GENERAL KNOWLEDGE OF RUL

This is information I created to give to the player of the bard in the campaign. His character had studied the history of Mer right at the point in time when the mythical figure of Rul defeat the Dark Dweller for the first time. When you get down to the real version of the history, you'll find that I intentionally put some inaccuracies in this text in order to make future events in the game more interesting as well as preverse some of the mystery of the game.

You have studied (or been taught) the period in Mer's history which marks the transition from the 4th Age ("Time of the Dark Dweller") to the 5th Age ("Age of Kingdoms"). (Mer is presently in what the sages call the 6th Age - the Age of Merchants.) This transition took place about 2000 years ago and is marked by Rul's use of his 13 Treasures to destroy both Dark Water and the Dark Dweller. (Although, recent events and stories show that this might not have been destruction, but merely a banishment.) At this point in history, things were looking very bleak for the native races of Mer. The Dark Dweller had been terrorizing the races using Dark Water and demonic creatures for about 500 years prior to the appearance of Rul. From having colonized most of the surface of Mer, the native races had been pushed back to a relatively small region of Mer's seas. (This area was centered on what would later become the Kingdom of Octopon.) In addition to the threat of the Dark Water and the demons (the two most prominent ones being Keroptus and The Blight), the native races were also being attacked by the Dark Disciples (the followers/worshippers of the Dark Dweller); at that point in history they were more open about their allegiance and called themselves "the Cleansing Surf".

Rul was a powerful mage - the first mechanician. Prior to his creation of the 13 Treasures, he is known to be responsible for the destruction of The Blight and the imprisonment of Keroptus within a massive gong. (It is not known what happened to this gong since the imprisonment of the demon.) After defeating the two most powerful of the Dark Dweller's servants, he created the 13 Treasures and then sailed across the 20 seas for many years, rallying the people, destroying Dark Water, and chasing the Dark Dweller who constantly fled from before his mighty artifacts. Eventually, Rul cornered the Dark Dweller and used the artifacts to destroy the terrible god in a massive explosion which was heard and seen for many leagues. (Although, recent events are revising this explosion to be merely a backlash from the banishment of the foul deity.) After this event, Rul returned to the island-city of Octopon and destroyed the last of the Dark Disciples who had taken refuge there. Once the city was cleared, Rul took over the leadership of the city and enshrined the 13 Treasures in a massive lighthouse which he had built for this purpose. Under his wise and benevolent leadership, Rul eventually formed alliances with the rules of seven of the nearby city-islands. These alliances eventually became a united front which became the Kingdom of Octopon. Over the Age of Kingdoms, Octopon grew from these eight islands to eventually encompass - at its height - most of the islands of what is considered to be the core of civilized ocean. (Sometimes called the Crowded Seas.)

The above is what the histories of the surface dwellers say. What your people know, while not different, is more. The sea dwellers know that the mighty serpents known as leviathans did not exist until after the Dark Dweller released the Dark Water upon Mer. Since their hide can resist its foul effects, lore has it that Shanda, Goddess of Sea and Foam created the leviathans to help protect the races who live in Mer's waters. This is supported by the fact that the sea races suffered much less than their landbound cousins. The Dark Water could not do a lot of damage to that which lived beneath the water; it could only scour the land. (Of course, this time around, the Dark Water seeks to devour everything above or below the waves.) The explosion which was reported to be from the death of the Dark Dweller was actually from the destruction of an island. Your people's historians suspect that Rul used the Treasures to trap the Dark Dweller on an island, and then destroyed this island causing its ruins and the gravely injured Dark Dweller to sink beneath the waves and be sealed within the core of the planet. While no one you know has seen it, reports from the tribes which live far from the Crowded Seas say that there is a massive chasm in the ocean floor which is the actual site of the Dark Dweller's defeat.

THE CLEANSING SURF

This is the information I created for another party member. His character is a member of a secret society that is working to help Ren in his quest while avoiding the notice of Bloth. This society has its origins tied very closely to the great Rul and the Treasures. As with the previous history, this is player information and thus also contains some inaccuracies - as well as contradictions to the information of above. Again, this was on purpose so as to provide conflict, mystery, and surprise.

