Insights to the Thuatha dé Maeriel and the Master's Game

=Insights to the Thuatha dé Maeriel and the Master's Game=
 * This page explains the detailed history of the Thuatha dé Maeriel.

Ianthil’s ‘Commentary on Ardus, Spectra, the Planes, and the Mysteries Therein’, is beyond doubt the finest and most historically correct accounts of the birth of this world we have come to know as Ardus. Yet while reading it, the reader will notice that while Ianthil gives an excellent frame work for studying both early and recent history, he remains vague on several of the details. An example of this are the mysterious people that Ianthil refers to twice in Chapter I, Section 2.

“Some creatures; messengers of the gods who loved the Elves, more than even their own masters, took sides with them, and fought against their imagined oppressors.”

“And finally, to the creatures that were made, that rebelled with the Elves, Shareia said, "Because you have loved this place more than your masters, you are sentenced to walk it always, as the Elves. And you may not return to the halls of the gods, except you atone for your crimes."”

Who were these creatures? Who were these messengers of the gods? What happened to them, and where did they go? Following Ianthil’s good example, following is an account, to the best of Elvish and Human knowledge, of what they were, who they were, and what role they played during the fall of the Elder. {| class="toc" id="toc" style="font-size:12px;border-color:rgb(170,170,170);"

Contents
[hide] *1 Section I: The Birth of the People 
 * 2 Section II: The People and the Elder
 * 3 Section III: The Death and Betrayal of Eraesaer
 * 4 Section IV: Conclusive Notes
 * }

Section I: The Birth of the People
The Four, Maeriel and Kysor-Myr and Malaraes and Eraesaer, had created all of what was Ardus, and given life to the Elder, first of Elfish blood. And as the gods walked the lands and beheld the glory they had wrought, they were appeased. And in a world of eternal light, the Elder’s blossomed. Before the proud eyes of their creators, whom they so loved, they travelled the world that had been created for them.

But as the Physical side of Ardus changed, so did it’s Spectral twin, for they are parts of a scale that must be held into balance. The Gods, who had seen the miracle of creation, rejoiced and reached out to the minds that wandered alongside them. Maeriel, mother of all, tore her sight away from the Elder, looking deep into the Spectral Plane.

The Mother of All touched few of these new arrivals, and they were grateful, for no touch was as soothing as that of the Beautiful. They followed her, basked in her nurturing glory. And when time came for Maeriel to walk alongside the Elder once again, they followed her down. New to this world, they took many shapes; they became trees, and the Elder worshiped them for these trees were surely the gardens of the gods. They became great beasts, and the elder worshiped them, for surely these beasts was the herds of the gods.

But twelve, twelve watched how the Beautiful walked the Plane, and they became like her. Radiant and beautiful, the Elder beheld them and worshiped them, for surely, these were the people of the Mother of All. Maeriel, pleased with this new creation, claimed them as hers, and be proclaimed that they be called the Thuatha Dé Maeriel.

Section II: The People and the Elder
The Thuatha Dé Maeriel, People of the Beautiful, walked alongside the Elder and Gods alike. Many accompanied their Mother, while others yet joined those of the Elder who strolled away from created paths. And as the People saw, they learned. And they gave themselves name such as Orobastian, which means ‘split soul’, and Baelmorian, which means ‘wakened dream’. And so they spoke to the Elder, who praised them for being their Mother’s children. And in return, the People loved them fiercely.

And as the Elder spread, Maeriel could no longer frequent each dwelling. Instead, she send her People, as messengers and bringers of good faith. Others still, she solicited to remain near those seats of power the Elder had grown to create, that the People may lead the young race with wisdom and care.

How could she have foreseen that this act of love and kindness was to be the base for destruction and rage that would be the end of Eraeasaer, the Physician! For there were those who envied the gods, and of these, Madryn was chief. An Elder had been born in that last age of peace, who loved so fiercely the work of his gods that he attempted at creation himself. And his creations were beautiful, for steel had never been so bright, nor building as tall, as when Thosandrer-Myr had created it.

And it was one of the People, who had walked the plane with not only Maeriel, but with Tylos, the Empath, Queen of Light, one of the People that loved Thosandrer-Myr and would whisper praises into his ear. Then came Madryn, and he to praised the Elder. And Thosandrer-Myr looked around not in wonder but anger. “Am I less than the gods? Is not my power equal with theirs?” he exclaimed. And he found naught but agreements from his partner. “Did not they make us to rule over us, and for us to be slaves to their pleasure?” So dearly she loved him and his race, she agreed.

Section III: The Death and Betrayal of Eraesaer
And under Madryn’s dark whispers, it was his lover Thosandrer-Myr turned to. A thousand times, he begged of her. And a thousand times she refused. But when he questioned her love for him, she despaired. Without the knowledge of her Mother, she reached out to the other Thuatha Dé Maeriel, and told them of Madryn’s whispers, and Thosandrer-Myr’s words.

They were appalled, for surely one could not betray the Gods they so loved. But Thosandrer-Myr’s lover cried out; did they not love the Elder as dearly as she? Had they not walked with them and lived with them as she had? Surely, they could not betray the Elder, for who they cared so much.

The Twelve agreed that they would not let Maeriel know what was waiting for the Gods who walked the lands. Of the Twelve, there were three who reached out to Thosandrer-Myr, and offered assistance. They lured Eraesa, the Physician, into a trap, and before their eyes, he was torn apart.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:1.5em;">The Gods fled the Physical Plane of Ardus, and when Maeriel found that her people no longer answered her calls, she struck out in anger, not only at them, but at all of the Elder. So ended the proud race of the Elder in blood; they were shattered into three, the Shadow, Wilder and High Elves. Whether they purposefully forgot of the Thuatha Dé Maeriel, or simply deemed them sinners as the Gods had, remains a mystery to this day.

Section IV: Conclusive Notes
<p style="line-height:1.5em;">While the Thuatha Dé Maeriel are mentioned multiple times in the Elder accounts both before and during the Fall, all trace seems to disappear afterwards. Except in the least likely place of all; the Island of Keliss, East of the Empire of Thryn. Here, written reports were found at the hands of those of the Elder who had witnessed the People in their final days.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:1.5em;">They speak of how the Twelve despaired, at first, for they had betrayed their Mother. But then came the realisation that they were alive still; they had been stripped of their Spectral body, but not their immortality. They would walk the earth. Some saw it as a curse; to see those around you wither and die. But then came the blessing; Maeriel had given them a chance. Rather than destroy them, as she had done to their beloved Elder, she gave them the opportunity to live. The opportunity to repent for their sins. For a thousand days and a thousand nights they spoke, but could not come to an agreement of the specifics. Instead, they parted, all going their own way.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:1.5em;">With no idea on how to repent for their sins, and afraid of touching the gods in search of that answer, they created ‘the Game’. Each member of the Twelve was a player of this game. The objective; be forgiven. In any way. And to the best of our knowledge, this is what the Thuatha Dé Maeriel, now simply known as the Players or Masters, have been trying to do ever since. We find one or more of them at key moments in history, vague notions of those with vague knowledge, a woodcutter who just happened to enter the forest at that day and saved Ilisien from her demonic lover. They are there, within the pages that make up Ardus.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:1.5em;">They are there. Never drawing the attention of the Gods, ever fearing Maeriel’s possible retribution, they affect us subtly.