Depiction by Sor, of the Dwarves
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Long ago there was a beautiful island, inhabited by many unusual
creatures. Among these were the Winged Centaurs, an ancient and
honorable race, devoted both to the Hunt and the pursuit of knowledge.
They lived for many aeons in peace, respecting, and when necesary protecting
the land, for the island was sacred to them.
But after many years a band of orga appeared in boats on the shores of this sacred island, with many of their Shamans and Warlocks. The orga began to hunt down the inhabitants of the island, killing with weapons of violence and of magic. The Winged Centaurs and their allies would have defeated the evil, but for the appearance of earthquakes and curious round stones of blue that allowed the orga to decimate any living being touched by one. The earthquakes increased in power and at length all the Winged Centaurs were killed by fire or magic. Except one. It is indeed possible that others escaped the destruction, but as far as is known only Falinea escaped the carnage. When the orga first appeared she had been sent away, a very young centaur, both for safe-keepin and to study. The mystic from whom she learned had taught her own mother many years before, and was trusted by the Winged Centaurs. By the time news of the decimation had reached her, it was too late. She flew swiftly as her wings could carry her, to find a smoking crater in the sea. There were not even any bodies left, and to this day she does not know what happened to her kin. She still mourns, and still hopes that others escaped, and that she will one day be reunited with them. |
Falinea, weary with grief, flew from her ruined homeland to the island where her cousins,
the non-winged Centaurs, lived. They made her welcome and mourned the great loss with her,
and offered her a home among them. Though grateful she declined, knowing that she would need a larger
space of land over which to roam, and solitude for her grieving. At length she settled on a
nearby island, close enough to visit her cousins. She discovered the Sacred Grove, which
granted her permission to live in the Tower there, and to seek solace in the beauty of the Grove.
In time, new inhabitants came to the island, exiled from their own land by an oppressive emporer. They were of many races, and she grew to love and respect them, and hunts with them on occasion. While engaged in her own deeds, she sometimes finds one or more, fallen from some foe, and uses the healing powers inherent in all her kind to aid them. Falinea watches for the evil both of the orga, and of the power behind the destruction of her homeland and the Rip Wars of Puddleby. During those wars she discovered rip portals in the sky, and fought the Undine of the Air to heal those rips. Now that the land is clear of this evil, she searches for the orga village she senses hidden in the mountains east of their camp. Many exiles have offered help in this quest, which she will call upon once the vile place is discovered!
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