Your group was founded over 2000 years ago by the legendary Rul. This powerful ecomancer created the group in order to help her destroy the twin threat of Dark Water and the Dark Dweller. With the help of the group, Rul created the 13 Treasures which were the means by which those threats were eliminated. Although most of Mer believed the Dark Dweller to be destroyed, Rul told the Surf that she had only imprisoned it within the center of the planet. She told the group that it was stay in existence in order to watch over Mer in case the Dark Dweller should ever find a way to escape from its prison. The Treasures were placed in the Great Lighthouse of Octopon to serve as a beacon and reminder of hope. Many of Surf remained in the newly formed kingdom as guards for the artifacts.

Many generations passed with no sign of Dark Water or the Dark Dweller. With the passing of time, the Surf grew complacent and did not maintain a large number of members. This led to the group's near total destruction about 1000 years ago. At that time, the Surf was almost nothing more than the ceremonial guards for the 13 Treasures. As a result, all those were wiped out by an attack of a mighty fleet of ships which assaulted Octopon. The artifacts were stolen during the fighting. The few members of the Surf who survived were those who still roamed the seas, keeping to the original charter of the group. These few were the ones to salvage what remained of the group's archives and attempt to keep the Surf alive. As such, the group has maintained few members and scattered records until a score of years ago. At that time, Dark Water returned and the Surf has once again increased its membership in order to fight this threat once more.

However, the Cleansing Surf has to keep its identity secret - for now. Over the many generations since Rul, the Surf has become confused with the Dark Disciples (the deluded followers/worshippers of the Dark Dweller). This is because in the distant past, the groups openly fought one another. Since the two groups were always in the same area, and the survivors often did not realize who was who, both groups came be seen as evil cults. In fact, some of the actions the Surf had to take to destroy Dark Water could have been mistaken as controlling it. Thus, in order to not be killed by the people the group is trying to save, you have to keep your affiliation a secret from all. However, once the group has saved Mer again, the misconceptions can be cleared up.

While the Surf was aware of Ren's quest to once again find the 13 Treasures, it was not in a position to help him directly. The group tried to position its members in key locations to which the young prince might travel in order to provide aid or shelter from Bloth. Now, with half of the Treasures recovered and Ren having stayed in Octopon for the past five years, the group is finally able to provide direct aid. The members of the Surf are now sailing all of the 20 seas trying to find rumors, legends, and stories which might provide clues to the locations of the remaining 7 treasures. They will find a way to deliver this information to Ren so that he can sail forth once more and recover them. Unfortunately, the group can see no way to openly approach Ren and offer to take up his quest for him.

THE TRUE HISTORY OF MER, THE DARK DWELLER, AND RUL

Well, this is the "true" history as I defined it to fit my campaign and playing style. As far as I recall, none of this information is even remotely mentioned in the original cartoon series. However, since my game would be running quite directly into the results of history, I had to know exactly what had gone before. So, this is what I came up with.

Sages classify the history of Mer as having progressed through many different stages. Each level of cultural development is called an "Age". Ages are known by their defining characteristic, the type of activity that was most common to the whole of the people of Mer at the time. The generally accepted Ages of Mer are:

