The Chronicles of Whilderhond

[Velociryx]

Although the prediciment of the Celryn had not improved much, if at all, by 2700 BC, the folk of the Tribes of the South got another story to spread far and wide, again, courtesy of their famed Woodsmen, who fought a pitched battle with, and defeated, an enormous cave bear...probably the last of its kind on the whole of the continent...a dangerous relic from another age.

It's strength and ferocity were a thing out of legend, and the Woodsmen's victory over such a fearsome opponent was sung about in every corner of the lands of the People at the Root of the World for centuries after the event.

[Velociryx]

In 2620 BC, another tribe was encountered...the men of Mali. A handsome folk, with skin even darker than their Spanish neighbors, they were sorely unimpressed with the Tribes of the South, and regarded them as only a half step above the nomadic barbarians they reported battling in their homelands. The two tribes left with a promise of no hostilities toward the other, but little else. No trades were planned, or even discussed, and it was apparent that the affluent and well equipped Malinese were eager to be away from the backward Celryn. Perhaps with good reason...it was a shameful time for us.

[Velociryx]

While it is nigh on impossible to pinpoint a date and time for when the Dark Ages of the Celryn came to an end, it's easy enough to associate the low point, and the turning point with the destruction of the famed Woodsmen that the Tribes of the South had come to rely on so heavily.

That group had been sent on yet another expedition by whatever petty chief controlled them at that moment, and this time, they successfully located the lands of the Eng.

On their way back home, however, and while travelling through what had become familiar territory to them (the Emerald Death), they encountered a vast horde of roving, powerful Barbarian warriors. Apparently, the robust tribes of the north, the Eng, the Spaniards, and the Malinese, were crowding out the less civilized tribes of those regions, and they had begun migrating into the only lands available to them....the South Lands.

The brave Woodsmen of Celryn put up a heroic fight, but they were, themselves, relics, using outdated equipment and tactics against powerful new foes with weapons the likes of which none in the SouthLands had ever seen.

There were only four survivors from that dark and bloody battle, and it can rightly be said that those four survivors saved the First People from certain doom, and changed the course of their history forever.

[Velociryx]

The Age of Thedo, of Hanby

Thedo of Hanby was an unusual man by any measure or description. His father had been one of the survivors of the Woodsmen massacre, and spent the rest of his childhood listening to tales of the coming of the NorthMen.

It used to terrify him as a child, and he dreamed of making a seaworthy skiff and fleeing Whilderhond to avoid the terrible wrath of the NorthMen.

His father would laugh at his boyish dreams, and remind him that Dragons dwelled in the land across the Great Water, and that he was trapped. NorthMen encroaching on one side, and invincible Dragons on the other. He, like all the Celryn, understood only too well what this meant. Pressures would increase, and they would either defeat one or both of these fearsome opponents, or they would cease to be.

The destruction of the Woodsmen had electrified the Tribes of the Southlands, and awakened them from whatever stupor they had been mired in for too many long centuries. The whole region suddenly surged to attention and understanding.

Almost overnight, attitudes in the SouthLands changed.

There was no time to waste.

Something awful loomed just over the horizon.

Something that threatened to wash everything they had come to know and love away into nothingness.

A war was coming, but more than a war.

A test.

A trial terrible enough that it threatened to crack the Root of the World itself, and there was no time to lose.

This was the world that Thedo Hanby had been born to, and it was no wonder that he was an inventor.

His genius gave the People at the Root of the Wordl two important tools, and although Thedo never got to make the journeys he dreamed of, sailing out across the great water, he did get to see both of his inventions in use, and lived long enough to see where they might lead his People.

The first was that he designed and built a lightweight, seagoing skiff, capable of navigating at least the coastal currents, and sometimes more than that.

He lobbied the Council of Chiefs hard, and finally got approval to create a small fleet of these, although he would have to wait more than twenty winters to get approval to properly outfit and crew the ships to send them out.

[Velociryx]

Still, it was a stunning victory, and a great accomplishment. Enough for a lifetime, but Thedo Hanby had one more contribution to make to the Tribes of the SouthLands.

The Chariot.

No one knew just where the inspiration for the fighting vehicle had come from, but Thedo Hanby built the first working model, and when it was demonstrated to the Council of the High Chiefs, they were at last confident that they had a weapon that could stand up to the mighty NorthMen.

In a word, Thedo Hanby had given the Tribes of the SouthLands hope. A thing that had been long missing from them.

OoO

In his later years, Thedo Hanby dreamed of crewing one of his skiffs himself, and sailing 'round the whole of the Dragon Isle, but sadly, he never lived to see that dream to fruition.

He did follow one of the early expeditions to that isle with great interest, however....

And at long last, it seemed that the Dark Ages of Celryn were ending, and a new age of adventure and exploration was about to begin.

~ End of Interlude

[Paddy]

Cool - looking forward to reading this on the train later - Thank you

[Paddy]

good stuff indeed