This tome of historical
fact has been prepared by the College of Royal Academics by scholars,
scribes, sages and by accounts of respected lore masters. The purpose of
this tome is to educate the uninitiated, and record the dark history of
the Volcani. May they never return.
Introduction
Few will remember that
some two hundred years have passed since the last Volcani has walked this
earth. Their legends perhaps live on as bed time stories to frighten
disobedient peasant children, but the historical facts of what and who the
Volcani were have eluded us. What is known is recorded here.
No few scholars have lost
their lives in search of the Volcani history. Their ruins are mysterious
and dangerous dens. All manner of beasts, some living and some dead, haunt
the very sites that hold valuable pieces of this historical puzzle.
We, the regents of the
college, have sole right to explain the remains of this lost civilization.
By Royal Charter only members of the College of Royal Academics may do so.
Other explorations are merely treasure hunts, far beneath our scholarly
aspirations. We search only for knowledge.
The Volcani people
They called themselves
high elves, and for twelve centuries they dominated this area and all the
other peoples who have dwelled here. Legend states that the high elves
were the first intelligent race on the planet, but some scholars argue
that they were an offshoot of the distant Quentari elves. Since historians
know that the Quentari civilization dates outward of 5,000 years and the
Volcani only 1,200 the high elves could not have been the first race on
Tyrra. It is far more believable that the Volcani split off from the
Quentari and moved westward 1,500 to 2,000 years ago.
Whatever caused the split
is unknown. The Volcani were not ordinary elves either, a fact which
separates them from Quentari origin. The high elves had control over the
element of fire. It was this ability that eventually led to the demise of
their civilization.
A theory suggests that the
Volcani had interbred with a tribe of fire elementals. This practice led
to the split with the Quentari, and caused the Volcani to settle far from
their brothers. It would also explain the ability of many high elves to
control the element of fire.
The truth of the Volcani
origin eludes us for now. The cataclysm that destroyed their civilization
also destroyed most of their records, libraries, and treasures.
Volcani Achievements
According to their own
texts the Volcani high elves created many of the races that exist. While
elves, dwarves, sarr and humans (barbarian, gypsy or otherwise) exist
naturally, the following races were created by the Volcani for their own
purposes (some of which we list below):
Drae: it is thought that the Volcani created the dark elves, but for what
purpose?
Half-Ogres: bodyguards, warriors
Hoblings: created to clean out the sewers of giant rats.
Mystic Wood elves: craftsmen to do the daily work (happy workers?)
Stone elves: advisors
Orcs and goblinoids: warriors
How or if they created
these races is unknown to us at this time. Only some of the most ancient
elves know the truth, but they aren't talking. The dwarves similarly
refuse us to examine their historical tomes concerning this subject.
Elemental magic of the high elves
One last topic must be
covered. The use of elemental magic's by the Volcani high elves is known,
the few surviving spellbooks list many rituals for binding elementals,
enslavement, and rare and unknown magic's.
It is likely that their
enslavement of the elementals may have led to their destruction. The
cataclysm that destroyed their civilization was catastrophic in scale. In
that regard the College will not release the Volcani spellbooks from our
library.
Conclusion
The Volcani, an offshoot
of distant Quentari elves, caused their own destruction through the
practices of binding and enslaving the elementals. The elementals must
surely have caused the cataclysm that destroyed their entire civilization.