[Relevant story: Sunrise over Amune]
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STORY
Once there was a planet in House of Medea, where the race of amune dwelled. Their nation used to be prosperous, when they were united under noble queen Nerida the Mystery.
Nerida was such a beautiful and merciful Radiant, that she was often called the second sun of Amune. Medea herself was her mentor, and raised love to the sacred Order in her. She opened to the queen knowledge of Antalla, who devoured constellations and put an end to peace in the cosmos. The future was no more predetermined, the Order was crumbling, and Nerida understood that her little paradise was trialed by the god of Time - Amune will wither, and destroyers will take it to another world, where her nation will be reborn anew, or it will prosper under her reign here in Urana if she takes Medea's place.
While the queen was getting ready to ascend to Synod and make her choice, a hideous sacrilege happened in the Amber nebula - destroyers and stars were falling from Atlas' corrupted spear. Nerida understood that if all destroyers were closed, there would be no room for rebirth, the sacred cycle of Antalla would be ruined, no chance left to see other Dreams. The Order could not be saved and the next to be slain by the unworthy spear would be Medea. And then Nerida made her choice. The domination of Time must be restored, destroyers will cleanse the world from our mistakes and make us forget the pain, and then we will rise anew.
Before she left Synod, Nerida spread knowledge about Eothranis (Paradise), a mysterious land where first gods were born. But as the memory of Eothranis was forbidden by the guardians of the Order - Synod, she encrypted her manuscripts to hide them from Medea. Temple of the Gale saved her legacy and wept for their queen, eager to join her in Paradise, while Temple of the Beast was loyal to Medea and Synod, regarding Nerida as a traitor to Amune. The nation of Medea sank in wars, where the both Temples fought for dominance, which comes with akhane - a sign of royal power for the Beast, a way out of Amune for the Gale.
Not long after Nerida's depart, Medea uttered her last prophecy - 'Once you yearn for peace, Time will be no more.' Without realising that, Amune nation wanted peace, they were tired of endless fight, but there was someone who was deliberately fanning the flames.
The situation in the House of Medea attracted the young Devil known as Marc the Whisperer, who wasn't interested neither in Antalla trial, nor in the crisis of the wounded Order, he only believed that the story of the universe must continue by all means - be it in this world or another. And the story of Amune was about to finish, frozen by Medea prophecy. Marc knew that Amune went through hard times without their queen, but he also knew well what could distract them from their wish for peace - never ending struggle. So he settled in Amune and pretended to be one of them, whispering desires hidden in darkest corners of amune souls, rising their hatred toward each other. This was the darkest page of Amune history.
The little planet shuddered by earth elementals of the Temple of the Beast, and it was torn by storms summoned by the Temple of the Gale, as two major forces of Amune were clashing in endless battles. They were fighting for a sacred relic once belonging to queen Nerida - the akhane, which can find connections between facets of the universe and lead to other planet systems or even different nebulae. Only gods have such power, but according to the divine plan only one mortal from the entire House can inherit this gift. But Nerida never used her akhane to open Amune, willing to hide her nation from Atlas tyranny.
The akhane was gone with Nerida, and amune didn't give up trying to get another one from Medea, as they believed that the artifact could not only unite the fallen nation, but give vast possibilities for expansion and hunt for essential resources in different corners of the universe. However, there was no one worthy her cold gaze, until one day there appeared a child, who would tread Nerida's trail, learning from her wisdom. This homeless boy from the desert will be destined to challenge the Whisperer, unite two Temples and become Astarel - the new king of Amune. And when he brings long desired peace to his nation and receives the akhane from the fading goddess, Astarel will understand the nature of Paradise and the truth behind the prophecy of Medea.
STORY
Once there was a planet in House of Medea, where the race of amune dwelled. Their nation used to be prosperous, when they were united under noble queen Nerida the Mystery.
Nerida was such a beautiful and merciful Radiant, that she was often called the second sun of Amune. Medea herself was her mentor, and raised love to the sacred Order in her. She opened to the queen knowledge of Antalla, who devoured constellations and put an end to peace in the cosmos. The future was no more predetermined, the Order was crumbling, and Nerida understood that her little paradise was trialed by the god of Time - Amune will wither, and destroyers will take it to another world, where her nation will be reborn anew, or it will prosper under her reign here in Urana if she takes Medea's place.
While the queen was getting ready to ascend to Synod and make her choice, a hideous sacrilege happened in the Amber nebula - destroyers and stars were falling from Atlas' corrupted spear. Nerida understood that if all destroyers were closed, there would be no room for rebirth, the sacred cycle of Antalla would be ruined, no chance left to see other Dreams. The Order could not be saved and the next to be slain by the unworthy spear would be Medea. And then Nerida made her choice. The domination of Time must be restored, destroyers will cleanse the world from our mistakes and make us forget the pain, and then we will rise anew.
Before she left Synod, Nerida spread knowledge about Eothranis (Paradise), a mysterious land where first gods were born. But as the memory of Eothranis was forbidden by the guardians of the Order - Synod, she encrypted her manuscripts to hide them from Medea. Temple of the Gale saved her legacy and wept for their queen, eager to join her in Paradise, while Temple of the Beast was loyal to Medea and Synod, regarding Nerida as a traitor to Amune. The nation of Medea sank in wars, where the both Temples fought for dominance, which comes with akhane - a sign of royal power for the Beast, a way out of Amune for the Gale.
