Of the Toroso, the Blackest Hate

At twilight of that first day of life, Runos created the Toroso. Unlike the Dalmuni, the Toroso did not love Runos, and they did not love light, for he crafted these beings out of ash. When they first looked into the sky on the night of their creation, they beheld the a great course of shooting stars, for Runos was yet arranging the heavens, and were terrified. And from this day forth, fear, violence, power, and death was their creed. Their love of the art of death drove them to supremacy in the art of war. On land, they forged mighty and cruel weapons, developed masterful battle tactics, and constructed enormous machines of war. At sea, they built great and terrible ships and sailed fleets that housed entire armies, floating death. In stark contrast to their noble cousins, the Dalmuni, the Toroso became a barbaric people. Conquerors, adventurers, and tyrants, the Black, Dark Hate became the scourge of the land and of the sea.

The Toroso looked very different from the Dalmuni. They were a dark people, having dark, charcoal skin, straight back hair, and hateful black eyes. They easily matched their counterparts, however, in terms of cleverness, strength, and agility. Like the Dalmuni, the Toroso were blessed with seemingly ageless lives until Runos looked upon their evil hearts and cursed them. He gave the Toroso a choice. Runos did not deem it just for the Toroso to be both very wise and ageless, for, when combined with their zeal for power, the Toroso were far too powerful. The Toroso were forced to choose between their divine wisdom and their immortality, and, seeing how agelessness would better suit their ambition, the Hate rejected wisdom. Hence, the Toroso became of an even more depraved mind, the greatest evil known to both mortals and immortals.

The Toroso gave themselves over to passions and whims. They knew neither law nor order. Instead, chaos and death reigned supreme. And for this reason, they very nearly destroyed each other. But one day, the Enlightened One came. From where, no one knew. But he ruled the hordes with an iron fist for thousand of years. The King of the Toroso, whom few met face to face, is surely a mystery to be solved.

And so the Toroso awakened, the Children of Twilight, Dalmuni's Bane...

Of the Dalmuni, the Ancient-Young

In the beginning, after the fashioning of the world, Runos created the Children of the Dawn. In later times, they were remembered as the Dalmuni, which means the Ancient-Young. These were his most loved people. They were created in the first morning, and when they first opened their eyes, they saw the sun rising in the east. From that sun-rising on, they strove to create art that could match the beauty of that moment. They were creative, inventive beings. They valued above all else life, life in its purest, most noble form. Light (the rising of the sun) began to symbolize this life. They create many forms of art, but none mastered them all. Among them were lovely dancers, beautiful singers, marvelous musicians, storytelling chefs, fine masters of craft, and even some fighters. In fact, only three of them were gifted with this ability. Though killing was yet unheard of, non-fatal sparring was considered one of the noblest forms of art, for it required utmost trust and perfect control to dance with another blade-wielding partner.

Most of these beings looked very much like the Elves of a later time. I say “most” because some Dalmuni looked radically different from the others…Eight to be precise. The vast majority of Dalmuni were tall slender beings with long, pointed ears; deep blue eyes; soft, knowledgeable faces; and long, golden hair—yes, very similar to our own Sea-Elves. Of the Eight, I shall speak later. However, there was one major distinction: the Dalmuni did not age after their 24th year. This year was considered the mark of maturity and was when most Dalmuni were allowed to practice their art completely independently in society. Also at this age, female Dalmuni could no longer bear children. You may think that this would cause the race to weaken and fall, but that is far from the truth. Because the Dalmuni did not age, they would rarely be weak enough to succumb to disease. And because they never died in war, the Dalmuni led prosperous, infinitely long lives.

When the Dalmuni were not practicing or performing their arts, they would spend time performing everyday tasks for survival. Though the Dalmuni were immortal, they still needed sustenance and shelter to live. Most of their food consisted of the fruits of the land. Fruits like apples, oranges, bananas, pineapples, and strawberries were considered part of their mainstay diet. They also ate vegetables such as leeks, onions, carrots, and all varieties of peppers. Very rarely, the Dalmuni would sometimes eat fish and shellfish. Only once ever did one of the Dalmuni eat meat from a beast of the earth…but that story is for another time. Their housing was made largely from bricks made of clay and sand. They built great and beautiful palaces, with spirally minarets and ornately decorated towers. They made much use of arches and carved many figures and designs into the walls, doorways, and window frames. As for their garb, the Dalmuni wore loose-fitting, light-colored clothing for the climate of that land required such garments.

So, on the first morning, the Children of Dawn awoke. Later on that first day, Runos would create another race…a race that he would regret making…the Children of Twilight…

The Great Awakening

All hail, Culoneus! He has risen from the slumber of winter hibernation and has come back to you now...

Summer is here, and I now have plenty of time to tell of Miendur, the Land of the Gull.

That's right. Today I shall explain the background of Miendur. In the beginning, Runos created the heavens and the earth. And there he placed the fathers of two races: the Toroso and the Dalmuni...all shall be explained in time.