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| The Fall Of Omara And Other Notes |
| Notes of a scholar with an interest in the fall of Omara |
Discovered by the Brotherhood Of Misfits in 3058 AA, the following are the accounts of a researcher whose belongings were found at the entrance to the Black Dome of Omara. Originally encoded, they have been translated by Nibar.
Archon 16, 3058 AA
Writing down what I have collected concerning the fall of Omara. Hoping seeing it all in one cohesive narrative will lead to some new ideas. Borrowing some sentence fragments from other written accounts and trying to merge them into something cohesive. Some accounts of this tale contradict each other and there is little evidence to support either telling.
Sometime around 2400 AA, under assault from a great demon and his army of shadow, the great trade city of Omara met its end.
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The Fall of Omara
The city was ruled by a council of wealthy merchants, chief and richest amongst them were the Radamanthira family. To this family was born two children. The elder brother, Sikander, was a mighty warrior; the younger, a brilliant scholar.
(Note: no reference to the name of the younger brother can be found. Either he didn’t exist and was a construct for the purposes of the story or, perhaps, his name was stricken from all reference by the survivors. He is referred to simply as the Khan, the conqueror.)
The warrior was a great hero, carrying out tasks in the name of Thral-Tep almighty, slaying the blue dragons of the mountains and keeping the people of Omara and the trade roads of Aljahdahn safe.
The younger brother had ambition, but not the physical gifts of his elder. He instead turned his mind to study of the arcane arts. Every achievement of his great brother drove him deeper into realms of mystic understanding, to places beyond the comprehension of even his tutors, the finest in the land. In these places he found other intelligences, vast and ancient, made allies of them, and learned from them instead.
Ambition turned to jealousy. Soon the desire to defend was replaced with the need to demonstrate and to rule. Lesser men controlled his fate, and the thought of this gnawed upon the younger brother’s mind. He left Omara for the distant foot hills of Krar-Ek, to find isolation from the noise and grasping stupidity of the city. It was necessary, his new tutors told him. The others were a distraction: obstacles.
Years passed. The younger brother was not heard from and was thought lost forever.
(Note: This might be more true than this source believed. Some versions of this legend don’t even mention the younger brother nor draw a connection between him and the Khan. I include them here as a possible lead. See "Collected Traveller’s Tales of the Road through Khayat", unknown author, found in col.12 sec. 4 of archival scrolls, Temple of Kho-Ensekh).
Then, as the red sun set over the sea, the Khan came upon them. For a chance to rule the brother had traded his soul to the powers beyond and been transformed into a great beast. He was filled with the strength of the immortal earth and twisted such that his rage and evil now shown in the shape of his body. He had become a Rakshasa, a demon of hate. His jealousy and isolation had fueled his lust for power, and an army of twisted shadows came with him, slaying everyone. He wanted nothing but death. No flesh would sate his desire, no amount of blood would end his thirst.
He killed his way to the great palace and met prince Sikander in combat. Sikander raised up voice and, even given the wretchedness and evil of the Khan, spoke to him of love and forgiveness.
With a single word of power the Khan slew him. The prince’s death was the death of the city. None survived.
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I consider “none survived†to be embellishment from this particular source added in the interest of good storytelling (Reference: "Fall of Omara" chapter 17 of "The 500 Tales of the Poet Mahvasha"). In cases like this, where an entire city comes under attack, there are always survivors who wisely slip away unnoticed before the end or are taken as slaves by the conquering force. For example, the fall of Ashuran’s slave city, Aljidan, in 3025 AA (see “The Ballad of the Rise of the King Dolartu of Orovalisâ€, by the bard Tenerian, 3034AA?). In this case the people who survived migrated to Krar-Ek and Orovalis to form the fire cults of the Sacred Flame.
Despite this assumption, however, I can find no evidence of survivors settling anywhere else in Curmeah. Perhaps they sailed across the sea? Note to self to speak with Phocacian sailors to see if they have heard any such rumors, or have heard other tales of Omara themselves.
Archon 27, 3058 AA
Eagerly awaiting my cargo. impatient.
Archon 29, 3058 AA
The merchant ship from Phocacia arrived today carrying my cargo: pages which I hope hold some more clues as to the lost treasure of Omara. The Captain – a minotaur named Brasios – was happy to be rid of it. He claimed that since the page had come aboard the ship had encountered nothing but bad luck and rough seas. I for one blame the unseasonably cold winds from the west.
