Alter Aeon The Great Library

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Note - as with any topic, researchers should question the reliability
and veracity of these texts.  The library's aim is to preserve
documents, not verify accuracy.

AABN:  46527
Title: the Origin of the Menagerie: a Tale of Two Wizards

The Origin of the Menagerie: A Tale of Two Wizards

The origin of the Menagerie is in actuality a tale of two men: Duke Pareem
of Takar and King Tornius II of Q'Inag.

In many ways, the two were similar.  Both were monarchs of their own
city-state.  Pareem and Tornius were said to have ruled wisely and were
adored by their subjects.  Each was an accomplished wizard.  They even
shared the same specialty of magic, based on an ancient science known as
geometry.  But, there was one vital difference between the two: Tornius was
better at geometry than Pareem.

Pareem hosted a mages' duel every year, and every time Tornius bested him
at his own game.  For years, Pareem delved deep into ancient lore, studying
almost every waking moment of his life.  But, Tornius was not idle.  He
knew that in order to continue to be stronger than Pareem, he would have to
study, too.

Both men became totally engrossed in their research, each obsessed with
becoming the greatest geometer.  Their domains worsened as their attention
focused entirely on their studies.  Their once-great cities and the people
who lived there suffered from neglect and corruption in the absence of
Pareem's and Tornius' leadership.

The duels continued, and Pareem continued to lose to Tornius.  Pareem came
to the conclusion that he would never become the greatest geometer by
research.  The only route to gaining that title was to eliminate the one
who held it: Tornius.

One ill-fated night, Pareem's carefully-prepared attack was launched. 
Using his advanced knowledge of geometry, he caused a wave of magical
energy gleaned from the gravity of Alter Aeon itself to descend upon the
city of Q'Inag.  Pareem expected that Tornius would be in the royal
library.

The gravity blast performed as Pareem intended.  The royal library was
annihilated, and the palace along with it.  As a matter of fact, the entire
Blue Island Zone was incinerated.

Even so, Tornius was not in the royal library.  He was studying geometry in
the Library of Law within the Supreme Edifice of Jurisprudence.  Tornius
looked through a window just in time to see the magical attack fall upon
his city.  Before he felt the impact, he knew what it was.  He dropped to
his knees and rent his royal cloak.

Tornius then stood on the edge of the ruined section of the city.  The
broken bodies of his citizens: men, women and children laid before him,
citizens who had been dependent on his protection.  Tornius again fell to
his knees, and he wept.  His selfishness and obsessions fled from him.  His
heart was filled with something else.  It wasn't revenge.  It was righteous
indignation.  Tornius vowed that he would from there forward protect his
city, and he would start right then.

The king took flight.  As he approached Takar, his resolve strengthened. 
With might seemingly beyond that of any mortal mage, Tornius summoned an
small army of elementals.  The elementals swarmed all over the skies of
Takar.  So great was the spectacle of Tornius' fury that no spellcaster in
the city dared challenge him, least of all Pareem.  Tornius repeatedly
tried to summon Pareem out the palace but ultimately drew him out by
casting an earthquake spell so intense that it cleaved the duke's palace in
twain.

Pareem and his most loyal wizards then rose up to fight Tornius, not
because of newfound courage or bravery, but because they feared for their
lives.  His conjured creatures were vanquished one by one, yet Tornius
struck down everyone who opposed him, until only he and Pareem remained. 
Tornius resisted Pareem's Eye, and the two mages squared off. Their battle
was fierce, with spells and counterspells of every kind flying about. 
After hours of fighting, Pareem's reserves were exhausted, and Tornius had
only enough mana to cast a single final spell.  The king let fly a  magic
missile, landing a mortal blow on his opponent with the humblest of mage
spells.

Tornius returned to Q'Inag.  The Blue Island Zone was flooded and lost, so
he had a new section of wall built to enclose the south side of the Docks
and Market Districts.  It was named the Wall of Redemption.  Tornius then
created the Menagerie, a system of magical wards that could be activated in
a moment's notice to protect Q'Inag from any future attacks like the one
they had endured.

The Menagerie is a system of colored orbs placed on top of the coastal
fortress that encompasses the island.  Each colored orb is supported by a
statue of an exotic creature, as follows:

Red    = a manticore
Orange = a basilisk
Yellow = an opinicus
Green = a hippogriff
Blue = an orthos
Violet = a chimera

Later, Baculish Daughter-of-Seth constructed a seventh orb, the Indigo Orb.
It is supported by a statue of a griffin.

Even though the moniker of 'Menagerie' is derived from the statues that
support the orbs, most denizens of Naginag in modern times refer to each
orb by its color.