• Age of Creation [?? to ??] - not a true age, but used by sages to define the time before any sort of history was recorded in any form; this is the time when the gods created the world and the animals; the Age ends with the creation/appearance of the first intelligent beings
• Age of Survival [?? to -4000] - the earliest days of civilization; the time when the natives of Mer were simply learning how to live, either being taught by the gods or through their own efforts; some colonization of other islands took place, but no unified effort existed
• Age of Exploration [-4000 to -2500] - the real start of recorded histories (although oral traditions of some races extend back to the Age of Survival); the art of shipbuilding was perfected in this age, ushering in a vast wave of exploration and colonization; most of Mer was mapped, traveled and settled in this time; the magical traditions of the sorcerer, elementalist, and the sha'ir were created in this time
• Time of the Dark Dweller [-2500 to -2000] - this is a relatively short period of time (less than a thousand years of history) in which the Dark Dweller grew jealous of the natives of Mer and sought to terrorize and control them - limit them to a small section of the surface of Mer; the first recorded appearances of Dark Water and Ecomancers; the Time ends with the creation and use of the 13 Treasures by Rul to eliminate the Dark Water and to imprison the Dark Dweller in the core of Mer
• Age of Kingdoms [-2000 to -750] - this age is marked by the official founding of the kingdom of Octopon; this is the equivalent of Mer's Golden Age; all cities were at their height and most were unified into various kingdoms; all races interacted freely; the magical traditions of the mechanician and the digitologist were created in this time; the first wave rider clans appeared in this time; the one dark spot is that the 13 Treasures were lost during this time
• Age of Merchants [-750 years to present] - this is considered to be the current Age of Mer (although debate is growing as to whether the reappearance of Dark Water is marking the start of a new Time or Age; most of the kingdoms have fallen apart and the races have become more insular - considered to be due to the importance of money over race, station and religion; while pirates have always existed, this Age is marked by the existence of recognized (and not just self-styled) pirate-lords

The early history of Mer (up to the end of the Time of Dark Dweller) is vastly different from what the sages and most storytellers think to be the true history. The gods of Mer all walked openly upon its waters and islands during the first two Ages of history. After teaching all they thought was important, three of them left Mer to ascend to the higher realms. The fourth remained behind - the Dark Dweller. Although, at that time, it was called by a different name - Ortho. As Khunda is the daughter of Shanda and Davron, Ortho is the son. While all the other deities created the world and the animals and the people, Ortho taught them. The primary gods of Mer only taught their creations enough to survive in the world, how to co-exist. Ortho, at the time, felt that it was wrong to only give the natives enough to survive; he wanted to see that they would flourish. So, after the other gods left, Ortho stealthily returned to Mer, and began to teach the natives the skills needed to control the world, not just live in it. It is his teachings, in the guise of The Sea Dweller, the allowed for the Age of Exploration to exist in the first place.

Over the course of the Age of Exploration, Ortho's beliefs became corrupted. Since he had taught all of Mer's natives about shipbuilding and magic, and other skills needed to control the environment, he came to see himself as the rightful - and only - god of the planet. Also, even though he tried to be everywhere, people began to use his teachings on their own, to do what they wanted rather than what had been "allowed" by the god. At first, he tried to set up a religious dictatorship, using his priests to control the populace. When that didn't work, he decided that he couldn't guide them because they were too spread out for him to directly watch over them. So, Ortho began to attack the peoples of Mer. He created the leviathans to contain the current limits of exploration. While that worked, the people complained. Eventually, his arrogant leadership turned to jealous anger and Ortho decided to cull the population back to a faithful few and start over. Thus did the Sea Dweller become the Dark Dweller, and Dark Water was born.

While the leviathans were created to contain the populace, the Dark Water was created to drive it back to its cradle - and to destroy what did not flee. It is this transition (the "sudden appearance" of the Dark Dweller) which officially marks the end of the Age of Exploration and the start of the Time of the Dark Dweller. When Ortho let his anger and frustration corrupt him and blind him to all but his desire to start over, the people of Mer were able to fully use the teachings that Ortho had shown them so long ago. It was the fight to survive and escape the wrath of the Dark Dweller that led to the creation of ecomancers. It was tapping into the raw power of Mer that the natives could best defeat the Dark Water which was consuming them. It was in an effort to destroy the ecomancers, the Dark Dweller created the twin demons of Keroptus and The Blight - his Dark Water couldn't get near them, but these abominations could. However, the ecomancers themselves managed to trap The Blight, while a band of sha'ir trapped Keroptus.

These battles proved to be the genesis of the Dark Dweller's undoing. The ecomancers and the sha'ir, seeing their separate successes, realized that if they pooled their talents, they might be able to defeat the Dark Dweller. The sha'ir's knowledge of genie prisons was useful in making a different sort of prison - one that could trap and store ecomantic magic. As such, the ecomancers would be able to channel enough power to not only hold back the Dark Water, but also destroy it. With enough power, it might also be possible to defeat the Dark Dweller himself. It would take a few generations, but eventually, a plan was created which would allow this.

