Kurangi’s Library: Chapter II, The Triggering

In a desolate remote landscape, high atop rugged mountain peaks, one can barely discern a singular structure that stands in the midst of the desolation: the enigmatic abode of Kurangi. If you draw near enough, you might catch a glimpse of him through a small window, basking in the glow of the fireplace in his favored corner. As you venture further inside, a welcoming atmosphere envelops you. The place is replete with books, papers, and artifacts of a magical and uncertain nature, alongside hand-carved figures of legendary heroes and other ostentatious contraptions adorning the space. Meanwhile, sweet synthesizer music emanates from somewhere…

-Welcome once more to my humble home, dear readers. Please, come in and make yourselves comfortable. I would love to offer you a splendid tea with cookies on this beautiful Valannian afternoon, though I know that’s entirely impossible… -He pauses- …Especially because a certain feathered scoundrel has devoured them all! -He says, casting an accusatory glance at a feathered creature hiding behind a book on a plush sofa. The title on the book’s cover reads “The Arrival”. The creature simply turns the page as if it hadn’t heard a thing.

-Well, let’s leave Rust’s selfish gluttony for another day –He retreats even further behind his book- Today, I promised to talk about… Hm… The Adventures of the Yellow Knight? The Lerathi Prophecy? Eh… -Kurangi rubs his chin as he tries to remember.

Rust clears his throat and peers cynically from the edge of his enormous book.- The history of Valannia? You still have the book on the table…

-Of course! I was just about to say that…

-Sure, sure… -He says before immersing himself in his reading again.

-You go on with your book, only lending an ear when you choose to… -Kurangi retorts with irritation before regaining composure- As I was saying… Today, as promised, I will talk about the history of Valannia, or at least, what I have managed to unravel thus far. Let’s get started!

-Valannia is a planet revolving around a star, accompanied by two moons twirling in a celestial dance. Each culture, as you can imagine, has bestowed different names and meanings upon these moons; Lerathi call them Kron and The Traitor, while Tyxen reveres them as Poro and Sihoro. Those little furry beings celebrate captivating festivals in ecstatic fervor under the glow of these moons. You should witness it sometime!

-The majority of Valannia’s landmass is concentrated on a colossal mega-continent. Let us thank the cosmic powers for that, as Valannia’s weather is capricious and treacherous, with its seas historically being fond of devouring sailors and heroes with insatiable gluttony.

-As far as I’ve been able to discern, Valannia must have originally been inhabited by a primeval species that achieved a significant degree of advancement. At least, that’s how I interpret it from the runes I’ve managed to decipher and the ruins I’ve visited. However, this happened so long ago that their footprint has practically been erased…

-What is clear is that some sudden event led to an apocalyptic end for them, for they vanished with barely a trace and certainly no survivors. Many rapid changes in Valannia, according to my studies, also stem from the period I calculate this triggering event occurred, hence I’ve agreed to call it like that until I gather more information: The Triggering.

-But, what did it trigger? Taking into account my studies, which include data collection and deduction, as well as carbon analysis, and considering that before the triggering there are records of only one race in Valannia, I’ve come to the conclusion that the majority of indigenous imperial species we know today… are a product of this Trigger. This event that occurred hundreds of thousands of years ago was a true turning point for Valannia as we know it today.

-I hope your studies are better than your cookie-hiding skills… -says personified insolence.

-Silence! — Kurangi retorts, snapping his fingers in his direction, casting a silencing spell. After this, I’m afraid Rust won’t grace us with any more witty remarks for a while.

-Whatever happened, -Kurangi continues- unleashed the radioactive power of the Valannium present on the planet, causing a global evolutive acceleration, giving rise to an unprecedented proliferation of fauna and flora. I suspect Altari, Tyxen, Glorb, Lerathi and Pirith are the result of this acceleration brought about by the Trigger. Feyrune were created by the Pirith, and the Zan’thars and Humans wouldn’t arrive for millennia…

-This is another matter that has kept me awake many nights… There is no evidence that any civilization visited Valannia before the Trigger, and yet, since then, up to three different ones have, and none have been able to depart for one reason or another. I can’t help but wonder if this is merely a coincidence… or if forces I still can’t comprehend have exerted a powerful influence on everything I’m telling you… If there was a god in Valannia, I assure you he would be a god of war…

-This simultaneous rise of various civilizations was the perfect breeding ground for an unending struggle for supremacy and control of the territory and its resources, resulting in long periods of warfare and a sociopolitical and technological development aimed in that direction…

-A dispute that persists to this day.

-In Valannia, there is an abundance of valuable resources, but among them all, one stands out as magical and sacred to all, and that’s Valannium. Valannium is a blue crystallized element that can be found throughout Valannia (in some places, it is more concentrated than in others) and the empires of Valannia have utilized it since time immemorial for its ‘magical’ properties, its effectiveness as an energy source, and consequently, as a symbol of power and wealth.

-I have evidence that Valannium, when releasing its energy, is even capable of influencing genetics and DNA in unsuspected ways… It is known, for example, that the ominous glorb Graces use it to create all sorts of aberrations…

-It also influences all creatures born under the invisible shroud of its radiation. Many humans, for instance, have begun to be born with deformities and/or supernatural powers, from albinism or blindness to mutations, superhuman strength, or psychic abilities. All races are vulnerable to the influence of Valannium.

-And yet none can resist the power it provides…

-Something… Someone… Has caused all this and… I will… I will… Find out…

The book falls to the ground, as Kurangi has fallen prey to sleep. It has been left open by an illustration, and if we get closer, we can make out the representation of a large statue, found in the very center of Valannia. The mere sight of it… makes the heart shrink.

* * *

In the early hours, Hama, the third element in discord, emerges down the hallway with a box full of odds and ends. Finding Kurangi and Rust asleep in their chairs as usual, an idea pops into her head- The perfect crime. -she thinks. She stealthily makes her way to the kitchen and pounce on the cookie jar like a relentless predator on a helpless prey… only to discover that there is not one left. Rust is lucky that looks can’t kill.

End of Chapter II

Source: Valannia Herlad