Not long after Nerida's depart, Medea uttered her last prophecy - 'Once you yearn for peace, Time will be no more.' Without realising that, Amune nation wanted peace, they were tired of endless fight, but there was someone who was deliberately fanning the flames.
The situation in the House of Medea attracted the young Devil known as Marc the Whisperer, who wasn't interested neither in Antalla trial, nor in the crisis of the wounded Order, he only believed that the story of the universe must continue by all means - be it in this world or another. And the story of Amune was about to finish, frozen by Medea prophecy. Marc knew that Amune went through hard times without their queen, but he also knew well what could distract them from their wish for peace - never ending struggle. So he settled in Amune and pretended to be one of them, whispering desires hidden in darkest corners of amune souls, rising their hatred toward each other. This was the darkest page of Amune history.
The little planet shuddered by earth elementals of the Temple of the Beast, and it was torn by storms summoned by the Temple of the Gale, as two major forces of Amune were clashing in endless battles. They were fighting for a sacred relic once belonging to queen Nerida - the akhane, which can find connections between facets of the universe and lead to other planet systems or even different nebulae. Only gods have such power, but according to the divine plan only one mortal from the entire House can inherit this gift. But Nerida never used her akhane to open Amune, willing to hide her nation from Atlas tyranny.
The akhane was gone with Nerida, and amune didn't give up trying to get another one from Medea, as they believed that the artifact could not only unite the fallen nation, but give vast possibilities for expansion and hunt for essential resources in different corners of the universe. However, there was no one worthy her cold gaze, until one day there appeared a child, who would tread Nerida's trail, learning from her wisdom. This homeless boy from the desert will be destined to challenge the Whisperer, unite two Temples and become Astarel - the new king of Amune. And when he brings long desired peace to his nation and receives the akhane from the fading goddess, Astarel will understand the nature of Paradise and the truth behind the prophecy of Medea.
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AMUNE PLANET
(told by Daretail)
If you are a seasoned traveler like me and were lucky to see ice in your life, you can imagine Amune planet as a tiny chunk of icy disaster. Don't get me wrong, no amune in their life ever knew any snow, but our deserts and sands are damn cold and blue at night. I'm not gonna argue, a beautiful scenery on its own, especially considering the stunning starry sky and two gorgeous moons, but hardly you think about it when you are cold and hungry.
Oh yes, I heard that if a planet has its young sun above, there's no need to eat there. Not the case of our Amune, though! You'd better have a keen eye to spot at least something edible left among sands in order not to starve. What happens when you starve? Well, we have some pretty statues here and there, guess where they came from. With no nurturing you're just a lifeless stone. At least it was the case until Vi came and bathed them in water he had found underground, so then we had far more mouths to feed, how troublesome.
Of course, not every amune would agree with my complaints, some of them have a luxury life behind temples walls. If you are part of their community, you have your loaf of bread, haha. There are two Temples by the way, the one of the Beast and the Gale guys, ruled by general Addi and high priestess Naera respectively. Well-fed bastards. During Nerida's reign there were more Temples, which were also called cities or gardens, besides Garden of Mirabilis (the queen's destroyed residence), but I don't know their names, they all turned into ruins during the war. In ancient times they used to serve as guilds for miners, gardeners, artisans, alchemists, well, you get the point, a full-fledged society kind of thing. But when we lost the queen, it all became a mess.
The race of amune was far more diverse in the past. There used to be different elementals, which were also known as animals, and they were intelligent in their own way. But now only a few species survived. Smaller and nimble ones, like your humble servant, became vagrants lost in the desert, and bigger ones were dormant under sands before Temple of the Beast began summoning them.
I know that amune once had a special connection with the planet, which let them do specific things with it, like growing flowers, changing terrain, wielding the power of nature, but spreading hunger took this art away. However, priests from the Gale Temple still know a thing or two about alchemy and storms, while some high rank warriors from Temple of the Beast used their skills to summon terrible monsters from the ground during the war. You can imagine what happened to the last oases with food because of all that commotion.
What else… Oh yeah, I almost forgot the most important thing. Amune nation has been especially proud of our prophecies, for some reason. Well, I can imagine that words coming from the goddess are somewhat special, but her divinations always brought bad news, be it Nerida's depart or war between Temples and fall of Amune nation. The day rarely broke our eternal night, but when the red sun was rising on the horizon, everyone knew it was a bad omen.
Did I just mention the eternal night? Well yes, it wasn't always the case. Can you imagine that at some point of Amune history (I guess it was called the Deviation era or something) there were two suns? The one of Medea, which was rarely seen, and the one of Nerida, bright and young. I don't know if it's true, but it is said that Nerida's prophecies were usually about good fortune. No wonder everyone liked her. Well, leaving aside the fact that under her light our planet was healthy and fertile, obviously. However, the next ruler of Amune - king Astarel, bastard his name, turned Amune into a wonder which surpasses any oasis. But don't be fooled by beauty of his realm, you will never be able to leave if you get there. I guess, this is what Paradise is all about.