In Arsalia, magic is a rare and
powerful gift, and little more draws the attention of the powerful,
like the possibility of more power. Thus, it has always been law that
mages, those few born with the touch of magic, would be surrendered
to the Order of Thermathrogi, so that they may be trained to wield
their gifts for the greater good of the kingdom. Or so their agents
say, even as they rip children from their mothers' arms, likely never
to see them again. For to the monarchy and supporting nobility, mages
are little more than weapons, something to own, to hone, and to use.
But this is a relatively new
institution. The goals of the Order have changed greatly since it
first appeared in a long gone age. Hello and welcome, this is Ken J.
Bailey, author of the Alice Dippleblack series, and in this lore
piece, we will explore the origins of the Order of Thermathrogi, and
it's long standing animosity toward mages.
In a time all but forgotten by modern
Arsalia, before the first dragon riders challenged the titans, and
even before the titans themselves, the world was ruled by sorcery.
Grand empires were conjured into being by wielders of magic so great,
they were widely believed by their people to be living gods. With
their mastery over the arcane, these powerful few reigned over vast
territories, going unchallenged save for by others of their kind.
Despite many devastating conflicts between these rune kings, this was
a time of enlightenment and learning.
Ever seeking greater power to control,
these unrivaled sorcerers devoted tremendous amounts of resources to
exploring the seemingly infinite methods of utilizing magic. The most
awesome of these efforts led to the awakening of the mountains. By
tying the endless energies pouring into their world through rifts,
the rune kings gave rise to the greatest extensions of their will,
the titans. With the sky scraping giants of rock and stone, the
people of the age were kept under heel by spell enforced fear.
Living under their, often greedy,
warmongering, sorcerous overlords the powerless populace became
discontent. And, in secret, they began to plot the rune kings'
demise. The followers of this movement were derogatorily referred to
as the thermathrogi by their magically gifted superiors. In their
ancient tongue, this name referred to the powerless or foolish
seeking to govern themselves, an idea that was often mocked in the
high circles of politics. But as the movement steadily grew into a
full rebellion, and the frightened whispers of a few became the
enraged outcry of the people, the name took on new meaning. Shouted
in the streets, thermathrogi shifted from an insult to the ungifted
masses demand for change. Change aimed at removing magic wielders
from their places of dominance and to have their gifts used to serve
the people, by force if necessary.
Though there were many reasons the
great sorcerers of this age fell, when one was found to have been
assassinated, credit was often claimed by the spreading Order of
Thermathrogi. At first, the rune kings paid it little mind, as the
thermathrogi were only ridding them of troublesome competition. But
as their numbers began to dwindled, and whispers reached them of
agents from the Order being spotted in their own domains, the
remaining rune kings became exceptionally paranoid. They lashed out
at their own people, desperate to instill fear back into them and
reclaim control. But their efforts, however damaging, would only end
up fueling the people's rage further.
Learning of the disturbingly rapid
fall of his, likely hated, brethren, the final rune king saw his own
death swiftly approaching from the shadows. He gave one last order to
the titans that he now alone controlled and even as his blood pooled
around him, the living mountains sought to carry it out. The
instruction bid the earthen behemoths to destroy all of civilization
in retribution for the people's treachery. Powered by the endless
energy of the rifts tied to them, the titans began their centuries
long campaign to bring ruin to the mighty empires forged by the very
magic that gave them life.
Unleashed upon the lands they were
once meant to protect, the titans brought devastation on a scale
never before seen. The thermathrogi had only moments to celebrate
their long sought victory as the titans strove to crush their newly
liberated cities, towns, and villages under their monolithic feet.
Having nothing that could match the immortal earth golems, those that
wished to survive fled for their lives. They would flee to the very
fringes of known lands and beyond, abandoning their former existences
and taking to the wilds. With deafening crashes, crumbling stone, and
terrified screams, the Age of Sorcery had come to an end.
In the Wildlands, believed to be
beyond the titan's reach, or interest, the remains of once great
civilizations struggled to survive. Their perilous wandering brought
them in contact with the dragons that ruled this savage land. Though
it took many generations, eventually, the people tamed the fire
breathing leviathans, and with their power, took to the skies. The
dragon rides fought the titans to reclaim their long lost homelands,
and steadily formed the kingdoms that would one day merge into
Arsalia.
Through all this, some remnant, some
faded memory of the thermathrogi remained. It took root in the new
kingdom, were it continues its ancient oath to never again allow
magic to rule.
This concluded today's lore piece on
the origins of the Order of Thermathrogi. I do hope you enjoyed it.
There is a previous lore piece on the Age of Dragons, largely glossed
over in this presentation. Feel encouraged to follow this link if the
finding, taming, and conquering of dragons interests you.
If you are familiar with the Alice
Dippleblack series, I hope this Lore Piece has given you some new
insight into the history of Alice's world. If this is your first encounter with
my work and you would like to know more, audiobooks of the entire
Alice Dippleblack series along with audio logs of Lore Pieces are
available for free on my YouTube channel.
Please feel encouraged to support more
adventures by visiting my patreon page, where even a dollar offers
great reward.
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