These generations were needed not only to create the artifacts which would accomplish this goal, but also to destroy all of the Dark Dweller's faithful followers. Ortho's original worshippers were corrupted along with their god. They also viewed the natives of Mer as being flawed and needing culling and punishment before being led back to the true path. These faithful were the human agents used by the Dweller to ambush and kill ecomancers (and later, sha'ir) since his demonic creations couldn't get anywhere near them. In order to help fight this mortal threat, the Society of the Cleansed Surf was created. This was the organization to which all those who believed the Dark Water and Dweller could be defeated belonged. Unfortunately, both groups had to operate in some form of secrecy. The Dark's Disciples (which has been corrupted to Dark Disciples) were hated for being associated with the unprovoked threat of Dark Water. However, while the Society was working for the good of the natives of Mer, they were also seen as a target for trouble. Most people merely wanted to be left alone, and if that meant pulling back to the core seven seas, so be it.

This secrecy eventually led to the two groups being confused in the histories of Mer. The Society came to be associated with the Dark Disciples. This is somewhat understandable as to defeat and destroy the Dark Water, it had to be drawn to a specially prepared location. The preparations for this, and the act of luring the Dark Water to the trap could easily be mistaken for the simple act of summoning - as most people fled upon seeing Dark Water and didn't stick around to see what happened to it. (Also, the name quickly became corrupted to "the Cleansing Surf", which could be mistaken for a reference to the Dark Water itself, rather than the fight against it.)

Eventually, the Dark Water and the Dark Dweller were defeated through the efforts of the Society. The leaders at this time were a husband and wife pair from the ancient island-city of Rul. He was an ecomancer, she was a sha'ir. It was through their combined efforts that the 13 Treasures were created. (It is through the corruption of history and the secrecy of the society that Rul is thought to be a single person, rather than a place. The Society used to only refer to people by their origins, not their actual names, so as to protect themselves.) With the 13 Treasures, the pair from Rul were able to destroy the Dark Water and trap the Dark Dweller, at the sacrifice of their home island. (Hence, no one being able to make the connection that Rul is a place, not a person.) However, the energy expended to destroy enough of the Dark Water to bring the Dweller himself to Rul was the reason why the Dweller could only be imprisoned in the core of Mer, rather than destroyed.

After the destruction of Rul and the capture of the Dark Dweller, the pair took the 13 Treasures and went to Octopon, the center of the area to which Ortho wanted to confine the natives of Mer. There, they reformed it from a center of worship for the Dark Dweller into a new beacon of hope - a rulership by mortals, for mortals. The Treasures were enshrined in what used to be Ortho's main temple, which was renamed The Great Lighthouse. The 13 Treasures were used as the light source; this would not only light the way of ships, but also help to keep away any of the last remnants of the Dark Dweller's creations. (It should also be noted that Octopon happens to be on the exact opposite side of Mer from Rul. Thus, the magical seal created by the Treasures could still be maintained by them when placed in the Lighthouse.)

The 13 Treasures remained in the new kingdom of Octopon for a thousand years. Although sages view the Age of Kingdoms as lasting for another 250 years, it actually began to end at this time. It was at this time that first, true pirate-lords appeared. They viewed the kingdoms as being decadent and ripe for plunder. As such, their first attacks were a total surprise - especially because they were against the capital of Octopon itself. In this raids, the 13 Treasures were stolen by the pirate-lords. The artifacts were then split amongst the surviving lords (13 in all) and they went their separate ways. The legendary artifacts were hidden in the stronghold of each ancient lord, never to be seen again. (The Compass which was used by Primus and then his son Ren was not part of the original batch of artifacts. It was made after the other Treasures were stolen by the pirate-lords. Thus, the pair from Rul were not responsible for it, but their notes did enable its creation.)

It is only recently that Ren has been able to recover some (6) of the lost 13 Treasures. The ones that have been found were in the ruins of fortresses which belonged to the pirate-lords which stayed close to the center of Mer's population. The remaining ones are further out, in the recently reclaimed "frontier" of Mer.