Alban Heruin
The solstice is upon is, as is the heat! The western winds have gone and in their place is a dead stillness, cooking the city mercilessly. I, for one, have decided to stay in the cellar with my books and the cool air of the earth. Candlelight suits my purpose better than the glaring light of the sun on this longest day.
I now write in haste, to recall as much as I can of the lost page. I held the page to the light too closely and it caught aflame and now is lost. The page was quite old of a type I have yet to identify; the manner in which it was made, of old woven papyrus, speaks to its age. It bore the image of several noble men, their eyes hidden behind their sleeves and mouths cast in wailing torment. I had the distinct impression of a funeral. At the bottom of the page, written in a flowing Draconic script, were the words, “Stewards Weptâ€. Across the top was the number two. I hope there were no secrets written within the image or construction of the page itself. If there were they are now lost forever.
Traeos 4, 3058 AA
Planning on sneaking into the palace today. The image and the page reminded me of a mural I saw as a child, and need to see again, in person. If Thral-Tep, almighty and exalted, is a god and therefore knows all, is this even possible? If I am able to sneak into her palace and leave without getting caught does this prove fallibility… or, maybe, she wants me to see the mural? Logic and doubt seem to go hand in hand.
Traeos 6, 3058 AA
I've come to believe that the book fragment is related to the legends of the fall of Omara and is possibly a clue to the legends of the Radamanthira treasure. (Reference: relevant sections I copied from the "Fall of Omara" chapter 17 of "The 500 Tales of the Poet Mahvasha".) The overall artistic style is consistent with that of the time of the fall of the city. The materials of its construction - the dyes and papyrus - are of types native to the mountain region west and north of El-Alahd. Certain specifics of the book remind of me the works of the Radamanthira merchant dynasty, the ruling family whose skill in this medium has been repeatedly noted in books on the topic present in the great library. A specific example of their style - its unique flourishes, shown most in the realism of the eyes - can be seen in the great mural, "The Cranes of the River Neph", in the eastern hall of the Palace of El-Alahd, a labor of worship given to his most exalted, Thral-Tep, on occasion of his coming of age in that incarnation. This attribution is, I believe, reason enough to believe the source of the page is the Radamanthira family and, therefore, a link to the lost treasure buried amongst ruins.
Without context the pages are, of course, nonsense. The sentence fragments are too small to offer any clue to their meaning and, despite years of study and magical analysis, I have yet to find any information encoded in the picture itself. I hope that within the ruins I am able to discover other fragments of the book.
Traeos 8, 3058 AA
I’ve strongly considered hiring on additional help in my trip to explore the ruins, but in doing so I would have to share whatever treasure I find. If the myths about the ruins are just that I should be fine. Let Common people be ruled by superstition. I will place measure in the power of my spells and the vastness of my knowledge.
Traeos 10, 3058 AA
The desert is hot. Endure Elements is really unappreciated. Why did I forget it again this morning? I think I’m going to sweat the ink right off this page. Too used to my nice cool cellar library. Note to not forget tomorrow.
Traeos 11, 3058 AA
Phantom steed is nice but tends to stick out. Luckily there is no one around to notice – everyone is in the city for our most exalted lady’s announcement of marriage. For the sake of the kingdom I hope she chooses the sorcerer King Dolartu. He will bring power to the bloodline, sorely needed in these times of war with the dark one. Perhaps some relic will be found in the ruins, something I could use to make a name for myself against Ashuran? At last, recognition of my brilliance!
Traeos 19, 3058 AA
I had no idea this much was left of the ruins. You can see the foundation lines of the buildings that were here all those years ago. A bedroom here, the fragment of a kitchen and stove there. With a little imagination it’s not hard to imagine this place alive and thriving. Almost like I can hear the voices of its people speaking through the stones.
There is a newer structure in the middle of the city. A great dome of some black stone – not obsidian, no, not glassy like that, but doesn’t seem native to this region. Going to investigate.
Traeos 19, 3058 AA (add)
The dome is guarded – but what for? Could this lend credence to the rumors of a lost treasure?
It looks like some great one-eyed giant, like the Cyclops from the myths of the Phocacian islands. He had dinosaurs as pets. Looks like allosaurus or tyrannosaurus rex, but biology of the great lizards has never been a field of interest. I need to get into that dome, and the guard must leave at some time. All I have to do is wait. |
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Related Articles: Omara, Khayat, Borea, Amari, Inner Sea. |
Contributor: Mortedamos |
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