shall be as well. We shall be the bringers of death, those who shall lay fire upon the land and cleanse it of those who are a mere infestation of our will. A Creator is a being superior to all he creates, thus once the fires are set, we shall be the masters over the new world that we create. We burn away the last order and create this neo-order which we shall be the masters over. Our reign is that of the shepard's of life itself. We will not destroy all the inferior beings but act as their menders.

The great civilizations, when they reach their height will be purged, they will be violently killed. Then the cycle will begin a new, with a new race that will follow the ancient ruins of the last. They will evolve exactly to what we want them to. Then again the purge will begin. The only constant in this new age shall be that we are the masters of sentience itself. We will be the only race, the only species that lives and holds the knowledge of sentience. We will be the masters of the minds of all creatures. To them, we will be the god that choices the very meaning of life.

This is not impossible. For in our past the Taika have done this. We have been the ones that destroyed the old order under the Hashi and allowed for the rise of the Ayakaza and Centra, then created its fall in a war of our making. The Azurrians have forgotten this. They believe that we are Azurrian. We are Taika, the ones that are the purge of races that have grown too powerful. We keep the balance of our true existence. Sentient life is imperfect and will eventually lead to its own demise, endangering the sentience of other beings. In order to keep this from happening, the Sephron must act as their shepard's, killing and destroying the ones that have gone to far and have done to much to disrupt the balance so that the balance can become the same again until then next sentient being follows the path. I am the one that shall perform this most sacred task of restoring this balance. I have embraced my purpose and as a Knight of Terra, guarantee my work to this destiny, as my ancestors have and shall my descendants. The Taika are not interested in ruling, under my name, those who bare my blood will do as we were born. The burn away those who have gone to far along the path of sentience.

[Darkhawk Shadowheart]

MERRITO LANGUAGE
Made by Darkhawk
Based off of English and Latin mix
This will be modified later for the vocabulary || Infinitive tenses

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Imperative is the verb without the Infinitive beginning.
Infinitive is translated 'To ___'
Imperative is command case '__!' Plural ending '-ik' on Imperative translates 'Everyone ___!'

Earlier Merrito speech is improper, rules have been added by personal choice.

Sephron Language will be added eventually sometime after Merrito... still currently forming rules.

Merrito Active Voice
Merrito Passive Voice

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