You enter a cozy little study tucked in the back of the clanhall... a small fire in a brick fireplace warms the room and provides a flickering light, illuminating the strange maps covering the walls, and dancing upon the ancient vallenwood desk... and upon the equally ancient man sitting behind it.
The old man is completely bald, with a face lined by laughter and the years... He is carefully poring over a tome that looks as old as he is. He looks up from the book to one of the maps covering the walls... a large map you don't recognize. Then he notices your presence, and he stares at you... You look into his clear blue eyes, and are startled at the wisdom in them... the wisdom of the ages...
"How can I help you, my child?" the old man says in a gentle voice.
"You want to know that which is unknown? Hmmm... Such thinking has led to the end of more kender than I can count, and more than a few humans as well!" He glares at you, and the forhead wrinkles even more.
After a moment, his gaze softens, "But I suppose you have a right to know... may keep you from searching for the unknown yourself, and getting yourselves killed in the process..."
He gestures vaguely at the huge map. "You wish to know of this land, my child? Very well... I'll tell you about that land..."
The old man draws himself up to his full height of five feet, and takes a deep breath before launching his tale. "I'll tell you of Rabakos, the land that few Ansalonians have even heard of... It is Rabakos, the Land of Isles... Rabakos, the Land of Wonders... Rabakos, the Land of Death"
The continent of Rabakos is actually many islands clustered close together, four hundred leagues northwest of Sancrist Island. It is a land as old as the bones of the world, but the east flowing Turbidus Ocean has eternally prevented all but the greatest of Ansalonian mariners to reach it.
In the Age of Dreams Rabakos was ruled by the High Ogres, like all of Krynn, but it was home to only a few ogre lords. When the rebellion came, the humans easily overthrew their ogre taskmasters and made their civilization in imitation of the ancient ogres.
They were centred around the Karenian Sea, with their capital at the city of Karene. Eventually they united (some say conquered) the entire continent using old ogre magic and technology. For centuries they controlled everything but the elven Kingdom of Argus.
During this time, several Gods decided to make their presence known. The good god Majere (known as T'ienna) manifested himself in the city of Chreylos, and he started an Order of priests known as The Hand. Majere's teachings took hold of the people so well that even when Majere left a century later, he continues to influence their lives even today.
Paladine (known as E'li) had shown himself to the Argus Elves, but both he and Majere soon concentrated on Ansalon, and as a consequence neglected Rabakos. Using this opportunity, Chemosh subverted the ancestor-worshipping Celcenes and Karenes. Soon the death-cult spread across the continent as the Karene Empire grew.
By the Age of Might, the Karene grip on the outlying provinces had weakened, as the mountains made communication by land very difficult, and because Chemosh had sent many able-bodied Karenes (and the dead) to fight for Takhisis in the Third Dragon War.
Then the Cataclysm came. Tidal waves and earthquakes swept the continent. Karene and all her great cities were completely destroyed. The wind ceased to blow in the Karenean Sea. The Plains of Brek was a raging inferno. Northern Argus sank into the water. Volcanos erupted all across the continent, creating new islands and destroying many old ones. Rohisho split off from mainland Chreylia, and gulfs opened up around the Palapos.
The Gods departed Krynn, and people were left to do what they could to survive, alone. The southern cities joyfully threw off the Karenian yoke, but Celcenae took to the old ways. Necromancers gained great power in the Celcenae city-states. Rohisho developed a strict, militant society. The elves retreated into their forest, much like their Silvanesti cousins, blaming mankind for their hardships. A rugged barbarian people appeared upon the ravaged Plains of Brek. And, surprisingly, a colony of minotaurs made their home on Rhamis Island
Thus, the History of Rabakos
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