|
|
VIII. The Fall of BaûlThe AlinyuThe Age of Shadow lated for nearly 500 years. Baûl furthered his
magical studies and rednered himself impervious to he passage of time,
or nearly so, with magical artifacts of pure evil: the Ring, the Crown and
the Rod of Baûl. With a force unheard of, he steerd the peoples of Alina
down a dark path.
Again, the Creator loked upon his creation and saw the pendulum
had swung too far once more. He gathered himself from his otherwordly
realm and descended to Alina to disperse the shadow of Baûl.
Even for a wizard of such great power, the dfeat of Baûl was no
simple task. The Dark Emperor derw his power from his lands,
siphoning the magicks inherent to the world of Alina itself. the Kyie,
though powerful, was but one man against millions in the service of Baûl.
There stood but a single weakness in the great armor of the Dark
Emperor: his general, Don de ruthe. Granted a strange sort of
immortality with that of his sovereign, don de Ruthe had long since
withdrew from the realm of the warrior, regretting his former actions.
A good man at heart, he had sought initialy only to bring order to the f
ragmented lands of men and return peace to Ruûn. Tied to Baûl by oath
and blood, de Ruthe had marched his victorious armies further and
further, subjugting the entire world for the evil ambitions of Baûl alone.
The Kyie gathered a great army of elfin warriors and mages, for he
knew the Emperor would send his trusted geeal tothe filed. In the the
battlefield of Darmoc, in the north of Ruûn, surrounded by hills and troll-
infested swamps, the armies clashed. Here the legendary Don de Ruthe
felt his first defeat and the forces of Baûl were scattered to the winds.
The Kyie appeared to Don de Ruthe and offered him salvation: to
lead the armies of the Elder Races in revolte against the Dark Emperor.
The idea horrified and fascinated the general: to betray his sovereign was
unthinkable, yet his conscience haunted him. In the end, the forces of
Good received the fortune of de Ruthe's immortality: to remain in ths
moral torture forever was unbearable.
The armies of the Elder Races swiftly rallied about Don de Ruthe
and the Kyie, and the victories were swift and terrible. The empire of
Baûl tumbled with enormous force. Yet long before the end, the Kyie
removed himself from the world's events, having sent the pendulum on its
way.