Humans

Men

According to Reliza's History of Humankind, Volume One, the earliest vestiges of humankind can be traced to the fertile river valleys of the Old Kingdom. In this tropical paradise, early humans flourished as primitive hunters. As they multiplied beyond

The Pipe of Reliza

It is the subject of some debate as to the origins of the human races of the Realm. Certainly, there is extensive evidence of humanoid occupation scattered around the Realm prior to the advent of writing and organized villages. Crude, ancient drawings of deer, boar, and other wildlife have been found in the caves of the Old Kingdom. The humans depicted in these drawings are large, fair-skinned, dressed in skins, seemingly unrelated to the dark-haired, olive-completed inhabitants today. Ruins uncovered by sandstorms and looted by treasure hunters in the Sands of Time tell tales of a human race long-ago forgotten. And what of the strange ziggurats isolated and abandoned along the southern coast of the Western Reaches, their inhabitants vanished like ghosts. Indeed, there seems to be no clear path to trace the human evolution that occurred millenia ago.

The most well-respected scholar of early humans is the arch-mage Reliza, who studied both in the field and in the dusty libraries of Sarth in the early days of the Third Age. Reliza is reported to have developed a magical device that would allow him to communicate with humans from the early dawn of time. The Pipe of Reliza, when smoked with a mixture of a strong narcotic weed and ground bones from ancient peoples would put the user into dreamworld, called the Glimmer, by Reliza and his followers. In the Glimmer, Reliza would be able to question the spirits of the long-dead gaining information about their lives and habits. Reliza devoted his life to the pursuit of this knowledge, and he gained fame and a small following.

It was his celebrity status that is rumored to have cost Reliza his life. One day in a dream-like stupor, Reliza was killed by a petty baron from Sandal who wished to speak with his long-dead father. The whereabouts of the Pipe of Reliza disappeared into the southern kingdom of Sandal, and it remains a lost relic to this day. Rumors have placed the pipe at various locations around the Realm, but no substantiated proof has ever been found.

What has remained of Reliza's studies are a number of large tomes entitled the History of Humankind. These tomes remain in the libraries of Sarth. And, although they are dismissed as the fantasies of a drug-crazed madman by some, they remain the most complete, detailed, and accurate works of the age.

Rings of the Knights of King Gregory

It was in the early days of the reign of King Gregory that the Orders of the Knights of the Kingdom were born. Originally the king had decided on nine orders of knights, and he commissioned that 500 rings be made of varying design as emblems of the new orders. Before the rings were finished, however, the king decided to eliminate two of the orders of knights, leaving the seven orders for which history has record. It is said that the 42 rings of silver with clusters of either two or three star sapphires that were to be the emblem of the two discarded orders were never made, although several have appeared in the collections of artifact seekers - always under questionable circumstances.

The humblest order, the friends of the king, received a simple copper band set with a sapphire. These non-magical bands accounted for almost half of the 500 rings that were made. They were symbols of pride and commaraderie at the height of King Gregory's power.

The next five orders were fighters appointed to their order by chivalrous deeds done for the kingdom. The Knights of Merit numbered 121 members strong at the height of their strength. Their symbol was a copper band set with a star-sapphire. A magical word given to them by King Gregory during the Ceremony of Bestowment would allow the knight to cure wounds during battle. In addition, it was common practice for all Knights to be brought to local temples for healing and resurrection after battle.

The Knights of Virtue were a vastly smaller group, numbering only 30 at one time. Like the other Knights of higher rank, new membership into this group occurred only upon the death of one of their kind. The symbol of the Knights of Virtue was a silver band with a sapphire. They enjoyed the benefits of the Knights of Merit plus a more powerful healing capability.

The Knights of Chivalry, Knights of Quality, and the Knights of Excellence were the other three orders of the kingdom. They, like the Knights of Virtue, were appointed only when a member left the ranks. These three orders numbered 25, 22, and 20 members respectively. Although it is recorded that King Gregory had originally listed forty-seven other men for these ranks, their numbers have always been recorded thusly. These knights were identified by silver bands with star sapphires, gold bands with sapphires, and gold bands with star sapphires. Each order enjoyed successively more powerful healing spells. In addition, the Knights of Quality and Excellence enjoyed unquestioned passage throughout the outer palace in Teufeldorf.

At the highest echelon within the Knights of the Kingdom were the king, queen, five members of the High Council (originally known as the Elder Ring), and a number of nobles within the kingdom. The original draft of the Orders in King Gregory's own hand shows that fourteen platinum rings with star sapphires were to be distributed to himself, Lady Laura, the five member of the Elder Ring, and seven nobles. However, the actual number of rings distributed varies between historians. Some place the number as high as 51 (thus accounting for the 47 missing Knights) or as low as 9 (the king, queen, Elder Ring, and two dukes). These rings were rumored to be very powerful: allowing the wearer to regenerate, turn spells, and perhaps even absorb spells. It is known that these rings did provide unquestioned passasge throughout the inner palace in Teufeldorf.